This course investigates the relationship between language and culture at the interface of linguistics and anthropology. It examines the ways in which language reflects the perception of the world, ways of life and beliefs of its speakers, creates rituals and maintains social ties, and is used by people of different ages, genders, social classes, and ethnicities.We will discuss hypotheses that try to explain the nature of relationship between language and culture and then turn to a wide variety of topics which are relevant for both linguists and anthropologists. These include, for instance, kinship systems, language of perception (e.g. colors, spatial relations), politeness across languages and cultures, and writing systems.

Location

Morey Room 501 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

The course examines the use advertisers make of language in selling their products and how it affects our perceptions of the product and ourselves. The emphasis is on learning about linguistic practice. The course will appeal to those who are curious about the central role language plays in the art of persuasion presented as advertising. The course touches upon the structure of language only insofar as it is relevant for understanding advertising as a form of social action. The acquired linguistic tools will help us to understand how commercial messages achieve their effect, regardless of their origins: business, culture or grass roots movements.

Location

Morey Room 504 (MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

This course introduces students to the study of the structure of human language. We will cover the six core areas of linguistic investigation: Phonetics (articulation, acoustics, and perception of speech sounds), Phonology (sound patterns), Morphology (internal structure of words and their organization in the mental lexicon), Syntax (internal structure of phrases and sentences), Semantics (word and sentence meaning), and Pragmatics (language use in context). The course focuses on developing skills in the areas of linguistic data analysis and interpretation of linguistic data in ways that aim to address theoretical and empirical issues in the study of language. In addition to the lecture students will need to register for a peer-led workshop.

Location

Goergen Hall Room 109 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-2 (lecture section).

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (R 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-2 (lecture section).

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (R 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-2 (lecture section).

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (M 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-2 (lecture section).

Location

Frederick Douglass Room 307 (W 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-2 (lecture section).

Location

Meliora Room 224 (W 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

This course introduces students to the study of the structure of human language. We will cover the six core areas of linguistic investigation: Phonetics (articulation, acoustics, and perception of speech sounds), Phonology (sound patterns), Morphology (internal structure of words and their organization in the mental lexicon), Syntax (internal structure of phrases and sentences), Semantics (word and sentence meaning), and Pragmatics (language use in context). The course focuses on developing skills in the areas of linguistic data analysis and interpretation of linguistic data in ways that aim to address theoretical and empirical issues in the study of language. In addition to the lecture students will need to register for a peer-led workshop.

Location

Goergen Hall Room 108 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-1 (lecture section).

Location

Meliora Room 218 (F 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-1 (lecture section).

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (R 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-1 (lecture section).

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (M 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-1 (lecture section).

Location

Meliora Room 224 (R 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-1 (lecture section).

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (R 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-1 (lecture section).

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (T 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 110-2 (lecture section).

Location

Meliora Room 224 (F 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

All languages change over time, often in predictable patterns. Where did today’s standard English come from, and how is our sense of that standard tied to assumptions about race, class, gender, and nationality? To find out, we will begin roughly 5,000 years ago, studying the common ancestor of languages as different as English, Hindi, and Polish: Proto-Indo-European. We will learn about the prehistoric roots of English, then turn to the earliest written evidence of it: “Anglo-Saxon” or “Old English,” ca. 600-1100.The language was transformed in the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066, as English became lower in status than both Anglo-Norman French and Latin for a few centuries. Next, we will learn about the growth of English, and its changes, in the age of Chaucer (Middle English) and Shakespeare (Early Modern English). Finally, we will explore processes of standardization, hybridization, and diffusion in the complex effects of English’s spread across the globe over the course of the past 450 years.

Location

Lechase Room 104 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

The goal of this course is to provide a background for understanding the principles that underlie the structure of sound systems in human languages. Starting with the notion phoneme, the course focuses on acoustic and articulatory phonetics, as a basis for understanding phonological processes and change in linguistic sound forms. Students will acquire skills in the production, recognition, and transcription of sounds in various languages of the world. The course will serve as a foundation for work in language documentation, sociolinguistics and sociophonetics, morphology. This course can be taken as LIN 210 or as LIN 410 and is meant for linguistics majors and non-majors alike. In addition to the lecture students will need to register for a peer-led workshop. Prerequisites: LING 110

Location

Gavett Hall Room 310 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 323 (F 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 323 (F 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 323 (R 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210-1.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (W 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210-1.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (W 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Peer-led workshop for LING 210-1.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (W 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

The goal of this course is to provide a background for understanding the principles that underlie the structure of sound systems in human languages. Starting with the notion phoneme, the course focuses on acoustic and articulatory phonetics, as a basis for understanding phonological processes and change in linguistic sound forms. Students will acquire skills in the production, recognition, and transcription of sounds in various languages of the world. The course will serve as a foundation for work in language documentation, sociolinguistics and sociophonetics, morphology. This course can be taken as LING 210 or as LING 410 and is meant for linguistics majors and non-majors alike. In addition to the lecture students will need to register for a peer-led workshop. Prerequisites: LING 110

Location

Gavett Hall Room 310 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210W-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 323 (F 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210W-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 323 (F 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210W-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 323 (R 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210W-1.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (W 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210-1.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (W 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 210W-1.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (W 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

Overviews the nature and processing of human languages, including comparisons between language and animal communication systems, the biological bases of human language, and the cognitive mechanisms used in producing, understanding, and learning language.

