Courses
30100, 30200, 30300. Introduction to Linguistics 1, 2, 3
Staff
Survey of methods, findings, and problems in foundational areas of linguistics:
phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
30400. Syntax 1
Dahlstrom, Merchant, Mufwene, Sadock
Introduction to basic goals and methods of current syntactic theory through
a detailed analysis of a range of phenomena, with emphasis on argumentation
and empirical justification. Major topics include phrase structure and
constituency, selection and subcategorization, argument structure, case,
voice, expletives, and raising and control structures.
30500. Syntax 2
Dahlstrom, Merchant, Mufwene, Sadock
Continuation of Syntax 1. Major topics include wh-movement, islands, the
Binding Theory, and the nature of unbounded dependencies, with a view
to understanding their properties and distribution cross-linguistically.
30600. Phonetics
Fulop
Introduction to the study of speech sounds. Speech sounds will be described
with respect to their articulatory, acoustic, and perceptual structures.
Laboratory exercises both in phonetic transcription and in the acoustic
analysis of speech sounds.
30700. Semantics-Pragmatics
Merchant, Mufwene, Sadock
Introduction to formal, model-theoretic approaches to aspects of truth-conditional
meaning and the tools used to analyze them (propositional and predicate
logic, type theory, the lambda-calculus). Further topics include non-truth-conditional
aspects of meaning such as presupposition and implicature.
30800. Phonology 1
Goldsmith, Hansson
Introduction to the concepts of contemporary phonological theory, set
against the background of the development of the field in this century.
Among the central topics covered are phonemic contrast, phonological derivation,
phonological levels, syllable structure, and feature geometry.
30900. Phonology 2
Goldsmith, Hansson
Continuation of Phonology 1. Advanced discussion of current approaches
to phonology.
31000. Morphology
Dahlstrom, Sadock
Linguistic structure and patterning beyond the phonological level. Concentrates
on analysis of grammatical and formal oppositions and their structural
relationships and interrelationships (morphophonology).
31100, 31200. Language in Culture 1, 2
Gal, Silverstein
Intensive introduction to basic concepts in the analysis of language in
social and cultural context: code, levels of structure, language, use
as social action, variation and its sources, native ideas about language.
31300. Historical Linguistics
Darden, Gragg, Kazazis
Theory and practice of genetic comparison and reconstruction; linguistic
variation.
31600. Introduction to Language Development
Goldin-Meadow
Introduction to various approaches used to investigate the developmental
course of first language acquisition of children, including semantics,
syntax, phonology, and pragmatics.
31700. Experimental Phonetics
Fulop
Exploration of various instrumentation available for speech analysis and
synthesis. Hands-on work is emphasized. Topic for investigation in 2001–02
is vowel synthesis; perception-related literature is also assigned for
reading and discussion.
32100. Semantics 2
Staff
Continuation of Ling 30700, investigating more advanced topics in formal
semantics. Emphasis is given to the relation between syntax and semantics,
and compositionality. Issues to be discussed include quantification, scope,
modality, tense, aspect(uality), polarity, and interrogatives.
33900. Languages of the World
Merchant
General survey of human languages, examining their diversity and uniformity
across space and time. Major topics include language families and historical
relationships, linguistic typology and language universals, sound and
structural features of the world’s languages, and writing systems.
34300. Quantitative Computational Linguistics
Goldsmith
34400. Speech Acts
Sadock
Critical discussion of works concerned with the identification and categorization
of speech acts, the linguistic correlates of different speech acts, and
the relationship of speech acts to action in general.
34500. Dialect Voices in Literature
Mufwene
In this course we use linguistic techniques to analyze literary texts,
especially to assess how successfully dialect is represented, whether
it matches the characters and cultural contexts in which it is used, and
what effects it produces.
34600. Autolexical Syntax l, 2
Sadock
35200. Lexical Semantics
Mufwene
Review of conceptions of meaning in linguistics and the philosophy of
language. Other topics: the proper name/common noun and the count/mass
distinctions, semantic foundations and functions of lexical categories,
semantic decomposition and tests for validating analyses, and semantic
accounts of grammatical behavior.
35500. Development of Yiddish
Sadock
35800. Sociolinguistic Perspectives on American English
Silverstein
36800. Intermediate Seminar in Phonological Theory
Goldsmith, Hansson
Intermediate-level course on recent phonological theory, especially issues
central to autosegmental, metrical, and lexical phonology, as well as
certain other approaches.
36900. Advanced Seminar in Current Phonological Theory
Goldsmith, Hansson
Readings and discussions of current articles and dissertations on phonological
theory.
37000. Structure of African-American English
Mufwene
Examines features, primarily morphosyntactic, that make African American
English (AAE) distinctive from other varieties of English spoken in the
USA, particularly white middle class English.
37100. Culture/Cognition-Linguistics Relativity
Silverstein
37300. Discourse Analysis
Dahlstrom
Survey of various approaches attempting to incorporate context into linguistic
theory, including both the socio-cultural context of speech act participants
and settings and a more purely linguistic view of context, relying on
notions such as topic, focus, old vs. new information, etc.
