Linguistics

This course provides an overview of the principles regulating the internal structure of complex words, focusing on English and how it compares with other languages. We will learn basic methods of determining this internal structure, and introduce the different strategies that language users may apply in forming new words. In particular, we will discuss processes like derivation, inflection, and compounding, and the rules that govern their application.

This course extends the concept "language" within a variety of perspectives, and applies the concept to human life and the universe. Thus, the course explores the universality of "information" and "communication" in many academic fields. It provides the basic understanding of human language - its structure in form and meaning, its nature, its way of existence, and its generative principles. It also explores the key concepts in more general contexts such as natural language vs. artificial language; symbolic systems and tools for encoding world information; [information structures in art/music and design; the patterns of communication in these "languages"; and the roles of human participants in the communication.

This course explores field methods in linguistics by working with speakers of less-studied languages. It introduces various methods of investigating linguistic questions using theoretical inquiries. Students are encouraged, but not required, to have completed at least one 200-level course.

The course instructs on how to collect data from speakers of other languages, using main linguistic concepts, including but not limited to phonetics, phonology, syntax and semantics. Students will then apply acquired skills to design field documentation sessions that can be used to test linguistic hypotheses. Furthermore, these skills will be used to investigate less-studied languages in an objective, scientific manner.

In this course, students apply their background in linguistics to the field of machine learning. The course provides an overview of the machine learning sub-field of natural language processing. Students delve into mathematical/computer science aspects of the topic and learn about different types of machine learning, neural networks, how to work with data, and specific implementations to the field of linguistics. Students may complete a final coding project that relates to the field of linguistics. The course also covers philosophical/ethical aspects of the field, and students discuss issues like ChatGPT and its implications on higher education, the job market, and more. Because this course is in the linguistics department, there will be a heavy emphasis on syntax/semantics, and students should have a strong linguistic knowledge.  

This course studies English phonetics and phonology, dealing with segmental and prosodic aspects of the language. Lectures will focus on the typical characteristics of the sound systems of English in relation to phonetic and phonological theories. This course focuses mainly on theory, but practical pronunciation training is included, whenever appropriate, in order to help understanding of the theories. The course is aimed at students who are interested in teaching English as a foreign language. Participation is highly encouraged.

This course explores different aspects of the relationship between language and economy, looking at the economic value of language; the linguistic side of the economy, and how the relationship between economic and linguistic forces help shapes today's global world. 

The course covers linguistic behavior (speaking, writing, and gestures), production, perception, and understanding processes, as well as language acquisition. The course provides an increased understanding of the language acquisition process and how natural language is processed by language users in both production and perception. For example, it covers first language acquisition in children and second language learning in older children and adults as well as different theories of how language is processed from the point of view of behavioral science and neurocognition and methods for how these can be tested. Theories of language processing and acquisition of phonology, morphology, and syntax as well as semantics and vocabulary, are illustrated with and applied to authentic examples.

This is a survey course introducing students to the field of pragmatics. There are no prerequisites except for curiosity about how we communicate using words. Pragmatics is the study of how we use language to make and interpret meaning beyond the literal meaning inherent to the words we use. For instance, “You can swim” can mean that “you’re allowed to swim,” that “you have the ability to swim” or that “swimming is one way for you to get to some destination.” For any given utterance of this, we infer the intended meaning based on the meaning of the words, our common world knowledge, the context, and speaker and hearer intentions. An aim of pragmatics is to give an explicit, systemic account of this process.
 

The first 10 class meetings will introduce 9 representative areas of inquiry in pragmatics research. Students will gain an understanding of fundamental linguistics terminology and acquire the skills to make explicit analyses of language in use. Although the examples discussed in the textbook are mostly from English, students will be encouraged to apply the concepts to their native language during class discussions. The 11th class meeting will review a real research paper in pragmatics chosen based on the class members' interests.

Additionally, students will be required to write a paper about a pragmatics theme of their choice, using data from Japanese or some other language, of between 1000-2000 words. In the last 3 classes, students will present an outline of the research themes they have chosen to write about in their term papers.

This course addresses a range of issues related to the acquisition of a second language. It starts by examining the nature of the task by looking at how sound systems, words and word forms, sentence structure, and the meaning of phrases and sentences are learned. It then explores further topics such as language use by language learners (comprehension, discourse, sociolinguistic aspects), the role of the input in second language learning (exposure, instruction, correction), and the effect of the starting age on learning second languages.

This course introduces perspectives on language. It starts with very fundamental questions and assumptions about the nature of language itself and proceed by analyzing basic linguistic structures of the languages course participants know. The course aims to discover that the comparison of languages leads us to linguistic categories some consider universal (same categories in all languages no matter how different they appear to be on the surface), asking the questions: If all languages are more or less alike than why is it so hard to learn a foreign language?  This course considers perspectives from the fields of psychology or anthropology gives us clues, thereby looking at some of the findings the science of language owes to other sciences.