The Structure of English Words (LING150)
Department of Linguistics
Welcome! The Structure of English Words (LING150) is offered by the Linguistics
Department at the
*Students enrolling for credit in the web-based course must have read and understood all information contained on this page.*
Course Description
In this course we will use linguistic principles to study English vocabulary. This involves studying the morphemes, or meaningful elements, in English words and examining how these elements combine to form words. We will also investigate the sounds of English and their pronunciation, and the historical development of English (both sound changes and meaning changes) and its relationship to other Indo-European languages.
Course Objective
This course is designed to teach you to approach English words in an analytical and historically-oriented way. This material provides the background for increasing your vocabulary, as well as improving spelling. More importantly, the techniques taught in our course can be used to efficiently increase your vocabulary for the rest of your life.
By the end of this course, you should
- be able to look at a word that you have never seen before and have some idea of what it could mean;
- have the skills necessary for coping with the technical vocabulary in fields such as medicine, biology, geology, psychology, neurology, chemistry, anthropology, etc.;
- have a strong background for preparing for the vocabulary portions of standardized tests required for graduate school, law school, and so on. Our method of building vocabulary is similar to that taught in some GRE preparation manuals.
More specifically, at the end of this course you should
- know a large number of word roots from classical languages and be able to identify these roots in unfamiliar English words. These roots occur frequently in many English words, especially those words used in academic and technical vocabulary.
- understand the history of English and how these historical changes have affected the modern lexicon;
- understand the basic principles of language change, such as sound change and meaning change.
You do not need any previous linguistics courses.
You must be fluent in English at the level required for regular admittance by
the
You must have reliable Internet access. Many course materials are only available via the Internet. Students are responsible for obtaining and maintaining their Internet access. Any questions about or problems with Internet access should be referred to your Internet access provider.
You must have access to a graphics capable browser. Some course materials can only be presented using graphics.
You must have an email account. It need not be your
You should download the fonts for the International Phonetic Alphabet to your computer to ensure that you will be able to accurately view all the material on the web lectures and on Blackboard. These fonts are available for free from the SIL Encore IPA Fonts page.
Registration and Fee Information
The course is 4 credit hours. It is available with both Graded and Pass/No Pass options.
Regularly Admitted Students:
To receive credit for this course, you must enroll using Duck Web.
Non-admitted Students:
To receive credit for this course, you must have completed a registration
eligibility form and requested your personal access code from the University's Community Education Program
before you enroll using Duck Web. Call (541) 346-5614 to enroll or visit their website for more
information.
Testing Center Special Fee
There is $25 fee for this class. This helps offset costs for the specialized software that must be purchased (or in this case designed) for administering the tests. (See Test Taking Procedures.)
This fee is automatically billed to your account at Oregon Hall.
There are 4 Study Units. Each unit covers approximately the same material that would be covered in two and one-half weeks during the regular classroom-based version of this course.
Topics covered in each Study Unit are as follows:
Unit 1 Basic Word Analysis
- Historical sources of English words
- Basic principles of word analysis (morphology)
Unit 2 Intermediate
Word Analysis and Basic Phonetics
- Alternations in morpheme forms (allomorphy)
- Basic principles of English sounds (phonetics)
Unit 3 Advanced
Word Analysis and Semantic Change
- More alternations in morpheme forms (allomorphy rules)
- Historical changes of meanings (semantic change)
Unit 4 - The Origins and History of English
- Pre-history of English and Indo-European languages
- English history
All course materials listed below are required.
|
English Vocabulary
Elements, Keith Denning, Brett Kessler, William Leben (Second edition). |
|
Available at this Web Site. Access from the LING150 Home Page |
|
|
|
|
|
Acceptable dictionaries include:
Webster's is available on-line. Links to that site are provided on each Study Unit Home Page. |
These materials are discussed further in How to study for this course.
The required textbook is available for purchase at the U of O Bookstore. The required dictionary is also available for purchase at the bookstore, or you may use the one at the Knight library or on-line via links at the class website.
Remote site students: Information on how to obtain the textbook is available
to you through the Continuation
Center's Distance Education Program. Please contact Distance Education via
email (disted@uoregon.edu)
or phone toll-free inside
To receive credit for this course, you must successfully complete:
- 4 written assignments;
- 4 unit exams of approximately one hour each;
- 1 final exam of approximately two hours.