37600. Psychology of Language
McNeill
Topics include language production, comprehension, acquisition; language
and thought; language use; gestures; language in nonhuman species; and
language in artificial systems.
38000. Seminar on Grammaticization
Mufwene
Study of how some lexical items and syntactic constructions specialize
for specific grammatical functions. Examination of trends followed by
different languages.
38200. Current Approaches to Generative Morphology
Dahlstrom, Sadock
In-depth consideration of three or four morphological theories currently
of importance in generative grammar, the selection depending partly on
recent developments in the field and partly on what other morphology-related
courses are being offered during a particular year.
38900. Language, Voice, and Gender
Silverstein
39200. Multilingualism in Europe
Staff
39600. Seminar on Tense and Aspect
Staff
Explores formal analyses of tense and aspect in natural language, with
contrastive data from a variety of languages. The frameworks to be discussed
are event semantics and discourse representation theory, with emphasis
on the compositional representation of tense and aspect. Topics include
the semantics of tenses, sequence of tense, temporal connectives, genericity,
adverbial quantification, and lexical aspect. Prereq: Ling 30700.
40300. Field Methods
Mufwene
This course introduces students to skills of doing productive field work.
It covers topics such as the meaning of field in fieldwork, being in the
field vs. doing fieldwork, selecting and accessing the community to be
investigated, selecting/sampling one’s informants, the relevance
of knowing the backgrounds of one’s informants, different data-gathering
techniques and what factors determine their choice, selecting one’s
equipment and handling it in the field, handling one’s data all the
way to reporting one’s findings, life in the field and ethical matters,
and many other relevant topics.
40700. Structuralism
Aronson
41200. Workshop on Professional Development
Staff
41500. Introduction to Computational Linguistics
Gragg
41800. Unification Approaches to Syntax
Gragg
41900. The Ecology of Language Evolution
Mufwene
Assuming that a language is a Lamarckian species, this course explores
all sorts of internal and external factors that can be identified as part
of its ecology. Our goal is to articulate the notion explicitly and to
operationalize it in order to account for aspects of language evolution.
This process is used here to cover not only changes in the structure of
a language, but also processes of language spread, speciation into new
varieties, and language endangerment. In the general context of language
co-existence and competition, we would like to understand the role of
speakers as agents of evolution. Prereq: Any course in the socio-historical
linguistics group, or consent of the instructor.
42700. Computation and Linguistic Theory
Gragg
Use of a computer language (PROLOG) to test claims of a specific theory
case study will involve Functional Grammar and PROLOG.
43100. Introduction to Computational Linguistics Using Prolog
Gragg
Introductory survey of computational linguistics, with emphasis on Prolog
as a tool in natural language related computation.
43200. Cognitive Science and Linguistics
Goldsmith
43600. Seminar on Nonconfigurational Languages
Dahlstrom
A survey of current theoretical approaches to so-called free word order
languages (e.g., American Indian, Australian; arguably Hungarian and Japanese
as well).
43700. Seminar on A’-dependencies
Merchant
Explores classic and recent work on the nature of A’-dependencies
in a wide variety of languages. Possible topics include wh-movement, in
situ questions, islands, reconstruction effects, intervention effects,
resumptivity, relatives and comparatives, the nature of successive cyclic
movement, and possibly scope, depending in part on participant interests.
43900. Seminar on Syntax/Discourse Interactions
Dahlstrom
Seminar for students with current projects involving syntax and discourse
pragmatics. Readings will reflect the interests of the seminar participants;
in addition, each participant will be responsible for two class presentations
on his/her research project.
44400. Lexical-Functional Grammar
Dahlstrom
44800. Communicative Uses of Nonverbal Behavior
McNeill
Reviews the literature on nonverbal communication in animals and humans.
Readings on facial nonverbal behaviors (particularly in relation to the
expressions of emotion), spontaneous gestures, and conventional sign language
systems (the natural languages of deaf communities).
44900. Topics in Creole Syntax
Mufwene
45200. Generic Sentences
Staff
45400. Pidgin and Creole Genesis
Mufwene
Critical survey of several hypotheses on pidgin and creole genesis in
an attempt to identify the most viable ones and work out alternatives
that should not have been overlooked.
45600. Advanced Seminar in Phonology
Goldsmith, Hansson
Set of rotating topics of current interest in the literature. Among recent
topics are optimality theory, unification-based phonology, the relationship
between tone and accent, syllabification, and use of computational tools
for phonological modeling.
45700. Balkan Linguistics
Staff
Overview of the languages that make up the Balkan linguistic area (Sprachbund),
with special emphasis on the common features (“Balkanisms”)
that they have developed as a result of linguistic contact.
46300. Seminar on Morphological Change
Staff
Overview of the spectrum of issues and perspectives connected with studying
synchronic variation and historical innovations in word structure. Summarizes
the claims and results of traditional classic works on this subject, but
also considers how current morphological theories bear on the diachrony
of inflection, derivation, and compounding.
46400. Seminar on Markedness
Mufwene
Review of the literature on markedness in morphosyntax, focusing on criteria
used to determine markedness values.
