For information on when Linguistics courses and seminars will be offered, please see Course Offerings.

Courses

LING 001. Introduction to Language and Linguistics

Introduction to the study and analysis of human language, including sound systems, lexical systems, the formation of phrases and sentences, and meaning, both in modern and ancient languages and with respect to how languages change over time. Other topics that may be covered include first-language acquisition, sign languages, poetic metrics, the relation between language and the brain, and sociological effects on language.

Writing course, 1 credit.

LING 002. Exploring Acoustics

(See ENGR 002)

This course counts for distribution in the natural sciences only, regardless of rubric.

Writing course, 1 credit.

LING 003. First-Year Seminar: Language Play

This freshman seminar will investigate what we can learn about language by looking at how we play with it. We will look at forms of language play such as poetry (both the meaning side and the metrical side), metaphoric language, language games (pig Latin, "abi-dabi"), song lyrics, puns, limericks, and verbal sparring as sources of data. The conclusion is that by discovering the rules that we play by in these games, we can discover how language reflects the nature of the mind and how it is used as a tool to create and reinforce social groups.

1 credit.

LING 005. Linguistic Underpinnings of Racism and Bias

This freshman seminar addresses our ongoing struggle, as a society of thoughtful individuals, to identify the origins of attitudes and stereotypes that give rise to bias based on race, ethnicity, sex or other factors. Language lies at the foundation of both societal attitudes and power structures, and can serve as an agent of oppression and liberation. Linguistics as a social and cognitive science takes an objective, scientific approach that can help us to expose, identify and understand usage that may—whether consciously or not—serve to perpetuate bias. Beyond a mere metric of political correctness or taboo speech, linguistics allows us to reframe the debate in terms of social praxis and individual identity, and to build a better society.

1 credit

LING 006. First-Year Seminar: Language and Deafness

This course will look at many issues connected to language and people with hearing loss in the United States, with some comparisons to other countries. We will consider linguistic matters in the structure of American Sign Language (ASL) as well as societal matters affecting users of ASL, including literacy and civil rights. A one-hour language drill outside of class is required.

All students are welcome to do a community service credit in LING 095.

1 credit.

LING 007. Hebrew for Text Study I

(See RELG 057)

This course counts for distribution in humanities under the religion rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.

1 credit.

LING 008A. Russian Phonetics

(See RUSS 008A)

0.5 credit.

LING 010. Hebrew for Text Study II

(See RELG 059)

1 credit.

LING 014. Old English/History of the Language

(See ENGL 014)

This course counts for distribution in humanities under the English rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.

1 credit.

LING 016. History of the Russian Language

(See RUSS 016)

This course counts for distribution in humanities under the Russian rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.

1 credit.

LING 018. Language Policy in the United States

This course will survey the present policies and laws relevant to language use in the United States and the relevance of these policies to public access, social services, education, and the judicial system. The three major topics will be national language policy in the United States, language policy in education, and language policy in the judicial system.

1 credit.

LING 020. Computational Linguistics: Natural Language Processing

(See CPSC 065: Natural Language Processing)

This course will survey various areas of computer processing of natural language. Topics will include speech synthesis and recognition, text parsing and generation, and machine translation.

Prerequisites: CPSC 035 (or the equivalent).

1 credit.

LING 024. Discourse Analysis

(See SOAN 026B)

1 credit.

LING 025. Language, Culture, and Society

(Cross-listed as SOAN 040B)

This course investigates the influence of cultural context and social variables that form the basis of variation in language. Classic "Labovian" sociolinguistics forms the first part of the course, which allows ideas to be generated about what social variables are important and how cultural context influences language form. The second part of the course investigates what the nature of the relationship is between variation in language and variation in culture and/or thought. The ramifications for educational issues, social justice and "linguistic prejudice" based on the relationship between language and culture are also explored.

Prerequisite: At least one linguistics course.

1 credit.

LING 026. Language and Meaning

(See PHIL 026)

This course counts for distribution in humanities under the philosophy rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.

1 credit.

LING 030. Languages of the World

This course covers the richness and variety of human languages. We consider languages from all over the world, focusing on cross-linguistic generalizations and variations to develop an appreciation of the intricate conceptual, logical, and physiological resources on which each language draws. Students will have the opportunity to work directly with speakers of other languages, applying techniques to elicit, organize, and describe the structures found in human speech.

1 credit.

LING 033. Introduction to Classical Chinese

(See CHIN 033)

This course counts for distribution in humanities or social sciences under either rubric.

1 credit.

LING 034. Psychology of Language

(See PSYC 034)

1 credit.

LING 040. Semantics

(Cross-listed as PHIL 040)

In this course, we look at a variety of ways in which linguists, philosophers, and psychologists have approached meaning in language. We address truth-functional semantics, lexical semantics, speech act theory, pragmatics, and discourse structure. What this adds up to is an examination of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences in isolation and in context.

