Syllabus : Fall 2015

Ling 115
Writing Systems

This page describes the requirements and other details for Linguistics 115: Writing Systems at the University of Pennsylvania. The course has no prerequisites, and satisfies the General Requirement in History and Tradition (Sector II).

If you are interested in more information about the course, see the course description and course schedule. Specific questions should be directed to Prof. Gene Buckley. See also other courses in linguistics.

Meetings

Lectures

Monday and Wednesday 11–12
Towne 311

Recitation 201

Friday 10–11
DRL 3C6

Recitation 202

Friday 11–12
DRL 3C6

Contact Information

Professor
Gene Buckley

Office
Phone
Office Hours
Email

606 Williams Hall
215-898-2834
Monday 2–4

T.A.
David Wilson

Office
Phone
Office Hours
Email

402 Williams Hall
215-898-8433
Tuesday 3–5
Readings

There is one required textbook, which has been ordered at the Penn Book Center (corner of 34th and Sansom Streets). It emphasizes the general historical background and basic properties of scripts, so you should find it a good place to start before studying the more detailed lecture notes and the online readings.

There is also an optional book, which is similar to the content of the online lecture notes but which students with a more linguistic orientation may find interesting. It was not ordered at the bookstore but you can get it at places like Amazon (where it has the Search Inside feature).

Finally, there are required online readings that go into more detail about specific systems or historical context. Links to the readings are given each week on the course schedule page.

Requirements

You are expected to do the assigned readings and regularly attend lectures and recitations, since these are necessary for you to understand the material tested by written work. Don't assume that you can read the lecture notes on your own and gain the same benefit of hearing the explanations in class and then reviewing the notes later — especially when it comes to interpretation of phonetic and other symbols.

There are three components to the course grade.

Homework (25%)

There will be frequent homework assignments (distributed most Wednesdays, due the following Wednesday), available as pdf files on Canvas. They give practice in applying the principles studied in class and in analyzing particular writing systems, and account for a quarter of the final grade, so do not neglect them. They are graded on a scale of 0–10. Normally the assignments will be corrected in time for the recitation section on Friday. The lowest-scoring homework assignment for each student will automatically be dropped from the grade calculation, and because of this accommodation no extra credit assignments will be offered.

All homework assignments must be submitted as pdf files no later than 10:59 am on the Wednesday on which the assignment is due – that is, before class begins. Sign on to Canvas, click on Assignments, choose the week's assignment listed there, and upload your pdf. Make sure that you can produce the correct symbols in your document, following these guidelines. Any font or other technical errors are the student's responsibility, so prepare the pdf in time to get help with problems that may arise.

Late assignments will be penalized by one point, with a two-point penalty after midnight. Assignments more than 24 hours late will not be accepted. Make-up assignments will be provided for students with proof of a medical or personal emergency. You are permitted to discuss the assignments with other students in the class, but you must write up independent answers and indicate the name(s) of the other student(s) on your assignment.

Midterm (25%)

A midterm exam in class on October 14 will test knowledge of basic facts and concepts covered in the first half of the course (weeks 1–8). It will take the form of true/false, multiple-choice, matching, and fill-in questions testing your recognition of important facts and concepts of writing in general, or aspects of a specific writing system. See the study guide for topics to be covered as well as sample questions.

Final (50%)

A cumulative final exam on December 16, 12–2 pm, will cover material from the entire course, though with an emphasis on the newer topics (about two-thirds of points devoted to material from the second half of the course). Like the midterm, it will consist of true/false, multiple-choice, matching, and fill-in questions.

While attendance and participation are not a formal part of the grade, only students who make a good faith effort to perform at their best are eligible to have a borderline grade rounded up to the next higher level. Students who do not regularly attend lectures and recitations, or who do not pay attention when they are present, are not eligible for rounding.

Grades will be available on Canvas, along with the homework assignments and answers; other material, such as this syllabus and the lecture notes, is housed on the linguistics server.