LNGN 110 Language of
Food
This course explores the intersection of language and food (or speaking
and eating) by investigating what we can learn about language by
studying
"the language of food." The course introduces fundamental
aspects of language and linguistics through an exploration of
topics
related to food: food terms, food metaphors, the language and
structure of
menus and recipes, the language of wine, the language of food
advertising
and labeling, and language practices related to food and eating
(e.g.,
saying grace, making toasts, sharing recipes, etc.). The course
examines
how people talk about food, how people use food to talk about
themselves
and about others, and how "food talk" conveys a range of social
and cultural meanings. Cognitive aspects of the language of food
and taste
as well as cross-linguistic similarities and differences will be
considered.
Meets Gen Ed 2002 -
Social
Science.
LNGN
210 Introduction to General
Linguistics The nature and
structure of language;
the basic techniques for analyzing linguistic structures; phonological,
morphological, syntactic, and semantic structure of languages; language
and
dialects; language change; the comparative method in linguistics; human
and
animal communication; differences between first and second language
learning.
Required
of majors.
Meets
the General Education Requirement -
Social Science, Survey course.
LNGN
220 Structure of American English The phonology,
morphology, and syntax
of American English; geographical and social dialects; traditional,
structural
and transformational approaches to grammar.
Required
of majors.
Meets
the General Educational Requirement -
Foreign Language.
LNGN
230 Language in Society Correlations between
language
varieties, their functions in particular settings, and the
characteristics of
their speakers. Black English. The role of second languages within a
society:
Pidgin, Creole, Lingua Franca, Diglossia,
etc.
Required
of majors.
Meets
the General Education Requirement -
Social Science, Topic Course.
LNGN
240 Languages of the World This course provides a
survey of the
languages of the world from the dual perspectives of their genealogical
classification and their typological (or structural) characteristics.
It is
intended for both majors and non-majors, and presupposes no previous
linguistic
training.
To
download a PDF version of the Japanese
Language Program brochure, click
here for page 1, click
here for page 2.
LNGN
245 Language and Culture Language in its
cultural context.
Relationship of linguistic to non-linguistic variables: ethnosemantics,
linguistic relativity principle, componential analysis,
glottochronology.
Required
of majors.
Meets
the General Education Requirements -
Social Science, Topic Course.
LNGN
284 History of the English Language The course considers
the evolution of
English from its origins in Indo-European. While the course is grounded
in the
linguistic changes in pronunciation, word formation, syntax, and
meaning that
led to the current language, there is a strong concentration on the
historical
influences that encouraged change and on the role the language played
in the
development of modern democracy.
LNGN
300 Syntax The study of sentence
structure and
the theories designed to describe it. Emphasis on structural grammar,
the
development of Generative Grammar and contemporary theoretical methods
for
describing sentence structure. Data will be taken from a number of
different
languages.
PREREQUISITES:
LNGN 210 and instructor's
permission.
LNGN
301 Semantics
The systematic and objective study of meaning in language. Topics
include
referential meaning, semantic fields, componential analysis, synonymy, polysemy, hyponymy, and sequential meaning. Data
will be
taken from a number of different languages.
PREREQUISITES:
LNGN 300 and instructor's
permission.
LNGN
302 Pragmatics
The study of pragmatics, an area of linguistics that examines language
as
situated speech and studies how context affects the interpretation of
meaning.
PREREQUISITE:
LNGN 300.
LNGN
304
Principles of Discourse Analysis
This course introduces students to discourse analysis, the subfield oflinguistics that analyzes
naturally
occurring connected speech and writtentexts
and describes the nature of socially-situated language. Central issuesin the study of discourse
will be
examined, including the relationship betweenlinguistic
form and function, the relationship between text and context, andthe question of
"textuality," that is, how a randomly ordered set of sentencesis distinguished from a
coherent text.
Various approaches to discourse willbe
discussed
including
speech act theory, interactional sociolinguistics,conversation analysis, and
critical
discourse analysis.
PREREQUISITE:
LNGN 210.
LNGN
310 Morphology
This course provides students with a detailed knowledge of the
principles and
methods of morphology, the study of the structure of words. The
students will
gain broad experience with the techniques of analyzing morphological
data; with
the kinds of morphological systems that are found in the languages of
the
world; and with the theoretical significance of the study of morphology.
PREREQUISITE:
LNGN 210
LNGN
325 Principles of Second Language
Acquisition
Theories of second language acquisition; error analysis; individual
learner
differences; the role of input, interaction, and formal instruction in
language
acquisition.
