Linguistics

This course focuses on applying linguistic theories to real-world contexts, examining the intricate connections between linguistic and non-linguistic phenomena. By analyzing these relationships at individual, societal, and global levels, students will explore how linguistic theories are utilized to understand and address complex issues, gaining insights into their practical relevance and broader impact. Students examine the evolution of language and linguistics, with emphasis on the processes of language development and decline. Students also apply a linguistic perspective to everyday contexts, including education, language policy, K-pop, and culture. 

This course explores the history, form, and function of writing systems from around the world: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Chinese pictograms, Ancient Greek and modern Japanese syllabaries, the vowelless alphabets of Hebrew/Arabic, the "fusional" alphabets of Sanskrit/Hindi, the "separational" alphabets of Modern Europe. Students also look at various attempts to create "perfect" writing systems, such as that of Korea and the IPA and its rivals. Through the course, students gain an understanding of the phonological/morphological demands that languages place on their writing systems and how this leads to innovation and development. The course also examines sociological aspects of different systems (particularly in relation to the spread of systems and the role of writing in language preservation/endangerment) and what writing reveals about the organization of the mind/brain.

This course introduces into the linguistic sub-discipline pragmatics. Students examine how meaning emerges in context, and how this contextual meaning can be distinguished from the literal meaning of a linguistic expression. The range of topics includes assertion, presupposition, implicature, and speech acts.

This course familiarizes students with basic conceptual frameworks that underpin the study of English language in use, which constitutes useful knowledge for their future teaching practice. The course explores the intricacies of English language practices in diverse regional, social, cultural, and interpersonal contexts, with emphasis on practical knowledge and skills acquisition that enables students to develop research designs, collect and analyze language data, and apply theoretical frameworks to their findings. Through student-led discussions, presentations, and mini research projects, the course deepens one's understanding of the complexities of English language use and its practical applications in language education. This course is recommended for the students who are considering a graduate thesis project in the field of English language studies, as well as those aspiring to become English language teachers. 
 

Language anxiety and linguistic insecurity are central topics in multilingual and transcultural contexts. In this seminar, students investigate the causes and effects of language anxiety, in language acquisition as well as in the day to day. The class looks at different forms of linguistic insecurity and language anxiety that are affected by social norms, language ideologies, and individual experiences. The goal of the seminar is to develop a critical understanding of this phenomenon and how to approach linguistic insecurity. The readiness to work with research literature in English is required. Students need to take this seminar alongside the lecture "Second Language Acquisition and Multilingualism".

This course offers a comprehensive overview of key questions that drive current discussions about the links between the brain, cognitive processes, and language while also examining language as a tool for expressing social cognition. Students will explore various topics within Psycholinguistics, focusing on language comprehension and production, and will analyze how language assists in interpreting cultural phenomena.

This seminar investigates morphological patterns in which prosody plays a central role for word structure, such as clippings/ truncation (fab < fabulous, veggie < vegetarian), -er comparatives (red - redder, conventional - *conventionaler but more conventional), infixation (uni-bloody-versity, Minne-fuckin'-sota) or reduplication (mish-mash). Using English and other languages as a data source, the course introduces Optimality Theory as a framework for modelling the interaction of morphology and phonology in these constructions.

This course offers an in-depth exploration of quantitative text analysis methods for studying international relations. Students engage with advanced computational techniques, including text classification, topic modeling, and network analysis, to systematically examine textual data. The class places emphasis on methodological rigor, critical interpretation of results, and the application of these tools to address key research questions in the field. It is designed to equip students with the skills needed to conduct independent research using text as data.