Fall 2023 Linguistics Course Descriptions

LING 150 – Introduction to the Study of Language
On Campus. Two sections
• TR 12:30-1:45PM [Section restricted to Pre-Computer Science & Linguistics students]
• TR 2:00-3:15PM [open to all students]
You use language all the time, but do you know about the structures that make up language? In this course, you will learn how we produce and organize sounds, build words, and understand the difference between “time flies like an arrow” and “fruit flies like a banana.” Here you’ll make sense of why people have accents, what teachers should know about language, and why good AI speech recognition is so darn hard to achieve.
Individual and Society

LING 160 – Language and Society
On Campus. Three sections
• TR 8:00-9:15 AM- Dr. Jill Hallett
• TR 9:30-10:45AM – Dr. Jill Hallett
• TR 11:00AM-12:15PM – Dr. Kim Potowski
How does language change over time? How do children’s animation films racialize language? What’s with all the pronouns? This course introduces students to language as it socially constructs place, status, gender, ethnicity, and other aspects of identity through intimate conversations all the way to national language policies. Bring your lived experiences and learn to process them through current sociolinguistic lenses.
Individual and Society & US Society

LING 170 – Languages of the World
Online Asynchronous.
Instructor: Dr. Jill Hallett
There are dozens of whistled languages that are endangered because of cell phones. The most common sentence structure places verbs at the ends of sentences. Almost half of the world’s languages have no written form. You might have to switch reading direction multiple times if you are given an Arabic text that includes numbers. West Africa is currently a creative incubator of writing systems.
The world’s over 7,000 languages all serve their speakers’ needs and yet function in a variety of different and interesting ways. In this course, students will be introduced to various ways in which languages behave and what we can learn from these patterns, like why translation apps sometimes fail so hard.
Individual and Society & World Cultures

LING 210 – Introduction to Natural Language Syntax
On Campus. TR 2:00-3:15PM
Instructor: Dr. Shane Ebert
Syntactic analysis is crucial for linguistic data processing and  building linguistic data structure. This course gives you introduction to the hidden nature of even simple sentences using a scientific approach to data analysis. We will also make connections to other areas of linguistics and human cognition more generally, and we will touch on real world applications of syntactic analysis.
• Prerequisite(s): LING 150; or consent of the instructor.

LING 220 – Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology 
On Campus. TR 12:30-1:45PM
Instructor: Carrie Pichan
What sounds exist in the world’s languages? What are the mechanics behind speech production and perception? How can we analyze human speech and categorize sounds to understand underlying patterns? How do we acquire the sounds of our languages, whether as children or later in life? What do the sound systems of bilinguals look like, and why? In this course, we’ll explore these key questions about the sounds of human language and more.
• Prerequisite(s): LING 150; or consent of the instructor.

LING 230 – Semantics, Pragmatics, and Discourse
On Campus. MW 8:00-9:15AM
Instructor: Dr. Xuehua Xiang
What is meaning? How is meaning communicated? How does meaning change in context? How does meaning change according to genre, style and modes of communication? Does new technology create new meaning? How do chatbots understand human language? Should chatbots be made polite? This course will explore these questions and more. We will study a range of linguistic approaches to meaning and look at real world examples.
• Prerequisite(s): LING 150; or consent of the instructor.

LING 300 – The Structure of Words*
On Campus. TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Dr. Luis López

Maybe because of our writing system, we tend to think of words as atomic and indivisible units. The fact is that many words are complex, built out of smaller meaningful units that combine in systematic ways. Even more interesting, how complex words are put together varies considerably from language to language. In this class we will study the familiar processes of word-formation such as inflection, derivation, and compounding, as well as the interfaces of morphology with phonology and syntax. We will spend some time with English and other Indo-European languages, but we will also learn about phenomena beyond, such as incorporation in Native-American languages, templates in semitic languages, noun classes in Bantu, etc. At the end of the semester we will look at theories of morphology that adopt the hypothesis that words do not actually exist as linguistic units at all.
• Prerequisite(s): LING 150; or consent of the instructor.
* LING300 is a topics course – its general title is Seminar in Linguistic Analysis. Students can take LING 300 twice up to 6 credits when the topics are different.

LING 300 – Words and The Games We Play With Them*
On Campus. MW 3:00-4:15
Instructor: Dr. David Miller

Understanding language is much more than knowing the meaning of the words that come out of our mouth, or the gestures signed with our hands. Our words are as much a part of our social lives as the clothes we wear or the attitude(s) we have, and yet our linguistic intentions—as opposed to our appearance or mood—can be much less transparent and readily visible to the world. When we speak with others, we tell tall tales, lie and role-play, beat around the bush, and otherwise hide our true thoughts behind a veil of politeness, formality, and even euphemism (shoot instead of sh*t). Whether it’s asking a passerby how they’re doing if you have no intention of stopping to hear their answer, or embroidering requests with oodles of politeness as in, “It would be so great if you could please do this for me when you have a chance”, we often make people read between the lines when it might be more efficient to be direct. In this class, we’ll examine the contexts that govern our choice of words and sometimes keep us from saying what we really mean, such as political rhetoric, persuasion and debate, fostering and maintaining relationships, and even romance. We’ll attempt to uncover our true linguistic intentions by examining language through a multi-faceted lens, including efficient communication and cooperation, social psychology, game theory, and other important aspects of social life. This is a class about pragmatics.
• Prerequisite(s): LING 150; or consent of the instructor.
* LING300 is a topics course – its general title is Seminar in Linguistic Analysis. Students can take LING 300 twice up to 6 credits when the topics are different.

LING/GER/SPAN 487 – Computer Assisted Language Learning
On Campus. MW 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Dr. Susanne Rott

This course examines how multimedia technologies and social networking tools can be used to enhance the learning of another language. Surveying current cognitive and social (language) learning theories, the class will explore how technological capabilities lead not only to fluent and accurate language use but also to multi-literate and interculturally competent language users. The class will analyze the advantages and limitations of a variety of freeware and open educational resource (OER) materials that are currently available. It will also develop criteria to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of learning applications. The hands-on component of the course will include mini research projects on machine translation (e.g., Google Translate and ChatGPT), data-driven (e.g., Lextutor), and corrective feedback (e.g., ProWrite). All students will be required to learn an unfamiliar language using Duolingo.

• The prerequisite of LING 483 Methods in Second Language Teaching is waived for students in the BS in CS and Linguistics, the Minor in Linguistics and the Teaching of Spanish major.