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Currently Offered Courses

Below you can view a list of the current Linguistics course offerings. In addition, the Department of Linguistics hosts a variety of other rubrics, including courses in Arabic, English as an International Language, English as a Second Language, Hindi, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, Wolof, and Zulu.

LING 100 - Intro to Language Science

Introduction to the theory and methodology of general linguistics; includes the various branches and applications of linguistics.

LING 115 - Language and Culture in India

Examines the relationship between language and culture in the multilingual and multicultural context of India. Special topics of focus are: linguistic and cultural diversity in India, impact of the language and cultural contact on the structure and function of languages (convergence, diglossia, code-mixing, pidgins and creoles), language and identity, language of religion, language and gender, language in the media, literature and culture, language and power, language and globalization. Same as HNDI 115 and REL 115.

LING 191 - Freshman Honors Tutorial

Study of selected topics on an individually arranged basis. Open only to honors majors or to Cohn Scholars. May be repeated once. Prerequisite: Consent of departmental honors advisor.

LING 199 - Undergraduate Open Seminar

May be repeated.

LING 210 - Language History

Addresses the question "Why does language change?" Specific topics include: the history and origin of writing; why pronunciation changes; change in vocabulary and what it tells us about change in culture and society; the relation between "language" and "dialect"; multilingualism and its consequences, including Pidgins and Creoles; genetic relationship between languages, with focus on the "Indo-European" family (English, German, French, Russia, Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit, etc.) and the relationships between human languages. Prerequisite: Fulfillment of the foreign language requirement of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

LING 221 - American Sign Language II

Same as SHS 221. See SHS 221.

LING 222 - Language in Globalization

Introduction to the role of language in globalization by examining communication issues concerning language use across cultural, political and geographic boundaries. Explores the interaction of language and other cultural forms in the global context. Among the topics discussed are issues of identity, spread of English and its acculturation to local contexts of use, creativity in language mixing, language in global pop cultures, language in cyberspace, as well as minority language experiences, and loss of indigenous languages.

LING 225 - Language, Mind, and Brain

Introduction to the theory and methodology of psycholinguistics with emphasis on language acquisition and linguistic behavior. Same as PSYC 225.

LING 250 - American Voices: Linguistic Diversity in the US

The United States has a vast and varied linguistic landscape that has been shaped by a unique medley of peoples and cultural practices. From the colonization of North America to contemporary politics and popular culture, language has helped to connect us in many ways, and has also served as a tool for making and maintaining difference. This course explores issues of standardization, language maintenance, linguistic discrimination, identity formation, and many others to consider the ways "diversity" is not only a multiplicity of different histories, beliefs, and practices, but can also become a means of interpersonal prejudice and structural inequity.

LING 270 - Language, Technology & Society

What technologies have humans developed to augment the quintessential human ability: language? We start with the development of writing, the first technology that was specifically designed for language, and trace its history through the invention of printing, and into the digital age. With the advent of computers the relevance of language for technology has broadened significantly. We review technologies such as automatic speech recognition, speech synthesis and automatic translation, and discuss their implications for present and future human-machine interaction. Prerequisite: LING 100 or consent of instructor.

LING 290 - Individual Study

Individual readings and research reports on special topics dealing with the theoretical or applied aspects of the linguistic sciences. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 hours. Prerequisite: Written consent of instructor.

LING 301 - Elements of Syntax

Introduction to concepts and techniques essential for syntactic analysis and description, with special attention to testing analyses and justifying them. Prerequisite: LING 100 or consent of instructor.

LING 302 - Elements of Phonology

Introduces elements of phonological theory and data analysis. Emphasis is placed on both Structuralist and Generative theories, introducing students to the principles of phonological contrast, allophony, neutralization, and markedness. Formal phonological models are considered, including both distinctive feature theory and prosodic theory. Equal emphasis is placed on linguistic data analysis. Prerequisite: LING 100 or consent of instructor.

LING 303 - General Speech Science

Same as SHS 301. See SHS 301.

LING 304 - Elements of Morphology

An introduction to the concepts and methods of morphology, the linguistic study of word formation. We examine the smallest units of word structure--how they are arranged and organized, and how they interact with sentence structures (syntax) and sound patterns (phonology). Students will consider data from many different languages, and investigate how those languages are similar and different in terms of how they form their words. Prerequisite: LING 100.

LING 307 - Elmnts Semantics & Pragmatics

Introduction to the theory of meaning for natural language, including techniques for the description of lexical meaning, compositional determination of phrase and sentence meaning, and pragmatic effects on interpretation in context. Same as PHIL 307. Prerequisite: LING 100 or consent of instructor.

LING 321 - American Sign Language III

Same as SHS 321. See SHS 321.

LING 391 - Honors Individual Study

Study and research for honors thesis; open only to seniors in the linguistics major who are eligible for departmental distinction. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 hours. Prerequisite: Written consent of instructor and linguistics course average of 3.4.