LNGN
330 Phonetics
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to phonetics, the
study of
the production of speech sounds and their acoustic characteristics.
Students
will learn to identify, classify, and transcribe sounds from a variety
of
languages. They will also learn how computerized instruments permit the
detailed analysis of speech sounds, as well as the production of
artificial
speech.
LNGN
331 Phonology
Phonology studies how languages make use of speech sounds in a
systematic way
to produce meaningful units like words and sentences. The two main
objectives
of this course will be (1) to give students experience in analyzing
phonological data from a wide variety of languages, and (2) to survey
current
theories of phonology.
PREREQUISITE:
LNGN 330
LNGN
370 Comparative and Historical
Linguistics
Similarities and differences among languages and language families at
one point
of time and as these develop in time; reconstructing the common
ancestor of
related languages and determining general laws of linguistic change.
LNGN
410 Linguistics and Philosophy
LNGN
420 Language and the Mind An introduction to the
major
theoretical and methodological principles of Noam Chomsky's theory of
Universal
Grammar and what they tell us about the structure of the human mind.
PREREQUISITE:
LNGN 210
LNGN
430 Field Methods
Collecting linguistic data from an informant; human factors in field
work;
qualifications of the informant; elicitation techniques.
LNGN
445 Natural Language Processing
Provides students with an introduction to the applications of computer
technology to linguistics. Topics include language generation,
syntactic
parsing, and the analysis and synthesis of speech. Students learn to
write
simple programs in PROLOG or another programming language.
LNGN
450 & 451 Selected Topics in
Linguistics
Study of special topics in linguistics. Topics announced each semester.
PREREQUISITES:
LNGN 210 or equivalent and
instructor's permission.
LNGN
460 Topics in the Structure of a
Selected Language
This variable-content course is designed to permit students to pursue
in
considerable depth topics in the structure of a foreign language which
are
related to material in other courses. The selection of a topic and a
language
(or, perhaps, a group of related languages) will depend on the
interests of the
students and the instructor, and on the availability of relevant
material. In
general, the topics chosen will be of general relevance to linguistics,
and
might relate to phonological, morphological, syntactic, and/or semantic
issues.
PREREQUISITES:
LNGN 210 and Permission of the
Instructor
LNGN
478 & 479 Independent Study in
Linguistics
These courses are designed (1) to allow students to explore areas of
linguistics that are not covered in the normal course offerings of the
department; (2) to permit an in-depth analysis of a given subject
beyond the
scope of a regular semester course; or (3) to provide advanced students
with
the possibility of research in areas of linguistics that are of special
interest to them.
PREREQUISITES:
LNGN 210 and instructor's
permission.
PSYC
250 Psycholinguistics
Explores the study of language through linguistic, behavioral, and
cognitive
methods. Basic linguistic ideas are used for the explication of
problems in
grammar, cognitive, structure, meaning, and speech production and
comprehension.
PREREQUISITE:
PSYC 301 or instructor's
permission.
PSYC
290/CMPT 290 Introduction to
Cognitive Science
An introduction to the multidisciplinary field of cognitive science.
Topics
include: the mind-body problem, thought as computation and the computer
model
of the mind, the role of representation in mental activity. Emphasis
will be
upon the methodological approaches found in artificial intelligence,
cognitive
psychology, cognitive anthropology, cognitive neurosciences,
linguistics, and
philosophy.
PREREQUISITE:
ANTH 100 or PSYC 101 or CMPT
183 or LNGN 210 or PHIL 100.
Linguistics
Minor The Lingistics
Minor requires 18 credits of course work: LNGN 210 Introduction to
General
Linguistics and any other five courses that would count toward the
Linguistics
Major.
Note: LNGN 250
Language of Propaganda and LNGN 290
Language
of the Law do NOT count toward the Linguistics Minor.
GRADUATE
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
APLN
500 Language and Linguistics An overview of the
study of language
and linguistics intended to provide students with a clear understanding
of
human language and with the conceptual foundations of linguistics. The
course
will expose students to several major areas within linguistics:
language
acquisition, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and
pragmatics. As the course is a prerequisite for all other courses in
the
program, it will introduce the major tenets and principles of courses
in the
department.
APLN
502 Sociolinguistics
The study of language in its social context with a focus on language
variation.
Topics include language and social class, language and ethnicity,
language and
gender, and the study of standard vs. non-standard varieties of
language.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
504 Syntax
An investigation of the principles and techniques of syntactic analysis
as well
as current syntactic theory. Data from a wide variety of languages will
be
discussed in the context of the study of universal grammar and
linguistic
typology.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
505 Semantics and Pragmatics
An exploration of the main tenets of contemporary semantics and
pragmatics, the
areas of linguistics that examine various aspects of meaning. The
course
investigates the boundaries between semantics and pragmatics by
studying
utterance meaning as well as lexical and sentence meaning. Students
will learn
about the applications of semantics and pragmatics to a variety of
areas of
applied linguistics.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500.
