 |
University of the South Pacific
Pacific Languages Unit PMB 072 Port Vila, Vanuatu. Ph: (678) 22748 ; Fax (678) 22633 ; www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/homepage.htm |
Course
No.: LLF21 Course
Title: Communication and Language
Semesters
1 and 2, Pacific Languages Unit, by Extension
Prerequisites: Open to any student eligible to take
Foundation-level courses
The
aim of this course is to give students an overview of the basic nature of
communication and of language as the primary means by which human beings
communication. It will make students
more aware of just what communication is, what language is, and how language
works. In addition, the course focuses
on the languages of the Pacific today, and discusses some of the more important
issues relating to communication within this region. At the same time, this course aims to make
students aware of some of their own prejudices and biases concerning language
generally, and the languages of this region in particular, and to become
sensitive to the need to question many traditionally held views about their own
languages.
ASSESSMENT Assignments 50%
Final
examination 50%
REQUIRED TEXT Course reader
Course
No.: LL122 Course Title: Introduction
to Language Studies
Semester
1 (on campus), Semester 1 and 2 by Extension
Prerequisites: Open to any student in the University
eligible to take 100-level courses.
Contact
hours per week: 4
This
course introduces students to the study of language as a social and
intellectual phenomenon. The first
section of the course deals with the structure of language, using examples from
both English and Pacific languages; students will be introduced to core
concepts in phonology, morphology and syntax, as well as to the relationship
between spoken and written language.
The
remaining two sections of the course cover the interrelationships between
language and society and between language and culture. Major topics covered in this part of the
course includes styles, dialects, language and culture. Major topics covered in this part of the
course include styles, dialects, language and identity, language and world
view, languages in contact, and translation.
ASSESSMENT
Course
work 50%
Final
examination 50%
REQUIRED
TEXTS
David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. 2nd Edition.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997.
LL122: Introduction to Languages Studies—Reader. Suva:
USP, 1993
Course
No.: LL124 Course Title: The
Structure of Language
Semester
2 (by Extension; on campus: subject to availability)
Prerequisite: LL122
This
course is an introduction to descriptive linguistics in a Pacific context. It includes a brief introduction to phonetics
and syntax, and a more comprehensive coverage of phonology, morphology and
morphophonemics. As well as providing a general
theoretical introduction to the structure of language, the course gives
students practical experience in the analysis of linguistic data and the
presentation of those analyses. With its
concentration of languages of the Pacific, the course also gives students an
awareness of the structure of languages of this region.
ASSESSMENT
Course
work 50%
Final
examination 50%
REQUIRED
TEXT
Crowley, T et.
al. The
Design of Language. New
Zealand: Longman Paul, 1995
Course
No.: LL214 Course Title: Applied
Phonetics and Phonology
Semester
1 (by Extension only)
Prerequisite: LL124 (or LL122, if completed before 1993)
Phonetics
and phonology are concerned with speech—with the ways in which humans produce
and hear speech. The aims of this course
are to provide an introduction to and an overview of the different perspectives
in the study of sound production and perception.
The
course begins with an overview of articulatory phonetics (the study of the
articulation and the description of speech sounds). This section will be concerned with the
anatomy and physiology of speech production as well as the identification,
transcription and production of both familiar and exotic sounds. The course will then move on to an overview
of phonology (the ways in which sounds are organised and function in different
languages). The final component will
deal with the acquisition of a second/foreign language sound system, the
limitations of achieving phonetic accuracy, and its associate social and
pedagogical implications.
ASSESSMENT Course work 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXT
Catford, J. C. A
Practical Introduction to Phonetics.
Oxford: Clarendon, 1988.
LL214:
Applied Phonetics and Phonology.
Suva: USP, 1994.
Course
No.: LL221 Course Title: Language
Issues in the Pacific
Semester
1 (by Extension only)
Prerequisites: any 100-level Linguistics course
This
course introduces students to the diversity of
language problems faced by the different Pacific nations, and provides
them with information and skills which will help them recognise problems and
suggest solutions in their own countries.
Topics covered include language use in the Pacific, language policy and
planning, language and education, language and the mass media, and the
development of technical vocabulary in a language. Attention will be given to the roles of
English and French, as well as lingua francas and vernaculars, in the Pacific.
ASSESSMENT Course Work 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXT
Richard
Baldauf & Allan Luke. Language Planning and Education in Australasia
and the South Pacific.
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters,
1990.
Course
No.: LL222 Course Title: The
Languages of the Pacific
Semester
2 (by Extension only)
Prerequisite: LL124 (or having completed LL122 before 1993)
This
course introduces students to the basic phonological and morphosyntactic
structures of the languages of the Pacific.
It also examines the history of the languages, as far as linguists have
been able to reconstruct this, and the relationship between these languages and
the social and cultural contexts in which they are spoken. Although special emphasis is placed on the
languages spoken within the USP region, the nature and history of other Pacific
languages (including those spoken in Australia and the New Guinea area) will
also be examined.
ASSESSMENT Course Work 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXT
John Lynch. Pacific
Languages: An Introduction. Honolulu:
University of Hawai’i Press, 1998.
Course
No.: LL226 Course Title: Pacific
Language Case Studies
Summer
School only
Prerequisite: LL122
This
course will guide students in developing a knowledge and understanding of the
sound system and grammatical structure of the language or languages under study
(e.g. Bislama, Fijian, Kiribati, Tongan).
The actual languages or language will vary from time to time depending
on student demand and staff availability; and the actual topics covered with
vary from language to language, according to the nature of the language and availability
of materials.
ASSESSMENT Course work 60%
Final
examination 40%
Course No.: LL321 Course Title: Translation
Semester
2 (by Extension only).
