For a full list of undergraduate courses in linguistics offered in recent years, see: 

Undergraduate Course Schedule, Fall 2022
Course No.
Course Title
Instructor
Day/Time
Room

CAS LX 250 / MET LX 250

Properties that languages share and how languages differ with respect to structure (sound system, word formation, syntax), expression of meaning, acquisition, variation, and change; cultural and artistic uses of language; comparison of oral, written, and signed languages. Also offered through Metropolitan College as MET LX 250. (Students must also register for a discussion section.)

BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.

TR 2-3:15

Discussion Section S1

F 9:05-9:55

Discussion Section S2

F 10:10-11

Discussion Section S3

F 11:15-12:05

Discussion Section S4

F 12:20-1:10

Discussion Section S5

F 1:25-2:15

Discussion Section S6

F 2:30-3:20

Discussion Section S7

F 3:35-4:25

Discussion Section S8

F 3:35-4:25

CAS LX 301

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. (Students must also register for a discussion section.)

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250, or consent of instructor. BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I, Critical Thinking.

MWF 9:05-9:55

Discussion Section S1

T 11:15-12:05

Discussion Section S2

T 2-2:50

Discussion Section S3

T 3:30-4:20

CAS LX 321

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. (Students must also register for a discussion section.)

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250, or consent of instructor.

MWF 11:15-12:05

Discussion Section S1

R 11:15-12:05

Discussion Section S2

R 5-5:50

Discussion Section S3

R 3:30-4:20

CAS LX 346

Why do languages change over time? Who leads and who follows in situations of language change? The course answers these questions by examining the link between language change and linguistic variation, focusing on how synchronic variation leads to diachronic change.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250, or consent of instructor. BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration.

TR 12:30-1:45

CAS LX 390

Topics and prerequisites vary by semester and section. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Fall 2022, Section A1: Language Revitalization. Languages become “endangered” or “dormant” for multiple reasons, and efforts to revitalize languages take many paths. We’ll examine key cases of language revitalization, including examples from around the world, but with a primary focus on indigenous languages of North America.

TR 11-12:15

CAS LX 391

A team-based in-depth investigation of the phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and lexicon of an African or other non-Indo-European language. Bi-weekly sessions with language consultant. Weekly trainings on methodology, ethics, analysis, and presentation of results.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250, or consent of instructor. BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration.

MWF 1:25-2:15

CAS LX 432

Systematic development of a semantic theory of natural language, using the tools of model-theoretic semantics. In-depth study of the relation between meaning and grammar, and the relation between meaning and context.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 331, or consent of instructor.

MWF 12:20-1:10

CAS LX 496

Introduction to computational techniques to explore linguistic models and test empirical claims. Serves as an introduction to concepts, algorithms, data structures, and tool libraries. Topics include tagging and classification, parsing models, meaning representation, corpus creation, information extraction. (Students who have already taken CAS LX 394/GRS LX 694 are not eligible to take this course.)

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 and CAS CS 112, or consent of instructor. BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.

MWF 2:30-3:20