This course counts for distribution in humanities under the philosophy rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.

Writing course, 1 credit.

LING 043. Morphology and the Lexicon

This course looks at word formation and the meaningful ways in which different words in the lexicon are related to one another in the world's languages.

Prerequisite: LING 001, 030, or 045.

1 credit.

LING 044. Phonetics

Phonetics is the study of the production and perception of speech sounds. We will cover, in detail, the anatomy of the vocal tract and the activity of the articulators during speech production. We will discuss the acoustic properties of speech within the general mathematical framework used to describe acoustics and will give some attention to applications such as speech synthesis. We will also discuss psychological aspects of the production and perception of speech, including ongoing controversies regarding the relationship between phonetics and phonology.

1 credit.

LING 045. Phonetics and Phonology

Phonetics explores the full range of sounds produced by humans for use in language and the gestural, acoustic, and auditory properties that characterize those sounds. Phonology investigates the abstract cognitive system humans use for representing, organizing, and combining the sounds of language as well as processes by which sounds can change into other sounds. This course covers a wide spectrum of data from languages around the world and focuses on developing analyses to account for the data. Argumentation skills are also developed to help determine the underlying cognitive mechanisms that are needed to support proposed analyses.

1 credit.

LING 050. Syntax

We study the principles that govern how words make phrases and sentences in natural language. Much time is spent on learning argumentation skills. The linguistic skills gained in this course are applicable to the study of any modern or ancient natural language. The argumentation skills gained in this course are applicable to law and business as well as academic fields.

Writing course, 1 credit.

LING 052. Historical and Comparative Linguistics

The central topic of this course is the comparative method, the procedure used by linguists to reconstruct unrecorded prehistoric languages. The course deals more broadly with the processes of language change. In spring 2006, there will be a particular focus on the early Germanic languages and the reconstruction of Proto-Germanic.

Prerequisite: LING 001, 030, or 045 or permission of the instructor.

1 credit.

LING 054. Oral and Written Language

(Cross-listed as EDUC 054)

This course examines children's dialogue and its rendering in children's literature. Each student will pick an age group to study. There will be regular fiction-writing assignments as well as primary research assignments. This course is for linguists and writers of children's fiction and anyone else who is strongly interested in child development or reading skills. It is a course in which we learn through doing.

The course will focus strictly on preschool and elementary school children the next time it is offered.

All students are welcome to do a community-service credit in LING 096.

Prerequisite: LING 001, 043, or 045; and LING 040 or 050. Can be met concurrently.

Studio course, Writing course, 1 credit.

LING 055. Writing Systems, Decipherment, and Cryptography

We will discuss the typology and history of the writing systems of the world. The modern decipherment of ancient writing systems such as Linear B and Egyptian hieroglyphic writing will be covered, as will some of the approaches and challenges in the modern electronic encoding of diverse writing systems. The course also includes an overview and history of cryptography and its role in warfare and on the modern Internet.

Prerequisite: LING 001 or permission of the instructor.

1 credit.

LING 057. Movement and Cognition

(Cross-listed as DANC 076 and MATH 007)

English, Scottish, Balkan, and Italian folk dance are analyzed, using group theory, graph theory, morphological theory, and syntactic theory, in an effort to understand the temporal and spatial symmetries of the dances. One focus will be a comparison of the insights offered by the mathematical and linguistic approaches.

Prerequisite: One course in linguistics. No prerequisites are required for dance and math. All necessary concepts and movements will be taught in the class. You must be willing to approach formal systems and to move your body.

This course counts for distribution and as a writing course in humanities or social sciences under any rubric. It counts for natural sciences distribution but does not count as a writing course for natural sciences.

Studio course, Writing course, 1 credit.

LING 061. Structure of Navajo

Navajo is an Athabaskan language spoken more commonly than any other Native American language in the United States. This course is an examination of the major phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic structures of Navajo. The morphology of this language is legendary. This course also considers the history of the language and its cultural context.

Prerequisites: LING 050; and 045 or 052 or permission of the instructor.

1 credit.

LING 062. Structure of American Sign Language

In this course, we look at the linguistic structures of ASL: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and history. We also discuss issues of culture, literacy, and politics pertinent to people with hearing loss.

All students are required to participate in a rudimentary introduction to ASL for an additional 0.5 credit. Sign up for LING 062A.

Prerequisites: LING 050; and 045 or 052 or permission of the instructor.

All students are welcome to do a community-service project in LING 095.

Writing course, 1 credit (plus 0.5 credit under 0062A).

LING 064. Structure of Tuvan

Tuvan belongs to the Turkic branch of the Altaic language family and is spoken in Siberia and Mongolia by nomadic herders. It has classically agglutinating morphology and curious phenomena such as vowel harmony, converbs, and switch reference. It has rich sound symbolism, a tradition of oral (unwritten) epic tales, riddles, and world-famous song genres ("throat singing"). We will investigate the sounds, structures, oral traditions, and ethnography of Tuvan, using both printed and digital media.