APLN
506 Phonetics and Phonology
An overview and review of phonetics and an introduction to contemporary
phonological theory. The course will study "classical" generative
phonology and the evolution of nonlinear approaches to phonology,
including
metrical and autosegmental phonology and
optimality
theory.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
508 Research Design in Applied
Linguistics
A course to train students in research design, methodology, and data
collection
procedures. Students learn skills which prepare them for administrative
and
research positions in fields such as language planning, ESL curriculum
evaluation, and language learning measurement.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
510 Discourse Analysis
An investigation of the techniques used in discourse analysis, the
branch of
linguistics which studies how to analyze naturally occurring connected
speech.
Discourse analysis is the study of the organization of language above
the
sentence level, including the structure of conversations. It considers
language
in a social context, in particular the language used in verbal
interactions.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
512 Cross-cultural Discourse Analysis
A discourse analytic examination and comparison of the verbal practices
and
communicative strategies of different linguistic, social, and cultural
groups.
Students will broaden their understanding of discourse analysis by
investigating verbal interactions that take place in different
languages and
within a variety of cultural contexts.
Prerequisites:
APLN 500 and APLN 510
APLN
518 Forensic Linguistics
The study of the role of the linguist in the field of law. The course
analyzes
the difference between "truth" as defined by science and by the law.
It describes how linguists can serve as "expert witnesses" in civil
cases and in a wide range of criminal investigations. It also explores
how dialect
study, discourse analysis, lexical analysis, phonetics, pragmatics,
etc. can
provide linguistic evidence crucial to litigation.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
520 Current Theories of Second
Language Acquisition
An in-depth study of current research on second language learning; its
similarities to and differences from first language learning; the role
of the
classroom versus the cultural context for learning; student-centered
versus
content-centered learning, etc. The course also explores the
application of
linguistics, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics to the teaching
and
learning of languages.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
522 Sociocultural
Theory and Second Language Acquisition
A study of the nature of the social interaction and the type of meaning
negotiation that takes place between language learners from one culture
and
more expert speakers of a target language from another culture. The
course will
focus on the social and cultural aspects of diverse language
communities and
how these affect second language acquisition for particular groups of
speakers.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
524 Advanced Structure of American
English
A detailed analysis of the phonological, morphological and grammatical
structures of American English as well as a study of the major social
and
stylistic varieties of American English. Various theories of English
grammar
are compared.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
525 Methodology of Teaching ESL
The study of current issues in the teaching of English as a second
language.
Issues may include, but are not limited to, innovative teaching
methodologies,
the application of language learning theories to classroom teaching,
and the
adaptation and development of instructional materials.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
526 Computer-assisted Language
Instruction Designed for prospective and
experienced foreign language and ESL
teachers who
are interested in exploring the following areas: the use of
network-based
computer instruction; authentic interactive language instruction via
the World
Wide Web; and use and evaluationn
of
currently
available software and CD Roms for
teaching second
and foreign languages. This course is intended to introduce studeents
to the use of computer-mediated language instruction and to the
evaluation and
selection of software for language learning.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
528 Language Testing and Assessment
An in-depth analysis of basic concepts of language testing such as
reliability,
validity, correlations, etc. The course will explore a variety of
examination
of techniques, including testing individual skills (i.e. listening and
reading
comprehension, oral writing proficiency), cultural awareness, language dominance in bilinguals, etc.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
530 Language Policy and Language
Planning
The study of the problems facing multilingual societies. The course
explores
the function of standard languages and the competition which often
exists among
different populations and languages. Topics include the role of
language in
ethnic loyalty, the dynamics of language loss and maintenance, and the
linguistic, economic, sociological, political, and educational aspects
of
language planning.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
532 Language and Culture
A study of the intimate connection between language, culture and
ethnicity. The
course investigates the differences among communicative styles of
various
cultures and sub-cultures, the communication strategies of bilingual
children,
models available for teaching children of different linguistic and
cultural
backgrounds, and the interrelation between language and socioeconomic
class.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
534 Languages in Contact
A study of the effects of bilingualism and multilingualism on society
and on
the languages involved. By examining a variety of examples, students
become
familiar with the possible outcomes of language contact and with the
factors
that play a role in language-policy decisions in multilingual
societies.