46500. Seminar on Time Reference
Mufwene
Attempts to bridge studies of time reference in morphology and syntax.
46700. Seminar on Lexical Semantics
Mufwene
Focuses on selected topics in lexical semantics that could not be approached
in depth in Ling 35200 (Lexical Semantics).
47000. Seminar on Language Contact
Friedman, Mufwene
Explores similarities and differences between the development of pidgins/creoles
and that of other contact-induced language varieties. Situates creole
genesis in a broader context of historical linguistics.
47100. The Minimalist Program and Its Neighbor
Staff
Graduate seminar on the theories of syntax that have evolved in the 1990s
from the general area of Government and Binding theory.
47300. Seminar on Inverse Verbs and Obviation
Dahlstrom
47500. History of Transformational Syntax
Sadock
The course will trace the development of syntactic theory from the American
strucuralists through classical Government and Binding theory. Readings
will include Wells, Harris, Chomsky, Lees, Fillmore, Katz, Postal, Rosenbaum,
Ross, Lakoff, and McCawley. Prereq: Two courses in syntax.
51600. Seminar on Pragmatics
Sadock
Topics may include speech acts, implicature, and presupposition. Readings
from Austin, Searle, Sadock, Grice, Horn, Levinson, Karttunen, Sperber
and Wilson, and others. Prerequisite: Linguistics 30700 or consent of
instructor.
53200. Seminar: Morphology—The Syntax/Morphology Connection
Sadock
53600–53800. Workshop Language Origins 1, 2, 3
Goldin-Meadow
54200. Seminar: Current Research Discourse
Staff
Languages in Linguistics
10100–10300. American Sign Language 1, 2, 3
Staff
10400–10600. Intermediate American Sign Language 1, 2, 3
Staff
30100–30300. Introduction to Modern Hebrew 1, 2, 3
Finkelstein
30400–30600. Intermediate Modern Hebrew 1, 2, 3
Finkelstein
30900. Structure of Albanian
Friedman
32900–33100. Advanced Modern Hebrew 1, 2, 3
Finkelstein
31300–31500. Elementary Modern Greek 1, 2, 3
Staff
32000. Applied Linguistics
Aronson
32100–32300. Elementary Georgian 1, 2, 3
Aronson
For a reading knowledge of contemporary Georgian and an understanding
of the basic grammatical structure of the language. Georgian readings
will concentrate on linguistics.
32400–32600. Intermediate Georgian 1, 2, 3
Aronson
33000. East European Yiddish Language and Culture
Aronson
Intensive introduction to Yiddish literary texts (the Khumdshlider of
Itsik Manger) with emphasis on the language and culture or East European
Jewry.
33100. Language Contact: The Balkan Connection
Friedman
Examines the notorious mess of Balkan linguistic contact taking into account
its earliest study (Kopitar 1829), classic accounts (e.g. Sandfeld 1926/1930),
recent syntheses (e.g. Demiraj 1994), as well as specific works (e.g.
Joseph 1983 on the Balkan infinitive) and research in such diverse areas
as codeswitching, linguistic ecology, and the latest discoveries of historical
data. No previous knowledge of any Balkan language is required.
33400–33600. Structure of Eskimo
Sadock
33900. Old Irish
Staff
34000–34200. Yiddish Through Literature 1, 2, 3
35100. Old Church Slavonic
Friedman
35200–35400. Elementary Swahili 1, 2, 3
Staff
36500–36700. Elementary Rumanian 1, 2, 3
Staff
36800–37000. Intermediate Swahili 1, 2, 3
Staff
39000. History of the Greek Language
Staff
39100–39300. Elementary Albanian 1, 2, 3
Friedman
39400–39600. Elementary Yiddish 1, 2, 3
Aronson
41500. Introduction to Comparative Semitic Linguistics
Gragg
Introductory survey of historical development of the Semitic language
family.
47800. Modern Spoken Quiche
Staff
47900–48100. Modern Spoken Yucatec-Mayan 1, 2, 3
Staff
57900. Maya Glyphic Writing 1
Staff
60000. Informal/Reading Course
Aronson, Dahlstrom, Darden, Friedman, Goldsmith, Hansson, Landahl, McNeill,
Merchant, Mufwene, Sadock
Indo-European Linguistics
30100. Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics
Darden
Fundamental principles of comparison and historical reconstruction based
on Indo-European data. Survey of older attested languages and evidence
from the subgroups of Indo-European. Sketch of correspondences, pertinent
rules, and resultant reconstructed structures.
31500. The Origin and Spread of the Indo-European Languages
Darden
Explores how languages of the Indo-European family spread over a large
part of Eurasia in prehistory. We will look at arguments for concluding
that a set of languages descended from a single proto-language, at linguistic
evidence for the reconstruction of prehistoric culture, and at evidence
for the spread of language in prehist’ory. Prereq: knowledge of some
ancient IE language or consent of instructor.
34400. Comparative Greek and Latin Grammar
Darden
Based on reading and commentary of a comparative Greek and Latin grammar
book by Andrew Sihler.
38600. The Viking Age and Beyond: Norse History and Culture, 8th and 14th
Centuries
This list was last revised on 9/08/2003.
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