LING1000 Introduction to Language

Syllabus
Semester 1, 2024-2025

General Information
Time Location Credits
Fri 9:30 am - 11:20 pm WLGH 6

Instructor Email Office Location & Hours

Dr. Olivia LAM [email protected] CRT-9.17, Fridays 12-1

TA Email
Mr. Eugene TAM [email protected]

Course Description
This course is an introduction to linguistics, the scientific study of language. The course begins with an
introduction to the field, and with a discussion of what ‘language’ is. We then learn how speakers use
language forms to convey meaning. This includes an introduction to the study of (i) sound patterns
(phonetics and phonology); (ii) word structure and sentence structure (morphology and syntax); and, (iii)
meaning (semantics and pragmatics). These are some of the more fundamental tools that linguists use
to analyze language. We also introduce you to the main areas of inquiry in the field, including language
variation, language and the brain, language acquisition and linguistic diversity. The aim is for students
to get an overview of the diverse field, as well as understand and appreciate the foundations of linguistics.

Note:
Note: This course is a prerequisite for the majors and minors in General Linguistics and all
Introductory and Advanced Linguistics courses.

Course Objectives
On completing the course, students will be able to:-
 appreciate the diversity of the field of linguistics;
 demonstrate skills in the logical analysis of the phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic
and pragmatic structure of natural languages;
 demonstrate strong analytical ability to understand language use in various contexts and media;
 draw salient contrastive, comparative and typological distinctions between language structure and
use across different languages, language families, and language areas;
 demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate a piece of linguistic analysis; and,
 demonstrate skills of argument, debate and oral and written presentation.

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Course Information
Assessment
There is no university-administered exam for this course (100% coursework). Students’ performance will
be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Coursework 100%

1. Tutorial attendance & participation 10%

Four tutorials
Tutorials are to be held face-to-face,
attendance at tutorials: compulsory
participation in tutorials: based on your performance and engagement in
class
Tutorial exercises: NOT graded, but they are designed to help you learn

2. Two assignments (25% each) 50%

3. Final assessment 40%

Grade Expectations
Grade expectations for BA courses developed by the Faculty of Arts will be adopted in this course:
http://arts.hku.hk/grade_expectations.pdf.

Policy on Late Work

Unless otherwise specified, the penalty for late submission will be a deduction of 5 points per calendar
day, e.g. original mark = 67 points; 1 day late = 62 points; 2 days late = 57 points etc. Work more than 1
week late will not be accepted.

Accessibility and Accommodations

If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability, please let me know
immediately by email, providing the relevant documentation. Reasonable academic accommodations will
be made based on recommendations from CEDARS. Requests for accommodations, especially ones
related to the Final Assessment, must be made before November 1.

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Course Schedule
Dates Topics Readings* Tutorials** Assignments
(Chapters)
Sept. 6 Introduction; What is linguistics?
Sept. 13 Design features of language 2
Sept. 20 Phonetics 3
Sept. 27 Phonology 4 T1
Oct. 4 Morphology 5-6
Oct. 11 No class (Chung Yeung Festival) A1 due
Oct. 18 No class (Reading Week)
Oct. 25 Syntax 7-8 T2
Nov. 1 Semantics 9
Nov. 8 Pragmatics 10 T3
Nov. 15 Language & the brain 12 A2 due
Nov. 22 Language development 13
Nov. 29 Language & society 18-19 T4
Dec. 6 Final assessment

*All are chapters from Yule (2022).

**Tutorials will only be held in these weeks. Ignore the other dates shown on SIS.
***Changes may be made to the course schedule.

Final Assessment Schedule

The final assessment will be a face-to-face assessment, to be held at from HKT 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon
on Dec. 6, 2024 (Fri). It will be a proctored, closed-book assessment. Details will be provided later.

Delivery Mode
All lectures and tutorials will be conducted face-to-face. Recordings will not be provided.

Tutorial Sign-up
Tutorial sign-up will begin at 12 noon on Sept. 6 (today) and end at 4:00 p.m. on Sept. 16 (Mon).

This will be done using the ‘HKU Tutorial Sign-up’ app.

Details: https://its.hku.hk/kb/tutorial-sign-up-application/

If there are problems, please send an email to [email protected], stating clearly (i) your full name,
(ii) your UID, and (iii) the issue(s).

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Learning Resources
Electronic Resources
Moodle
 HKU portal, login -> ‘My e-learning’ -> ‘LING1000_1A_2024’
 Class announcements will be posted on Moodle.

