*Linguistics 97r. Group Tutorial — Sophomore Year
Catalog Number: 1791
Bert Vaux and members of the Department
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Spring: W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: Spring: 8, 9
Intensive study in a selected linguistic area such as phonology, syntax, historical linguistics, phonetics, morphology, semantics, psycholinguistics, acquisition, sociolinguistics, creole studies, or computational linguistics. Meets as two six-week small-group tutorials, in both the fall and spring terms.
Note: Required of concentrators.
*Linguistics 98a. Group Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 4222
Bert Vaux and members of the Department
Half course (fall term). M., Tu., or W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Meets as two six-week small-group tutorials, both held in the fall term, each covering one of the areas of linguistics listed under Linguistics 97r.
Note: Required of concentrators.
*Linguistics 98b. Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 7273
Bert Vaux and members of the Department
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Individual tutorial with a faculty member.
Note: Required of concentrators.
*Linguistics 99. Tutorial — Senior Year
Catalog Number: 3082
Bert Vaux and members of the Department
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
Individual tutorial with a faculty member for research and writing of the Linguistics honors thesis. Graded Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. An honors student who expects not to complete the thesis should consult with the Head Tutor about completing other substantial work to receive credit for the course.
Note: Required of honors concentrators.
[Linguistics 81. Language and Gender]
Catalog Number: 4668
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Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This course explores connections between language use, sex, and gender. Do sex and gender affect the ways we speak and the ways we interpret and evaluate speech? How do differences in people’s sociocultural positions, particularly their degree of power, affect how they use language, how others interpret what they say or write, and their relation to linguistic change? How does conversation structure the social worlds of men and women? How do linguistic practices support or challenge gender arrangements? We will explore a range of aspects of language use that have been claimed to interact significantly with gender. These include: apologies, compliments and complaints, gossip, asking for/giving directions, metaphors, bragging, elaborate use of adjectives, use of conversation particles (such as “like” or “you know”), conversational turn-taking, media messages, self-help literature, widespread use of question intonation, and “verbal hygiene” practices. Students will collect their own data to challenge or support published findings and put forth new generalizations.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
[Linguistics 85. English Etymology]
Catalog Number: 1081
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Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Introduction to the historical study of English with an emphasis on words and their histories, and what information they can give us about the sociocultural history of the English-speaking people. The course will discuss the origins and development of the English language, the historical science of etymology, the study of Indo-European roots, and the position of English in the Indo-European family. Other topics addressed will be the impact on English of such languages as Old Norse, Norman French, Latin, and Greek, with an investigation of attendant sociolinguistics issues. No prior knowledge of linguistics, historical linguistics, Old English, or Indo-European will be assumed.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Linguistics 110. Introduction to Linguistics
Catalog Number: 1498
Susanne Gahl
Half course (spring term). M., W., F., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
An introduction to contemporary linguistic theory and methods of linguistic analysis: phonetic transcription, phonological, morphological, and syntactic analysis, and methods in comparative and historical linguistics. Some psycholinguistic aspects of language will also be examined. The discussion will draw on data from a wide variety of languages.
Linguistics 112a. Introduction to Syntactic Theory
Catalog Number: 7318
Jon Nissenbaum
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 12. EXAM GROUP: 5
Phrase-structure analysis, motivation for transformations, constraints on rule application and conditions on representations.
Linguistics 112b. Intermediate Syntax
Catalog Number: 4730
Jonathan Nissenbaum
Half course (spring term). F., at 12, Tu., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 5
Continuation of 112a. Fundamental principles and parameters of Government and Binding Theory.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 112a.
Linguistics 114. Introduction to Morphology
Catalog Number: 1289
Susanne Gahl
Half course (fall term). F., 1–3, W., at 2. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
An introduction to the analysis of word structure. The focus will be on analyzing morphological phenomena in a wide range of typologically diverse languages. Topics to be addressed include the place of word formation in relation to phonological and syntactic phenomena, as well as the contribution of morphological analysis to our understanding of lexical processing.
