The following files were recorded in 2006 and are maintained for added study and references for student. Continue reading →
Spring 2010 Syllabi
For the sake of speed, the webmonster has decided just to post this semester’s syllabi.
Linguistics 508 (Fall 2009) Theories of Syntax
COURSE CONTENT
Syntax has been a central area of linguistic research for the last five decades. This course reviews the concepts that are necessary for the description of sentence structure, showing how much variation there is among languages and what all human languages have in common. Based on this knowledge, we explore how various linguistic theories (especially generative grammar and functional-typological grammar) try to explain how syntax works. Continue reading →
Linguistics 406 (Fall 2009) Descriptive Linguistics
COURSE CONTENT
Linguistics 406 deals with the most central aspect of linguistics, the description of languages. It introduces the levels of syntax (sentence structure), morphology (word structure), and phonetics and phonology (sound structure) and, in doing so, tries to show how much variation there is among the languages of the world and what all languages have in common. We will do many exercises on a diverse range of languages in all of these areas. Continue reading →
Eng/Ling 206 (Fall 2009) Language Structure and Language Use
COURSE GOALS
English/Linguistics 206 is an introductory-level course that explores the nature of language, including its structure, its development, and its use. We will explore how sounds are articulated and patterned to represent meaning (Phonetics and Phonology); the relationship between the spoken and written form of language (Phonics); the structure of words and the rules of word formation (Morphology); the principles governing sentence construction (Syntax); and how we use language to communicate (Semantics and Pragmatics), among other topics. Continue reading →