Undergraduate certificate Linguistics

LIN 205 Beginning American Sign Language (also

TRA 205

LIN 206 Beginning American Sign Language II (also

TRA 207

LIN 208 Origins and Nature of English Vocabulary (See CLA 208)

LIN 209 Introduction to the History of the Russian Language (See RUS 209)

LIN 210 Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics (also

CLA 210

LIN 212 Human Language: A User's Guide Not offered this year EC Where does language come from? How do we know that you can't say it that way? And who has the authority to tell you? Why are some sentences better than others? Why do the same words differently organized have different effects? This course is about human language, its nature, use, users, and origin, based primarily on English. Major topics include the structure of sentences, paragraphs, words; language and thought; and the historical and biological origins of language. Two 90-minute classes. Staff

LIN 216 Language, Mind, and Brain (also

PSY 216

LIN 235 Mythbusting Language Fall EC As educated users of language, many of us have strong feelings about it, such as how we should use it ("That isn't what 'literally' means!") and why. Which of these feelings are valid and which are closer to folklore? In this class, we investigate many preconceptions about language, objectively explore their validity as myth or fact, and make conclusions about how human languages can(not) be described. Topics may include whether: women talk more than men, children learn languages better than adults, legalese is more precise, dolphins use language, all languages/dialects are equally sophisticated, and bilingualism makes you smarter. B. Ahn

LIN 250 Language in Its Contexts Spring SA This course investigates language in its social, cultural, political, and historical contexts. Does your native language influence your perception, your behavior, and your culture? How does your identity influence properties of your language? What happens when unrelated languages come into contact for prolonged periods? How are new languages born? Why isn't English the official language of the United States, and should it be? We will explore these questions (and more) by engaging with the often contradictory opinions of specialists and the public, as well as with the empirical realities behind these different language situations. L. Kalin

LIN 260 Languages of Africa (also

AFS 262

LIN 301 Phonetics and Phonology Spring EC This course is an introduction to the science of speech sounds (phonetics) and sound systems (phonology). Students will 1) learn how sounds from a wide variety of languages are produced, and learn to produce and transcribe them; 2) understand and analyze the acoustic properties of speech sounds using (free) software; 3) understand the unconscious knowledge speakers have of the rules and constraints that govern their native language's sound system; 4) extract phonological generalizations from phonetic data from various languages; 5) learn about the similarities and differences between the sound systems of the world's languages. F. Lionnet

LIN 302 Syntax Fall EC Syntax is the aspect of human language involved in building phrases out of words. How do words combine - like beads on a string? Are words the smallest building blocks of phrases? How can we make predictions about what is possible and impossible in these structures? This course aims to answer these questions while focusing on the methods linguists use to analyze natural language expressions. Explorations of universal properties of language structures, as well as the ways in which those structures can vary. Strong emphasis on building and testing hypotheses on the basis on language data and foundational field principals. B. Ahn

LIN 303 Linguistic Semantics Not offered this year EC The central issues and leading theories of linguistic semantics for natural languages. Analyses of specific linguistic phenomena will be used to illustrate the interaction of syntax and semantics, the relation between language and the world, and the role of linguistic meaning in communication and understanding. Prerequisite: 201 or instructor's permission. E. Williams

LIN 304 Introduction to Machine Translation (See TRA 301)

LIN 306 The Structure and Meaning of Words Spring EC This course delves into the internal composition of words (morphology) across languages. What is a word? What can be inside of a word? Do all languages build words in the same way(s), with the same sorts of ingredients? How similar is word-building to sentence-building? We will engage deeply with both the empirical and theoretical side of this topic, exploring not just morphology, but also its interactions with phonology (sound systems) and syntax (sentence structure). This class is highly interactive and hands-on. Students will develop tools of analysis and argumentation that are applicable in all areas of linguistics and beyond. Staff

LIN 308 Bilingualism (also

TRA 303

LIN 309 Psychology of Language (See PSY 309)

LIN 310 Intonation: Melody in Language Fall EC What is intonation? How can we measure it, transcribe it, an analyze it? What kinds of contributions does it make to a sentence's meaning? This class focuses on American English melodic patterns, addressing questions such as: What is the difference between English-style intonation and Mandarin-style tone? Do all questions have the same intonation? What does a comma sound like? Students learn how to analyze prosodic data using laboratory methods, computer software, and standard annotation conventions. They also learn how prosodic features interact with other aspects of language to convey a variety of meanings. Staff

LIN 314 Linguistics and Language Acquisition (also

PSY 302

LIN 316 Second Language Acquisition: Theory and Praxis (See GER 316)

LIN 334 Semantics (See PHI 334)

LIN 336 Introduction to Indo-European (See CLA 336)

LIN 346 Introduction to Formal Semantics (See PHI 346)

LIN 355 Field Methods in Linguistics Spring SA This course provides a thorough intro to the principles and practice of linguistic fieldwork. Students will be trained in methods of language description and analysis based on data provided by a native speaker of an unfamiliar language. A wide range of topics will be covered, from data collection techniques to the theoretically informed analysis of the collected data, and all major subfields of linguistics will be involved. This course is designed for students interested in documentary/descriptive linguistic work and those interested in incorporating linguistics data into research in theoretical linguistics. F. Lionnet

LIN 360 Linguistic Universals and Language Diversity Spring EC This course delves into linguistic typology: How do we classify languages? ow much can languages differ from each other? What linguistic properties (if any) are shared across all languages? The course will demonstrate that, contrary to initial impressions, languages of the world do not differ arbitrarily and without limit. All human languages share a common core (universals). We must therefore explain why there are linguistic universals and along what parameters languages can vary (diversity). To do so, we will look at a wide range of linguistic phenomena across unrelated languages, many of which are endangered. L. Kalin

LIN 412 Advanced Syntax Not offered this year EC This course develops students' syntactic reasoning abilities beyond the introductory level, providing new tools for analyzing the syntactic components of linguistics phenomena. We read and discuss both classic and contemporary syntactic research on a variety of topics, including syntactic issues in word order, pronunciation, and interpretation. Students apply these tools to a broad set of linguistic data, from a variety of languages, both in and out of the classroom. The course culminates in each student writing a "squib", in which they test multiple hypotheses on a syntactic phenomenon of their choice. B. Ahn

LIN 445 Introduction to Sanskrit (See CLA 445)

LIN 475 Introduction to Sanskrit (See CLA 475)

LIN 476 Introduction to Sanskrit II (See CLA 476)