General

• LING-L 503 Survey of Linguistics I (3 cr.) An introduction to the field of linguistics. Credit not given towards the M.A. in general linguistics or the Ph.D. in linguistics.

• LING-L 515 The Computer and Natural Language (3 cr.) Present-day computer systems work with human language in many differ­ent forms, whether as stored data in the form of text, typed queries to a database or search engine, or speech commands in a voice-driven computer system. We also increasingly expect computers to produce human language, such as user-friendly error messages and synthesized speech. This course surveys a range of linguistics issues and problems in computational linguistics.

• LING-L 520 Sociolinguistics (3 cr.) Examination of theoretical perspec­tives on language as a social phenomenon. Questions of linguis­tic variation, including social and contextual factors contribut­ing to variation.

• LING-L 530 Introduction to Historical Linguistics (3 cr.) P: L542 or equivalent. Principles of language classification and subclas­sification. Processes of diachronic change. Methods of linguistic reconstruction, especially the comparative method and internal reconstruction.

• LING-L 541 Introductory Phonetics (3 cr.) Survey of speech sound types in languages of the world with practice in discrimination, transcription, and production. Introduction to acoustic phonet­ics, physiology of speech production, and speech perception; with concurrent laboratory section.

• LING-L 542 Phonological Analysis (3 cr.) An introduction to the principles of contemporary phonological theory and tools of phonological analysis and description. The format of the course is oriented toward data-based problems from a wide variety of languages.

• LING-L 543 Syntactic Analysis (3 cr.) An examination of the methods and argumentation used in syntactic analysis conducted within the framework of generative grammar. Emphasis on construct­ing and evaluating grammatical analyses and promoting critical understanding of the generative framework.

• LING-L 544 Morphological Analysis (3 cr.) Introduction to the basic concepts and approaches to morphological analysis and description, to different theories of word structure, and to is­sues in the relation between morphology and phonology and between morphology and syntax. Data-based problem solving from a wide variety of languages.

• LING-L 545 Computation & Linguistic Analysis (3 cr.) P: L555 (or equivalent, approved by course instructor) Introduction to current semantic theory, its tools, concepts, and principles. Emphasis on constructing detailed fragments of natural language with syntactic and semantic components.

• LING-L 546 Semantics (3 cr.) P: L543 or equivalent. Introduction to current semantic theory, its tools, concepts, and principles. Em­phasis on constructing detailed fragments of natural language with syntactic and semantic components.

• LING-L 555 Programming for Computational Linguistics (3 cr.) Introduction to the fundamentals of programming and computer science, aiming at attaining practical skills for text processing. Through lectures, lab sessions, and weekly or bi-weekly assignments, students will learn the essentials of a given programming language (e.g., Perl) and how to apply these skills to natural language data.

• LING-L 590 Linguistic Structure (3 cr.) Analysis of particular aspects of the structure of a language or of a group of closely related languages. Methods used may include text analysis, informant work, study of secondary sources, lectures, reports.

• LING-L 611 Models of Linguistic Structure (3 cr.) Formulations of linguistic structures—finite-set, phrase-structure, transforma­tional dependency, predictive—with emphasis on their math­ematical properties. Mathematical concepts underlying these formulations, such as sets, relations, Markov processes, and automata.

• LING-L 614 Alternative Syntactic Theories (3 cr.) P: L543 or equivalent. An examination of a current syntactic framework other than the standard framework in terms of specific issues of syntactic analysis and general claims about the nature and organization of the syntax of natural languages. Emphasis on developing analyses within that framework. May be repeated for credit when topic varies.

• LING-L 615 Corpus Linguistics (3 cr.) P: L543. Advances in computer technology have revolutionized the ways linguists can approach their data. By using computers, we can access large bodies of text (corpora) and search for phenomena. The course will give an introduction to the methodology and applications in the field.

• LING-L 620 Advanced Sociolinguistics (3 cr.) Sociolinguistic methodol­ogy and data analysis, language ideology, and language in social institutions. Course topics include: quantitative and qualitative methods (variationist, ethnographic, and discourse analytic methods); Anglo-American, Continental pragmatics; language and sociocultural identity (culture, politeness, power, solidarity, and gender); and institutional discourse (juridical, therapeutic, political, religious, etc.).

• LING-L 625 Bilingualism and Language Contact (3 cr.) Problems of multilingualism, including diglossia. Examination of selected cases illustrating the relationship between language contact and linguistic change.

