Graduate Program

English is a banquet of words. And language is political. How do changes in English represent and affect culture? Inflicted by invasions and adaptations it remained English. Brought to Britain by Germanic tribes in the 5th century, it was matured by violent and peaceful contact with other peoples and ideas. Few other languages are so accepting of neologism, so humongous in vocabulary, so malleable of construction. We’ll peruse texts from Old, Middle and Modern English and watch it grow from a Teutonic tongue to the powerful, ductile, and eclectic instrument it is today, spreading to other continents, colonizing and absorbing. We’ll peruse linguistic Angst and jouissance by King Alfred, Aelfric, Robert of Gloucester, Chaucer, Caxton, Mulcaster, Shakespeare, Swift, Johnson, Webster, Orwell and others who praise or blame our shifty English, or who MANIPULATE it?. We’ll grok urban dialects, vernaculars, slang, texting, gender. Is it “based on” or “based off of”? “lie” or “lay”? What’s the deal with register? Vernacular vs. high-falutin’ “academic” English? Are you down with this? Grads welcome!

Location

(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.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course provides an introduction to probability and statistics for linguistics, serving as an essential foundation for linguistics students who aim to analyze experimental and corpus linguistic data. Topics include (i) elementary probability theory; (ii) elementary descriptive and inferential statistics; (iii) elementary machine learning concepts; and (iv) fixed and mixed effects models. Concepts are explored through linguistic case studies, including the analysis of formally collected judgment data, reaction times, and acoustic measurements.

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Location

(TR 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 LIN 265/465 instead, for which this course is ordinarily a prerequisite.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

The course examines the structure and definition of the linguistic unit 'word'' its typology and the relationship of the morphological component to other levels in the grammar. The course includes an introduction to analytical techniques with emphasis placed on an examination of data from a range of languages. The building blocks of words will be analyzed and topics such as affixation, reduplication and inflectional and derivational morphology will be covered. We will examine the properties of words and how they fit into the larger structure of linguistic knowledge, including the relationship between words and syntactic structure (ex., phrases and sentences) and the relationship between words and phonological structure (ex., phonological rules and prosodic structure).

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This course introduces students to the core principles and analytical tools of phonology—the study of how speech sounds are organized in human language. Through examination of diverse phonological patterns from a typologically broad set of languages, students will explore the most active and exciting areas of research in contemporary phonological theory. Moving beyond the classical rule-based and constraint-based models, we examine how phonology interfaces with phonetics, morphology, and typology, and how new methods—from experimental and computational approaches to fieldwork on under-documented languages—are transforming the field. This course may explore the following topics: Phonological opacity and how current models (Stratal OT, Harmonic Serialism, Cophonology Theory), tonal phonology and its theoretical and empirical challenges, the phonetics-phonology interface: grounded vs. substance-free theories, laboratory phonology and the use of instrumental methods, and phonology in language documentation and revitalization, variation, gradience, and probabilistic grammars. Throughout the course, students will engage with recent research articles, participate in data-driven discussions, and develop a final research project grounded in the latest debates and methodologies in the field.

Location

(TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

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.

Location

(TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

The goal of the course is to examine a number of central philosophical problems about language (including the nature of linguistic meaning and its relation to truth, reference, communication, and necessity), while exploring the connections between these problems and issues in and about philosophy more generally.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

In this course, you will learn about existing theories of syntactic phenomena, how to critically evaluate them, and how to make your own proposal within a given framework. This work will develop both your analytical skills and your critical thinking about theories. Topics include argument structure, case, agreement, raising and control, and constraints on movement. Additional goals of this course are: (i) to practice reading primary syntactic literature and (ii) to develop a research project in syntax.

Location

(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.

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

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.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course is for master's students that have made arrangements with a faculty member to complete readings and discussion in a particular subject in their field of study.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course is for master's students that have made arrangements with a faculty member to complete readings and discussion in a particular subject in their field of study.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course is for master's students that have made arrangements with a faculty member to complete readings and discussion in a particular subject in their field of study.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course is for master's students that have made arrangements with a faculty member to complete readings and discussion in a particular subject in their field of study.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides master’s students with the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their degrees.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides master’s students with the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their degrees.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides master’s students with the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their degrees.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides master’s students with the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their degrees.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides master’s students with the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their degrees.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides master’s students with the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their degrees.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

The goal of LING 527 is to acquire a basic understanding of fundamental components of the architecture of spoken language characterized as the prosodic hierarchy. the interaction of related suprasegmental phenomena such as stress, accent, tone, meter and intonation, and the various ways they may manifest and interact with each other. Crosslinguistic work on prosody is critical because prosody in fieldwork is underdocumented. Different languages use these components to produce very distinct types of often mixed systems that shed light on the organization of spoken language and the grammar. The course will consist of readings of primary materials, it will include assignments, some data collection and learning measurement techniques to test ideas and theories, with a final project on an aspect of the prosody of a language. The first 1/3 of the course will concern the Prosodic Hierarchy: what it is, what the hierarchical levels represent, how they are manifested, and the theories use to represent and investigate them. The rest of the seminar will consist of articles and readings on topics related to the study of a variety of prosodic phenomena, including mixed systems and interactions of tone w meter, and tone and accent systems and the identification of boundaries in inflectional systems. We will discuss ideas on how to collect prosodic data with and without using elicitation materials.

Location

(MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

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Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

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Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

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Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

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Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

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Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course is for PhD students that have made arrangements with a faculty member to complete readings and discussion in a particular subject in their field of study.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course is for PhD students that have made arrangements with a faculty member to complete readings and discussion in a particular subject in their field of study.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides PhD students with fewer than 90 credits the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their doctoral research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their dissertations.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides PhD students with fewer than 90 credits the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their doctoral research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their dissertations.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides PhD students with fewer than 90 credits the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their doctoral research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their dissertations.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides PhD students with fewer than 90 credits the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their doctoral research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their dissertations.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides PhD students with fewer than 90 credits the opportunity to conduct, develop, and refine their doctoral research projects. Students will engage in research relevant to their field of study and make progress toward completing their dissertations.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course is designed for master's degree students who have completed all required coursework but still need to finalize specific degree requirements under less than half-time enrollment.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides master's students who are currently completing their final required coursework, or with special circumstances like an approved reduced courseload, with the opportunity to work full-time on their degrees. Students will make significant progress toward completing their degrees.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides PhD students who have completed or are currently completing 90 credits of coursework and have fulfilled all degree requirements (except for the dissertation) with the opportunity to work full-time on their dissertation. Students will make significant progress toward completing their degrees.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course is tailored for PhD students conducting their research while studying in absentia. It allows students to remain enrolled and actively engaged in their doctoral research while away from campus. The course supports students as they work independently to develop and advance their dissertations, ensuring alignment with academic standards and program milestones. Students must have completed 90 credits and will be working full-time on their research while away from the university.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)