People Courses Major and Minor Events Resources About

Youri Zabbal

Visiting Assistant Professor of Linguistics

Email: yzabbal@bu.edu
Office phone: 617-353-6221
Fax: 617-358-4641
Office number: 110
Office address: 621 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, MA 02215
Office hours: For Spring 2008: M 3-4; TW 5-6.

BA in Logic, University of Toronto
BSc in Physics, University of Toronto
MA in Linguistics, University of Calgary
PhD in Linguistics (2007, expected), University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Research Interests:

  • The syntax and semantics of numerals expressions
  • Number and plurality
  • Superlatives
  • Free choice and indeterminate phrases
  • The internal organization of the noun phrase
  • Evidentials

Courses

Spring 2008
Course number
with link to course Web site 		Course title
with link to course description 		Sec Instructor Days Time Room
CAS LX 500 Topics in Linguistics: Number A1

Zabbal

 TR 3:30-5:00 KCB 103
[Description for Spring 2008] Number is sometimes defined as the category marking the opposition between singular and plural. This greatly underestimates its role in the grammar. This course examines number systems in a variety of languages from morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic perspectives. [(Spring 2008) Prereq: CAS LX 250 or equivalent.]
CAS LX 504 Topics in Pragmatics A1

Zabbal

 TR 12:30-2 KCB 103
Covers the main areas of linguistic pragmatics, the study of language use and the relation between meaning and context. We will study pragmatic phenomena such as presuppositions, implicatures, anaphora, and focus, from the perspective of linguistic semantics. [Prereq: CAS LX 502 Semantics I or permission of the instructor]

Fall 2008
Course number
with link to course Web site 		Course title
with link to course description 		Sec Instructor Days Time Room
CAS LX 500 Topics in Linguistics: Mood and Modality B1

Zabbal

 TR 9:30-11 TBA
[Description for Fall 2008] Modality expresses the possibility or necessity of a situation: 'John may/must be at home.' This course investigates types of modality and ways in which modality is encoded in the grammar in mood and modal systems across languages. [(Fall 2008) Prereq: CAS LX 250.]
CAS LX 502 Semantics I A1

Zabbal

 TR 2:00-3:30 TBA
Semantics is the study of linguistic meaning. In this course, we will examine meaning from a variety of perspectives, including: how it is encoded in words and sentences, how native speakers interpret language, and how truth and falsehood can emerge from the complexity of the grammar. We will also touch on various aspects of pragmatics - the function of meaning in a communicative setting. [Prereq: CAS LX 250 or equivalent.]

Spring 2009
Course number
with link to course Web site 		Course title
with link to course description 		Sec Instructor Days Time Room
CAS LX 235 Language in the Real World [PENDING COLLEGE APPROVAL] A1

Zabbal

 MWF 11-12 TBA
Exploration of the role of human language in a range of activities and endeavors, touching on issues of technology, governmental policy, education, gender roles, the use of language in both media and politics to bias perceptions, and legal language and language crimes. [No prerequisites.]
CAS LX 500 Topics in Linguistics: Acquisition of Semantics and Pragmatics A1

Zabbal

 MWF 2-3 TBA
[Description for Spring 2009] How does a child acquire an adult grammar, and the ability to interpret words and complex phrases? This course examines the acquisition of meaning, both the literal meaning of words and phrases and their implied meaning in conversation. [(Spring 2009) Prereq: CAS LX 250 or equivalent]
BU CAS Romance Studies