• LING-L 630 Lexicology (3 cr.) Analysis of the lexical structure of lan­guages. The word and its morphological and semantic proper­ties. Application of lexicology to practical problems in diction­ary making (lexicography).

• LING-L 636 Pidgins and Creoles (3 cr.) Survey of the field of pidgin and creole linguistics: presentation of the structure of selected prototypical pidgins and creoles; review of the theories for the genesis of creoles and their relationship to current issues in language acquisition and historical linguistics; discussion of language planning issues specific to pidgins and creoles, as well as discussion of current issues.

• LING-L 641 Advanced Phonetics (3 cr.) P: L541 or equivalent. Experi­mental analysis of the speech signal; speech articulation and the structure of phonetic space. A survey of current theories of speech production and perception with experience design­ing and conducting experiments, and some consideration of phonetic factors that determine the choice of particular sound contrasts in languages.

• LING-L 642 Advanced Phonological Description (3 cr.) P: L542 or equivalent. Problems of phonological description and their theoretical implications. Practice in formulating and evaluating explanatory statements about various phonetic, phonotactic, and morphophonemic properties of languages.

• LING-L 643 Advanced Syntax (3 cr.) P: L543 or equivalent. Syntactic analysis and recent developments of principles and param­eters/minimalist theory. Taking up from L543, reviews core modules of grammar from L543 and examines topics such as logical form, empty categories, barriers, functional categories, and relativized minimality. Introduces concepts of minimalist theory. Training in abstract and squib writing, paper presenta­tion.

• LING-L 645 Adv Natural Language Processing (3 cr.) P: L555 (or equivalent) and L545. An introduction to statistical models and machine learning paradigms in NLP. Covers basic notions in probability and information theory, focusing on the concepts needed for NLP, including Markov Models. Additional topics may include word sense disambiguation, text categorization, and statistical alignment methods and their use in machine translation.

• LING-L 653 Field Methods in Linguistics I (3 cr.) Techniques of data collection and analysis based on work with a native speaker of a language unknown to the students.

• LING-L 654 Field Methods in Linguistics II (3 cr.) Techniques of data collection and analysis based on work with a native speaker of a language unknown to the students.

• LING-L 670 Language Typology (3 cr.) Introduction to linguistic typol­ogy, the study of how languages differ and how they are alike in terms of formal features. Focuses on a variety of syntactic and morphological features of languages including: lexical classes, word order, case and agreement systems, animacy, definite­ness, and gender; valence-changing devices; verbal categories and subordination.

• LING-L 690 Advanced Readings in Linguistics (1-4 cr.) S/F grading.

• LING-L 695 M.A. Thesis Research (1-4 cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.

• LING-L 700 Seminar on Current Issues (1-4 cr.) This seminar will deal with major books and articles that have defined important areas of debate in the current development of linguistic theory. The specific title will be announced well in advance of each semester. Course may be retaken for up to 12 credit hours.

• LING-L 710 Seminar in Phonetics (3 cr.) Selected problems in the acoustic, motor, and auditory structure of the sounds of human language. May be repeated for credit when topic changes.

• LING-L 712 Seminar in Phonology (3 cr.) Research and reports on selected problems of generative phonology. May be repeated for credit when topic changes.

• LING-L 714 Seminar in Syntax (3 cr.) Advanced treatment of a topic, construction, or theoretical concept in syntax using a current theoretical model. May be repeated for credit when topic changes.

• LING-L 715 Seminar in Computational Linguistics (3 cr.) The seminar will introduce students to current research in the field of Com­putational Linguistics. May be repeated for up to 15 credits.

• LING-L 720 Seminar in Sociolinguistics (3 cr.) Selected problems con­cerning the relationship between language and society. May be repeated for credit when topic changes.

• LING-L 760 Seminar in Historical Linguistics (3 cr.) Selected problems concerning linguistic reconstruction, processes of diachronic change, and language classification. May be repeated for credit when topic changes.

• LING-L 780 Seminar in Semantics (3 cr.) Selected problems in the area of meaning and the relationship between language and semantic interpretation. May be repeated for credit when topic changes.

• LING-L 800 Research (arr. cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.

• LING-L 665 Applying Machine Learning TEchniques in COmputational Linguistics (3 cr.) P: L545 or equivalent Introduction to major algorithms in Machine Learning (ML) as well as applications of these techniques to a wide range of CL topics. Course includes an introduction to CL and to W focused on supervised algorithms: decision trees and rule learning. Also considered are applications of ML algorithms to CL problems.

