The following courses are regularly offered by the department. Current offerings are listed in the schedule of classes. Students may, with the approval of their supervisory committee, take graduate courses offered by other departments and up to 6 credits of undergraduate courses (numbered 3000 and above) outside of Linguistics.
General – Phonology/Phonetics – Morphology – Syntax/Semantics – Language Documentation – Syntax/Semantics – Sociolinguistics – Second Language Acquisition/TESL – Psycho/Neurolinguistics – Historical Linguistics – Supervised Work
General
LIN 6084 – Introduction to Graduate Research – (Credit hours: 3)
Scholarly and scientific approaches to the study of linguistics. Scientific method, theory development, data processing, scholarly writing, and structure of research proposals.
LIN 6571 – Structure of a Specific Language – (Credit hours: 3)
Linguistic examination of a specific language such as Arabic, Vietnamese, or Japanese.
Phonology / Phonetics
LIN 6208 – Phonetics for Linguists – (Credit hours: 3)
Understanding of issues in experimental phonetics and introduction of research techniques involved in the acoustic, physiological, and perceptual study of speech.
LIN 6226 – Advanced Phonetics – (Credit hours: 3)
Exposes students to advanced issues in linguistic phonetics, and to experimental phonetic methods and designs. Prereq: LIN 4205 or LIN 6208 or SPA 3011.
LIN 6323 – Phonology 1 – (Credit hours: 3)
Phonemics, syllabic and prosodic phenomena, neutralization, distinctive features, morphophonemic alternation, phonological systems and processes. Terminology and notational conventions of generative phonology. Problems from a variety of languages.
LIN 6341 – Phonology 2 – (Credit hours: 3)
Theoretical approaches to major problems of phonological theory and/or its relationship to areas such as morphology and SLA. Emphasis on linguistic argumentation and independent research. Prereq: LIN 6323.
Morphology
LIN 6402 – Morphology 1 – (Credit hours: 3)
Word structure, derivation and inflection. The position of morphology in a grammar, the relationship between morphology and the rest of the grammar, typology, cultural and conceptual categories, predictions of various theories of morphology.. Examples and problems from a variety of languages.
LIN 6410 – Morphology 2 – (Credit hours: 3)
Technical articles from a variety of twentieth-century schools. Prominent inquires include the place of morphology in grammar, its relationship to other components, and the possibility of constructing a unified theory of morphology. Prereq: LIN 6402.
Syntax / Semantics
LIN 6501 – Syntax 1 – (Credit hours: 3)
Introduction to the transformational model of syntax: phrase structure, the lexicon, case and agreement, movement, and anaphora. Emphasis on problem solving and linguistic argumentation.
LIN 6520 – Syntax 2 – (Credit hours: 3)
Further investigation of the transformational model of syntax: advanced clause structure, binding theory, constraints on movement, and Logical Form. Prereq: LIN 6501.
LIN 6804 – Semantics I – (Credit hours: 3)
Truth conditional semantics as opposed to pragmatics. Basic notions in classical logic since logic is assumed in truth conditional semantics.
LIN 6826 – Introduction to Formal Pragmatics – (Credit hours: 3)
Introducespragmatics, the study of utterance meanings determined by situated uses of language and linguistic communication as a social activity. Explores the role of linguistic and extra-linguistic contexts in the production and interpretation of utterances. Topics include deictic and anaphoric expressions, sense and reference, presupposition, implicature, speech acts and coherence.
LIN 6856 – Semantics II – (Credit hours: 3)
Prereq: LIN 6804
Introduction to doing formal semantics for linguists, based on the theory of Richard Montague and theories developed within his approach. Prereq: LIN 6804.
Language Documentation
LIN 6165 – Field Methods – (Credit hours: 3)
Discovery of the structure of a language unfamiliar to the class through interactions with a native speaker. Prereq: LIN 6323, LIN 6501.
LIN 6932 – Language Documentation – (Credit hours: 3)
LIN 6932 – Methods in Language Documentation – (Credit hours: 3)
Sociolinguistics
LIN 5657 – Gender and Language – (Credit hours: 3)
Language in the construction of cultural, sex, and gender roles within a culture. A focal point is the grammaticalization of gender in languages of the world, including non-Indo-European languages, and of the interactions of these grammatical structure with gender stereotypes. Consequences for linguistic science.
LIN 6601 – Sociolinguistics – (Credit hours: 3)
Major approaches to language in contact: ethnographic, sociological, linguistic. Applications of sociolinguistics to applied linguistics, social sciences, and education. Collection and analysis of data. Prereq: LIN 6323, LIN 6501.
Second Language Acquisition/TESL
LIN 5741 – Applied English Grammar – (Credit hours: 3)
English phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, including historical analysis of irregularities in English and descriptions of dialect features.
LIN 6720 – Second Language Acquisition – (Credit hours: 3)
Neurolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and sociolinguistic bases of second language acquisition in childhood and adulthood.
Psycho-Neurolinguistics
LIN 6707 – Psycholinguistics – (Credit hours: 3)
Explores basic issues in psycholinguistic research, including language production, comprehension, acquisition, and development.
LIN 6708C – Methods in Psycholinguistics – (Credit hours: 3)
Hands-on experience designing and conducting psycholinguistic experiments and analyzing experimental data. Prereq: LIN 6707; STA 2023 or consent of instructor.
LIN 6796 – Cognitive Neuroscience of Language – (Credit hours: 3)
Overview and critical evaluation of brain imaging techniques and issues in language and brain research, covering speech perception, word recognition, reading syntax, discourse processing, production, language acquisition, and bilingualism.
Historical Linguistics
LIN 6128 – Historical Linguistics – (Credit hours: 3)
Principles and methods of historical and comparative linguistics, development of competing models for language change and linguistic relatedness. Examples and problems from a broad spectrum of languages. Prereq: LIN 6323, LIN 6501.
Supervised Work
The following courses are conducted in consultation with a supervising faculty member. Enroll in these courses using forms available here.
LIN 6905 – Individual Study – (Credit hours: 1-3, Max: 12, Grading Scheme: letter)
Independent investigation under the guidance of a professor. This course is not to be taken in place of regular course offerings.
LIN 6910 – Supervised Research – (Credit hours: 1-5, Max: 5, Grading Scheme: S/U)
Supervised research for MA and PhD students working on projects not related to their MA thesis or PhD dissertation.
LIN 6940 – Supervised Teaching – (Credit hours: 1-5, Max: 5, Grading Scheme: S/U)
Supervised teaching for MA and PhD students. Not to be taken by those with a TA position unless explicitly required by the supervisor.
LIN 6971 – Masters Research – (Credit hours: 1-15, Grading Scheme: S/U)
LIN 7979 – Advanced Research – (Credit hours: 1-12, Grading Scheme: S/U)
PhD research for those who have not advanced to candidacy.
LIN 7980 – Doctoral Research – (Credit hours: 1-15, Grading Scheme: S/U)
PhD research for those who have passed the qualifying examination and advanced to candidacy.