Students

LING1111 – Language: Its Structure and Use

2020 – Session 2, Special circumstance

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Iain Giblin
Co-convenor
Loes Koring
Administration
Margaret Wood
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit examines how languages are structured and how people use language. Aspects of linguistic theory covered include study of sounds and sound systems (phonetics and phonology), the structure of words (morphology), and sentence patterns (syntax). Linguistic theory is presented with a focus on English, but students analyse data from a range of the world's languages. Other areas of linguistic study that are introduced include semantics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, and child language acquisition. Language use in everyday conversation is examined, along with issues such as language change, standardisation of language, concepts of linguistic 'correctness', and how different groups use language to express social and cultural identity. The unit provides a thorough grounding for students wishing to further their knowledge of linguistics in higher-level units.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: analyse linguistic data by using several significant linguistic theories.
  • ULO2: Demonstrate understanding of core areas of linguistics: syntax, phonetics/phonology, morphology, semantics, sociolinguistics.
  • ULO3: Analyse structural units of language relevant to the various levels of linguistic organisation. These analyses will include tasks in phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
  • ULO4: Use linguistic theory to engage with primary language data.
  • ULO5: Identify relationships between language and social life.
  • ULO6: Recognise the role of experimental design in linguistics by participating in a departmental research project.

General Assessment Information

To gain a Pass grade in LING1111 students must:

  • Sit the final exam, and
  • Gain an overall mark of 50%

Assessment Submission

Assessments are to be submitted electronically via the LING1111 iLearn page unless otherwise advised.

Instructions for submitting assessments via Turnitin are available here:

http://www.mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/assignments.htm

When submitting your assessments please ensure that you do the following:

  • Please add a header to each page with your name, your student number, and the assessment name. For example: Iain Smith   40237187   Syntax Part A
  • Please number all pages
  • Please use double line spacing
  • If you have special consideration ensure that you include it in your assessment submission so that your assessment will avoid a late penalty
  • If the submission link rejects your assessment because there is no detectable text, include some detectable text (like a title page) and resubmit. Don't email your assessment to your tutor or the unit convenor.

Late Submissions

  • Late submissions without an extension will receive a penalty of 3% of the total mark available for the assessment task per day including weekend days (i.e. this is 3% of the total marks possible for the task – NOT 3% of the marks the student received. For example, if the assessment task is worth 100 marks and the student is two days late their mark for the task is reduced by 6 marks.)
  • Late submission of an assessment task without an extension will not be accepted at all after the date on which marked assessment tasks have been released to the rest of the class. Any student with unsubmitted work at this date will receive a mark of 0 for the assessment task.
  • Extensions will only be given in special circumstances, and can be requested by completing the Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au and providing the requisite supporting documentation.
  • Extensions that will result in submissions after the assessment task has been returned to the class will require a separate assessment task to be completed at the unit convenor's discretion.
  • For more information on Special Consideration, see the university website https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration\
  • If a student fails the unit due to non-submission of an assignment or non-attendance at an exam, an FA grade will be applied in accordance with the University's Assessment Policy.
  • Unit convenors have the discretion to determine whether or not students should fail a unit on the basis of lateness penalties alone if other learning outcomes of the unit have been met.

Extensions Policy

Extensions are only granted on grounds of serious and unavoidable disruption, and appropriate documentation must be submitted. Assessments submitted after the due date, regardless of the reason, will be marked and returned by the unit convenor.

Extensions cannot continue beyond the start of the following semester, and students should be aware that long extensions may impact graduation dates.

Requests for an extension can be made by applying for Special Consideration. Special Consideration is intended for students who are prevented by serious and unavoidable disruption from completing any unit requirements to their usual demonstrated performance level (see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration). You can apply for Special Consideration via AskMQ http://ask.mq.edu.au/

Note that your request for Special Consideration should be submitted within five (5) working days of the disruption beginning. 

Please note that submitting a request for Special Consideration does not guarantee an extension, and you should consider carefully before making a notification. As a university student, you are expected to plan your time so that all assessments can be submitted in a timely manner. A request for Special Consideration is for serious and unavoidable disruption, not for poor time management.

Requests for for an extension made within one week of the due date, or after the due date will only be granted if warranted by the circumstances and supported by appropriate documentation (see link above).

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Phonemic Transcription Task 10% No 21/08/2020
Phonological Analysis Task 10% No 04/09/2020
Morphological Analysis Task 15% No 02/10/2020
Syntactic Analysis Task 20% No Part 1 Due 16/10/2020; Part 2 Due 30/10/2020
Final Exam 40% No Exam Period
Research Participation 5% No 06/11/2020

Phonemic Transcription Task

Assessment Type 1: Problem set
Indicative Time on Task 2: 6 hours
Due: 21/08/2020
Weighting: 10%

This task will involve the phonemic transcription of a short series of sound files. 100 words (approx)


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse linguistic data by using several significant linguistic theories.
  • Demonstrate understanding of core areas of linguistics: syntax, phonetics/phonology, morphology, semantics, sociolinguistics.
  • Analyse structural units of language relevant to the various levels of linguistic organisation. These analyses will include tasks in phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
  • Use linguistic theory to engage with primary language data.