Linguistics 115. Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology
Catalog Number: 2791
Lisa Lavoie
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 9. EXAM GROUP: 2
Analysis of phonetic and phonological data from a wide variety of languages. Topics covered include articulatory phonetics, production of the sounds of the world’s languages, underlying and surface representations, phonemes, phonetic variation, distinctive features, rules and their ordering, language acquisition and change, acoustic analysis of speech and phonetic issues in speech synthesis and speech recognition.
Linguistics 116. Semantics
Catalog Number: 6115
Jonathan Nissenbaum
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 12
An introductory course on semantic interpretation in natural language. What does it mean to “know the meaning” of an utterance? This course will provide the formal tools to characterize truth-conditional meanings of sentences. Topics to be covered include the relation between form and meaning, ambiguity, reference, the role of context dependency, quantifier scope, and variable-binding.
Linguistics 117r. Linguistic Field Methods
Catalog Number: 8401
Lynn Nichols
Half course (spring term). Th., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 18
Instruction in the elicitation of phonological, morphological, and syntactic information from a native speaker of an unfamiliar language. Participants work directly with the informant, both individually and as a group, with the assistance of the instructor.
Linguistics 118. Introduction to Discourse Analysis
Catalog Number: 8709
Susumu Kuno
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 1. EXAM GROUP: 6
An examination of various principles that govern communication between the speaker/writer and the hearer/reader. Topics include presupposition, point of view, discourse and sentence themes, discourse deletion, and reference and honorification. Data from English and Japanese.
Note: No previous knowledge of Japanese required.
[Linguistics 120. Introduction to Historical Linguistics]
Catalog Number: 8486
Jay H. Jasanoff
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Methods and goals of linguistic reconstruction. Topics include the regularity of sound change, types of linguistic change, the relationship between linguistic reconstruction and synchronic analysis, language contact and borrowing, and mechanisms of linguistic change, including recent theoretical hypotheses.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Linguistics 122. Introduction to Indo-European
Catalog Number: 1336
Jay H. Jasanoff
Half course (spring term). M., W., F., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
An introduction to the historical study of the Indo-European languages, using the comparative method to arrive at a picture of the parent language of the family, Proto-Indo-European.
Linguistics 123. Indo-European Phonology and Morphology
Catalog Number: 9259
Jay H. Jasanoff
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
Designed as a sequel to Linguistics 122. A detailed overview of Indo-European comparative grammar, with emphasis on recent developments and discoveries.
Linguistics 150. Introduction to Aphasia
Catalog Number: 5681
Susanne Gahl
Half course (fall term). W., F., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
An introduction to the study of aphasia and related language disorders. Topics include the effects of brain injuries and dementing illnesses on language abilities; organization of language functions in the brain; how these issues are investigated in both normal and clinical populations; and how research in linguistics can contribute to theories of brain function.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 110 or consent of instructor.
[Linguistics 152. Introduction to Syntactic Parsing]
Catalog Number: 3166
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Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An introduction to recent investigations of sentence processing. Topics to be considered include the influence of lexical, syntactic, and discourse factors on sentence comprehension and production, the role of working memory in processing, the nature of syntactic deficits in patients with language disorders, and cross-linguistic differences in sentence processing.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 112a.
[Linguistics 158r. From Indo-European to Old Irish]
Catalog Number: 3801
Calvert Watkins
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Essentials of Celtic historical and comparative grammar.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Prerequisite: Some acquaintance with either Indo-European or Old Irish.
Linguistics 168. Introduction to Germanic Linguistics
Catalog Number: 7925
Jay H. Jasanoff
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 2. EXAM GROUP: 16
A combined introduction to Gothic and the comparative grammar of the older Germanic languages.
[Linguistics 173. Linguistic Issues in the Teaching of Japanese]
Catalog Number: 4208
Wesley M. Jacobsen
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An examination of selected phenomena in Japanese phonology, morphology, and syntax with special attention to difficulties encountered in the acquisition of Japanese by adult native English speakers.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Prerequisite: Japanese 101b or its equivalent. Familiarity with basic linguistics concepts desirable.
