Kretzschmar, William
MWF 10:20 AM
Park Hall 0144
ENGL/LING 4010/6010 Spring 2024 Kretzschmar MWF 10:20-11:10, Park 144
American English
Office: 317 Park. Email: kretzsch@uga.edu. Office Hours: TTH 9:00-10:00, and by appointment (email me to set one up). In-person office hours will be held in Park 313.
Catalog: The history, present status, and future prospects of American English, including standards and internal variation.
Texts: Kretzschmar, The Emergence and Development of American English, Cambridge UP (Draft textbook on eLC if the book is not out yet).
Course Conduct: Lecture/discussion. There will be five in-class tests and no final exam ("continuous assessment"). Computer exercises are due by email before the class period discussed. There will be one short paper (5 pp) and a major paper due at the end of the term (c. 15 pp undergrad, c. 20 pp. grad). Papers will be argumentative essays prepared according to standard practices for academic papers, and include appropriate use of the scholarly literature. There will be a proposal (2-3 pp, a special format to be discussed in class) for the final paper due in late March. Grades will be based on class attendance (90 pts), computer exercises (60 pts), the five in-class exams (250 pts), the short paper (100 pts), and the final paper (50 pts proposal, 150 pts final paper). 700 total points. Course info will be on the Web at the UGA eLC (elc.uga.edu).
Goals and Topics: This course is about the facts of American English, both historical and current. Students will learn about the circumstances of colonial settlement as they relate to the English language, in other words how the languages of different ethnic groups came together with different dialects of British settlers to form a peculiarly American variety of English. Students will learn, through treatment of further settlement and changing social conditions, how American English has become and remained a regionally and socially pluralistic variety of English. Finally, students will develop perspective about American English as it exists today: is American English still changing? how is American English related to other varieties of English? what are the cultural and social implications of our standards and varieties?
Schedule: (CE = computer exercise)
Jan 8, 10, 12 M: Course intro. W: Ch 1 F: App 1: words, sounds
Jan 15, 17, 19 M: MLK Day, no class W:App 1: sounds F: App 3: LAP
Jan 22, 24, 26 M: App 3: syntax, discourse W: App 3: computer F: EX1
Jan 29, 31, F2 M: Ch 1: CE 1 W: Ch 2: CS F: Ch 2: evidence, CE 2
Feb 5, 7, 9 M: Ch 3: ancient, W: Ch3: origins audio, F: how to write a paper, incl
origins English CE 3 authoritative info, citation,
structure, argument
Feb 12, 14, 16 M: Ch 4: settlement, Crevecoeur W: Ch 4: AmE audio F:EX2
Feb 19, 21, 23 M: CE 4, Ch 5, settlement W: Ch 5: lg expt, immigration F: CE5,
Ch 5: Webster
Feb 26, 28, M1 M: Ch 5, AmE audio W: Ch 6: barons, demographics, text F: Ch 6: Mencken
short paper due
Mar 4, 6, 8 No class. Spring Break
Mar 11, 13, 15 M: CE6, Ch 6: audio W: how to write a proposal F:EX3
Mar 18, 20, 22 M: Ch 7: postwar demographics W: Ch 7: lg in use F: CE 7, audio proposal due
Mar 25, 27, 29 M: Ch 7: audio W: Ch 8: maps F: Good Friday, no class
Apr 1, 3, 5 M: Ch 8:, perception, audio W: Ch 8: South, CE8 F: no class (conference)
Apr 8, 10, 12 M: Ch 9: demographics W:Ch 9: audio, CE 9/9A F: EX4
Apr 15, 17, 19 M: Ch 10: class W: Ch 10: sociolx F: Ch 10: multidimension, CS, audio
Apr 22, 24, 26 M: Ch 11: language contact W: Ch 11: language learning F: CE 11, Ch 11 audio
Apr 29 M: Ch 12: mavens W: Ch 12: law, CE 12 F: EX5
May 1 No class; Final paper due by email.
UGA Student Honor Code: "I will be academically honest in all of my academic work and will not tolerate academic dishonesty of others." A Culture of Honesty, the University's policy and procedures for handling cases of suspected dishonesty, such as plagiarism (using the work of others without attribution), can be found at www.uga.edu/ovpi. In this course you are permitted to use AI tools in your research and writing. However, be warned that if you turn in a paper prepared by AI without modifications, you are unlikely to get a good grade.
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.
Mental Health and Wellness Resources:
What do I do if I have COVID-19 symptoms?
Students showing COVID-19 symptoms should self-isolate and schedule an appointment with the University Health Center by calling 706-542-1162 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5p.m.). Please DO NOT walk-in. For emergencies and after-hours care, see, https://www.uhs.uga.edu/info/emergencies.