Phonological Analysis Task

Assessment Type 1: Problem set
Indicative Time on Task 2: 8 hours
Due: 04/09/2020
Weighting: 10%

This task will involve the analysis of a small set of data and produce appropriate phonological rules. 500 words (approx)


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse linguistic data by using several significant linguistic theories.
  • Demonstrate understanding of core areas of linguistics: syntax, phonetics/phonology, morphology, semantics, sociolinguistics.
  • Analyse structural units of language relevant to the various levels of linguistic organisation. These analyses will include tasks in phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
  • Use linguistic theory to engage with primary language data.

Morphological Analysis Task

Assessment Type 1: Problem set
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 02/10/2020
Weighting: 15%

This task will involve the analysis of a small set of data and produce appropriate morphological representations of their structure. 500 words (approx)


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse linguistic data by using several significant linguistic theories.
  • Demonstrate understanding of core areas of linguistics: syntax, phonetics/phonology, morphology, semantics, sociolinguistics.
  • Analyse structural units of language relevant to the various levels of linguistic organisation. These analyses will include tasks in phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
  • Use linguistic theory to engage with primary language data.

Syntactic Analysis Task

Assessment Type 1: Problem set
Indicative Time on Task 2: 13 hours
Due: Part 1 Due 16/10/2020; Part 2 Due 30/10/2020
Weighting: 20%

This task will require rudimentary syntactic analysis using the concepts and analytical techniques provided in the lectures and tutorials. 500 words (approx)


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse linguistic data by using several significant linguistic theories.
  • Demonstrate understanding of core areas of linguistics: syntax, phonetics/phonology, morphology, semantics, sociolinguistics.
  • Analyse structural units of language relevant to the various levels of linguistic organisation. These analyses will include tasks in phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
  • Use linguistic theory to engage with primary language data.

Final Exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Exam Period
Weighting: 40%

This task is a formal examination held during the University exam period. It will consist of a range of short answer questions, all based on content from the set textbook, lectures and tutorials.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse linguistic data by using several significant linguistic theories.
  • Demonstrate understanding of core areas of linguistics: syntax, phonetics/phonology, morphology, semantics, sociolinguistics.
  • Analyse structural units of language relevant to the various levels of linguistic organisation. These analyses will include tasks in phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
  • Use linguistic theory to engage with primary language data.
  • Identify relationships between language and social life.
  • Recognise the role of experimental design in linguistics by participating in a departmental research project.

Research Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 2 hours
Due: 06/11/2020
Weighting: 5%

Students will have the chance to be participants in research being carried out by Linguistics staff and higher degree candidates, receiving 5% raw marks for that participation. There will be various research projects to choose from; these will be advertised on iLearn during the semester. For students who do not wish to participate in this research, there will be a short alternative task set at the end of semester. The assessment must be completed by the end of Week 13. Tasks will vary. Alternative task 300 words (approx)


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify relationships between language and social life.
  • Recognise the role of experimental design in linguistics by participating in a departmental research project.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Please note that tutorials begin in Week 2.

The learning and teaching strategies used in this Unit include lectures taught by a number of different staff members from linguistics.

  • There is a set textbook: An introduction to Language, Australia and New Zealand 9th Edition, 2018, by Fromkin, Rodman, Hyams, Amberber, Cox, and Thornton. Please note that the 9th edition of the unit text book has had significant updates, and previous editions will not be reliable substitutes.  
  • It is essential that students have access to a copy of the textbook through the semester. 
  • Lecture support material, assessment task instructions, and other relevant materials are uploaded to the LING1111 iLearn site. Lecture slides may be made available, although there is no guarantee that they will be available before lectures.  
  • The lectures are recorded, which makes lectures available to students who are unable to attend classes. However, attendance at lectures will be an advantage.  
  • Students are expected to attend or listen to all of the lectures in the order they are delivered, as near as possible to when they are delivered. In addition, they are advised to use the recordings to review or revise lectures, especially as the exams draw near.  
  • Note that in this unit much of the lecture material and related learning experience is cumulative, meaning that within the various topic areas one lecture will usually provide necessary knowledge for the next one, as well as for the following week’s tutorial.  
  • In addition, the tutorial material is designed for students to practice progressively what has been covered in lectures in the previous week or weeks, so students who do not keep up to date with the lecture material will find themselves at a serious disadvantage in tutorials during the semester.  
  • Each week students are expected to study the lecture notes, and come to their tutorial class having read the relevant section in the textbook and having attempted the tutorial preparation as set out each week in the tutorial worksheets posted online. Tutors will check each week that students have at least made a serious attempt at the tutorial preparation as set out in the worksheets.

Unit Schedule

Please see schedule posted on the iLearn site.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.