• LING-L 685 Linguistics Teaching Practicum (1-3 cr.) P: Completion of 24 hours of graduate coursework, plus 600-level coursework in the area of the practicum. Under faculty supervision, students provide instruction in an undergraduate course in their area of specialization, for example, phonetics, phonology, syntax, sociolinguistics. This practicum also provides experience in developing course materials (e.g., problem sets, homework exercises, reading selections), and testing.

ling-study-african-langs

• LING-A 501 Introduction to African Linguistics (3 cr.) Introduction to African Linguistics (3 cr.) Introduction to the linguistic study of African languages; questions of language distribution, typological and genetic classification, comparative reconstruction, and structural aspects of individual languages.

• LING-A 502 Language in Africa (3 cr.) Language in the lives and behavior of African people.  Dynamics of language spread and multilingualism.  Literacy, language and education.  Linguistic ritual: greetings, condolences, apologies, leave-taking.  Joking and insulting relationships.  Stories and storytellers.  Proverbs and their use.  Power of language in society.

• LING-A 503 Bantu Linguistics (3 cr.) Structural comparisons of Bantu languages at levels of phonology, morphology, and syntax, noting differences and similarities of various East African languages.

• LING-A 504 Chadic Linguistics (3 cr.) P: Reading knowledge of French or German. An introduction to the Chadic language family.  The relationship of Chadic to Afro-Asiatic and the membership and internal classification of the Chadic family.  Common structural features of present-day Chadic langugages and the reconstruction of Proto-Chadic.

• LING-A 747 Seminar in African Linguistics (4 cr.) Research on specific problems of African linguistics.  Course may be repeated for credit.

The Linguistic Study of African Languages

African and Other Languages

• LING-F 101 Elementary African Languages I: [variable language] (3 cr.) Three (3) credit hours for graduate students; 4 credit hours for undergraduates.

• LING-F 102 Elementary African Languages II: [variable language] (3 cr.) Three (3) credit hours for graduate students; 4 credit hours for undergraduates.

• LING-F 201 Intermediate African Languages I: [variable language] (3 cr.)

• LING-F 202 Intermediate African Languages II: [variable language] (3 cr.)

• LING-F 301 Advanced African Languages I: [variable language] (3 cr.)

• LING-F 302 Advanced African Languages II: [variable language] (3 cr.)

• LING-A 400 Advanced Individual Study of an African Language (1-4; max. 12 cr.) May be repeated for credit.

• LING-L 506 Tutorial Instruction in Foreign Languages (arr. cr.) May be repeated for credit.

Akan

• LING-K 501 Elementary Akan I (3 cr.) Introduction to Akan, a major language in Ghana. Basic grammatical structures, vocabulary, emphasis on the spoken language, oral, listening comprehension, language use in specific social settings. Graduate students will have individual projects to submit. Important cultural points like food, clothing, marriage, etc. Videos and Internet resources will be used.

• LING-K 502 Elementary Akan II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING K501, or equivalent proficiency. Introduction to Akan, major language in Ghana. Basic grammatical structures, vocabulary, emphasis on the spoken language, oral, listening comprehension, language use in specific social settings. Graduate students will have individual projects to submit. Important cultural points like food, clothing, marriage, etc. Videos and Internet resources will be used.

• LING-K 601 Intermediate Akan I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING K502, or equivalent proficiency. First part in a two-semester sequence. Study of more complex grammatical structures, with emphasis on active skills: speaking and writing. Attention will be on oral and written compositions, reading and listening comprehension, and translation of texts. Description of cultural events through the use of videos and the Internet.

• LING-K 602 Intermediate Akan II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING K601, or equivalent proficiency. Second part of a two-semester sequence. Study of more complex grammatical structures, with emphasis on active skills: speaking, writing and reading texts. Attention will be on oral and written composition, reading and listening comprehension, translation from English to Twi and from Twi to English. Description of cultural events shown on video or CD-ROM.

• LING-K 701 Advanced Akan I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING K602, or equivalent proficiency. Study of more complex grammatical structures and complex contextual discourse patterns. Advanced readings of traditional and modern literature. Advanced oral and written compositions, advanced listening comprehension and translation of complex texts. Use of Internet resources. The course will be completely oriented to the needs of the students enrolled.

• LING-K 702 Advanced Akan II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING K701, or equivalent proficiency. Study of complex grammatical structures and of more complex contextual discourse patterns. Advanced readings of traditional and modern literature. Advanced oral and written compositions, advanced reading and listening comprehension and translation of complex texts from English to Twi. The course will be completely oriented to the needs of the students enrolled.

