Linguistics Major

This course provides an introduction to linguistic science. We survey essential topics in the study of language in order to provide an overview of the approaches, methods, and aims of linguistics. The course begins by analyzing phonetics (sound analysis), morphology (word structure), and syntax (sentence structure). We then consider influential theories about language that have shaped the field of linguistics. We also explore language change, historical linguistics, and how children and adults learn languages. The course uses examples from English and many non-English languages and cultures in order to investigate these topics. The goal of this course is to provide evidence and analytical methods by which students can critically evaluate their own and other people’s views of language. The course also helps students develop the ability to use qualitative language data to make well-supported scientific arguments. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Credits: 3

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

General Education: Social and Behavioral Sciences

General Education Learning Objectives: key literacies, critical and analytical thinking

This course examines research from a wide variety of languages and cultures to investigate how social class, gender, and race determine differences in how we speak a language, and the mechanisms by which language change comes about and is transmitted within a linguistic system. We consider the results of widespread bilingualism according to social context, and the linguistic rules and social factors that determine how bilingual speakers use two languages within one conversation. We also explore the subconscious rules that guide our conversations and how these differ vastly according to culture. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Prerequisite: LNG101

Credits: 2

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

General Education: Social and Behavioral Sciences

General Education Learning Objectives: key literacies, effective communication, global learning, critical and analytical thinking, integrative thinking

This course introduces us to the founding philosophers of language, and how their theories have shaped the field of linguistics. One of the key questions we explore is, do the vocabulary and grammar of one’s language determine the way one thinks? We also consider descriptivism (the non-judgmental approach to linguistics that studies how a language is actually spoken and written) and prescriptivism (the attempt to establish rules for the “correct” use of language) and how these two approaches shape people’s view of language. We then turn our attention to writing: the visual representation of language. We explore how language emerged in the Fertile Crescent and analyze some of the world’s most widely used writing systems. During the final part of the course, students apply various techniques to carry out a linguistic analysis of two obscure languages. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Prerequisite: LNG101

Credits: 3

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

General Education: Social and Behavioral Sciences

General Education Learning Objectives: key literacies, effective communication, global learning, critical and analytical thinking, integrative thinking

This course explores historical linguistics—the study of how language changes over time. During the course, we learn the theories, methods, and data linguists use to study ancient and modern languages and language families, and how they are connected. Students taking this course must already have a basic understanding of phonetics, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as the course teaches methods and approaches that linguists use to analyze language change in these subfields and reconstruct ancient language forms. Taking the Indo-European language family as a case study, we explore how linguists have used comparative analysis of modern Indo European languages to reconstruct the proto-language of the Indo Europeans. We also consider how linguistic analysis can be used to inform the study of human history. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Prerequisite: LNG101

Credits: 2

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

This course introduces us to the field of epigraphy and explores the origins and development of the world’s major writing systems. We begin with a consideration of what writing is and how it differs to other forms of graphic communication. We then trace the origins of the world’s earliest writing systems in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China. Finally, we consider the development of the alphabet and early Germanic runes. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Credits: 3

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

This course examines the theory and practice of decipherment. Students explore several case studies to put decipherment principles to the test, including Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Old Persian cuneiform, and Mycenaean Linear B. We also consider the interdependent relationship that exists between writing and civilization, including the political, economic, and social factors that led to the invention of new media and technology for writing, and how these in turn have shaped the form, function, and distribution of writing. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Prerequisite: LNG 316

Credits: 3

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

This course probes how language change results in dialects and the nature of these “languages within languages.” We consider diglossia—the sociological division of labor between two languages in a society, with a high language for formal contexts and a low language for casual use. We also analyze why dialects that are chosen as the standard form of a language, and therefore used widely in writing, often change at a much slower rate than normal. In the latter part of the course, we explore how the languages of the world influence each other through processes such as word borrowing, grammar mixture, and streamlining. Students taking this course must already have a basic understanding of phonetics, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as the course teaches methods and approaches that linguists use to analyze language change in these subfields. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Prerequisite: LNG101

Credits: 3

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

This course explores the historical and linguistic factors that result in the creation of pidgin languages and creoles. We also analyze several artificial languages such as Esperanto and the world’s many sign languages. Students taking this course must already have a basic understanding of phonetics, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as the course teaches methods and approaches that linguists use to analyze language change in these subfields. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Prerequisite: LNG101

Credits: 3

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

This course explores the origins and development of the diverse array of American English dialects. The principal aim of the course is to assist in training History Majors by pursuing the study of one linguistic topic in detail. We consider key questions such as, how many American English dialects are there, and where did they come from? What impact did Native American languages have on American English? How did the immigrant languages of the 19th century have on the development of American English? What are the roots of Black English, and how different is it from other varieties of English? Students taking this course must already have a basic understanding of phonetics, morphology, syntax, and semantics. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Prerequisite: LNG101

Credits: 3

Bachelor of Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linguistics

Research a subject of your choice related to linguistics and write an essay to present your findings.