Summer and Fall 2025 Linguistics Courses

All classes are June 10 through August 2

LING 150 – Introduction to the Study of Language
3 hours. In person.
Tuesday and Thursday 10:45 AM – 1:15 PM

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.

Gen Ed credits in “Individual and Society”

LING 170 – Languages of the World 

3 hours. Online Asynchronous.

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.

Gen Ed Credits in “Individual and Society” & “World Cultures”

LING 150 – Introduction to the Study of Language
On Campus.
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.
Gen Ed credits in “Individual and Society”

LING 160 – Language and Society
On Campus.
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.
Gen Ed Credits in “Individual and Society” & “US Society”

LING 170 – Languages of the World
Online Asynchronous.
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.
Gen Ed Credits in “Individual and Society” & “World Cultures”

LING 210 – Introduction to Natural Language Syntax
On Campus.
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.
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.

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 340 – Vocabulary in Action: How do we learn, process, and use words as multilinguals?
On Campus.

As adults, we use vocabulary to express ideas in a nuanced way. We use some words only with friends, others only in formal settings, some words when we write emails, and others when we write term papers. Native speakers of English know how to interpret the weather forecast if they hear it is going to rain like cats and dogs, and Chicagoans are not talking about substance abuse when they text “I am on LSD” (Lake Shore Drive). Nobody is surprised when we say we ride a bike, ride on the bus, ride the El, or pay for a cab ride, yet translating these expressions literally into other languages can sound funny. In this course, we will discuss what it means to know a word, how many word families one needs to know to read a popular text, and how many in an academic setting. We will look at theories that help us understand how learners of another language can efficiently learn thousands of words. During the course of the semester, students will learn to use multiple research tools, such as frequency lists, text analysis tools (e.g., Voyant Tools), and custom ChatGPTs.

Prerequisite(s): LING 150; or consent of the instructor.

LING 370 – Introduction to Computational Linguistics 
On Campus.

This course explores how computers process data for language research. Students are afforded an opportunity to work with Python to practice common Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques that can be used to facilitate data mining and information extraction. Students learn how to apply NLP techniques to language-data-related tasks, together with underlying mechanisms and approaches pertaining to these techniques. Students also have chances to lead sessions covering some of the techniques. This ensures that students learn about major NLP issues and solutions, as well as becoming agile with NLP programming. No prior knowledge of digital technologies or computer programming is required for this course, but students are expected to spend a good amount of time in (i) setting up their own device(s) suitable for Python programming (through Jupyter Notebook) and (ii) troubleshooting technical issues firstly and actively by consulting online platforms (e.g., Stack Overflow).

Prerequisite(s): LING 150; or consent of the instructor. Recommended background: Credit in at least one 200-level LING course.

LING 459 – Topics in Linguistics: Advanced Statistics for Language Research 
On Campus.

This course offers students the opportunity to (i) learn advanced statistical methods and (ii) apply them to their own research projects. Topics include regression, structural equation modelling, mixed-effects modelling, and Bayesian statistics, along with reviewing relevant research articles (subject to change). Students will work with R—a widely used programming language for statistics—within the RStudio environment for their projects and data analysis assignments. In addition, they are expected to design a research proposal with a focus on statistical modelling.

Prerequisite(s): LING 360 or consent of the instructor. Recommended background: Credit in at least one 200-level LING course.