This page has been planned to help with the class. Check the calendar frequently! The schedule you see here is tentative; if we go faster or slower than I expect, then I'll make the changes on the calendar. Again, check it frequently.

Time & Place:
11:30-12:30, Mondays - Fridays, Thaxter 1

Textbook:

Introduction to Language by Fromkin & Rodman

Grading:
40% short papers and other assignments
30% exams (3 during the term and a final)
30% final research paper

Contacting the teacher:
Debbie Anholt, on-campus phone x-7319, home 503-774-7020.
You can make an appointment to talk to me or email me anytime.

Language is everywhere. It permeates our thoughts, mediates our relations with others, and even creeps into our dreams. Most human knowledge and culture is stored and transmitted in language. Without it, society as we know it would be impossible.

However, most people do not understand what language is. How does it work? How does a baby learn language so fast that by age 3, he or she can speak much more than an educated adult who has studied it as a second language for the same amount of time? How does our brain process and understand language? How can we figure out, after talking to someone for a few minutes, whether that person is rich or poor, educated or ignorant, professional or working class without asking those specific questions?

Linguists study these questions--not just for English but for all languages. This is not a class to learn English, but you will improve your English as a result of being in the class; it's a class to learn about all languages and how people use them. Many of the examples will be from English, but other examples will come from other languages. Students are expected to contribute examples of their own languages to illustrate what we are studying.

Come to class every day, on time, ready to work.

Be an ACTIVE learner--ask questions about things you don't understand. Think about the material and how it applies to your own language.

Prepare ahead of time by looking at the calendar.

Review your notes after class. If you don't understand something I've said, take the responsibility of asking me to explain it again or finding the information in the text.

Keep up with the assignments. If you fall behind, you will have trouble catching up. If you are absent, take the responsibiltiy for finding out what you missed.

DO NOT PLAGIARIZE or in any way present other's ideas as yours. You will receive a ZERO for an assignment that is not your own work, unless you CLEARLY give credit to the original author or source.

The research paper for this class is extremely important. You will write this paper during the second half of the term. The dates below are FIRM dates--write them in your planner and abide by them.

Nov. 1: Proposal
Nov. 11: Annotated Bibliography
Nov. 18: Outline
Dec. 2: First draft of paper
Dec. 12: Class presentations
Dec. 13: Class presentations
Dec. 16: Final paper

Page created: 9/1/2002
Created by: Debbie Anholt