Linguistics and Language-Related Courses

* Language-related courses marked with an asterisk do not apply towards a BA or MA in Linguistics.

AMST Courses

AMST 201-2 Language in the US

Fall 2008
Ashley Williams
MW 2-3:15

Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. is not (and never has been) linguistically homogenous: from dying and revitalized Native American languages to newly arrived immigrant languages, from regional and social dialect variation to innovation among adolescents and Hip Hop, the American language situation is diverse and changing. This course invites students to investigate this not-quite-melting-pot variety both through readings in current research and through small-scale field research. Topics covered in the course will include the origins and distinctions of American English, language controversies such as Ebonics and the English-Only movement, research in language attitudes and discrimination, topics in bilingualism and education, plus the latest studies in language issues involving different ethnicities, genders, sexualities, ages, and social classes. In this course we will pull material from a variety of sources (including films, literature, the media, and recent studies), and will employ a variety of approaches (linguistic, anthropological, sociological, historical, and more) as we investigate and debate what is uniquely "American" about the language situation in the United States.

ANTH Courses

ANTH 240 Language and Culture

Fall 2008
Tara Sanchez
MW 9-9:50 plus W/Th/F discussion sections

A survey of topics having to do with the relationship between language, culture, and society. We will consider both how language is described and analyzed by linguists and how linguistic data can shed light on a variety of social, cultural, and cognitive phenomena. Topics include: nature of language, origins of language, how languages change, use of linguistic evidence to make inferences about prehistory, the effects of linguistic categories on thought and behavior, regional and social variation in language, and cultural rules for communications. Satisfies the non-western perspectives requirement in the College.

ANTH 347 / ANTH 747 / MESA 347 Language and Culture in the Middle East

Fall 2008
Dan Lefkowitz
MW 2-2:50 plus F discussion sections

This course provides an introduction to the people, cultures, and histories of the Middle East through an examination of language-use in contemporary Middle Eastern societies. The course focuses on Israel/Palestine, and the contact between Hebrew and Arabic, as a microcosm providing insight into important social processes-such as colonization, religious fundamentalism, modernization, and the changing status of women-affecting the region as a whole. Readings contrast ethnographic with novelistic representations of language, society, and identity. A primary concern will be to compare social scientific and literary constructions of self and other in the context of the political and military confrontation between Israel and Palestine. This is a lecture and discussion course. A number of feature films from the Middle East are incorporated into the course material. Requirements include four short essays and a book review. Prerequisite: previous course in anthropology, linguistics, or Middle Eastern studies; or permission of the instructor. This course fulfills the College second writing requirement.

ANTH 348 / ANTH 748 Language and Prehistory

Fall 2008
Eve Danziger
WF 10-10:50 plus M/T discussion sections.

This course covers the basic principles of diachronic linguistics - the study of how languages change over time - and discusses the uses of linguistic data in the reconstruction of prehistory. We will consider the use of linguistic evidence in tracing prehistoric population movements, in demonstrating contact among prehistoric groups, and in the reconstruction of daily life. To the extent that the literature permits, examples and case studies will be drawn from the Mayan language area of Central America, and will include discussion of the pre-Columbian Mayan writing system and its ongoing decipherment. This course fulfills the linguistics distribution requirement for Anthropology majors and for Cognitive Science majors. It also fulfills the comparative-historical requirement for Linguistics majors. Students enrolled in 748 meet with the instructor one additional hour per week, time TBA.

ANTH 504 Linguistic Field Methods

Fall 2008
Tara Sanchez
T 3:30-6:00

In this course we will work with a native speaker of an "exotic" language (i.e., a language that is not commonly taught in the U.S., hence likely not to be familiar to any of the students in the class). We try to figure out the phonological and grammatical structure of the language based on data collected from the native speaker consultant in class. Attendance is therefore mandatory. Assignments include one paper on phonology, one on morphology, and one on syntax. The nature of the assignments may vary depending on the particular language being studied.

ANTH 542 Theories of Language

Fall 2008
Ellen Contini-Morava
MW 3:30-4:45

Will survey a number of modern schools of linguistics, both American and European, paying attention both to theory and analytical practice, and trying to understand each approach in terms of its historical context, the questions it asks about "language", and the fit between theory and analysis. Prerequisite: A course in linguistics or linguistic anthropology, or permission of instructor. This course satisfies the "theory" requirement for both B.A. and M.A. students in Linguistics.

ANTH 549A Multilingualism and Language Contact

Fall 2008
Tara Sanchez
TTh 9:30-10:45

In the generative tradition within linguistics, the model of an ideal monolingual speaker is often assumed. However, most of the world's citizens experience language as bi- or multilingual individuals, and many of these live in multilingual communities. This course considers what happens to language at both the individual and community levels in circumstances of multilingualism and language contact. We will examine different types of contact, and their specific structural effects on each level of language, from phonetics to discourse-pragmatics. General topics will include pidiginization, creolization, language transfer, borrowing (lexical and structural), diglossia, codeswitching, and the speech community (e.g. How does one define a "multilingual speech community", if such a thing is even possible?).