All requirements must be completed by the deadlines given in the Calendar section of this document.
Written assignments must be submitted electronically to the instructor. Each
assignment must be submitted on or before the listed deadline or before the
student takes the exam for that unit, whichever comes first (i.e. Assignment 1
must be submitted before the Unit 1 exam). Be sure to keep a copy of your
assignment.
The instructor will *NOT* inform you via email that your assignment was
received. Do contact your instructor if you don't receive a score for your
assignment 5 days after the deadline (scores will be posted on Blackboard).
No incompletes will be given for this course.
Points for course:
|
Unit 1 |
Written Assignment |
10 points |
|
Exam |
50 points |
|
|
Unit 2 |
Written Assignment |
10 points |
|
Exam |
50 points |
|
|
Unit 3 |
Written Assignment |
10 points |
|
Exam |
50 points |
|
|
Unit 4 |
Written Assignment |
10 points |
|
Exam |
50 points |
|
|
Final Exam |
100 points |
|
|
Total for course |
340 points |
|
Grades are given according to the following schedule:
Graded option:
|
Cumulative points |
Grade awarded |
|
335 - 340 |
A+ |
|
313 - 334 |
A |
|
305 - 312 |
A- |
|
298 - 304 |
B+ |
|
278 - 297 |
B |
|
271 - 277 |
B- |
|
264 - 270 |
C+ |
|
244 - 263 |
C |
|
236 - 243 |
C- |
|
203 - 235 0 - 202 |
D F |
|
This course is not graded on a curve. However, extra credit participation points are offered as a way to improve your scores. Reminder: All students enrolled in this course are subject to the ASUO Student Code of Conduct and all work, both in required and extra credit assignments, is expected to conform to UO policies for Student Academic Integrity. NOTE: The The Summer Term for this course consists of 8 weeks of class, with the final exam being offered at the end of the 8th week. Written assignments must be submitted via the Digital Dropbox in Blackboard prior to the deadline. Exams must be completed at a proctored test site prior to the deadline. Please keep in mind that testing facilities have specific hours of operation and a limited capacity. You should contact your test site well in advance to make a reservation. Also, if an exam is taken before the deadline, all work for that exam’s unit must be submitted before the exam is taken in order to receive credit for it. The deadlines for completion of course assignments and exams are as
follows:
All dates and times given
above are with respect to local time in What about extensions? All exams are cumulative. We are building vocabulary, so each new unit builds on previous units. Unit exams focus on the most recent work, but I assume that you know anything which was covered in previous units. The final covers all course materials equally. All course study materials, including web "lectures," assigned readings, and practice exercises are necessary for success on the exams. Questions may be based on any aspect of these materials. Exam questions are multiple choice or short answer format. Test Proctoring Exams are given electronically at proctored web sites handled by Distance Education at SSIL. All visits to the proctored test sites must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance. For best results, schedule your visit four to seven days in advance. Drop-in appointments are not offered at any time. Be sure to schedule yourself enough time to finish an exam. Budget extra time for possible software complications. Fifty minutes seems to be the average time needed to complete the unit exams, while the final exam will take about one and a half hours. To be thoroughly safe, give yourself twice the amount of time you think you will need. Students who can NOT take their exams in Eugene Students who cannot take the exams at SSIL need to locate a suitable proctor by the end of week 1. Go to SSIL's Distance
Education Website and click on 'Taking Classes Off-Campus" to learn
more about locating a suitable proctor and completing SSIL's proctor
application. This option applies
equally to students who are taking the course from a geographically remote
site as well as those in Students who can take their exams in Eugene If you can come to the Eugene-Springfield area, then you will take your exams at the Social Sciences Instructional Lab (SSIL) on the fourth floor of McKenzie Hall. The elevator only has buttons to the third floor--there is a key to turn on the opposite side from the buttons that will take you to the fourth floor. There are also stairs. The phone number is (541) 346-2547. Check the SSIL Webpage for more information. It is necessary to make an appointment at least 24 hours in advance to take your exams at SSIL. If you wish to take an exam on or near the deadline day, it is better to make your appointment 4-7 days in advance. It is not possible to drop in to SSIL to take an exam. Appointments can be made by visiting SSIL's website and following the instructions there. Information about the exams will be available through the SSIL's Distance Education Website. From, there click on the links Testing, and then SSIL Site Testing Policies for more information. If you are interested, you can take a sample exam through SSIL in order to get comfortable with their examination process. There is a $25 fee for this class which is paid through your account at Oregon Hall. Students must pay the $25 fee to be able to take the first exam. SSIL Policies and Hours of Operation (Eugene Campus). SSIL is open through finals week of each quarter. SSIL is available to test takers only by appointment. Let me know if none of these hours are convenient for you. Appointments can be made by visiting SSIL's website and following instructions. If none of these hours are possible for you, either let me know so we can discuss alternatives or consider getting a proctor (see above). Remote Site Testing Center Policies and Hours of Operation. All visits to the proctored test sites must be scheduled in advance. You
can get all necessary information about your testing site by contacting the
testing site proctor or the Testing Center Security Policies For security reasons, the following class policies will be strictly enforced at both the SSIL testing center and the remote site testing centers. Students at the remote sites should be aware that each remote site may have additional policies.