LING 400 - Intro to Linguistic Structure

Introduction to the theory and methodology of the science of linguistics with special reference to phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Not intended for undergraduate majors in linguistics. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

LING 404 - Tutorials in Non-Western Lang

Advanced or intensive language instruction in a selected non-Western language; excludes instruction in East or Southeast Asian languages. 1 to 5 undergraduate hours. 2 to 4 graduate hours. May be repeated with approval. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

LING 406 - Introduction to Computational Linguistics

Introduces the field of natural language processing and computational linguistics. Topics include finite-state methods, parsing, probabilistic methods, machine learning in NLP, computational semantics and applications of NLP technology. The course combines linguistic theory with computational modeling. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: LING 100 or LING 400, and CS 225 or equivalent, and STAT 200 or STAT 212 or STAT 400 or CS 361 or equivalent.

LING 412 - Lang in African Culture & Soc

Introductory survey of the role of language in African cultures and societies, with particular emphasis on the study of indigenous African linguae francae in multilingual settings, their spread, and use as media of communication in various domains, and as tools of development. Same as AFST 412. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

LING 413 - Corpus Linguistics

An introduction to computational research methods applied to large natural language corpora (i.e. text analytics) which can uncover complexities in naturally occurring data and explore issues related to frequency of usage. Students will be introduced to corpus concepts, methods, and examples; computational skills needed to build, annotate, and search a corpus for patterns and phenomena of interest,; and get hands-on corpus analysis experience. Topics may include syntax (i.e., patterns and alternations), lexical semantics, language variation, pragmatics / language use, discourse analysis, psycholinguistics, as well as descriptive and exploratory text analytics models. 3 or 4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: LING 100 or LING 400, and CS 225 or equivalent, and STAT 200 or STAT 212 or STAT 400 or CS 361 or equivalent.

LING 418 - Language & Minorities in Europe

Same as EURO 418, FR 418, GER 418, ITAL 418, PS 418, SLAV 418, and SPAN 418. See FR 418.

LING 427 - Language and the Brain

Same as PSYC 427 and SHS 427. See SHS 427.

LING 430 - Intro to East Asian Ling

Introduction to the genetic relation of the Far Eastern languages with other languages; concentration on synchronic analysis of phonology and syntax. Same as EALC 430. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: LING 400; consent of instructor.

LING 446 - Fundamentals for Speech Signal Processing and Analysis

Provides an elementary introduction to concepts, principles and algorithms of digital signal processing. It focuses on computational implementations of contemporary methodologies in digital signal processing rather than underlying mathematical theories, and therefore requires students to have basic Python or MATLAB programming skills as prerequisite. This course comprises lectures and laboratory sessions, during which students are expected to produce their own computer code aided by ready-made programs to solve practical problems. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: LING 402 or equivalent.

LING 462 - Introduction to Romance Linguistics

Same as FR 462, ITAL 435, PORT 435, RMLG 435, and SPAN 435. See SPAN 435.

LING 489 - Theoretical Foundations of SLA

General introduction to second language acquisition (SLA) theory. Examines nativist, interactionist and cognitive approaches to SLA and explores the role of learner characteristics. Instruction in English. Same as FR 481, GER 489, ITAL 489, PORT 489, and SPAN 489. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: An introductory course in linguistics or consent of instructor.

LING 490 - Special Topics in Linguistics

Course provides an opportunity to focus on various subfields of the linguistic sciences, depending on the interests of the faculty and student. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated as topic varies to a maximum of 9 undergraduate hours or 12 graduate hours. Students may register for up to two sections in the same term. Prerequisite: LING 100, LING 400, or consent of instructor.

LING 502 - Phonology I

Examination of language-specific phonological problems with a view toward formulating a language-independent theory of phonology. Prerequisite: LING 401 or consent of instructor.

LING 514 - Design and Methodology in Linguistic Research

Introduction to a quantitatively oriented approach to research design and methodology in language study, with emphasis on the construction of appropriate research designs for different subfields of linguistics (with a particular focus on designs for research in syntax/semantics and language acquisition / bilingualism). A variety of research methods are covered in detail, including both offline and online methodologies. Term paper required. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. Prerequisite: LING 400 or equivalent; LING 425, or EIL 489 or consent of instructor.

LING 529 - Second Lang Acq & Bilingualism

Research seminar: students will design and execute a research project on second language acquisition and/or bilingualism. Same as PSYC 529. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

LING 541 - Syntax II

Issues in the theory and practice of syntactic description, with special attention to implications for universal grammar. Prerequisite: LING 501 or consent of instructor.

LING 547 - Formal Semantics II

A continuation of LING 507 covering advanced topics in formal semantic theory. Same as PHIL 547. Prerequisite: LING 507 or consent of instructor.

LING 588 - Sem Second Lang Learn

Same as EALC 588, FR 588, GER 588, ITAL 588, PORT 588, and SPAN 588. See SPAN 588.

LING 590 - Special Topics in Linguistics

Individual studies in the areas of linguistics not covered by regular course offerings. May be repeated.

LING 599 - Thesis Research

Approved for S/U grading only. May be repeated.