revised curriculum for linguistics - boston university · interrupted acquisition and language...

Please address any questions to Prof. Carol Neidle ([email protected]), 617-353-6218

CAS LINGUISTICS PROGRAM

Revised curriculum for Linguistics EffectiveFall2016,thenumbersformanyLinguistics(LX)courseswillchange! As you may know, most Linguistics courses to date have been offered at the CAS LX 500 level, for either undergraduate or graduate credit. The Linguistics faculty felt it was important to differentiate undergraduate and graduate offerings, with respect to expectations and grading (even when the undergraduates and graduate students may meet together). Undergraduates will register for courses numbered 100-499; graduate students will register for courses numbered 600 or higher. The stated requirements for degree programs that accept CAS LX courses will need to be revised accordingly. On the following pages is a guide to the new numbering system, with an indication of courses to be offered in 2016-17. Days and times are not yet available for spring courses. The spring schedule is preliminary and subject to change. Please note: In 2016-17, the core courses on Phonetics & Phonology (CAS LX 301, previously LX 510) and Syntax (CAS LX 321, previously CAS LX 522) will only be offered during one semester: Phonetics & Phonology in the fall, Syntax in the spring.

Previous LX number,

if different

NewLXnumber

Title Descriptions FALL SPRING

CAS LX 110SAYWHAT?Accents,Dialects,andSociety

Exploration of how variation in accents and dialects interacts with various aspects of society and human life. Students examine how dialect variation arises, how it can be described, and what role it plays in literature, film, humor, and music. Cannot be taken for credit by students who have previously taken, or are currently taking, CAS LX 250 or a higher-level linguistics course. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.

Myler TR 12:30-2

CAS LX 250 IntroductiontoLinguistics

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. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.

Neidle TR 2-3:30

TBATR 5-6:15 PM

CAS LX 510 CASLX301/GRSLX601

Phonetics&Phonology:IntroductiontoSound

Systems

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. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS.

Fallonly: Chang TR 11-12:30

CAS LX 522CASLX321/GRSLX621

Syntax:IntroductiontoSententialStructure

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. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS.

Springonly: Hagstrom,

Myler

CAS LX 519CASLX328/GRSLX628 Questions

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.

Hagstrom MWF 2-3


Semantics&Pragmatics:IntroductiontoLinguistic

Meaning

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. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS.

Alrenga MWF 11-12

Alrenga

Everythingbelow--coursesaboveCASLX250--hasCASLX250asaprerequisite.

NewCASLXcoursenumbersAY2016-17

TR 11-12:15

TR 12:30-1:45

Previous LX number,

if different

NewLXnumber


CASLX341/GRSLX641

Sociolinguistics

Introduction to language in its social context. Methodological and theoretical approaches to sociolinguistics. Linguistic variation in relation to situation, gender, socioeconomic class, linguistic context, and ethnicity. Integrating micro- and macro-analysis from conversation to societal language planning.

Ngom

CAS LX 320 CASLX342 Language,Race,andGender

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

Erker MWF 10-11

CAS LX 545CASLX349/GRSLX649 Bilingualism

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.

Chang TR 3:30-5


InterruptedAcquisitionandLanguageAttrition

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.

Chang


HistoricalandComparativeLinguistics

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. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS.

Nikolaev TR 12:30-2


TheLinguisticsofContemporaryEnglish

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.

Alrenga


VariationinDialectsofEnglish

Exploration of how dialects of English differ from each other, focusing on grammatical variation in the US, with occasional forays into British dialects. Students come to appreciate how linguists investigate grammatical diversity scientifically, revealing the complex structure of non-standard dialects.

Myler TR 9:30-11


StructureofAfricanLanguages

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,and comparisons to its sister languages in that language group.

Mali TR 2-3:30

MWF 10:10-11

MWF 12:20-1:10

TR 9:30-10:45

Previous LX number,

if different

NewLXnumber


CASLX372 FrenchPhonetics

Students improve their pronunciation and aural comprehension by applying linguistic principles governing the articulation and distribution of French sounds, liaison, "mute e," and intonation. Written exercises reinforce theoretical points; oral exercises and recordings allow focus on individual difficulties. Conducted in French.

Neidle


TheSoundsofSpanish

Introduction to Spanish phonetics and phonology. Covers articulatory, acoustic, and auditory phonetics, focusing on techniques for visualizing speech sounds. Examines the phonemic inventory and phonological organization of Spanish from several perspectives, including generative and articulatory phonology as well as sociolinguistics. Conducted in Spanish.

Erker

CAS LX 500CASLX390/GRSLX690 TopicsinLinguistics

Topic for Fall: NaturalLanguageProcessingandComputationalLinguistics.Introduction to computational techniques to explore linguistic models and testempirical 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.

Hagstrom MWF 12-1


LinguisticFieldMethodsAn 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.

Myler


AdvancedSyntax:IssuesinModernSyntacticTheory

Exploration of advanced topics in syntax, chosen in part based on student interest, through reading and critical discussion of both foundational and recent literature. Prereq: CAS LX 422/GRS LX 722 (or CAS LX 522).

Hagstrom


IntermediatePragmatics:MeaninginContext

Covers the main areas of linguistic pragmatics, the study of language use and the relation between meaning and context. Study of pragmatic phenomena such as presuppositions, implicatures, anaphora, and focus, from the perspective of linguistic semantics. Prereq: CAS LX 331/GRS LX 631 (or CAS LX 502).

Alrenga M 4-7

MW 12:30-2

TR 9:30-10:45

TR 2-3:15 & F 9:05-9:55

T 3:30-6:15

carol

Line

revised curriculum for linguistics - boston university · interrupted acquisition and language...

Documents