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Linguistics courses
Course number Course title Section Instructor Days Time Room

GRS LX 601

Phonetics & Phonology: Introduction to Sound Systems

 web A1 Chang MWF 10:10-11 CAS 237
Introduction to the nature and patterning of sounds in human language. Presents articulatory and acoustic phonetics, and basic phonological analysis, focusing on cross-language typology and comparison. Hands-on development of practical skills, including IPA transcription, field techniques, and digital speech analysis.

[Prereq: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor.
Please note that this course cannot be taken for credit towards the MA or PhD program in Linguistics.]
[Meets with CAS LX 301; Previously offered as CAS LX 510 "Phonetics"]
  • Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
  • This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Critical Thinking

GRS LX 621

Syntax: Introduction to Sentential Structure

 web A1 Hagstrom TR 3:30-4:45 MUG 205
Introduction to syntax as an object of inquiry. Students build an increasingly sophisticated model of syntactic knowledge to account for data from English and other languages, constructing and evaluating alternative hypotheses about how sentence structure works. [Prereq: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor.
Please note that this course cannot be taken for credit towards the MA or PhD program in Linguistics.]
[Meets with CAS LX 321; Previously offered as CAS LX 522 "Syntax I"]
  • Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.

GRS LX 659

Interrupted Acquisition and Language Attrition

 web A1 Chang MWF 12:20-1:10 CAS 228
Examines native language knowledge and change in speakers who have become dominant in another language. Topics include differences among heritage speakers, international adoptees, and adult second language learners; language change in expatriates; and environmental and affective factors conditioning language loss. [Prereq: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor.]
[Meets with CAS LX 359; Previously offered as CAS LX 546 "Incomplete Acquisition and Language Attrition"]

GRS LX 660

Historical and Comparative Linguistics

 web A1 Nikolaev TR 2:00-3:15 MUG 424
Introduction to language change and the methodology of historical linguistic analysis, using data from a wide array of languages. Investigates genetic relatedness among languages, language comparison, historical reconstruction, and patterns and principles of change in phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. [Prereq: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor.]
[Meets with CAS LX 360; Previously offered as CAS LX 535 "Historical and Comparative Linguistics"]
  • Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.

GRS LX 665

Variation in Dialects of English

 web A1 Myler TR 12:30-1:45 MCS B 19
This course explores how dialects of English differ from each other, focusing on grammatical variation in the US, with occasional forays into British dialects. The class will examine grammatical diversity on a number of levels (including accents, dialectal vocabulary, and social factors in language variation), but the main focus will be on studying and accounting for morphosyntactic differences amongst varieties. Students come to appreciate how linguists investigate grammatical diversity scientifically, revealing the complex structure of non-standard dialects. [Prereq: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor.]
[Meets with CAS LX 365; Also offered as CAS EN 313; Previously offered as CAS LX 530 "Variation in Dialects of English"]

GRS LX 673

The Structure of French: Phonology

 web A1 Neidle TR 9:30-10:45 CAS 208
(Conducted in French) The sound system of standard French, with exploration of dialect variation in France, Canada, and other Francophone regions of the world. Questions about mental representation of linguistic information, processes of word formation, and language variation and change. Students discover linguistic regularities through frequent problem sets.
  • Learn how different sounds are produced, and how they fit into the overall phonological system of the French language.
  • Discover ways in which your own pronunciation of French may deviate from that of native speakers, to improve your pronunciation.
  • Explore the kinds of phonological changes have occurred in the evolution of French, as well as the kinds of phonological differences that account for dialectal variations.
  • Reflect upon questions concerning the mental representation of linguistic information, and formulate and evaluate arguments in favor of specific hypotheses.
[Prereq: One French course at the CAS LF 300 level or higher, and CAS LX 250 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. ]
[Meets with CAS LX 373; Also offered as CAS LF 503; Previously offered as CAS LF 503 "The Structure of French: Phonology"]

GRS LX 706

Advanced Topics in Phonology: Features and cues in representation and realization

 web A1 Barnes TR 9:30-10:45 CGS 315
CAS 208
Distinctive feature theory from Structuralism to the present. Issues include the putative universality of distinctive features, their phonetic underpinnings, tension among the various roles features play in the grammar, and applicability of features to phonology beyond consonants and vowels. [Prereq: CAS LX 403/ GRS LX 703 Phonology or equivalent (or permission of the instructor)]

GRS LX 722

Intermediate Syntax: Modeling Syntactic Knowledge

 web A1 Hagstrom TR 11-12:15 CAS 222
Using linguistic data drawn from a wide variety of languages, students develop a precise model of syntactic knowledge through evaluation of hypotheses and arguments. Exploration of major discoveries and phenomena from the linguistic literature. [Prereq: CAS LX 321 / GRS LX 621 Syntax: Introduction to Sentential Structure (or CAS LX 522) or consent of instructor.]
[Meets with CAS LX 422]

GRS LX 732

Intermediate Semantics: The Grammatical Construction of Meaning

web A1 Coppock MWF 1:25-2:15 CAS 204 B
Introduction to the semantics of natural language at an intermediate level. Topics include (but are not limited to) predication and quantification, scope and anaphora, problems of discourse analysis, various issues at the interface of semantics and pragmatics, and crosslinguistic semantics. [Prereq: CAS LX 331/ GRS LX 631 Semantics & Pragmatics: Introduction to Linguistic Meaning (or CAS LX 502) or consent of instructor.]
[Meets with CAS LX 432; Previously offered as CAS LX 503 "Semantics II"]
 
Related courses at BU
Course number Course title Section Instructor Days Time Room