Keio University Syllabus and Timetable

LINGUISTICS SCIENCE 2

SubtitleIntroduction to Linguistics: Syntax and Semantics
Lecturer(s)TANCREDI, CHRISTOPHER D.
Credit(s)2
Academic Year/Semester2023 Fall
Day/PeriodTue.3
CampusHiyoshi
Class FormatFace-to-face classes (conducted mainly in-person)
Registration Number13145
Faculty/Graduate SchoolLETTERS
Department/MajorHUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
Year Level1
FieldGENERAL EDUCATION
K-Number FLT-FE-01153-212-02
Course AdministratorFaculty/Graduate SchoolFLTLETTERS
Department/MajorFEHUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
Main Course NumberLevel0Faculty-wide
Major Classification1General Education Course
Minor Classification15Humanities Series - Linguistics
Subject Type3Elective subject
Supplemental Course InformationClass Classification2Lecture
Class Format1Face-to-face classes (conducted mainly in-person)
Language of Instruction2English
Academic Discipline02Literature, linguistics, and related fields

Course Contents/Objectives/Teaching Method/Intended Learning Outcome

In the 1950s, Noam Chomsky revolutionized the study of linguistics by treating language as something produced by the human brain. From this change in perspective, the study of language became an indirect way of studying the human mind. In addition to opening up new ways to approach the subject, this change also built a foundation for doing linguistics as a science. Grammar is seen not as a known set of rules that people need to study in order to learn but rather as the rules that result from the human mind trying to make sense of the language it is exposed to. In this class we will look at two sub-areas of linguistics from this perspective: syntax (the study of phrase structure in language) and semantics (the study of linguistic meaning).

Course Plan

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Method of Evaluation

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Textbooks

Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication (7th edition)
Adrian Akmajian, Ann K. Farmer, Lee Bickmore, Richard A. Demers, Robert M. Harnish

We will be using around 120 pages of the textbook, all of which will be made available online.