Course details

Name: ENGL - 384

Title: THE GRAMMARS OF ENGLISH

Section: 01

Semester: Spring - 2016

Credits: 3

Description:
"Grammar" actually denotes much more than the traditional notions of correctness and part of speech labels. It encompasses the intricate hidden structure that makes it possible for us to understand each other, from the way we pronounce words, to how we know what they mean, to the order in which we string them together when we speak and write.

"Literally" now officially means "not literally." Is this an abomination that spells the end of civilization as we know it, or is it part of the natural evolution of language? In this course, we will develop an understanding of the linguistic principles behind varieties of American English: not only the academic English that we use in academia, but the varied dialects that we all speak in our home communities.

Over the course of the semester, you will:
• Learn how and why language changes over time--and why we so often resist and resent such changes.
• Deconstruct folk beliefs about "bad" English and "slang," replacing them with linguistic understandings of language variety.
• Improve your understanding of and ability to use the grammatical conventions of academic English.
• Learn how to teach students who speak diverse varieties of English to gain fluency in edited academic English.

Schedule: Monday,Wednesday From 1:00 pm To 2:30 pm

Graduation requirements:

• ()
• Study of American English (TE 4a)

Teaching Faculty: ()

Is course canceled: No