ENMD Courses

ENMD 801 Old English

Fall 2008
Peter Baker
MWF 11-11:50

In this course, the primary task will be to learn the language written in England before the year 1100 and to read a number of texts in Old English, starting with simple prose and ending with such poems as The Battle of Maldon, The Wanderer, and The Dream of the Rood. Students with some experience in foreign language study will find the course easier than those without. In addition, the course is an introduction to the literature of the Old English period: we will supplement language study and reading Old English with discussion and reading in secondary sources. Written work will include bi-weekly quizzes on the language, one paper, an oral report, and a brief final exam. Note that this course is a prerequisite for ENMD 820, Beowulf.

FREN Courses

FREN 339 Phonetics

Fall 2008
Gladys Saunders
MW 3:30-4:45

This course, conducted in French, is designed to introduce basic concepts in phonetic theory and to teach students techniques for improving their own pronunciation. We shall examine the physical characteristics of individual sounds, the relationship between sounds and their written representations, the rules governing the pronunciation of "standard French", and the most salient phonological features of selected regional varieties (e.g. le francais meridional). Working independently and regularly with audiotapes in the language laboratory, and as a group with the instructor in the classroom, students will have opportunities for oral practice in the production of French sounds (in isolation, in syllabic combinations, in rhythmic groups and in phrases). Requires much memorization.

LNGS Courses

LNGS 325 Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Methodology

Fall 2008
Mark Elson
MWF 11-11:50

Introduces sign systems, language as a sign system, and approaches to linguistics. Emphasizes the application of descriptive techniques to data. This course is a requirement for the B.A. and M.A. students in Linguistics. NOTE: There will be a graduate section meeting at the same time as LNGS 325, with additional meetings to be arranged. During the enrollment period, graduate students should enroll in LNGS 325.

PHIL Courses

PHIL 550 Philosophy of Language

Fall 2008
Ilhan Inan
M 4:30-7

Philosophical problems can often be either solved or dissolved by scrutiny of the language in which they are couched. What is more, language and linguistic interaction themselves raise questions of the deepest conceptual kind, answers to which illuminate cognition and social interaction. For these reasons language has been the premier area of inquiry among philosophers in the last century. That inquiry has been driven by two distinct questions: In virtue of what is language meaningful, and How shall we characterize that meaning? Topics to be covered include the relation between thought and language; the possibility of an essentiall private discursive realm; the view that one somehow "structures" reality; the method of solving or dissolving traditional philosophical problems by scrutiny of the language in which they are couched; the nature of linguistic meaning and the relation thereof to truth and to "language games"; questions about the definition of language; the nature of interpretation and the role that it plays in organizing our understanding of the world. Prerequisite: Symbolic Logic (Philosophy 242) or equivalent. (Note: This prerequisite is *firm*.)

PSYC Courses

PSYC 404 Acquisition of Syntax

Fall 2008
Sandra Wood
TTh 11-12:15

This course will investigate the acquistion of syntax in language development from empirical and theoretical perspectives. Questions about what it means to know language and how language is acquired will be explored in depth, along with discussions involving acqusition/development of language, which will include sign language and development of homesigned "language".

SPAN Courses

SPAN 309 Spanish Linguistics

Fall 2008
Instructor TBA
MWF 4-4:50

This course offers a rigorous introduction to the formal study of the Spanish language. Topics include: articulatory phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, historical linguistics and dialectology. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN 311 or equivalent.

SPAN 310 Phonetics

Fall 2008
Fernando Tejedo Herrero
TTh 9:30-10:45

This course offers a detailed analysis of the sound system of Spanish, including its Peninsular and Latin American varieties. Topics include: articulatory phonetics, phonology and basic dialectal differences in the Spanish-speaking world. A considerable amount of time in class and in the language lab is dedicated to pronunciation drills. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN 202 or equivalent.

SPAN 492 Spanish in the United States

Fall 2008
Fernando Tejedo Herrero
T Th 11-12:15

This seminar focuses on the main varieties of Spanish spoken in the United States. We will review the history of the Spanish language in what is now the United States. We will study the main linguistic characteristics of the main varieties (vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar), and look at some sociolinguistic topics related to English-Spanish contact situations: language policy issues, linguistic borrowing, or code-switching. We will also explore aspects related to Spanish-Spanish contact situations (i.e. how does intensive contact among varieties of Spanish affect each other?). Throughout the course, students will prepare short written and oral summaries of assigned readings, and a longer research paper. Taught in Spanish. Pre-requisites: (1) SPAN 311, and (2) SPAN 309, SPAN 310, or any linguistics course.

Previous Listings

View course listings from previous semesters in the course listing archive.