An introduction to phonetics and phonology. Topics include articulatory phonetics (the anatomy of the vocal tract; how speech sounds are produced); transcription (conventions for representing the sounds of the world's languages); classification (how speech sounds are classified and represented cognitively through distinctive features); phonology (the grammar of speech sounds in various languages: their patterning and interaction) and syllable structure and its role in phonology.

This is a methodology course, which focuses on how to conduct phonetics research using very large speech corpora. Topics include scripting and statistical techniques, automatic phonetic analysis, integration of speech technology in phonetics studies, variation and invariability in large speech corpora, and revisiting classic phonetic and phonological problems from the perspective of corpus phonetics.

Evolutionary linguistics Scholars have been interested in the origins and evolution of language for hundreds of years, and work was published on the topic throughout the twentieth century. The end of the century, however, saw a considerable upsurge in serious scientific interest, leading to increasing interdisciplinary communication on the topic and the development of new empirical tools. This course offers an introduction to the literature in this field, bringing together research from a diverse range of disciplines, and laying out what questions remain and how they might possibly be answered.

Instruction and practice in primary linguistic research, producing a grammatical sketch and a lexicon through work with a native-speaker consultant and some reference materials. Consultant work is shared with LING 3020.

This course provides an introduction to the experimental study of meaning in natural language. We begin by introducing some basic notions of formal semantics and pragmatics and review relevant technical background. Next we discuss recent developments in studying meaning-related phenomena experimentally, which, in addition to theoretical questions, involve issues in the acquisition and processing of semantic information. In the course of this, we will also introduce the basics of experimental design and relevant psycholinguistic methodology. In addition to readings and homework assignments, students will embark on a small research project (individually or jointly), which will be presented in class at the end of the semester and written up as a term paper.

This course examines how people use language. We will focus on Herb H. Clark’s book “Using Language” (1996). In this book, Clark proposes that language use is a form of joint action, and extensively develop what this claim entails and how it accounts for people’s linguistic behavior. The course will consist of a detailed examination of Clark’s thesis.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the study of Pidgin and Creole languages, including an overview of their history and development. It focuses on the socio-historical context of their genesis, their morpho-syntactic properties, diachronic development, cognitive processes at work in creole formation and the resulting linguistic make-up. The status of creoles and their use in education are also examined. In addition to an individual mid-term and final paper, students will conduct a collaborative project consisting of comparing linguistic features in a set of creoles to other languages in their environment. The class will use data from the Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Structures (2013) and from Pidgin, Creoles and Mixed Languages (Velupillai, 2015) in addition to multiple other sources. Diachronic data for some of the creoles will also be examined.

Instruction and practice in primary linguistic research, producing a grammatical sketch and a lexicon through work with a native-speaker consultant and some reference materials. Consultant work is shared with LING 5020.

An introduction to phonetics and phonology. Topics include articulatory phonetics (the anatomy of the vocal tract; how speech sounds are produced); transcription (conventions for representing the sounds of the world's languages); classification (how speech sounds are classified and represented cognitively through distinctive features); phonology (the grammar of speech sounds in various languages: their patterning and interaction) and syllable structure and its role in phonology.

This is a methodology course, which focuses on how to conduct phonetics research using very large speech corpora. Topics include scripting and statistical techniques, automatic phonetic analysis, integration of speech technology in phonetics studies, variation and invariability in large speech corpora, and revisiting classic phonetic and phonological problems from the perspective of corpus phonetics.