Grammatical structures (codi UAB 100228: Introduction to linguistics)

A background course where you will learn the basics of grammatical theory.

Contents

1.  Introduction. Diversity and universality. Grammaticality and acceptability. Biological aspects of human language. Origins. Acquisition. Universal grammar and particular grammar.

2.  The structure of language

2.1 Morphology. The units of morphological analysis. Allomorphy, portmanteau morphemes, zero morphemes. Morphological typology: non-concatenative and concatenative morphology. 
2.2. Syntax. Compositionality. Thematic roles, grammatical functions and Case marking. Word order and informational structure. Syntactic structure as hierarchical structure. Phrase structure diagnostics. The structure of the clause: T and C. Syntactic dependencies. 
2.3. Phonology. The articulatory characterisation of the sounds of language. The units of phonological analysis. Phonological feature and natural classes. Phonological processes. Beyond classical generative phonology: syllables, tone.

Methodology

The course will be based on problem resolution and other kinds of teaching activities.

Asessment

The evaluation will be continuous and the final mark will be determined by the evaluation of two exercises, to be delivered as established by the lecturer, and the results of a written exam, taken at the end of the course. The minimum score to pass the course is a 5. Students will be informed as to the date and procedure of exam and written work revisions. In accordance with the requirements of the Comissió de Docència of March 13th, 2015, only students with a mark between 3. and 4.9 can opt to reevaluation, and the final mark cannot exceed a 5. The student is eligible for reevaluation if s/he has taken the final written exam and one of the exercises. Both the written exam and the exercise representing 40% of the mark can be retaken. In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero Any written work involving plagirism will get a zero. Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.

The detailed calendar of the course will be given on the first class, and will also be made available through the Campus Virtual. In case of change in the teaching modality due to health issues, the lecturer will inform the students of the new methods and schedule. In case the written tests cannot be carried out in person, but virtually, the weight of each item will remain unchanged, and the lecturer will inform the students about the changes. On-line teaching may be adopted through the UAB facilities (teams, wiki, forum) and access by all students will be ensured.