Class Handouts
 The handout(s) for each lecture will be made available on Moodle on the day before that lecture.

Emails
You should use your hku email account when corresponding with us.

Required Textbook
Yule, G., 2022. The study of language, 8th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
(https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/the-study-of-
language/FFAD6D438AEC1F023DF700ECB66DF022#overview)

References
The following references are also useful.
Akmajian, A., Demers, R., Farmer, A., & Harnish, R. 2017. Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and
Communication. MIT Press.
Baker, M. C. 2008. The Atoms of Language: The Mind's Hidden Rules of Grammar. Basic books.
Brown, K. 2005. Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics: 14-Volume Set (2nd ed.). Elsevier Science.
Crystal, D. 2008. A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (6th ed). Blackwell.
Crystal, D. 2010. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (3rd ed). Cambridge University Press.
Culpeper J., B. Malory, C. Nance, Daniel Van Olmen, D. Atanasova, S. Kirkham & A. Casaponsa. 2023.
Introducing Linguistics. Routledge.
Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. 2018. An Introduction to Language. Thomson Wadsworth.
Matthews, P. 2014. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford University Press.
McGregor, W. B. 2015. Linguistics: an Introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing.
O'Grady, William, John Archibald, et al. 2021. Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. 9th ed.
Pearson.
Rowe, B. M. & D. P. Levine. 2023. A Concise Introduction to Linguistics (6th ed). Routledge.
Trask, R., & Stockwell, P. 2007. Language and Linguistics: the Key Concepts (2nd ed). Routledge.

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Copyright and plagiarism
Course materials
‘You are warned that notes taken in lectures, and course materials supplied to you by
departments, are to be used by you only for the purposes of research or private study.
Similarly, lectures may not be recorded without the permission of the lecturer. […] The
copyright of each lecture delivered in the University is vested in the lecturer delivering it
and/or the University. Failure to heed this warning may result in an infringement of the copyright
laws.’
(HKU, http://www.handbook.hku.hk/ug/full-time-2019-20/important-policies/copyright-and-plagiarism)

o ‘Course materials’ include printed materials and online materials made available on Moodle,
including handouts, recordings of lectures and other online resources.
o Course materials may not be copied, modified or distributed.

Academic honesty and avoiding plagiarism

Any assignment, essay, or project that you submit for credit must be entirely your own work.
o You cannot copy or use the work of others or your previous work without proper citation, nor can
you work together with other students and submit the same or similar work. This is considered
plagiarism and/or collusion, which are forms of academic misconduct.

Plagiarism: ‘direct copying of textual material or wilful use of other people’s data and
ideas, and presenting them as one’s own without acknowledgement, whether or not such
materials, data and ideas have been published.
o Self-plagiarism: ‘the reuse of one’s own work without acknowledging that such work has
been submitted elsewhere’
(HKU, http://arts.hku.hk/current-students/undergraduate/assessment/plagiarism)

Collusion: ‘the active cooperation of two or more students to deceive examiners.’

o Students are ‘guilty of collusion if [they] knowingly allow any of [their] academic work to be
acquired by another person for presentation as if it were that person’s own work.’
(University of Leicester, https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/sas2/assessments/plagiarism)

AI and AI-assisted technologies: using generative AI and AI-assisted technologies without

proper citation is also a form of plagiarism. AI-generated text is not exempt from academic
integrity policies.
o Students are responsible for ensuring the ethical and appropriate use of AI tools.
Misuse of AI can lead to disciplinary actions. They should be open and honest about their use
of AI and must not present AI-generated work as their own. Instead, any assistance received
from AI tools should be acknowledged. In cases where misuse is suspected, students may be
given the opportunity to provide proof of authorship.

‘Plagiarism is a very serious offense. Coursework or dissertations submitted for assessment and
examination purposes must be the student’s own work and properly acknowledge all sources.’
(HKU, http://arts.hku.hk/current-students/undergraduate/assessment/plagiarism)

How to avoid plagiarism: https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/

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Consequences
1. An assignment found to contain plagiarized, colluded, AI-generated material without
proper acknowledgement or any other material that is not the student’s own work will be
penalized or even failed.
2. ‘In this University, plagiarism is a disciplinary offence. Any student who commits the offence may
face disciplinary action.’ (HKU, https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/?vcode=1d2S1)
‘Disciplinary action – There may also be disciplinary action, such as a reprimand, fine, withdrawal,
suspension, and even expulsion from the University. Disciplinary action may be taken even after
graduation and may lead to the deprivation of an academic qualification already awarded.’
(HKU, https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/consequences-of-plagiarism/)