Linguistics 174. Tense and Aspect in Japanese
Catalog Number: 1856
Wesley M. Jacobsen
Half course (spring term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
Examination of phenomena of tense and aspect in Japanese, with special attention to verbal semantics and the interaction of temporal categories with modality and transitivity.
Prerequisite: Knowledge of Japanese equivalent to Japanese 101b, or familiarity with the linguistic structure of a non-Indo-European language, or permission of instructor.
Linguistics 175. Structure of Japanese
Catalog Number: 6658
Susumu Kuno
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Examination of syntactic and semantic features of Japanese from the point of view of language typology and language universals.
Note: No previous knowledge of Japanese required.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 112a or equivalent.
[Linguistics 176. History of the Japanese Language]
Catalog Number: 4861
Wesley M. Jacobsen
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An examination of evidence from the comparative method, internal reconstruction, and written documents for reconstructing prehistoric stages of the Japanese language and an overview of major developments in Japanese phonology and grammar from the Nara period through the present day.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.
[Linguistics 177b. Child Language and Linguistic Theory]
Catalog Number: 8970
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Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Competing hypotheses in theoretical linguistics generally describe adult linguistic performance with roughly equivalent empirical adequacy. In this circumstance, it can be useful for evaluating the relative explanatory adequacy of such hypotheses to examine the different predictions they make about the linguistic performance of children. This course will focus on the use of experimental research on child language for this purpose. After a careful examination of issues concerning experimental methodology, a variety of specific case studies will be presented in which child linguistic performance can be seen to shed light on competence theory. A central requirement of this course will be the design and completion of a psycholinguistic experiment of the sort discussed in the course.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 177a or permission of the instructor.
Linguistics 178. Topics and Methods in Psycholinguistics
Catalog Number: 1347
Susanne Gahl
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
This course will discuss selected experimental research on questions of importance to theoretical linguistics, such as: How many “senses” do polysemous words have? How are these “senses” stored in the brain? Is the distinction between derivation and inflection psychologically real? How does language change come about? How do we understand language as rapidly as we do? The goal of the class is to develop a familiarity with commonly-used methods in psycholinguistics and to understand the applicability of these methods to linguistic research.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 110 or consent of instructor.
Linguistics 204r. Topics in Syntax
Catalog Number: 6446
Lynn Nichols
Half course (spring term). M., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
Focuses on a particular topic in current syntactic and morphosyntactic theory; emphasis on a crosslinguistic perspective. This year’s topic: the syntax of tense and events. The course will examine a wide range of phenomena in which tense and its syntactic properties are implicated, including recent work on syntactic properties of the event argument and its interaction with tense, the relationship between tense and complementizers, long distance phenomena, sequence-of-tense, switch reference, subjunctives & irrealis, the syntax of infinitives.
Linguistics 205. The Syntax-Semantics Interface
Catalog Number: 0776
Jon Nissenbaum
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
This course will explore issues related to the architecture of the grammar, with emphasis on the structures that are interpreted at the semantic interface, and how they are derived.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 112b or permission of the instructor.
[Linguistics 211. Topics in Historical and Theoretical Phonology]
Catalog Number: 1518
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Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An investigation of the linguistic development of phonological systems from a theoretical point of view. Topics considered include feature geometry, syllabification, and vowel harmony.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Linguistics 215. Phonological Theory
Catalog Number: 5612
Lisa Lavoie
Half course (spring term). F., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
Covers the views of phonological structures, both their representation and manipulation, that have evolved over the last four decades of generative phonology. The course proceeds from representations
of segments as unordered bundles of features to feature-geometric representations whose organization makes theoretical claims about feature interaction. Likewise for phonological manipulation, the course proceeds from rules of derivational phonology to the constraints of non-derivational, Optimality-Theoretic phonology. The role of phonetics in each of these models will be considered.
Linguistics 219r. Advanced Phonology
Catalog Number: 2154
Bert Vaux
Half course (spring term). M., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
In-depth analysis of current issues in theoretical phonology, including Optimality Theory. Emphasis will be placed on the typology of assimilation phenomena.
Linguistics 220ar. Advanced Indo-European
Catalog Number: 3428
Jay H. Jasanoff
Half course (spring term). Th., 2–4.
