Adrian Akmajian, Richard A. Demers, Ann K. Farmer, and Robert M. Harnish, Linguistics, 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995. (ADFH)

Thomas Pyles and John Algeo, The Origins and Development of the English Language, 4th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich [1993]. (Pyles)
David Burnley, The History of the English Language. London: Longman, 1992. (Burnley)

II. COURSE REQUIREMENTS

a. class participation
b. regular submissions for a dictionary of local usage
c. three short papers (about 750 words), due as follows:
5 September, on a grammatical rule in English
10 October, reflecting on the same rule in historical perspective
21 November, on the biography of an English word
d. mid-term examination, on 17 October
e. final examination, on 15 December at 7 p.m. (place TBA)
f. [fourth hour option only] a substantial paper (10-15 pages) on a topic or project to be chosen in consultation with the instructor, due 14 Dec.

III. OTHER TEXTS ON RESERVE

Allen, Harold B., ed. Dialect and Language Variation. Orlando: Academic Press, 1986.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, ed. Calvert Watkins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
The Cambridge History of the English Language, ed. Richard M. Hogg. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge U Press, 1992
Ferguson, Charles A., ed. Language in the USA. Cambridge: Cambridge U Press, 1980.
Fischer, David Hackett. Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America.. NY: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Shipley, Joseph T. The Origins of English Words. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U Press, 1984.
Trudgill, Peter. On Dialect: Social and Geographical Perspectives. NY: NYU Press, 1983.

IV.SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS

[FINAL EXAM: scheduled for Monday, 15 December, at 7 p.m.]

V. EXPLANATION OF PAPER TOPIC ASSIGNMENTS

1. For the paper due on 5 September, state (either in your own words or in the words of an authority on English grammar) a grammatical rule that you believe to be important in the English language. Give an example or examples of ways in which the rule is commonly violated, and set forth (a) what you regard as the justification for the rule and (b) why violations of the rule are objectionable.

2. For the paper due on 10 October, write a critique of your prior paper on a grammatical rule, drawing on the knowledge and skills that you will have acquired in your study for the course.

3. For the paper due on 21 November, first select a word and then consult the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition) to get a general idea about its historical development. Consult other dictionaries as well, including the American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots (on reserve); and Shipley's entertaining treatment of word origins (also on reserve), if it is relevant for your purposes. Cite specific textual examples that may help to explain shifts in meaning or application. You may also find it useful to carry out some tests of oral usage: if so, explain your procedures.

4. For the paper due on 14 December (only in fulfillment of the requirements for the fourth hour of credit), consult the instructor about the topic in which you are interested. This consultation must have taken place no later than 1 November; and a written proposal must have been submitted no later than 12 November.