ENG-153 English Language: How It Works

HB (Human Behavior)
Prerequisite: Any first year writing seminar
Introduction to basic English linguistics. The difference between prescriptive grammar (the rules we learn in school) and descriptive grammar (the linguistic rules that native speakers of a language have learned). Discussion of the main divisions of linguistics, focusing on the phonology, morphology, and syntax of Edited American English. Study of the ways other dialects, in particular, Southern American English and African American Vernacular English, differ from the standard and exploration of the implications of linguistics on social and educational policy. 4 credits.