Linguistics

The field of phonetics includes the study of how speech sounds are produced, how they may be acoustically characterized, and how they are processed by listeners. This course explores these three major areas of research, as well as introduces key areas in which phonetics intersects with other disciplines, e.g., phonology, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, and speech-language pathology. The course covers the major instruments, software tools and statistical methods used in modern phonetics research, and provides experience in carrying out independent data collection, transcription, and acoustic analysis.

The course consists of an in-depth investigation of a topical area of scientific interest and activity within linguistics. A new and up-to-date theme is decided upon each time the course is run. Possible themes include the geometry of meaning, based on Gärdenfors' book by the same name; the phylogenetic analysis of language; grammaticalization; and color semantics. 

The course is given as an optional module within Linguistics C but may also be taken independently.

Within the field of psycholinguistics, bilingualism has been one of the most intriguing and fascinating areas of research in the past few decades. This wide interest has produced a body of evidence from diverse bilingual/multilingual communities around the world, some aspects of which still remain controversial. In this course, students learn about various bilingual contexts and how those contexts shape our mind and cognition. In what way do bilinguals' languages develop? Do bilinguals have better cognitive functions than monolinguals? Is there any harm in speaking two languages? What is the effect of bilingualism on language and cognitive development in clinical populations (autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific language impairment)? Can bilingualism delay the onset of dementia? These are just some of the questions addressed in this course. In addition, students learn about methodological approaches used to investigate bilingualism, and consequently design a research study. During the lectures, students are given the background to various topics which are later discussed in a series of seminars.

The course introduces students to the variation observed in the languages of the world, to the analytical and theoretical challenges that such variation poses, and to responses that have been given to these challenges. The issues are first introduced from a "bird's eye" view; then actual examples are given and explored in detail in the areas of (morpho)syntax and phonology; and finally the course concludes with a module on the implications of cross-linguistic variation for our understanding of how language is acquired (and vice versa). There are four blocks of teaching: 1. The implications of variation (6 lectures): This block introduces the issue of cross-linguistic variation, shows why it is fundamental to our understanding of language, and presents and explores the responses that have been given by linguists, often from very different points of view. 2. Grammars and syntax (11 lectures): This block presents case-studies of cross-linguistic differences in syntax and explores how the syntactic theory that the students have already learned can account for these differences, and where it has to be extended or adapted. Students will both become familiar with a wider range of linguistics phenomena, and develop their understanding of the theoretical tools for explaining them. 3. Phonology (10 lectures): This block explores universals and variation in the module of phonology, covering phenomena from segmental phonology, tonal phonology, syllable structure, and stress. As in the previous segment, students will both be exposed to some important points of variation, and develop their understanding of the theories that have been developed to account for the topography of this variation. A theme that recurs throughout this and the previous segment is the constant tension in theory building between descriptive coverage and predictive power. 4. Language acquisition (6 lectures): Languages can vary from each other because some aspects at least of linguistic knowledge are not genetically determined; what is not genetically determined has to be learned. This final block sets out how the question of possible limits to variation have, in modern linguistic theory, become intimately intertwined with the question of how language is acquired, and explores how language acquisition has become central to linguistic theory. It will also look at how language development is shaped by the interaction of internal factors (language-specific and domain-general predispositions), external factors (quantity and quality of input), and children's developing processing abilities.

This course explores phonetics and phonology, including a grounding in practical phonetic skills and basic phonological concepts. Students learn how all of the sounds of the world's languages are produced, transcribe speech sounds using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), understand basic acoustic and aerodynamic properties of speech, and understand how speech sounds are used and distributed in the world's languages.

It is widely accepted that more than half of the 6,900 or so languages that exist are in danger of dying within a few generations. Topics examined in this course include the assessment of the vitality or level of endangerment of language; the factors that contribute to language endangerment and to language shift; language revitalization; language rights and policies; language attitudes; language loss and death; and parallels between language endangerment and global species endangerment.