Graduate Course List

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. Note that this course cannot be taken for credit towards the MA or PhD in Linguistics. [Meets with CAS LX 301.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 311.]

Languages differ startlingly in how they express the apparently basic concepts of “possession” and “essence”. Students explore this variety and its implications, addressing fundamental questions about linguistic relativism, language universals, and the relationship between structure and meaning.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 317.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. Note that this course cannot be taken for credit towards the MA or PhD in Linguistics. [Meets with CAS LX 321.]

Exploration of focus in natural language, integrating syntax, phonology, semantics, morphology, and pragmatics in pursuit of a general understanding of both the phenomena and the ways in which different aspects of linguistic knowledge cooperate in its expression.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 327.]

Exploration of question formation across languages, and from several theoretical perspectives, integrating syntax, phonology, semantics, morphology, pragmatics, and philosophy in pursuit of a general understanding of one of the central phenomena in theoretical linguistics.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 328.]

Systematic examination of how meaning is encoded in words and sentences, and how it can emerge from the complexity of the grammar. This course also touches on various aspects of pragmatics—the study of how meaning is shaped by context.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. Note that this course cannot be taken for credit towards the MA or PhD in Linguistics. [Meets with CAS LX 331.]

Sociolinguistics, broadly construed, is the investigation of relations between linguistic phenomena and human social life. This course covers several recent theoretical approaches to the study of language and society: variational sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, and international sociolinguistics. Also covered are development of pidgins and creoles, multilingualism, language choice, and other aspects of language and culture.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or AN 351 Language, Culture, and Society, or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 341.]

Do women talk differently from men? How do race and ethnicity relate to the way people use language? This course examines these inter-related questions from the perspective of modern sociolinguistic theory, analyzing a range of languages and communities throughout the world.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 342.]

Examines the mechanisms and outcomes of language contact by surveying cases around the globe from the past and present. Topics include lexical-borrowing, code-switching, pidgins and creoles, language death, and the emergence of entirely new linguistic systems.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 345.]

The psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics of life with two languages. Topics include bilingual language use, processing, acquisition, organization; effects of bilingualism on cognition and development; the bilingual brain; the bilingual speech community; bilingual education; bilingualism in the media and public eye.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 349.]

Exploration, within the framework of generative grammar, of how similarities and differences in the acquisition patterns of syntax, semantics, and morphology across typologically diverse languages provide key evidence about the essential nature of first and second language acquisition.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 350.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 355.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 359.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 360.]

Systematic introduction to the linguistic analysis of modern English (phonology, morphology, syntax) from the perspective of generative grammar. Other topics include: English and its West Germanic relatives, non-standard varieties and the development of standard English, varieties of World Englishes. (Note that this will count as a course in the linguistic analysis of a specific language for purposes of satisfying requirements for the Linguistics major.)

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 364.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 365 and CAS EN 313.]

African language structure and status from the perspectives of theoretical and comparative linguistics (within the generative grammar framework), typology, and sociolinguistics, with focus on South African Nguni languages, especially IsiXhosa, with comparisons to its sister languages in that language group.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 368.]

Overview of pidginization and creolization. Evolution, typology, and area characteristics of creole languages. Role of contact languages and other substrata. Field and classroom research with creole language speakers.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 369.]

This course covers sound and morphosyntactic change since Latin, plus various topics in the comparative grammar of modern Romance languages. In addition, there is a module introducing students to the grammatical systems of certain less-studied Romance languages. Students deepen their linguistic knowledge and analytic skills by applying what they have learned in other Linguistics courses to this language family, and learn how data from Romance languages have contributed to our understanding of how language works in general.

Prerequisites: CAS LX 250 or consent of instructor + prior study of Latin or a Romance language at the 4th-semester level or higher (e.g., any of CAS LF 212 / LI 212 / LS 212 / LP 212 or equivalent). [Meets with CAS LX 370.]

(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.

Prerequisites: 1 French course at the CAS LF 300 level or higher + CAS LX 250 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 373.]

(Conducted in French) After an introduction to some of the main features of the sentence structure of French (with occasional excursions into Quebecois), attention will be focused on a number of specific topics in French syntax: e.g., the position of the finite and non-finite verb, formation of questions and relative clauses, different types of subject-verb inversion, quantifier floating and the position of subjects, negation, the behavior of clitic pronouns, imperative and causative constructions, right and left dislocation, as well as the relationship between specific syntactic constructions and intonation. The class will be “hands-on”, with sets of data presented for students to analyze and reflect upon (in class and in homework assignments). Readings will include articles by the most interesting and influential French linguists. Students will also engage in independent lilbrary research on a topic of interest.

Prerequisites: 1 French course at the CAS LF 300 level or higher + CAS LX 250 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 374.]

(Conducted in French) Topics vary by semester. Previous topic: Parlers français d’Amérique du Nord (French dialects of North America). Population history and demography. Dialectal divisions. Phonological, morphological, syntactic, and lexical features. French in Quebec, Acadia, NY/New England, Missouri, and Louisiana. Hypotheses on the genesis of certain dialects. Analysis of certain Creole features (Haitian, Louisiana, Lesser Antilles) from a comparative perspective.

Prerequisites: CAS LF 303 + CAS LX 250 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 376.]

