LING 2015 - Morphology and Syntax

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2024

Morphology deals with the internal structure of words and their meaningful parts. Syntax is concerned with sentence structure - how words are combined together to form phrases, phrases combined together to form larger phrases, clauses and sentences, and how clauses are combined together to form complex sentences. Together, morphology and syntax comprise the core of the grammar of a language. Since grammar is no longer a major focus in schools, most students have little understanding of even the most basic notions such as being able to identify parts of speech, or understanding how large constructions are composed out of smaller units. Being able to identify constituents and agreement constraints will help students to improve and correct their academic writing. The course will be practical in focus and will teach students essential skills for the linguistic description and analysis of a language. Along with Phonology, this course is essential for all linguistics students and language teachers (English or otherwise).

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Course Details

Course Code	LING 2015
Course	Morphology and Syntax
Coordinating Unit	European Languages, and Linguistics
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours a week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	At least 12 units of Level I undergraduate study including LING 1101
Assessment	Practical 1, 20%, Practical 2, 20%, Practical 3, 20%, Practical 4, 20%, Exam (1.5 hours) 20%

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Ian Green

This course is taught by Dr Ian Green in 2024.

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

This course aims to:

Develop understandings of the nature of human language and identify differences with other systems of communication
Develop understanding of the structure of language, specifically its morphological subsystems
Develop understanding of morphophonemic processes in language.
Develop understanding of the lexicon and lexical categories (ie parts of speech).
Develop understanding of compositionality, constituency and dependency relations.
Develop understanding linguistic typology with regard to morphology and syntax.
Develop understanding about grammatical relations and their expression.
Develop understanding of both lexical and derivational valence and their implications for argument structure.
Develop understanding of a variety of complex sentence phenomena.
Develop in students the ability to undertake grammatical analysis of unfamiliar languages, and an awareness of the range of coding phenomena encountered.

After successfully completing this course, students should be able to:

1. Use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to transcribe and interpret transcriptions of unfamiliar languages

2. Undertake a morphological analysis to identify the morphemes and allomorphs in any given language.

3. Identify constituent structure at an advanced level.

4. Establish and justify the lexical and grammatical categories for any given language.

5. Articulate understandings of the nature of language.

6. Undertake linguistic descriptive investigation of a known or unknown language through primary observation.

7. Write a coherent and logically argued review of a published grammar of an unfamiliar language, demonstrating a familiarity with widely used terminology and technical issues involved.

8. Confidently approach analysis of a data set drawn from an unknown language.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	6
Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.	6
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	6, 7, 8

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Course text book: Thomas E Payne, 2006, Exploring Language structure: a Student's Guide. Cambridge University Press.

On-Line Resource: World Atlas of Linguistic Structures (WALS) http://wals.info/

Recommended Resources

Mark Aronoff & Kirsten Fudeman, 2005, What is morphology? Malden: Blackwell.

Laurie Bauer, 2003, Introducing linguistic morphology. Georgetown University Press.

Andrew Carnie, 2007, Syntax: a generative introduction. Second edition. Blackwell Publishing.

Nigel Fabb, Sentence structure. London: Routledge, 2005.

Nicola Grandi & Livia Körtvélyessy (2015) Edinburgh Handbook of Evaluative Morphology. Edinburgh University Press.

Martin Haspelmath & Andrea Sims, 2010, Understanding morphology, 2nd edition. Abingdon: Routledge

Paul Kroeger, 2005, Analyzing grammar: an introduction. Cambridge University Press.

Stephen Levinson, 1983, Pragmatics. Cambridge University Press.

Robert M Millar (rev & ed), 2015, Trask’s historical linguistics, 3rd edition. Abingdon: Routledge

Steven Pinker, 1994, The language instinct. London: Allen Lane

Steven Pinker, 1999, Words and rules: the ingredients of language. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Maggie Tallerman, 2015, Understanding syntax, Fourth Edition. Abingdon: Routledge

Online Learning

On-Line Resource: World Atlas of Linguistic Structures (WALS) http://wals.info/

Learning & Teaching Modes

No information currently available.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

1 x 2-hour lecture per week (x12)	24 hours
1 x 1-hour tutorial per week (x10)	10 hours
4 hours Practicals/Reading per week (x12)	48 hours
4 hours Assignment Preparation per week (x12)	48 hours
2 hours Research per week (X 13)	26 hours
TOTAL	156 hours

Learning Activities Summary

Week 1
Course Requirements
Introduction to Morphology & Syntax
No tutorial

Week 2
Morphological Processes

Week 3
Morphophonemics

Week 4
Word Classes

Week 5
Constituent Structure #1

Week 6
Constituent Structure #2

MID-SEMESTER BREAK

Week 7
Historical morphology & syntax

Week 8
Language Typology

Week 9
Grammatical Relations

Week 10
Voice & Valence

Week 11
Multi-Clause Constructions

Week 12
Theoretical perspectives on morphology & syntax
No tutorial

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

TASK	TASK TYPE	WEIGHTING	DUE DATE	LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Linguistic Practical #1	Formative/ Summative	20%	end Week 3	1. 2. 8
Linguistic Practical #2	Formative/ Summative	20%	end Week 6	2, 4, 8
Linguistic Practical #3	Formative/ Summative	20%	end Week 7	3, 8
Linguistic Practical #4	Summative	20%	end Week 10	6, 8
Test	Summative	20%	in exam period TBA	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8

Assessment Related Requirements

Attendance at lectures is an essential component of the course. Many lectures will include short exercises for completion during the lecture. These will be self-corrected.
Attendance at tutorials is compulsory and will count towards the final mark.
All assessment components must be completed to qualify for a final result.

Assessment Detail

Linguistic Practicals
Linguistic practical assignments will be distributed in lectures and tutorials. Further detail to be advised.

Practical #1 - Morphology
Practical #2 - Parts of Speech (Word Classes)
Practical #3 - Syntactic Analysis
Practical #4 - Analysis of Own Data

Test
The test will cover a number of set chapters of your textbook and the content of the lectures. No books, dictionaries or notes can be used for the test

Submission

1.        All assignments to be submitted via MyUni/Canvas by midday on the due date.

2.        Ensure that your Tutorial Group, Level (II or III), Course Title, Assignment Title & Topic appear on the cover sheet.

3.        All assignments must be in grammatical English.

4.        Practicals may be hand-written legibly. Typed assignments must be double-spaced with a minimum 10 font.

5.        Always keep a copy of your work. (Just occasionally things do go astray)

6.        Assignments submitted late require a doctor’s certificate, counsellor’s certificate or similar proof/documentation.

7.        Extensions (normally up to one week) MUST be organised prior to the due date.

8.        Penalty with no extension is 2% per day up to 7 days (including weekends and holidays).

9.        Assignments submitted without an approved extension will not be accepted more than 7 days after the due date.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator