Linguistics Syllabus course is designed to provide students with understanding and knowledge of the fundamental principles of general linguistics.
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Grade Xl
Paper 1: General Linguistics
Full Marks: 100
Teaching Hours: 150
1. Introduction
Linguistics Syllabus course is designed to provide students with understanding and knowledge of the fundamental principles of general linguistics. It deals with the sound structure, morphological structure, sentence structure, semantic structure, pragmatic structure as well as the evolution of language.
2. General Objectives
On completion of Linguistics Syllabus course, the students will be able to understand the basic structure of language at various levels: phonological, morphological syntactic, semantic, pragmatic as well as the historical aspects of language.
3. Specific Objective
Upon completion of the Linguistics Syllabus course, the students will be able to:
a) express the nature and structure of language;
b) discuss the aims and scope of linguistics:
c) describe the sound structures of language;
d) analyze how words are formed:
e) explain the organization of words in a sentence:
f) analyze the role of linguistic and extralinguistic factors interpreting meaning in language:
g) describe and explain language change and
h) discuss the development of linguistics as a discipline.
4. Course Scheme
Unit Course Topics Teaching hours
Unit 1 Language a1and Linguistics 15
Unit 2 Phonetics and Phonology 25
Unit 3 Morphology 25
Unit 4 Syntax 25
Unit 5 Semantics and Pragmatics 25
Unit 6 Historical Linguistics 15
Unit 6 Historical Linguistics 15
Unit 7 History of Linguistics 20
Total 150
5. Course Contents
Unit 1: Language and Linguistics (15 Teaching hrs)
1.1 Why study language?
1.1 Why study language?
1.2 Definition of language
1.3 Characteristics of human language and animal communication
1.4 Levels of language: phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic
1.5. Definition of Linguistics: the scientific study of language
1.6 Branches of Linguistics
1.6.1 Theoretical Linguistics
1.6.2 Applied Linguistics
1.6.3 Synchronic and diachronic linguistics
1.6.4 Psycholinguistics
1.6.5 Sociolinguists
1.7 Basic assumptions about language and modern linguistics
1. 7.1 All languages have a grammar
1. 7.2 All languages and grammars are equal
1. 7.3 Grammars are alike in basic ways
1. 7.4 Speech is primary and writing secondary
1. 7.5 Linguistics is descriptive, not prescriptive
1. 7.6 Change is natural for a language
Unit II: Phonetics and Phonology (25 Teaching hrs)
2.1 Definition of phonetics
2.2 Branches of phonetics
2.2.1 Articulatory phonetics
2.2.2 Auditory phonetics
2.2.3 Acoustic phonetics
2.3 Production of speech
2.4 Description and classification of sounds: vowels, consonants, semi-vowels and diphthongs
2.5 Syllable and syllable structure
2.6 Stress
2. 7 Tone and intonation
2.8 Definition of Phonology, Phonology versus phonetics
2.9 Phones, phonemes and allophones
2.10 General introduction to IPA chart
Unit III: Morphology (25 Teaching hrs)
3.1 Definition of the word
3 .2. Morphology: the study of word
3.3 Word structure: root, stem, and affix
3.4 Morphs, morpheme and allomorph
3.5 Types of morphemes: free and bound
3.6 Types of affix: (a) Prefix, infix, suffix, and suprafix
3.7 Types of affix: (b) Inflectional and derivational
3.8 Major processes of word formation:
(a) Affixation
(b) Reduplication
(c)Compounding
(d) Shortening
(e) Blending
(f) Borrowing
(g) Acronyms
(h) Coinage (i) Back-formation
(a) Affixation
(b) Reduplication
(c)Compounding
(d) Shortening
(e) Blending
(f) Borrowing
(g) Acronyms
(h) Coinage (i) Back-formation
3.9 Major morphophonemic processes
Unit IV: Syntax (25 Teaching hours)
4.1 Syntax: the study of sentence structure
4.2. Syntactic categories
4.2.1 Criteria for identifying syntactic categories: meaning, inflection, and distribution
4.2.2. Types of syntactic categories
(i) Word-level categories such as lexical categories: noun, verb, adjective, adposition, adverb and non-lexical categories such as a determiner, degree word, qualifier, auxiliary, and conjunction.
(ii) Phrase-level categories: noun phrase, verb phrase, adjective phrase, adpositional phrase, adverbial phrase.
4.3 Basic sentence patterns and transformations (question, passive, negation)
4.4 Subordination and transformations (complementation, relativization, adverbial clauses).
4.5. Coordination
4.6 Grammatical functions: subject, object (direct and indirect), complement, adjunct (manner, time, place)
Unit V: Semantics and Pragmatics ( 25 Teaching hrs)
5.1 Definition of semantics
5.2 Semantic relations among words
5.2.l Synonymy
5.2.2 Antonymy
5.2.3 Hyponymy
5.2.4 Homonymy, homography and homophony
5.2.5 Polysemy
5.3 Semantic relation involving sentences
5.3.1 Paraphrase
5. 3 .1 Entailment
5.3.3 Contradiction
5.4 Types of meaning
5.4.1 Lexical
5.4.2 Grammatical
5 .4.3 Contextual
5.5 Thematic roles: agent, instrument, experiencer source, location, possessor, patient/object, benefactive
5.6 Pragmatics: the study of meaning in the context
5.7 Presupposition
5.8 Context
5. 8.1 Setting (physical context) 5.8.2. Discourse
(a) Old and new information
(b) Topic and comment
5.9 Meaning and discourse
5.9.1 Cohesion
5.9.2 Coherence
5. 9.3 Discourse strategies
Unit Vl: Historical Linguistics: The study of language change
(15 Teaching hrs)
6.1 Historical linguistics: The study of language change
6.2 Nature of language change
6.3 Different types of language change
6.3 .1 Sound change
6.3 .2 Morphological change
6.3 .3 Syntactic change
6.3 .4 Lexical and semantic change
6.4 Introduction to the classification of languages
6.4. l Genetic classification
6.4 .2 Typological classification
6.4.3 Areal classification
Unit VII: History of Linguistics (20 Teaching hrs)
7.1 Sanskrit Tradition and Contribution of Sanskrit Grammarians: Pratishakhya, Yaska, Panini and Bharttihari
7.2 Contribution of Greeks and Romans
7.3 19th Century Historical-Comparative Linguistics
7.4 Modem Linguistics: contribution of Saussure, Bloomfield, Halliday and Chomsky 7.5 Development of Linguistics in Nepal: Contribution of native and foreign linguists.
6. Textbook (to be prepared by a team of linguists)
7. Evaluation Scheme
7.1 There will be a question paper carrying 100 marks for the 3-hour duration to evaluate the knowledge of the students.
7.2 Questions will be structured as follows:
(a) Long answer to 4 questions:
(a) Long answer to 4 questions:
(b) Short answer to 2 out of 3 questions:
(c) Short notes to 4 out of 6 questions: and
(d) Question number 7 is compulsory. Students are required to attempt other4 questions.
7.3 Questions can be set from all the units of the course as follows:
|
Unit No
|
Teaching hours
|
Topics
|
Long
Questions
(20)
|
Short
Questions
(10)
|
Short Notes
(5)
|
|
|
1
|
15
|
Languages linguistics
|
and
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
2
|
25
|
Phonetics phonology
|
and
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
3
|
25
|
Morphology
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
4
|
25
|
Syntax
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
5
|
25
|
Semantics pragmatics
|
and
|
–
|
1
|
1
|
|
6
|
15
|
Historical linguistics
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
7
|
20
|
History
Linguistics
|
of
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
8. Reference Books
Bandu, C.M. 2053 VS. Bhasha Vigyan Kathmandu: Sajha Prakashan.
Kansakar, TR. 1998, A Course in English Phonetics. Delhi: Macmillan.
Pokharel, M.P. 2064, Nepali Dhoni Vynjana ra Nepal ko Bhasa ka Dhoni Parichaya, Kathmandu: Bhuripuran Prakashan.
Syal, P. & D.V. Jindal. 1998. An introduction to Linguistics: Language, Grammar and Semantics. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall oflnclia.
Yadava. YP. 2000. Linguistics: A Basic Course. Kirtipur: New Hira Books.
Yadava, Y.P. and B.N. Regmi. 2004. Bhasha Vigyan. Kathmandu: New Heera Books. Yule. G. 1996. The study of Language, Cambridge University Press.
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