(Conducted in Spanish) An ethnographic survey and sociolinguistic analysis of the Spanish language as it is spoken in urban USA. The course will focus on issues of language and dialect contact, language change, the fraught notion of ‘heritage’ speakers, and also code-switching as a sociolinguistic phenomenon.

Prerequisites: CAS LS 212 + CAS LX 250, or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 381.]

(Conducted in Spanish) The goal of this course is to introduce students to the linguistic analysis of speech, with a focus on the Spanish language. We examine the vowels and consonants of Spanish from the perspective of articulatory and acoustic phonetics. In addition, the course introduces core concepts in phonological analysis, surveying the phonemic inventory and phonological organization of Spanish. We also investigate a range of regional variation demonstrated by so-called ‘dialects’ of Spanish, with an emphasis on the historical and social significance of such variation in Spain, Latin America, and the United States. In summary, this course aims to examine the sounds of Spanish as physical, mental, and social phenomena.

Prerequisite: 1 300-level Spanish course + CAS LX 250 or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 383.]

(Conducted in Spanish) The goal of this course is to introduce students to the structure of the Spanish language, with a focus on its morphology and syntax. We examine the internal structure of words and the inflectional and derivational processes that constrain them. In addition, the course introduces key concepts such as morpheme, affix, grammatical class, linguistic gender, nominalization, and verbalization. We also investigate fundamental principles of syntactic theory and analysis, with an emphasis on the hierarchical relationships among words at the phrasal level. We use naturalistic speech data, collected from around the Spanish-speaking world, to critically examine key assumptions and tools of contemporary syntactic theory, including X-bar theory, binary branching, thematic role assignment, and the concept of the sentence. We give special attention the notion of ungrammaticality as it relates to syntactic and morphological variation and change.

Prerequisite: 1 300-level Spanish course + CAS LX 250, or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 384.]

An in-depth investigation of the phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and lexicon of an African or other non-Indo-European language. Weekly sessions with language consultant.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 391.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 301 / GRS LX 601 Phonetics & Phonology or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 403.]

Exploration of the melodic and rhythmic aspects of the languages of the world. Emphasis on theoretical and experimental approaches to cross-linguistic typology. Specific topics include: syllables and syllable-weight, rhythm and speech timing; stress and metrics; tone and intonation.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 301 / GRS LX 601 Phonetics & Phonology or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 405.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 403 / GRS LX 703 Phonological Analysis or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 406.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 321 / GRS LX 621 Syntax or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 422.]

Exploration of advanced topics in syntax, chosen in part based on student interest, through reading and critical discussion of both foundational and recent literature.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 422 / GRS LX 722 Intermediate Syntax or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 423.]

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 331 / GRS LX 631 Semantics & Pragmatics or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 432.]

Hands-on seminar on pragmatics, the study of how meaning beyond the literal is communicated in context. Students will study research articles in pragmatics that use experimental methods, design their own original experiment, and run a student-designed experiment as a group.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 331 / GRS LX 631 Semantics & Pragmatics and previous college experience with basic statistics, or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 433.]

The semantics of expressions of degree, including vague, gradable expressions like “tall”, positive and comparative forms (“taller”, “tallest”), and degree-denoting expressions like “six feet”. Examination of multiple theoretical perspectives, and investigation of crosslinguistic variation through literature and new data collection.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 432 / GRS LX 732 Intermediate Semantics or equivalent, or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 436.]

Review of current research literature on discourse analysis; students practice and apply current methods and techniques of discourse analysis.

No prerequisites.

The goal of this course is to examine the resources, mechanisms, and limitations underlying children’s acquisition of phonology during the first years of life. Specific topics include the biological foundations of phonological acquisition; the developmental arcs of both speech perception and production; the relationship between phonological development and word learning; phonological universals as they apply to acquisition; and implicit and explicit learning mechanisms. The course considers different theoretical models of phonological development, as well as the range of variation observed among typically developing children.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 301 / GRS LX 601 Phonetics & Phonology, or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 453.]

Exploration of the character and course of acquisition of syntactic knowledge in both first and second language contexts. Covers methodological principles for conducting studies and analyzing data, and topics such as development of verb movement, binding theory, and tense.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 321 / GRS LX 621 Syntax, or consent of instructor. [Meets with CAS LX 454.]

Introduces students to quantitative approaches to linguistic data, including visualization, hypothesis testing, and data modeling. Students will gain proficiency in R, an open-source statistical environment, and learn the logic behind statistical techniques, as well as practical skills for using them.

Prerequisite: graduate standing in Linguistics, or consent of instructor.

Advanced graduate students working on their qualifying research papers or thesis present and discuss work in progress. The course is organized thematically based on students’ research areas. Readings each week are determined on the basis of the research discussed.

Prerequisite: graduate standing in Linguistics, or consent of instructor. [2 units per semester.]

A Directed Study is a course in which a student pursues independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. A student may choose to undertake a Directed Study for the following reasons: 1) to pursue in depth an area covered more generally in a course, 2) to explore a topic not normally covered in the curriculum, or 3) to prepare an independent research project such as a Qualifying Paper (etc.) under faculty guidance. In all cases, it is the student’s responsibility to identify the topic and to acquire enough information to ensure its worthiness for independent research.

Prerequisite: consent of instructor. An application for Directed Study must be signed by the supervising faculty member and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Chair (see Graduate Forms).