2024-25

This course is a graduate seminar in theoretical syntax, and its intersection with comparative contact linguistics. In this course, we will be considering the issue of universality within the language module from a generative perspective, by examining both primary literature as well as empirical evidence from contact languages (with a focus on Singlish). The primary desideratum is to develop a deeper appreciation of the theoretical and empirical value of contact languages in adjudicating on theoretical proposals concerning the specifications of Universal Grammar.

Tues 3:30pm-6:20pm

Wieboldt 230

Economy: This course is an advanced graduate seminar in theoretical syntax. Through readings from the primary research literature, we will make as much progress as we possibly can on answering the following questions, among others: Is syntax governed by principles of economy? If so, what kind of economy do they enforce: derivational economy, representational economy, some other kind, or more than one of the above-and why? And, insofar as syntax does exhibit economy effects, are any of them attributable to "third-factor" principles or principles of natural law-ones not specific to language? We will read and discuss in detail approximately one research article per week, and every enrolled student will write a final squib on a syntactic topic of their choice, approved by the instructor (which need not be related to syntactic economy specifically).

M 1:30pm-4:20pm

In this Topics course, we will focus on social, political, and economic implications of research and education on Language, Gender, and Sexuality.

F 2:30pm-5:20pm

This course covers the theory and methods in language documentation and description, with an emphasis on the role of language endangerment in the field, with discussion and hands-on work involving data collection, annotation, archiving, and presentation of results (including scholarly publications and the production of community-focused materials). Students will work with a native speaker of a lesser-studied language to conduct an actual digital documentation project. (This course complements but does not supplement LING 40301/40302 Field Methods.)

W 3:00pm-5:50pm

The field methods course is a two-quarter course, taken by graduate students and advanced undergraduates. (Students may elect to take the course more than once.) This course is devoted to the elicitation, transcription, organization, and analysis of linguistic data from a native speaker of a language not commonly studied. Students will also gain practical experience in the use of fieldwork equipment. Language chosen may vary from year to year.

T Th 9:30am-10:50am

T 12:30pm-3:20pm

This course is an advanced survey of topics in morphology examining current morphological theory through detailed analysis of a range of phenomena and readings from the primary research literature. The topics covered include blocking, inflectional features, syncretism, allomorphy and suppletion, and morpheme order.

M W 3:00pm-4:20pm

This is an advanced introduction to the field of psycholinguistics. We will do an in-depth overview of both the empirical findings and the methodologies used on various topics in language comprehension/production, including areas of speech perception, lexical processing, syntactic parsing, and semantic/pragmatic processing. Models at both the computational and the mechanistic levels will also be examined.

 Mon Wed : 04:30 PM-05:50 PM

This is the second in a two-course sequence designed to provide a foundation in the scientific study of all aspects of linguistic meaning. The second quarter focuses on the syntax-semantics interface and cross-linguistic semantics. The class will introduce in detail a theory of the way in which the meaning of complex linguistic expressions is formed compositionally from the meaning of constituent parts, and the interaction of semantic and syntactic composition. This theory will form the basis for exploring some empirical questions about the systematicity of cross-linguistic variation in the encoding of meaning.

T Th 12:30pm-1:50pm

This course is intended for students with a strong background in phonology. We will explore the major themes of phonological theory from 1870 to today, focusing on such questions as the distinction between phonology and morphophonology, the nature of phonological representations, and the character of hard and soft contraints on phonological representations.

T Th 9:30am-10:50am