Linguistics

This course delves into the linguistic aspects and grammatical structures of the Spanish language. It explores phonetics, morphology, and syntax to develop a comprehensive understanding of Spanish linguistics. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the fundamental components of the language and examining how they contribute to effective communication. By studying the underlying principles of Spanish grammar, the course provides insight into its intricacies and evolution over time. A combination of theoretical discussions and practical exercises enhances proficiency in Spanish grammar and linguistic analysis.

This course explores the historical and epistemological background of the so-called linguistic turn. It discusses differences between various positions related to language in social psychology including rhetoric, discourse, narrative, and social constructionism.

This course focuses on the basic concepts of phonetics and phonology and applies them to the phonological system of Spanish. Topics include: physical and physiological characteristics of sounds; articulatory and acoustic classification of Spanish vowels and consonants; variation in the pronunciation of Spanish, including geographical and social varieties of Spanish; the phonological system of Spanish: inventory of phonemes and their characterization by distinctive features; phonological oppositions; the Spanish syllable; prosodic units-- accent and intonation. 

This course studies the principles of language variation in society with an emphasis on sociolinguistic variation in Spanish. Topics covered include: origins and evolution of sociolinguistics; language, dialects, sociolects; linguistic and social variables; multilingualism, code change, pidgin and creole languages; sociolinguistic research methodology.

This course studies the fundamental concepts of phonetic and phonological theories. The course begins with a review of classical taxonomic phonology and then moves on to the study of modern phonological theories.  

The course also covers practical phonetics, and students will practice producing speech sounds from languages spoken around the world, using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Examples will be presented mainly from English and Japanese to help students understand the theories, but examples from various other languages will also be used to further explain the theoretical concepts. Students are expected to have a basic knowledge of phonetics and phonology. 

In this course, students observe, understand, and analyze linguistic phenomena specific to Spanish, in the phonetic and phonological domain.

This course examines the structure of the Russian language in phonetic and phonological aspects and focuses on the relationship between spelling, sound, and the other aspects of linguistic analysis. The course covers Russian vowel and consonant systems, the phonological system and morphology, the relationship between phonetics and spelling, phonetic transcription, the intonation system, and practical phonetics and orthoepy.

This course provides third and final year students with the theoretical and practical knowledge of diachronic studies of language, or historical linguistics, enabling them to understand how some historical changes in language can be described and explained. This course can also aid in conducting research for graduation theses and, for some, prospective postgraduate studies.