Prerequisites: LING 050; and 045 or 052 or permission of the instructor.

1 credit.

LING 070R. Translation Workshop

(See LITR 070R)

This course counts for distribution in humanities under the literature rubric and in social sciences under the linguistics rubric.

1 credit.

LING 075. Field Methods

This course affords a close encounter with a language, direct from the mouths of native speakers. Students develop inference techniques for eliciting, understanding, analyzing, and presenting complex linguistic data. They also gain practical experience using state-of-the-art digital video, annotation, and archiving for scientific purposes. A different (typically non-Indo-European) language will be investigated each time the course is taught.

Prerequisite: LING 001.

1 credit.

LING 080. Intermediate Syntax

This course is designed to provide theoretical and cross-linguistic breadth in topics involving the interaction of syntax and semantics. You will refine your skills of analysis and argumentation. Topics and languages considered will vary. This course is open to all students who have taken syntax or semantics.

Prerequisite: LING 040 or 050.

1 credit.

LING 081. Intermediate Semantics

This course begins with the formal foundations of semantics and then switches to a seminar style of instruction for an examination of classical and recent articles in the field.

Prerequisite: LING 040 or PHIL 026; LING 050 recommended.

1 credit.

LING 094. Research Project

With permission, students may elect to pursue a research program.

1 credit.

LING 095. Community-Service Credit: Literacy and People With Hearing Loss

This course offers credit for community service work. You may work with children on literacy skills at the Oral Program for the Hearing Impaired at the Kids' Place in Swarthmore. You would be required to keep a daily or weekly journal of your experiences and to write a term paper (the essence of which would be determined by you and the linguistics faculty member who mentors you in this).

Prerequisites: LING 045; LING 006 or 062; permission of the directors of both the Linguistics and Education programs; and the agreement of a faculty member in linguistics to mentor you through the project.

1 credit.

LING 096. Community-Service Credit: Literacy

This course offers credit for community service work. You may work with children in Chester public schools on literacy skills. You will be required to keep a daily or weekly journal of your experiences and to write a term paper (the essence of which would be determined by you and the linguistics faculty mentor).

Prerequisites: LING 054 or EDUC 054; permission of the directors of both the Linguistics and Education programs; and the agreement of a faculty member in linguistics to mentor you through the project.

1 credit.

LING 097. Field Research

This course offers credit for field research on a language.

Prerequisites: permission of the chair of linguistics and the agreement of a faculty member in linguistics to mentor you through the project.

1 credit.

LING 100. Research Seminar

All course majors in LING and LL must write their senior paper in this seminar. Only seniors are admitted.

1 or 2 credits.

LING 195. Senior Honors Thesis

All honors majors in linguistics and honors minors who are also course majors must write their thesis for 2 credits in the seminar.

LING 199. Senior Honors Study

Honors majors may write their two research papers for 1 credit in this course. Honors minors may take this course for 0.5 credit.

Seminars

LING 105. Seminar in Phonology: Contact and Change

This seminar studies language contact and its results; the relation between internal and external linguistic change; dialects and koine formation; and pidgins and creoles.

Prerequisite: LING 001, 045, or 050, or permission of the instructor.

1 or 2 credits.

LING 106. Seminar in Morphology

This seminar will consider recent developments in the theory of morphology. Topics vary.

Prerequisite: LING 043.

1 or 2 credits.

LING 107. Seminar in Syntax

This seminar will consider recent developments in the theory of syntax. Topics vary.

Prerequisite: LING 040 or 050.

1 or 2 credits.

LING 108. Seminar in Semantics

This seminar will consider recent developments in the theory of semantics. Topics vary.

Prerequisite: LING 040.

1 or 2 credits.

LING 116. Language and Meaning

(See PHIL 116)

This seminar counts for distribution in HU under the philosophy rubric and in SS under the LING rubric.

2 credits.

LING 119. Evolution, Culture, and Creativity

(See SOAN 119.)

2 credits.

LING 120. Anthropological Linguistics: Endangered Languages

(Cross-listed as SOAN 080B)

In this seminar, we address some traditional issues of concern to both linguistics and anthropology, framed in the context of the ongoing, precipitous decline in human linguistic diversity. With the disappearance of languages, cultural knowledge (including entire technologies such as ethnopharmacology) is often lost, leading to a decrease in humans' ability to manage the natural environment. Language endangerment thus proves relevant to questions of the language/ecology interface, ethnoecology, and cultural survival. The seminar also addresses the ethics of fieldwork and dissemination of traditional knowledge in the Internet age.

Prerequisite: One course in linguistics or anthropology or permission of the instructor.

1 credit.

LING 134. Psycholinguistics Seminar

(See PSYC 134)

1 credit.