Bambara/Bamana

• LING-B 501 Elementary Bamana I (3 cr.) Introduction to Bamana, major language spoken in Mali and Burkina Faso. Basic grammatical structures and vocabulary. Emphasis is on spoken language, language use in specific social settings. Graduate students will have an individual project to complete. Important cultural points like food, clothing, etc. Videos and Internet resources will be used.

• LING-B 502 Elementary Bamana II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in B501 or equivalent proficiency. Second part of a two-semester course. Bamana is spoken in West Africa especially Mali. Basic grammatical structures/vocabulary, spoken language used in social settings. Videos and Internet resources will be used.

• LING-B 601 Intermediate Bamana I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING B502 or equivalent proficiency. First part of two-semester course. Studying more complex grammatical structures, emphasis speaking/writing/reading texts, oral/written compositions, reading, listening comprehension, and translation of texts. Cultural events through use of videos, CD-ROMs, internet.

• LING-B 602 Intermediate Bamana II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING B601 or equivalent proficiency Study of more complex grammatical structures, with emphasis on active skills: speaking, writing, reading texts. Attention will be on oral/written compositions, reading and listening comprehension, and translation of texts. Graduate students will have an individual project. Description of cultural events through the use of videos, CD-ROMs and the Internet.

• LING-B 701 Advanced Bamana I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C First part of a two-semester sequence. Study of more complex grammatical structures, complex contextual discourse patterns. Advanced readings of traditional, modern literature. Advanced oral, written compositions, listening comprehension, translations. Special projects.

• LING-B 702 Advanced Bamana II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING B701 or equivalent proficiency. Second part of two-semester sequence. Requires permission of instructor. Study of complex grammatical structures, contextual discourse patterns. Advanced readings, oral and written compositions, listening comprehension, translation of complex texts. Additional project(s).

Swahili

• LING-S 501 Elementary Swahili I (3 cr.) First part of a two-semester sequence. Introduction to Swahili, a major African language spoken in East Africa, e.g., Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Basic grammatical structures and vocabulary. Emphasis on spoken language and listening comprehension, language use in specific social settings, and appropriate cultural features (e.g., foods, clothing, marraige). Student projects.

• LING-S 502 Elementary Swahili II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING S501, or equivalent proficiency. Second part of a two-semester sequence. Continuation of work begun on basic skills in S501, with continued emphasis on oral/aural skills, reading comprehension. Student projects.

• LING-S 601 Intermediate Swahili I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING S502, or equivalent proficiency.

  First part of a two-semester sequence. Introduction of more grammatical structures, expanded vocabulary. Continued work on comprehension, both listening and reading, and oral production. More emphasis on speaking and writing. Student projects.

• LING-S 602 Intermediate Swahili II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING S601, or equivalent proficiency.

  Second part of a two-semester sequence. Continuation of work in S601, with additional and more complex grammatical structures, expanded vocabulary. Increased conversational interaction and written compositions. Student projects.

• LING-S 701 Advanced Swahili I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING S602, or equivalent proficiency. First part of a two-semester sequence. Study of more complex grammatical structures and of more complex contextual discourse patterns. Advanced readings of oral and written compositions, advanced listening comprehension, and translation of complex texts. Use of Internet resources.

• LING-S 702 Advanced Swahili II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING-S 701 or equivalent proficiency and requires permission of instructor. Second part of a two-semester sequence. Study of complex grammatical structures, advanced readings of traditional, modern literature. Advanced oral and written compositions, advanced reading and listening comprehension and translation of complex texts from English to Swahili.

Wolof

• LING-X 501 Elementary Wolof (3 cr.) Introduction to the Wolof language. Focus on basic sounds, basic sentence structure of the language, combining written, oral practice based on cultural aspects of Wolof society. Exercises include oral, listening, and reading comprehension, writing with emphasis on the foreign language national standards.

• LING-X 502 Elementary Wolof (3 cr.) P: X501 Course provides a deeper knowledge of the Wolof language, culture. Second part of a two-semester sequence.  Focused on communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities of the foreign language. This will enable each student to acquire greater understanding and use the Wolof language to convey feelings, express ideas in language.

• LING-X 601 Intermediate Wolof I (3 cr.) This is an intermediate Wolof class, a continuation of X501 and X502. Students will deepen basic skills acquired in previous Wolof courses such as pronunciation, reading, speaking, listening and writing.

