Dominique Scheffel-Dunand
dsdunand@yorku.ca

This course is an introduction to the linguistics of French and its variants in a Canadian context. As such, it provides a basic level of knowledge in preparation for linguistics courses at the 3000 and 4000 level. We will examine how French, and language in general, work and we will study the basic concepts of the different areas of linguistics:

• General theory of Linguistics
• Phonetics and phonology (study of sounds)
• Morphology (study of forms and grammatical categories)
• Lexicology (study of the organization and structure of words)
• Syntax (study of the structure of phrases) and semantics (study of meaning at the level of the phrase/statement)
• Semantics (Study of meanings: i.e. matters of sense and analysis of word meanings and relations between them)

The theoretical study of these concepts will be complemented by applied exercises and interactive discussions that will enable students to progressively develop a scientific and methodical approach towards language and develop their abilities in linguistic analysis. At the end of the course, students should have acquired a theoretical and practical knowledge of the principal linguistic concepts and should thus be ready to further develop their knowledge of French in 3000 and 4000-level courses.

Prerequisite course: AP/FR 1080 6.0

Léon, P. & Bhatt, P. (2017). Structure du français moderne. 5e édition. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.

6 tests: 60%
6 Interactive Q&A: 30%
Participation: 10%

The entire course, including the submission of assignments, participation, discussion and test-taking, will take place on the course’s eClass. Although we are scheduled to meet on campus at particular times and days of the week, this course encourages interactions with peers on eClass and Google drives. You can learn the course material by following the schedule of readings and activities described in the course plan and discuss learnings with instructors and peers in class settings.

1. Depth and breadth of knowledge
a. Students will develop an understanding of the difference between a descriptive perspective and a prescriptive viewpoint towards language;

b. Students will be able to identify, describe, explain, define, illustrate, compare and contrast, in written and oral formats, the linguistic particularities (phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, and semantic) ) of a small corpus of a variety of French such as Canadian French and compare them to the particularities of French from France;

2. Knowledge of methodologies
a. Students will be able to read, understand and summarize simple linguistic articles;

b. Students will be able to identify and classify examples of various linguistic features and link them to other linguistic or extra-linguistic phenomena;

3. Application of knowledge
Students will be able to apply the concepts they have learned to the analysis of small corpora;

4. Communication skills
Students will present the results of their analyses in oral and written work according to academic norms;

5. Awareness of limits of knowledge
Students will be able to identify problems of comprehension and communicate with their peers and with their instructor to resolve them;

6. Autonomy and professional capacity
For example, students could collaborate with each other in building a glossary of linguistic concepts that includes their definition and illustration

Why study Linguistics?

Linguistic helps us understand our world!

Every language illustrates unique conceptualizations and representations of the world and has its own holistic system of constructing words, phrases, sentences and meanings for communicating ideas and information. Because language captures how we perceive the world around us and how we relate to one another, it defines who we are as a person or as a culture.

You should take linguistics courses if you are interested in any of the following questions:

• what is the role of language in the human mind? what kind of mental representations underlie the knowledge of our native language? Second, Third language?
• what kinds of abstract or empirically testable representations allow us to model our knowledge of language?
• What are the similarities and differences attested across languages?
• How do languages change over time?
• How can linguistics be applied to language preservation and the documentation of endangered languages?
• How can linguistics assist learners to acquire a second or third language?

What career opportunities will I have with a Linguistics degree?

Linguistic courses develop valuable skills that are applicable to many jobs, including critical thinking, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, argumentation, and clarity of expression. Some jobs that more specifically use linguistics skills are the following:

• Work in education
• Teach French as a Second Language (FSL)
• Work as a translator or interpreter
• Work on language documentation or conduct fieldwork
• Work in the publishing industry, as a technical writer, or as a journalist
• Become a consultant on language in professions such as Law or Medicine
• Work for an advertising company
• Work for the government