Linguistics

On-Line Opportunity

LIN 305 Contrastive Analysis: ASL and English

Instructor: Judy Kegl

Contrastive Analysis is being offered at The University of Southern Maine both face to face and on-line this semester.  As of January 9, students not matriculated at USM can sign up for this course.  Basic familiarity with linguistics is assumed. USM students need to have taken LIN 185J "Language, Mind and Society".  Other intro to linguistics courses can satisfy the same requirement.  Please contact Judy Kegl if you have any questions. 

In this course we will be comparing and contrasting languages in two modalities. ASL and English. Our focus will most often be on those grammatical characteristics where these two languages diverge.  Some examples are the ordering of figure and ground (English: The cup  (figure) is on the table (ground); ASL: TABLE (ground), CUP (figure) ON); the use of classifiers and size and shape specifiers (SASSs) (ASL: flat-surface, round-solid object, rimmed-object, etc. (classifiers); RECTANGLE, CYLINDER, LIMO, etc.(SASSs); English: pat, stick, hank, brick, etc, (classifiers); spaghetti straps, hairpin turn, fork in the road, etc. (SASSs); the position question words (who, what, where, when, how, why; initial in English and final in ASL); among many other topics. Don't worry if this terminology is unfamiliar.  You will be introduced to it from the ground up.

While this course has been taught many times face to face as well as over ITV, this is the only the second time it is offered as an on-line course.  I am excited to be exploring this new way to present this course.  Before the beginning of the course, please be sure that the computer you will be working on can read Quicktime files, as many video examples will be distributed that way.  We are also experimenting this semester with providing videolectures to view.  If you haven't used Blackboard before, log on and familiarize yourself with Blackboard  before the course starts.  New students will need to get their accounts started at the Computer Center.  There are video tutorials to help you through these steps at: http://usm.maine.edu/online/

Although the course is asynchronous, you will be expected to log in at least once a week to read materials, post responses, and interact with your fellow students. Anyone absent for over a week and a half will be considered missing, so please let me know if you have planned times when you will be away.  The interaction between students is crucial.  Please check the calendar for the periods in which you should be engaged in different readings, projects, written assignments and forum discussions.  As with any class, you should figure on at least 6 hours per week of work on this class.

The face to face class meets 8:45-10 am on Mondays and Wednesdays. Individuals taking the class on-line are welcome to drop in to the face to face class if they find themselves in Portland.  

For information about signing up: 

Registrar's Office:  207-780-5230 - 1-800-800-4USM ext 5230 

Also David Vardeman 780-4077 (on-line); Esther Lee 780-4989 (Linguistics)

As a heads up, payment is due at point of registration, or partial payment and inception of a payment plan ($30 one-time fee for entering into payment plan).

Total for course:  $801 for instate residents; approximately $1953 for Out of State residents.