This course covers the linguistic structure of American Sign Language (ASL), including its phonology (articulatory features, phonological constraints, nonmanuals), morphology (morphological constraints, compounds, incorporation, borrowing), and syntax (syntactic categories, basic phrase structure, common sentence types), Also discussed are the topics of classifiers and deixis. In keeping with the comparative perspective of linguistic theory, parallels and differences between ASL and other (primarily spoken) languages are pointed out where appropriate. Historical and sociolinguistic issues are addressed where they are relevant to elucidating linguistic structure. Though the course focuses on ASL, it necessarily touches on issues concerning sign languages more generally, notably the possible effects of modality (sign vs. speech) on linguistic structure and the implications of the signed modality for general linguistics.

In this course, students construct their own language, one that is compatible with what is known about possible human languages. To this end, the course investigates language typology through lectures and examination of grammars of unfamiliar languages. Topics include language universals, points of choice in a fixed decision space, and dependencies among choices. Prerequisite: Students who have taken LING 140: Construct a Language are not eligible to enroll in LING 242.

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. Prerequisite: A prior course in linguistics or permission of instructor.

While communication is abundant throughout the living world, the human system we call language seems to stand out. Indeed, if humans themselves can be said to stand out among other species on Earth, it may well be language that played the crucial role in getting us here. So where does language come from? This question has been dubbed the hardest problem in science, but the last three decades have seen a notable renaissance in scientific attempts to answer it. This seminar will examine both the results of this multidisciplinary endeavor and the tools that have been employed in it. It will involve discussions of the nature of language and its place among other communication systems and will touch on fundamental questions of what it means to be human.

This course covers the principles of language change and the methods of historical linguistics on an elementary level. The systematic regularity of change, the reasons for that regularity, and the exploitation of regularity in linguistic reconstruction are especially emphasized. Examples are drawn from a wide variety of languages, both familiar and unfamiliar. The prerequisite for the course is any course in phonetics or phonology, or Ling 001, or permission of the instructor. Note that this course does NOT satisfy any sector requirement.

This is a course on how language relates to other cognitive systems. We will discuss the question of whether and how the language one speaks affects the way one thinks, the relation between words and concepts, the link between language acquisition and conceptual development in children, and the potential role of language in shaping uniquely human concepts. The course incorporates cross-linguistic, cross-cultural and developmental perspectives and combines readings from linguistics, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience and other fields within cognitive science.

This course describes current theorizing on how the human mind achieves high-level cognitive processes such as using language, thinking, and reasoning. The course discusses issues such as whether the language ability is unique to humans, whether there is a critical period to the acquisition of a language, the nature of conceptual knowledge, how people perform deductive reasoning and induction, and how linguistic and conceptual knowledge interact.

It is sometimes said that every word has its own history. But there are also general factors affecting how words change over time. In this course, we explore both aspects of the history of words. On the one hand, we explore the ways in which the saying is true, by investigating taboo words, euphemisms, shibboleths, doublets, folk etymology, idioms, paradigm gaps, reanalysis, and other word-specific processes. On the other hand, we discuss the general factors, such as regular sound change (for instance, the Great Vowel Shift), word frequency, and others, as time and interest permit.

In this course, we study formal mathematical tools for the analysis of language that help us understand and classify the complex structures and rules that constitute language and grammar. These tools include set theory, formal language and automata theory, as well as aspects of logic, and will be applied to the syntax and semantics of natural language. In addition to learning something about formal tools for analyzing language, this will also enhance your general skills in analytical reasoning.

Human language viewed from a social and historical perspective. Students will acquire the tools of linguistic analysis through interactive computer programs, covering phonetics, phonology and morphology, in English and other languages. These techniques will then be used to trace social differences in the use of language, and changing patterns of social stratification. The course will focus on linguistic changes in progress in American society, in both mainstream and minority communities, and the social problems associated with them. Students will engage in field projects to search for the social correlates of linguistic behavior, and use quantitative methods to analyze the results.