Prerequisite: LL222 or LL224 or LL225 or LL211
This
course gives an in-depth coverage of the theory, principles and practice of
translation. It teaches the skills
necessary for the successful transfer of a text written in a source language to
a clear, natural and faithful equivalent in a target language, but focuses
particularly on Pacific languages.
Particular problems involved in transferring information between Pacific
and metropolitan languages (mainly English) are examined in some detail, and
there is a strong emphasis on practical work throughout the course. New original literature in Pacific languages
is always needed, but there is also room for the translation of literary and
other material within Pacific traditions, and between Pacific and outside
literatures. This course will assist
Pacific writers, students of literature, and those involved in the production
of texts in Pacific languages to branch out into the challenging field of
translation.
ASSESSMENT Course work 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXTS Course book and Reader.
Course No.: LL322
Course Title: Dictionary-Making
Semester
1 start for 30-week course (by Extension only)
Prerequisites: LL124 plus one 200-level course in Language
or Literature
This
course presents an overview of the functions and roles of dictionaries as well
as introducing students to the art and skills involved in writing a
dictionary. The overall objective of the
course is to guide students into writing a dictionary of a language spoken in
the Pacific region: a dictionary of
their own language, dialect, or of a semantic field in their language. As the course progresses, students will
become more aware of usage and meanings in their language.
The
30-week course contains four sections, with eight units in Section one and six
in each of the other three sections.
There are also Readings and Activity exercises in most Units. A major part of the course will be a
Dictionary Project where students can apply the skills they learn in each
Unit. Students will also need to keep a
Notebook wherein they record information or notes about their language to enter
into their dictionary later.
ASSESSMENT Course work 60% (includes a Dictionary
Project for 40%)
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXTS Course books and Reader.
Access
to a dictionary of the chosen language is recommended.
Course
No.: LL323 Course
Title: Comparative Linguistics
Semester
2 (by Extension only)
Prerequisite: LL222 or LL224 or LL225
In this course, students will be
introduced to the concept of the genetic relationship amongst languages,
language typology, the comparative method, lexicostatistics, linguistic
subgrouping, reconstruction of proto-languages, and historical inference. While the techniques will be general, the
application of these techniques to the languages of the Pacific will be a
feature of this course.
ASSESSMENT Course work 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXT Terry Crowley. Introduction
to Historical Linguistics. 3rd
edition. Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Course No.: LL324 Course Title: Selected
Topics in Pacific Languages
Semester
1 and 2 (by Extension only)
Prerequisite: Restricted entry, at the discretion of the
Director of the Pacific Languages Unit.
This
course is available to advanced students in Pacific Language Studies who wish
to study in depth aspects of the discipline that are not covered in the regular
programme. Topics covered may, from time
to time, include syntactic theory, advanced studies of the structure of a
Pacific language, pidgins and creoles, Pacific linguistic history, alphabet design
and literacy, or advanced training in translation. Study will normally be by means of guided
readings and regular consultations.
ASSESSMENT Course work 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXTS To be determined.
Course
No.:
LL412 Course Title: Psycholinguistics
Semester:
to be arranged
Prerequisites: Postgraduate entry in Linguistics
Contact
hours per week: 4
This
course is designed to give students a knowledge of the principal concerns of
Psycholinguistics: the study of the
mental mechanisms that are involved in the use of language and in first- and
second-language acquisition. Its
findings are potentially of relevance to applied branches of linguistics. The course will concentrate on developing a
broadly-based understanding of current knowledge and theorising. Generally two meetings each week will be
given over to lectures and discussion of reading. A programme of data gathering and analysis,
in some of the following areas, will be the focus of the other two weekly
meetings: child language, second language acquisition, language pathology,
experimentation.
ASSESSMENT Course work 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED
TEXT Altmann,
G T M The ascent of Babel: an
exploration in language mind, and understanding. Oxford University Press, 1997.
Course No.: LL413 Course Title: Sociolinguistics
Semester:
to be arranged
Prerequisites: Postgraduate entry in Linguistics.
Contact
hours per week: 4
The
course involves a detailed study of selected topics in micro- and
macro-sociolinguistics. The course examines the complex relationship of
language to such social factors as age, gender, ethnicity and social class.
Topics of direct relevance to the South Pacific such as language choice in
bilingual or multilingual societies, language planning and attitudes are
studied in depth and students are required to undertake a research project in
one of these areas.
ASSESSMENT Assignments 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXT R. Fasold. The
Sociolinguistics of Society.
Oxford: Blackwell, 1984.
R.
Fasold. The Sociolinguistics of Language.
Oxford: Blackwell, 1990.
Course No.: LL414 Course Title: Research
Methods for Linguistics
Semester:
to be arranged
Prerequisites: Postgraduate entry in Linguistics
Contact
hours per week: 4
This
course provides training in research design, data gathering and analysis
methods for linguistics and applied linguistics. The topics are selected from
quantitative and qualitative approaches, including field methods, text
analysis, surveys and corpus research.
Emphases may vary from year to year depending on the research interests
of the students and the lecturer(s).
There will be an intensive programme of exercises, practice in project
design and preparation of research proposals, as well as methodological
analysis and critique of published studies.
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT 100%
REQUIRED
TEXT To
be determined
Course No.: LL415 Course Title: Special
Topics in Linguistics
Semester:
to be arranged
Prerequisites: Postgraduate entry in Linguistics.
Contact
hours per week: 4
This
course is designed to provide a measure of flexibility in the programme, so
that particular topics can be tailored to the interest of students, with a view
also to preparing those who will continue beyond the Postgraduate Diploma to
thesis research.
Topics
may include the teaching of English as a second language, language planning and
language policy, issues in a selected language.
ASSESSMENT Assignments 60%
Final
examination 40%
REQUIRED TEXTS To
be determined.