Fall 2017

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Linguistics courses
Course number Course title Section Instructor Days Time Room

GRS LX 601

Phonetics & Phonology: Introduction to Sound Systems

 A1 Barnes TR 11-12:15 CAS 204A
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.]
[Meets with CAS LX 301; Previously offered as CAS LX 510 "Phonetics"]
  • Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.

GRS LX 611

Morphology: Introduction to the Structures and Shapes of Words

 web A1 Myler TR 9:30-10:45 CAS 218
Morphology, the study of the internal structure and the shapes of words across languages, straddles the boundary between syntax and phonology. This course covers the major empirical and theoretical issues in the study of morphology, emphasizing links to other components of grammar. [Prereq: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor.]
[Meets with CAS LX 311; Previously offered as CAS LX 521 "Morphology"]
  • Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.

GRS LX 621

Syntax: Introduction to Sentential Structure

 web A1 Hagstrom TR 12:30-1:45 CAS 204A
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.]
[Meets with CAS LX 321; Previously offered as CAS LX 522 "Syntax I"]
  • Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.

GRS LX 655

Second Language Acquisition

 web A1 Chang MWF 10:10-11 KCB 102
The goal of this course is to provide an overview of findings from the interdisciplinary field of second language acquisition (SLA), especially as they relate to differences between adult and child learners and individual variation among adult learners. The course examines data from many different language pairs, diverse theoretical perspectives on second-language attainment, and a wide range of factors influencing acquisition: language-universal, demographic, experiential, cognitive, social/affective, and environmental. The course also considers the case of third language acquisition as well as pedagogical implications. [Prereq: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor.]
[Meets with CAS LX 355; Previously offered as CAS LX 542 "Second Language Acquisition"]

GRS LX 690

Topics in Linguistics: Natural Language Processing and Computational Linguistics

web A1 Hagstrom T 3:30-6:15 CAS 327
Introduction to computational techniques to explore linguistic models and test empirical claims. Serves as an introduction to programming, algorithms, and data structures, focused on modern applications to NLP. Topics include tagging and classification, parsing models, meaning representation, and information extraction. [Prereq: CAS LX 250 or consent of instructor]
[Meets with CAS LX 390; Previously offered as CAS LX 500 "Topics in Linguistics"]

GRS LX 703

Phonological Analysis

 web A1 Chang MWF 12:20-1:10 CAS 218
Survey of phonological theory and analysis, with focus on crosslinguistic typology of phonological systems. Phonological reasoning and argumentation skills are developed. Empirical coverage includes contrast, distinctive features, rules and constraints, opacity, tone, syllabification, stress, and interactions with morphology and syntax. [Prereq: CAS LX 301/ GRS LX 601 (or CAS LX 510) or consent of instructor.]
[Meets with CAS LX 403; Previously offered as CAS LX 513 "Phonology"]

GRS LX 732

Intermediate Semantics: The Grammatical Construction of Meaning

web A1 Coppock MWF 3:35-4:25 CAS 233
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

SAR SH 523

Introduction to Speech Science

 A1 Stepp MW 12:20-2:05 STH 318
Lecture, laboratory, and demonstrations. Introduction to the basic physics of sound, including the decibel scale, spectral analysis, and sound resonance. Acoustic theory of speech production. Effects of contact on speech acoustics. Suprasegmental characteristics of speech production. Introduction to speech perception. [Prereq: SAR SH 521]

SAR SH 531

Introduction to Communication Disorders

 A1 Constantino TR 2-3:15 CAS B25B
Introduction to various speech and language disorders found across linguistically and culturally diverse populations. Characteristics underlying biological systems and methods for evaluation and treating a variety or communication disorders are examined. Exploration of the professions of speech pathology and audiology

SAR SH 708

Models of Language

 web A1 Arunachalam W 2:30-5:15 SAR TBA
A comprehensive overview of structure and process in language use and development; includes a review on the structure of language in each of the traditional areas of linguistic analysis. In addition, the course will provide an overview of normal language processing in children by reviewing the stages of typical language acquisition. Finally, experimental methods and analysis tools commonly used in language research will be covered.
This is a 3-credit (rather than a 4-credit) course. If you are considering taking this course to satisfy degree requirements, please consult first with the DGS.