• LING-X 602 Intermediate Wolof II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING-X601. This is the second semester of an Intermediate Wolof class X601. Students will deepen basic skills acquired in previous Wolof courses such as pronunciation, reading, speaking, listeneing and writing. This semester will focus on listening and speaking skills.

• LING-X 701 Advanced Wolof (3 cr.) Instruction will mostly be in Wolof. Learners will be required to contribute effectively in Wolof in all class discussions and activities. Wolof grammar will be reviewed and exercises assigned to check learners’ grasp of grammatical patterns and ability to express themselves appropriately in given communicative situations.

• LING-X 702 Advanced Wolof (3 cr.) P: X701 Provide the students a deeper knowledge of Wolof language, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities. Each student will acquire a greater capacity to understand and use the language. Each student will develop the ability to convey feelings and ideas in the language.

Yoruba

• LING-Y 501 Elementary Yoruba I (3 cr.) First part of a two-semester sequence. Introduction to Yoruba language and culture, a major African language spoken in Nigeria. Basic grammatical structures and vocabulary. Emphasis on spoken language and listening comprehension, language use in specific social settings (e.g., market, hospital, school), and appropriate cultural features (e.g., foods, clothing, marriage, etc...). Student projects.

• LING-Y 502 Elementary Yoruba II (3 cr.) P: Grade C or better in LING-Y 501, or equivalent proficiency Second part of a two-semester sequence. Continuation of work begun on basic skills in Y501, with continued emphasis on oral/aural skills, reading comprehension. Student projects.

• LING-Y 601 Intermediate Yoruba I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING-Y 502 or equivalent proficiency

  First part of a two-semester sequence. Introduction of more complex grammatical structures, expanded vocabulary. Continued work on comprehension-both listening and reading-and oral production. More emphasis on speaking and writing. Student projects.

• LING-Y 602 Intermediate Yoruba II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING-Y 602 or equivalent proficiency Second part of a two-semester sequence. Continuation of work in Y601 with additional and more complex grammatical structures, expanded vocabulary. Increased conversational interaction and written compositions. Student projects.

Zulu

• LING-Z 501 Elementary Zulu I (3 cr.) First part of a two-semester sequence. Introduction to Zulu language and culture. Zulu is spoken in South Africa and the neighboring countries of Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique Swaziland, and Lesotho Basic grammatical structures and vocabulary, emphasis on the spoken language and cultural awareness.

• LING-Z 502 Elementary Zulu II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING Z501, or equivalent proficiency. The second part of a two-semester sequence. Basic grammatical structures and vocabulary. Emphasis is on the spoken language—oral and listening comprehension, language use in specific social settings. Videos and internet resources will be used.

• LING-Z 601 Intermediate Zulu I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING Z502, or equivalent proficiency. First part of a two-semester sequence. Study of more complex grammatical structures, with emphasis on active skills: speaking, writing, and reading texts. Attention will be on oral and written compositions, reading and listening comprehension, and translation of texts. Description of cultural events through the use of videos and the Internet.

• LING-Z 602 Intermediate Zulu II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING Z601, or equivalent proficiency. Second part of a two-semester sequence.  Study of more complex grammatical structures, with emphasis on active skills: speaking, writing, and reading texts. Attention will be on oral and written compositions, reading and listening comprehension, and translation of texts. Descriptions of cultural events through the use of videos and the Internet. Second part of a two-semester sequence. Study of more complex grammatical structures, with emphasis on active skills: speaking, writing, and reading texts. Attention will be on oral and written compositions, reading and listening comprehension, and translation of texts. Descriptions of cultural events through the use of videos and the Internet.

• LING-Z 701 Advanced Zulu I (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING Z602, or equivalent proficiency. First part of a two-semester sequence. Study of more complex grammatical structures and of more complex contextual discourse patterns. Advanced readings of traditional and modern literature. Advanced oral and written compositions, advanced listening comprehension and translation of complex texts. Use of internet resources.course will be completely oriented to the needs of the students enrolled.

• LING-Z 702 Advanced Zulu II (3 cr.) P: Grade of C or better in LING Z701, or equivalent proficiency. Second part of a two-semester sequence. Study of more complex grammatical structures and of more complex contextual discourse patterns. Advanced readings of traditional and modern literature. Advanced oral written compositions, advanced listening comprehension and translation of complex texts. Use of internet resources. The course will be completely oriented to the needs of the students enrolled.