DESCRIPTION

REQUIREMENTS

TEXTS

SCHEDULE

(To Subscribe, click here and on the top line of the message box type: subscribe hel01 Firstname Lastname [i.e., your first and last name]. Please use this method only if your browser is configured for your personal e-mail options! OR: click here to go to a web page that will prompt you for all this info. Click on the button marked LP1, and at the next screen provide the list name--hel01--and your name. You will then be prompted for your e-mail address at the next screen.) This syllabus is located online at:
http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/exper/mosser/classes/hel01/4054.html
It will be updated as warranted.

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Description

Ever wonder why many of our names for governmental and judicial activities are based on French borrowings (e.g., "impeach," "judge," "treason," "court," "state")? Or why the French use words like "le weekend," "le parking," or "nonstop"? Why we contract "We are not" but not "I am not"? Why we don't say "thou" but do say "y'all"? The answers to these and other questions lie in the history of the English language and its users, from the language's Germanic roots, through its origins in England, its spread throughout the Empire, and, finally, to its present-day status as a de facto "World Language."

Texts & Materials

• David Crystal. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN 0 521 59655 6

Online Text

• Daniel W. Mosser. The Evolution of Present-Day English
  

Other Resources

• "HEL" WWW Home Page: http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/hel/hel.html
• Oxford English Dictionary, online (internal--VIVA--users only)
• The Middle English Compendium (Middle English Dictionary, HyperBibliography of ME Prose and Verse, and and extensive collection of ME prose and verse texts). Virginia Tech access only: click here to access the Library's "M" database index page and scroll down the the Middle English Compendium.
• Hypertext Webster's Dictionary
• Online English Grammar
• Internet English Grammar
• Search Tools (including citation and formatting guides for research papers)
• Honor System
• Virginia Tech Library Catalogues
• Tutorial for honing your Web search skills

Requirements

*Graduate students will be asked to turn in a short (5-8 pp.) paper or some other work in addition to the above. (Talk to me about this)

*Small Group Work: we well break up into groups of 4-5 for work on exercises (handouts or overhead projections). At the end of the period, the group will turn in one set of responses (though dissenting members may turn in individual responses if that should become an issue). Normally, one grade (5 points possible) will be assigned to each member of the group based on the group's production. It is crucial that you be in class for these activities.

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English 4054 Schedule

Tuesday, January 16	Introduction to Course
Thursday, January 18	"The Human Language," Pt. 1 (Video 5408); Crystal, "Grammatical Mythology," pp. 190-197
Tuesday, January 23	"Brief Overview"; "case & inflections"; Crystal, pp. 198-205
Thursday, January 25	Small Group Ex. 1; Crystal, "The Sound System," pp. 236-241 (Vowels); "The Sound System," pp. 242 -247 (Consonants, Connected Speech)
Tuesday, January 30	Small Group Ex. 2
Thursday, February 1	"Indo-European and the Pre-History of English"; Video, "In Search of the First Language"
Tuesday, February 6	Take Quiz 1 before class; Crystal, pp. 6-23; "The Beginnings of English in England"
Thursday, February 8	"Outside Influences"; Crystal, pp. 24-29
Tuesday, February 13	Take Quiz 2 before class; OE cont. Small Group Ex. 3
Thursday, February 15	Crystal, pp. 30-45; "The Norman Conquest and Early Middle English"
Tuesday, February 20	Take Quiz 3 before class; Crystal, pp. 46-55; "Late Middle English"
Thursday, February 22	ME, cont.; Small Group Ex. 4; Discuss Projects
Tuesday, February 27	Video 1110, vol. 2.1: "A Muse of Fire" (Early Modern English); Crystal, pp, 56-69; "Early Modern English"
Thursday, March 1	Take Quiz 4 before class; EME, cont.
March 3-11	Spring Break
Tuesday, March 13	Crystal, pp. 70-77; "The Evolution of English Dictionaries"; Review for Midterm
Thursday, March 15	Midterm Exam
Tuesday, March 20	"The Development of English Grammars"; Crystal, pp. 78-79; 366-369
Thursday, March 22	Take Quiz 5 before class; Grammar & Dictionaries, cont.
Tuesday, March 27	"The American (English) Language"; Crystal, pp. 80-85; 92-97
Thursday, March 29	Crystal, pp. 298-311
Tuesday, April 3	Take Quiz 6 before class; Crystal, pp. 312-339; Video 1795: "American Tongues"; by midnight, e-mail me a proposal for your project
Thursday, April 5	Video 1110, vol. 3.1: "Black on White"
Tuesday, April 10	The "English Only Movement"; Crystal, pp. 115; video & audio recordings
Thursday, April 12	Small Group Ex. 5
Tuesday, April 17	Crystal, pp. 340-363
Thursday, April 19	Work on projects; "World Englishes"; Crystal pp. 106-114
Tuesday, April 24	Projects Due; Video 1110, The Story of English, vol. 5: "The Empire Strikes Back" (not that one), a.k.a."Next Year's Words; "What Global Language?" The Atlantic Monthly Volume 286, No. 5 (November 2000): 52-66.
Thursday, April 26	Review for Final Exam
Tuesday, May 1	Classes End
Wednesday, May 9 10:05AM-12:05 PM	Final Exam

The quizzes for this class are "Whiz Quizzes," which you will take online. The threshhold is set to 80%, meaning that no grades below that are reported and once you have achieved at least that score, whatever you achieve (80% or better) is recorded as your grade. Quizzes are worth a maximum of 5 points each. Any quizzes taken after the class period on the day the quiz is due will receive no higher than half credit. [back]