Fall 2012 Linguistics and Language-Related Courses

All courses listed below apply towards the BA or MA in Linguistics.

AMST Courses

AMST 2500 Language in the U.S.

Ashley Williams
MW 3:30-4:45

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. Fulfills the Second Writing Requirement.

ANTH Courses

ANTH 1401 Your Heritage Language

Lise Dobrin
TR 2:00-3:15

This course introduces students to the fields of structural linguistics, social approaches to the study of language, and language policy through a focus on the traditional or heritage languages spoken more or less actively within students' own families and home communities. While heritage languages may continue to be transmitted, they often do so in a partial and socially muted way that leads to their eventual loss: they may be used only privately in the home, or with a reduced expressive range and set of functions, or exclusively in an oral medium. The lack of visibility and public acceptance of the many heritage languages that surround us submerges the full range of linguistic practices beneath a powerful monolingual norm. So in this course, we prepare students to draw upon linguistic diversity as a positive resource in developing their own identities and interacting with others in our multicultural society. Open to 1st and 2nd year students. Instructor permission required.

ANTH 2400 Language and Culture

Michael Wairungu
MWF 12:00-12:50

Introduces the interrelationships of linguistic, cultural, and social phenomena with emphasis on the importance of these interrelationships in interpreting human behavior. [More complete description TBA]

ANTH 2420 Language and Gender

Ellen Contini-Morava
MW 11:00-11:50 plus obligatory discussion section

In many societies, differences in pronunciation, vocabulary choice, and/or communicative style serve as social markers of gender identity and differentiation. We will compare gender differences in our own society with those in other societies including non-Western ones. Topics to be addressed include: the relation between gender difference and gender inequality (in scholarly discussion of language as well as in language itself); intersection of gender, race, and social class in language use; gender and non-verbal communication (including representations of gender in advertising and the media); issues of nature vs. nurture in explaining these differences. Requirements will include a paper based on fieldwork conducted jointly with a working group, an individual paper, participation in the required discussion section, and a take-home essay question exam focusing on the course readings and lectures.

ANTH 3480/7480 Language and Prehistory

Eve Danziger
TR 2:00-3:15 plus obligatory discussion section

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 Historical requirement for the Linguistics BA and MA.

ANTH 3541/7541 Discourses of the Arab Spring

Daniel Lefkowitz
MW 10:00-10:50

The phenomenon of the "Arab Spring" is examined from the perspective of language, culture, and discourse. The course explores general questions of language, politics, social movements, and nationalisms, alongside specific issues of language-use in the (Arab) Middle East. Topics include: multilingualism and diglossia; language and the media; language in revolutionary states; and sociolinguistic changes in the Arab World.

ANTH 5420 Theories of Language

Ellen Contini-Morava
TR 12:30-1:45

We will survey a number of modern schools of linguistics, both American and European, trying to understand each approach in terms of its historical context, the goals it sets itself, the assumptions it makes about the nature of language, and the relation between theory and methodology. Grades will depend on: four or five written homework assignments that ask you to look at some data from a particular theoretical perspective; a take-home, open-book final exam; and evidence (from class discussion) that you have been doing the readings, which are an essential part of the course. Fulfills the Theory requirement for the Linguistics BA and MA.

ANTH 5490 Speech Play and Verbal Art

Daniel Lefkowitz
MW 2:00-3:15

This graduate-level seminar seeks to understand variation in language (and its significance for social relations and social hierarchies) by focusing on forms of language that are aesthetically valued (whether as powerful or as poetic) in particular communities. The course assumes some familiarity both with technical analysis of language and anthropological perspectives on social formations.

ANTH 7541 Topics in Sociolinguistics: Research Frontiers in Linguistic Anthropology

Eve Danziger
W 7:00-9:30

This graduate seminar course exposes students to a variety of recent and forthcoming research in linguistic anthropology, with an emphasis on students’ own professionalization and preparedness to undertake research.  Students will explore such topics as the preparation of a research proposal, ethics in linguistic anthropology research, and publication venues in this field.  Assignments will be tailored to the needs of particular students enrolled in the class, but will include written submissions as well as seminar presentations during the semester.

EDHS Courses

EDHS 8090 Language Disorders

Filip Loncke
T 10:00-12:45

Coverage includes language differences, language delays, language deviancies, and specific language impairment with topics ranging from language sampling to linguistic analysis, to intervention and counseling.  Topical coverage also include linguistic diversity, bilingualism, early intervention, literacy acquisition, dyslexia and hyperlexia.  Prerequisite: Language development course or instructor permission.