Close study of selected problems in Indo-European comparative grammar.
Linguistics 221r. Workshop in Indo-European
Catalog Number: 1008
Calvert Watkins
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
Conducted as a seminar. The topic for this year is Comparative Indo-Iranian and Vedic historical grammar.
Linguistics 223. Comparative Anatolian
Catalog Number: 2620
Jay H. Jasanoff and Calvert Watkins
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Comparative survey of the synchronic and diachronic grammar of the ancient Indo-European languages of Anatolia, with special attention to nominal and verbal morphology.
[Linguistics 224. Historical and Comparative Linguistics]
Catalog Number: 2967
Jay H. Jasanoff
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An introduction to diachronic linguistics at the graduate level. Theory of language change: sound change and analogy, syntactic and semantic change, change in progress. The comparative method: proving genetic relationship, reconstruction, subgrouping.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
[Linguistics 225a. Introduction to Hittite]
Catalog Number: 8206
Calvert Watkins
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Grammar and reading of texts in cuneiform and in transliteration; essentials of the comparative grammar of the Indo-European languages of Anatolia.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. No previous knowledge of cuneiform presumed.
Linguistics 226r. Advanced Hittite
Catalog Number: 0858
Calvert Watkins
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 12. EXAM GROUP: 14
Texts of various genres.
Note: Provisions will be made for any student who wishes to begin Hittite this semester.
Linguistics 241r. Practicum in Syntax and Phonology
Catalog Number: 4260
Bert Vaux and members of the Department
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Presentation of reports on current research or assigned topics.
Note: Required of both second- and third-year graduate students concentrating in syntax or phonology.
Linguistics 242r. Practicum in Historical Linguistics
Catalog Number: 5569
Jay H. Jasanoff and Calvert Watkins
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Presentation of reports on current research or assigned topics.
Note: Required of both second- and third-year graduate students concentrating in historical linguistics.
[Linguistics 247. Topics in Germanic Linguistics]
Catalog Number: 3693
Jay H. Jasanoff
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Investigaton of selected topics in Germanic historical linguistics.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Linguistics 250. Old Church Slavonic
Catalog Number: 8449
Michael S. Flier
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
History of the first Slavic literary language, its role in Slavic civilization; phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary of Old Church Slavonic; reading from canonical texts.
[Linguistics 252. Comparative Slavic Linguistics]
Catalog Number: 3571
Michael S. Flier
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Introduction to the historical phonology and morphology of the Slavic languages with special attention to relative chronology and linguistic geography.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 250.
[Linguistics 275r. Japanese Syntax: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 8921
Susumu Kuno
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Selected topics in sentence structure and meaning in Japanese.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 174, 175 or equivalent.
Linguistics 277. Topics in Japanese and Korean Syntax
Catalog Number: 2661
Susumu Kuno
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Contrastive analysis of major syntactic constructions of Japanese and Korean.
Prerequisite: Linguistics 175 or equivalent.
Linguistics 291. Functional Approach to Syntax
Catalog Number: 5046
Susumu Kuno
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
Discourse-oriented analysis of syntax based on the functional sentence perspective (theme and rheme) and on the “point of view” perspective (the speaker’s attitude toward participants in an event). Examines pronominalization, reflexivization, and various deletion and movement processes.
[Linguistics 292r. Functional Syntax and Theories of Grammar ]
Catalog Number: 2994
Susumu Kuno
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A critical review of past research results in the framework of GB Theory, Checking Theory and the Minimalist Program, and presentation of alternative solutions in the framework of Functional Syntax.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.
*Linguistics 301. Reading or Special Topics Course
Catalog Number: 0861
Alfonso Caramazza 1871, Michael S. Flier 2878, Susanne Gahl 2856, Wesley M. Jacobsen 3443, Jay H. Jasanoff 1661 (on leave spring term), Susumu Kuno 1083, Lisa Lavoie 2829, Lynn Nichols 3613 (on leave fall term), P. Oktor Skjaervo 2869 (on leave spring term), Bert Vaux 1452 (on leave spring term), and Calvert Watkins 2553