Pidgins and creoles are also studied.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
535 Language Policy in Nations in
Transition
This course explores the language policy issues that arise in nations
in
transition, the ways in which such countries have dealt with or are
dealing
with these issues, and the outcomes of their actions. The general
approach will
be to examine a vairety of contemporary
and
historical case studies, i.e. cases of language policy formation in
countries
around the world.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
536 Languages of the U.S.A.
A survey of the indigenous, colonial, and
immigrant
languages of the U.S.A.
and how they are used in education and general communication. Also
studied are
factors affecting the maintenance or loss of languages and the shift
from
native languages to English with a discussion of the mutual effects of
language contact.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
538 Cross-cultural Perspectives on
Language Socialization
A cross-cultural analysis of how children are socialized to use
language and
how children are socialized through the use of language. Investigates
how
children learn about their culture through learning their language.
Connects
the phenomenon of language acquisition to the belief-systems and family
structure within a society.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
540 Literacy
An exploration of the nature of written language and its role in
cognition and
in social and intellectual life. The linguistics, psychological, and
functional
differences between speaking, writing, and reading are studied.
Literate and
non-literate societies are examined.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
542 Cross-cultural Perspectives on
Literacy
An overview of how reading and writing are acquired among various
societies
throughout the world and what educational implications this knowledge
has in
applied contexts, such as in the teaching of English as a Second
Language.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500.
APLN
544 Linguistics and Reading
A study of the linguistic principles involved in learning to read. In
particular, an exploration of what insights into the reading process
are
provided by the linguist=s description of what speakers know about
their
language. Special attention is given to how speakers of one dialect
learn to
read in another dialect of that same language and what contribution
linguistics
makes to teaching reading to children who are second language learners.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
550 Computational Linguistics
A survey of the field of existing computer systems for analyzing
natural
language. The following areas are covered: parsing, semantic analysis
and discourse
analysis. Students will be required to analyze human language using a
specific
programming language such as PROLOG, LISP, OR PASCAL.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
552 Current Issues in Natural
Language Processing
An investigation of the two methodologies that dominate speech and
natural
language processing: rule-based and probabilistic system design. The
two
methodologies will be applied to syntactic and morphological analysis,
speech
synthesis and recognition, and text classification and information
retrieval.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
553 Text Analysis Tools
An introduction to the computer analysis of text for use in research
and
teaching. Students learn to develop software to search and manipulate
written
text and transcribed speech. Applications in computer assisted language
learning, corpus linguistics, lexicography, and translation are
considered.
PREREQUISITE: special fee
APLN
560 Translation Theory
An exploration of the principles involved in providing semantic
"equivalents" between two languages, emphasizing the problems of
translating a variety of different types of texts. Particular attention
is
given to texts which involve major cross-cultural differences.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
565 Lexicography
The study of the principles of compiling dictionaries. Topics include:
the
collection and evaluation of citations, semantic fields, defining,
recording
pronunciations, and determining usage. Attention will be paid to the
differences among different types of dictionaries, scholarly
dictionaries,
bilingual dictionaries, etc. Sample dictionaries are examined and
students
carry out their own lexicographic project.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
570 The Structure of American Sign
Language
The study of American Sign Language or ASL, the manual language of many
deaf
Americans. This course approaches ASL from a linguistic perspective,
examining
its semantics, grammar and "phonology," and comparing ASL with
English and other spoken languages. ASL is also compared to other
manual
languages used in America,
including Signed English and "Total Communication." The educational
implications of ASL and other manual languages are discussed.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
590 Selected Topics in Applied
Linguistics
An intensive study in a particular area of applied linguistics to
address
topics not covered in other courses. Topics reflect current issues in
applied
linguistics.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500
APLN
594 Independent Study in Applied
Linguistics
This course allows students to explore areas of Applied Linguistics
that are
not covered in normal course offerings. May be repeatred
for a maximum of six credits.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500 and permission of
instructor.
APLN
596 Independent Study in Applied
Linguistics
This course allows students to explore areas of Applied Linguistics
that are
not covered in normal course offerings. May be repeated for a maximum
of six
credits.
PREREQUISITE:
APLN 500 and permission of
instructor.
APLN
605 Independent Research
Independent research on an approved topic in Applied Linguistics. For
this
requirement, students investigate an original topic, prepare a formal
written
paper of at least thirty pages, and make an oral presentation at a
Linguistics
Department colloquium. The paper must be read and approved by three
faculty
members. A grade of INC will be used until research is completed. May
be
repeated three times.
PREREQUISITES:
all other required courses for
the MA in Applied Linguistics.
