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ENGL 4054 |
Index# 2282 |
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Office Hours: 10-11:30 AM T TH & by appt. |
Office: Williams 216 |
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(540) 231-7797 |
Class time: 12:30-1:45 T-TH |
Classroom: Williams 310 |
(To Subscribe, click here and on the top line of the message box type: subscribe hel99 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!)This syllabus is located online at:
http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/exper/mosser/classes/hel99/4054.html
It will be updated as warranted.
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."
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Small Group Work (five, 2 points each) |
10% |
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Exams (four, 15 points each) |
60% |
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20% |
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20% |
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Tuesday, January 19 |
Introduction to course |
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Thursday, January 21 |
"The Human Language," Pt. 1 (Video 5408) |
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Tuesday, January 26 |
Origins, Ch. 1, "Language & Languages" |
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Thursday, January 28 |
Ch. 1, cont.; small group work |
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Tuesday, February 2 |
Origins, Ch. 2, "Sounds..." |
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Thursday, February 4 |
Phonology/Phonetics, cont.; small group work |
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Tuesday, February 9 |
Origins, Ch. 3, "Letters & Sounds" |
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Thursday, February 11 |
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Tuesday, February 16 |
The Pre-History: Video, "In Search of the First Language"; Origins, Ch. 4, "Backgrounds of English" |
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Thursday, February 18 |
Origins, Ch. 5, "Old English" |
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Tuesday, February 23 |
Old English, cont. |
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Thursday, February 25 |
"Jorvik" (Video 578, 26 mins.); Old English, cont. |
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Tuesday, March 2 |
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Thursday, March 4 |
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Tuesday, March 16 |
Origins, Ch. 6, "Middle English" |
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Thursday, March 18 |
Middle English, cont. |
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Tuesday, March 23 |
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Thursday, March 25 |
Discuss Small group work and review for Test 3 |
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Tuesday, March 30 |
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Thursday, April 1 |
Video 1110, vol. 2.1: "A Muse of Fire" (Early Modern English); Origins, Ch. 7, "Modern English to 1800: Sounds & Spellings" |
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Tuesday, April 6 |
Modern English, cont.; small group work |
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Thursday, April 8 |
Origins, Ch. 8, "Modern English to 1800: Forms & Syntax" |
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Tuesday, April 13 |
Video 1110, vol. 2.2: "The Guid Scots Tongue" |
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Thursday, April 15 |
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Tuesday, April 20 |
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Thursday, April 22 |
Origins, Ch. 9, "Recent British and American English"; Video 1795: "American Tongues" |
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Tuesday, April 27 |
Video 1110, vol. 3.1: "Black on White" |
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Thursday, April 29 |
Projects Due; Video 1110, vol. 5: "The Empire Strikes Back" |
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Tuesday, May 4 |
Last Day of Classes; evaluations; final exam info |
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Tuesday, May 11, 7:45-9:45 AM |
Final Exam |
Okay. This adds up to 110. What I will do at the end is compute the equivalent value for your total out of 110 on a 100-point scale. So, for example, if your total at the end of the semester is 105, I would make the following calculation: 105:110=X:100 solves X=95.46. In my database, I have created a formula that divides the pre-total by 1.1, achieving the same result; if you see anything inherently erroneous about this, please let me know. [back]
