Title: STRUCTURE OF MODERN ENGLISH

PRQ:

In this class we will examine the structure (grammar) of English and attempt to determine and understand some of its governing principles. The course is divided into four parts: a short prefatory section placing Modern English into historical and contemporary perspective among languages of the world, a section on words and their grammar (morphology), another on sentences and their grammar (syntax), and the last on sounds and their grammar (phonology). In morphology we will investigate the principles governing words and word-formation in modern English; in syntax we will consider the basic sentence patterns of English and the rules which underlie their construction and transformation; and in phonology we will investigate the sounds and sound patterns of English and how they function within the larger language system. The emphasis throughout the course is on modern approaches to the study of English grammar; however (where appropriate) reference will be made to earlier methods of analysis, particularly traditional and structural grammar.

Class attendance is expected. There will be a number of short tests, emphasizing your ability to do grammar, to analyze grammatical data rather than recall by rote. There is no term paper.

TBA