EDIS Courses

EDIS 5480 Second Language Acquisition and Modern Language Teaching Methods: preK-12

Ruth Ferree
M 4:00-6:45

Considers theory and research in second language acquisition; classroom instructional procedures that follow the National Standards, which incorporate interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes and foster successful communication in foreign languages; and selection of appropriate materials, realia, visuals, and media for instructional purposes.  Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

FREN Courses

FREN 3030 Phonetics: The Sounds of French

Gladys Saunders
MWF 11:00-11:50
MWF 12:00-12:50

FREN 3030 is an introductory course in French phonetics, intended to present basic concepts in phonetic theory and teach students techniques for improving their own pronunciation.It includes an examination of the physical characteristics of individual French sounds; the relationship between these sounds and their written representation (spelling); the rules governing the pronunciation of "standard French"; the most salient phonological features of selected French varieties; phonetic differences between French and English sounds; and much more.Practical exercises in 'ear-training' and 'phonetic transcription' (using IPA) are also essential elements in this dynamic course.
Taught in French.

LATI Courses

LATI 5559 Topics in Latin Linguistics

Coulter George
MW 3:30-4:45

This course will examine some of the major issues in Latin linguistics, including, but not limited to, the Indo-European background of Latin, the relationship of Latin to the other early Italic dialects (especially Oscan and Umbrian), the pragmatics of Latin particles and word order, bilingualism in the Roman Empire, and the development of Vulgar Latin. Prerequisite: Latin 2020 or equivalent.

LING Courses

LING 3400/7400 Structure of English

Janay Crabtree
MWF 9:00-9:50

This course provides students with a foundation in the grammar of the English language. Topics include the phonology, morphology, syntax, with a focus on structural analysis. Students will gain confidence in discussing the form, function, and usage of linguistic structures. These topics will also be related to the teaching and tutoring of English as a second language including error correction and feedback. Fulfills the Structure requirement for the Linguistics BA and MA.

LNGS Courses

LNGS 3250/7010 Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Methodology

Mark Elson
MWF 11:00-11:50 with OPTIONAL discussion

This course provides an introduction to language as a semiotic system and to the theoretical assumptions and methodology of linguistic analysis. Data from a variety of languages are considered.

PHIL Courses

PHIL 7450 Philosophy of Language

Mitchell Green
R 1:00-3:30

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.  This course will examine, with the aid of technical tools from logic, topics that have been given the most intense treatment in the field, and which flow from the questions,  In virtue of what is language meaningful, and how shall we characterize that meaning?  Topics to be covered include the relation between truth and meaning; the pragmatic determination of content; the method of solving or dissolving traditional philosophical problems by scrutiny of the language in which they are couched; the relation of semantics to pragmatics; questions about the definition of language; phenomena on the "penumbra" of meaning such as metaphor, expressive language, and presupposition.

Prerequisite: an undergraduate-level course in symbolic logic.

PSYC Courses

PSYC 5310 Developmental Psycholinguistics

John Bonvillian
TR 9:30-10:45

Examination of current research findings and models of children’s language acquisition. In addition to studying typically developing children’s acquisition of spoken language skills, we will examine sign language acquisition in children with deaf parents. Special attention also will be given to the development of communication skills in children with autism and with intellectual disabilities.

SPAN Courses

SPAN 3000 Spanish Phonetics

Joel Rini
TR 2:00-3:15

Omar Velazquez Mendoza
MWF 1:00-1:50

Spanish Phonetics provides an introduction to the sound system of both Peninsular and Latin American Spanish. Class discussions focus on how the sounds of Spanish are produced from an articulatory point of view, and how these sounds are organized and represented in the linguistic competence of their speakers. When appropriate, comparisons will be made between Spanish and English or Spanish and other (Romance) languages. This course seeks to improve the students’ pronunciation. Course conducted in Spanish.                       

SPAN 4559 Theories of Writing

Omar Velazquez Mendoza
MWF 2:00-2:50

Following systemic functional linguistics, this course examines the advanced capacities of first, second, and heritage language learners. Its main goal is to describe how these capacities are realized linguistically in written (academic) language—among other means—through lexical density, grammatical metaphor, clause-combining strategies, and impersonality. This topic will prove extremely helpful both for students who are especially interested in attaining a better mastery of their formal registers and for those who are interested in the teaching profession. Course conducted in Spanish.

SPAN 7220 History of the Language

Joel Rini
TR 12:30-1:45

The development of the Spanish language from its origins. Taught in Spanish.  Fulfills historical linguistics requirement for the M.A. program.

Previous Listings

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