First Things First: Give yourself adequate time to study for the course. If you were taking the classroom-based section of the course, you would be spending 2 hours in the classroom per Web Lecture. Give yourself at least that much time to study each Web Lecture and its corresponding reading. Additional time will be needed to study the morpheme sets, do the written assignments and prepare for the exams. There are 4 Study Units. Each unit covers approximately the same material that would be covered in two and one-half weeks (two weeks in Summer Term) during the regular classroom-based version of this course. See the Course Organization section for a list of topics covered in each Study Unit. Each Study Unit is composed of a series of activities designed to enable you to master the material. Each Study Unit has a separate Study Unit Home Page which can be accessed from the LING150 Home Page. You must study the units in numerical order, beginning with Unit 1 and ending with Unit 4. Also, it is better to complete your study of a specific unit and take the test for that unit before beginning the next unit. Begin your study of each unit by reading through the Study Unit Home Page. Then, do each activity in the order listed. Next, review the unit materials. I highly recommend making flashcards for yourself (you can make them by cutting an ordinary piece of paper into six or eight pieces). After you’ve made them, you can get your friends, family, roommates, etc. to quiz you on the material. It’s also a very good idea to do the extra credit assignment and take the extra credit quiz (information on these and other study aids for each unit is available on Blackboard.) Finally, email your written assignment to the instructor and take the unit exam. (See Requirements and Grades.) Be sure to complete the exam and submit the assignment prior to the appropriate deadline. You may check these deadlines in the Course Calendar. After completing all 4 Study Units, review all course materials and take the Final Exam prior to the final exam deadline. (The Final Exam Study Guide is available from the LING150 Home Page.) Each Study Unit involves the following activities and materials: 1. MORPHEME SETS Morphemes are parts of words (or word roots). You need to memorize one set of morphemes and their meanings for each unit. Morpheme sets are available from the LING150 Home Page and from each Study Unit Home Page. Memorize the set which corresponds to the unit you are studying. For example, you should memorize Morpheme Set 1 while studying Unit 1. The Unit 1 Exam will test your knowledge of Morpheme Set 1 (as well as other Unit 1 materials.) You MUST
The BEST way to memorize morphemes:
Don't try to cram this studying. Cramming may work in the short run, but students who attempt it often find themselves failing by the end of the course. This is because the material expands rapidly, and it is difficult to retain so much information when it is not well-learned. Psychological studies show that memorized material is retained best if done in small amounts and repeated at regular intervals. Successful students often carry their flash cards with them to study during odd moments throughout the day. Remember to go back and review morphemes from previous units before taking each unit exam. ANY MORPHEME CAN APPEAR ON ANY LATER EXAM AFTER IT HAS BEEN ASSIGNED. After all, building vocabulary is a cumulative process. 2. WEB LECTURES Each Study Unit contains 4 Web Lectures. The Web Lectures for each unit are accessed from the Study Unit Home Page. Web Lectures are designed to complement the textbook. They may
Exam questions pertain to all materials, both the web lectures and assigned readings. 3. ASSIGNED The textbook provides the bulk of the content of the course. Two chapters of the textbook are assigned in each study unit. You are responsible for all material in the assigned readings. Some topics may be discussed in Web Lectures as well. Note: You are not expected to memorize specific examples in the textbook or the Web Lectures. For instance, a list of native and borrowed words is given on page 8 of the text. You do not need to memorize these specific examples. You do need to understand basic differences between these two types of words and be able pick out examples in a new list of words. If you understand the principles taught in the text and Web Lectures and have worked through the exercises, you should be able to deal with new examples with a high degree of confidence. 4. PRACTICE EXERCISES Exercises are given both from the textbook and at this web site. Answers to both types of problems are provided at this web site. Exercises are strictly for your own benefit and should not be sent to the instructor. The exercises are designed to prepare you for the exams. To get the maximum benefit from the exercises,
5. WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS One written assignment must be submitted to the instructor prior to each unit exam deadline. (See the Course Calendar.) If you are planning to take exams early, the written assignment for each unit must be submitted before you take that unit’s exam in order to receive credit for it. Written assignments are intended to get you started applying the principles of word analysis to words you encounter in daily life or your field of study. Each assignment involves finding and analyzing 5 words from outside the course materials. For more specific information, see the Written Assignment page. While this course is not graded on a curve, and the online nature of the course puts much more responsibility on the student to do well in the class, there are 50 points of optional extra credit offered for this class. 10 points of extra credit are offered for each unit. All extra credit activities (assignments, quizzes) for a given unit must be completed before taking that unit’s exam in order to receive credit for them. The final extra credit assignment and quiz must be completed before taking the final exam. Quizzes There are 5 extra credit quizzes, worth up to 5 points each. One quiz per unit plus one quiz prior to the final are given, for a total of 25 possible points. The quizzes can be found in the Assignments section of the Blackboard web site. Introductions For Unit One, I'd like you to introduce yourself by building your personal home page in Blackboard. Worth 5 points of extra credit, it doesn't need to be long or elaborate. You can put in text, links to web sites you visit frequently and images. In order to receive credit, notify the instructor by email when you’ve completed this assignment. This notification is not necessary for other extra credit assignments, quizzes, or required written assignments. If you decide to do this, please keep it informally professional. It's fine to mention interests outside of school, but don't post anything you wouldn't want any of your classmates announcing on the national news or in the Daily Emerald. Just keep in mind what the person holding the gradebook might deem inappropriate when you're choosing material.
To view your classmates' Home Pages: 1. Click the 'Communications' button on the left Extra Credit Assignments on Blackboard For units 2, 3, 4 and the final exam, the instructor will post extra-credit assignments on Blackboard (under Assignments/Extra Credit). These assignments are due before the exam for each unit. Hint: it will be extremely difficult to do these assignments unless you’ve done all of the unit reading; although extra credit is given credit anytime until its deadline, you will greatly benefit from completing the quizzes prior to taking that unit’s exam (if you are taking the exam early). Also, the instructor may give you the option of posting part of your assignment to the Discussion Board on Blackboard to share with your classmates. Blackboard offers you the ability to send emails to the class and to me, so I won't operate a separate listserv. All you need to do is to make sure that your correct address is listed in Blackboard by signing into Blackboard, clicking on the correct course, then click Student Tools > Personal Information > Edit Personal Information and enter the address which you prefer to use for this class. It is not
necessary for you to use a This course also makes use of Blackboard, an online technology used by many instructors
at the Check your Be sure to update your e-mail address in the Student Tools section of Blackboard. Scores for your coursework, the extra credit online quizzes and additional resources will be available on Blackboard. The rule of thumb for finding help with problems is this: If it’s a content or grade question, contact the instructor. Otherwise, contact one of the many technology resources that the UO offers. An excellent place to start for technical help is the help homepage for Distance Education (available to any student enrolled in this class). Keep in mind when you’re asking for help to ALWAYS INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND THE CLASS YOU’RE TAKING in the email message. The following is a general troubleshooting guide: Blackboard:
Email:
Assignments (Written/Extra Credit):
Unit Exams (SSIL) Go to the SSIL website (http://distanceeducation.uoregon.edu/) for the following: 1. Register to take exams (do this by the second week of classes). 2. Register to take exams off-campus/Arrange for a remote proctor. 3.
Make an appointment to take an exam.
Quizzes (Blackboard) & IPA practices
(Blackboard)
See "Staff Information" on Blackboard for the instructor's contact information. Copyright |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 by the Department of
Linguistics,