Prerequisite: BCSC 110, BCSC 111, or LING 110

Location

Bausch & Lomb Room 109 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Examines how the comprehension and production of language is implemented in the human brain. Uses evidence from neuropsychological and brain imaging studies to consider the following questions: What is the network of brain areas that subserves language processing? What are the specific functions of these areas? What happens when these brain areas are damaged? What is the timing of brain activity in these areas during language processing? Finally, how do the brain areas involved in language processing overlap with those involved in other complex cognitive processes?

Location

Meliora Room 366 (F 12:30PM - 3:15PM)

This course introduces students to the basics of the analysis of meaning in natural language. The first section focuses on devices that motivate certain forms to take on the meanings they have. The second section of the course moves on to discuss how meanings combine to form meanings for larger unitshow words and phrases combine to form sentences meanings. Using logical notation we illustrate the formal analysis of natural language meaning in terms of truth-conditions. We will discuss the basics of set theory, and investigate how meanings represented in these terms correlate with the syntactic and lexical structures of sentences of natural language. Students of graduate standing or those with strong formal backgrounds may consider starting with LING 265/465 instead, for which this course is ordinarily a prerequisite. This course counts towards satisfying the core course requirement for majors. Prerequisites: LING 110

Location

Hutchison Hall Room 473 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 225-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 308 (M 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 225-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 309 (R 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 225-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 308 (R 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 225-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 321 (F 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Peer led workshop for LING 225-1.

Location

Frederick Douglass Room 302 (F 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Peer led workshop for LING 225-1.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 321 (F 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

This course offers an overview of the study of language variation and change. We will examine some of the ways that spoken language varies according to the social characteristics and social motivations of its speakers. Methods for quantitative analysis of linguistic variation will be introduced. Prerequisites: LIN 110. LIN 210 or 220 recommended but not required

Location

Meliora Room 209 (MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

An introduction to statistical natural language processing and automatic speech recognition techniques. This course presents the theory and practice behind the recently developed language processing technologies that enable applications such as speech-driven dictation systems, document search engines (e.g., finding web pages) and automatic machine translation. Students taking this course at the 400 level will be required to complete additional readings and/or assignments. Pre-reqs: CSC 172 and CSC 242

Location

Gavett Hall Room 312 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This course picks up where LING 220 leaves off, though focusing more on topics in natural language syntax from a cross-linguistic perspective. The goal of the course is an approach to syntax that accounts for both language-particular as well as universal constraints on language. Among the topics studied are head and phrase movement, constraints on co-reference (anaphora), elipsis, and agreement (phi features). Prerequisites: LING 110, LING 220 or permission instructor permission.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This course in linguistic theory examines syntactic phenomena from the perspective of constraint-based theories of grammar as opposed to transformational grammar and its descendants. The course will examine and develop constraint-based theories of syntax, with particular focus on Lexical-Functional Grammar and Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar. We will examine some of the history and fundamentals of syntactic theory in light of constraint-based/transformational approaches and also consider the different consequences of these approaches for the architecture of the language faculty. Lastly, we will contrast these approaches with respect to some standard syntactic problems. No background in constraint-based syntax will be assumed, but some general knowledge of syntactic theory would be beneficial. This course is meant for linguistics majors and non-majors alike.

Prerequisites: LING 110 & LING 220 or instructor permission.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This class is addressed to anyone interested in fieldwork involving data collection of spoken language, including for instance linguists, anthropologists, or historians. Languages and cultures are currently disappearing on an unprecedented level due to the effects of globalization and displacement of people. Minority groups are often the most affected. As languages and cultures die, we lose entire knowledge systems and communities an integral part of their identity. This class introduces you to major techniques and tools of collecting and curating language data, using it for your research purposes, and making it useful to speech communities and other scholars. We will investigate the importance of language as a social convention from an interdisciplinary perspective, including, e.g., issues in intercultural research and ethics in fieldwork. Students will design their own projects, depending on their personal interests, and receive hands-on training in audio and video recording, time-aligned annotations, data management, and archiving. Prerequisites: LING 110 or permission from instructor.

Location

Lattimore Room 513 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

This course covers advanced topics in computational linguistics, with a focus on the deployment of statistical methods for advancing linguistic theory as well as the use of linguistic theory for designing statistical models. Topics include models of phonetic category perception and learning, phonotactic, morphological, and syntactic grammar induction, and syntactic and semantic parsing.

Prerequisites: Required: LING 224/424. Recommended: STAT 212 or MATH 201 or CSC 262 or equivalent.

Location

Hylan Building Room 305 (MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.