Graduate Program

Fall Term Schedule

Fall 2023

Number	Title	Instructor	Time
LING 405-1 Introduction to Historical Linguistics Ur Staff MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM
This course is designed to give an introduction to the principles of linguistic variation and change, and to examine their practical application in the interdisciplinary subfields of historical linguistics and historical sociolinguistics. Topics covered include diachrony and synchrony, genetic relations, the comparative method and language classification, sound change, morphological, syntactic and semantic change, borrowing, types of language contact, areal linguistics, and linguistic variation and social stratification. Location Lattimore Room 513 (MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)
LING 406-1 History of the English Language Steven Rozenski TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM
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 Bausch & Lomb Room 270 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)
LING 410-2 Introduction to Language Sound Systems Joyce McDonough MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM
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. Location Gavett Hall Room 310 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)
LING 425-1 Intro to Semantic Analysis Ur Staff MW 2:00PM - 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. Location Hutchison Hall Room 473 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)
LING 445-1 Philosophy of Language Jens Kipper TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM
General nature of language and specific puzzles about language: the nature of truth and meaning, speech acts, reference, propositional attitudes, metaphor, understanding, interpretation, indeterminacy, etc. (PHIL 110 is recommended prior to taking this course.) Location Morey Room 525 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)
LING 460-1 Syntactic Theory Joanna Pietraszko TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM
This course picks up where LING 420 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). Prerequisite: LING 420 recommended. Location Lattimore Room 513 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)
LING 461-1 Constraint Based Syntax Arshia Asudeh TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM
This syntactic theory course examines syntactic phenomena from the perspective of phrase structure and lexicalist grammar as opposed to transformational grammar. The course will examine and develop phrase structure grammar (specifically Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar) approaches to standard syntactic problems, contrasting them where appropriate with transformational approaches. No background in non-transformational approaches will be assumed. This course can be taken as LIN 261 or as LIN 461 and is meant for linguistics majors and non-majors alike. Location Lattimore Room 513 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)
LING 470-1 Preserving diversity in language and culture Ur Staff TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM
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. Location Lattimore Room 513 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)
LING 482-1 Deep Learning Methods in Comp Ling Aaron White TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM
This course covers advanced topics in computational linguistics, with a focus on the deployment of deep learning methods for advancing linguistic theory as well as the use of linguistic theory for designing deep learning models. Topics include phonotactic, morphological, and syntactic grammar induction as well as morphological, syntactic and semantic parsing. Prerequisite: LING 424 or CSC 447, Recommended Prerequisite: LING 481 or CSC 488. Location Morey Room 502 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)
LING 495-1 Master's Research in Ling Joyce McDonough –
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LING 495-2 Master's Research in Ling Scott Grimm –
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LING 495-3 Master's Research in Ling Nadine Grimm –
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LING 495-5 Master's Research in Ling Maya Abtahian –
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LING 495-6 Master's Research in Ling Joanna Pietraszko –
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LING 495-7 Master's Research in Ling Aaron White –
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LING 501-1 Linguistics Graduate Proseminar Scott Grimm M 6:15PM - 7:30PM
No description Location Lattimore Room 513 (M 6:15PM - 7:30PM)
LING 590-1 Supervised Teaching Aaron White –
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LING 590-2 Supervised Teaching Scott Grimm –
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LING 590-3 Supervised Teaching Nadine Grimm –
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LING 590-5 Supervised Teaching Joanna Pietraszko –
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LING 590-7 Supervised Teaching Maya Abtahian –
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LING 590-8 Supervised Teaching Karl Sarvestani –
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LING 595-1 PhD Research in Ling Jeffrey Runner –
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LING 595-2 PhD Research in Ling Scott Grimm –
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LING 595-3 PhD Research in Ling Arshia Asudeh –
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LING 595-4 PhD Research in Ling Nadine Grimm –
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LING 895-1 Cont of Master's Enrollment – –
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LING 897-2 Master's Dissertation Scott Grimm –
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LING 897-3 Master's Dissertation Nadine Grimm –
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LING 897-5 Master's Dissertation Joanna Pietraszko –
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LING 897-6 Master's Dissertation Maya Abtahian –
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LING 897-7 Master's Dissertation Aaron White –
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Number	Title	Instructor	Time
Monday
LING 501-1 Linguistics Graduate Proseminar Scott Grimm
No description
Monday and Wednesday
LING 410-2 Introduction to Language Sound Systems Joyce McDonough
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.
LING 405-1 Introduction to Historical Linguistics Ur Staff
This course is designed to give an introduction to the principles of linguistic variation and change, and to examine their practical application in the interdisciplinary subfields of historical linguistics and historical sociolinguistics. Topics covered include diachrony and synchrony, genetic relations, the comparative method and language classification, sound change, morphological, syntactic and semantic change, borrowing, types of language contact, areal linguistics, and linguistic variation and social stratification.
LING 425-1 Intro to Semantic Analysis Ur Staff
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.
Tuesday
Tuesday and Thursday
LING 461-1 Constraint Based Syntax Arshia Asudeh
This syntactic theory course examines syntactic phenomena from the perspective of phrase structure and lexicalist grammar as opposed to transformational grammar. The course will examine and develop phrase structure grammar (specifically Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar) approaches to standard syntactic problems, contrasting them where appropriate with transformational approaches. No background in non-transformational approaches will be assumed. This course can be taken as LIN 261 or as LIN 461 and is meant for linguistics majors and non-majors alike.
LING 406-1 History of the English Language Steven Rozenski
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.
LING 445-1 Philosophy of Language Jens Kipper
General nature of language and specific puzzles about language: the nature of truth and meaning, speech acts, reference, propositional attitudes, metaphor, understanding, interpretation, indeterminacy, etc. (PHIL 110 is recommended prior to taking this course.)
LING 460-1 Syntactic Theory Joanna Pietraszko
This course picks up where LING 420 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). Prerequisite: LING 420 recommended.
LING 470-1 Preserving diversity in language and culture Ur Staff
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.
LING 482-1 Deep Learning Methods in Comp Ling Aaron White
This course covers advanced topics in computational linguistics, with a focus on the deployment of deep learning methods for advancing linguistic theory as well as the use of linguistic theory for designing deep learning models. Topics include phonotactic, morphological, and syntactic grammar induction as well as morphological, syntactic and semantic parsing. Prerequisite: LING 424 or CSC 447, Recommended Prerequisite: LING 481 or CSC 488.
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday