2014–15 Academic Catalog

2014-15 Undergraduate Index A-Z

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Linguistics [clear]

Title		Offering	Standing	Credits	Credits	When	F	W	S	Su	Description	Preparatory	Faculty	Days	Multiple Standings	Start Quarters	Open Quarters
Histories and Mysteries of English Diego de Acosta language studies linguistics		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	16	16	Day		W 15Winter			Walt Whitman once described the English language as “the accretion and growth of every dialect, race, and range of time... the free and compacted composition of all.” Just how did English grow from its humble origins on a small island in the North Atlantic to become a global lingua franca? What does this growth and development reveal about the cultural and social histories of English-speaking peoples? Could the continued expansion of English spell disaster for smaller languages around the world?In this program, we’ll examine the history of English vocabulary and the structure of English grammar from its distant prehistoric roots to the very latest slang and technospeak. We’ll look at syntactic and semantic change, borrowings from foreign languages, “standard language” and “dialects,” taboo and euphemism, pidgins and creoles, and much more.We’ll also consider how English has been regarded through the ages, both by its own speakers and by others. We’ll study the earliest written English of the Anglo-Saxon period, the effects of the Norman Conquest on English society and literature, the rise of a written standard between the lifetimes of Chaucer and Shakespeare, the development of American English, and the relationship between the spread of English and the increased number of dying languages all over the globe.This program will be an intensive examination of topics requiring a significant amount of reading. There will be regular problem sets in linguistic analysis and essays on various sociolinguistic topics.	communications, language studies, and linguistics.	Diego de Acosta		Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Winter	Winter
How Language Works Rachel Hastings and Diego de Acosta communication language studies linguistics		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	16	16	Day			S 15Spring		What do you know when you know a language? How do you get that knowledge? Are there properties that all languages share? How do languages change over time? Why are half of the world's languages now under threat of extinction?We will consider these questions and others through the lens of linguistics. We will study the sound systems of languages (phonetics and phonology), the structure and meaning of sentences (semantics and syntax) and the mysteries of word formation (morphology). We will discuss ways in which languages change and interact with societal structures (sociolinguistics), the nature of language life cycles and the process of language acquisition. We will look at the grammar of English as well as less-known languages from different parts of the world. Through the course of the program students will learn a variety of conceptual and empirical techniques, from analyzing speech sounds to calculating aspects of linguistic meaning to identifying conditions associated with language change and loss in human societies.This program will be an intensive examination of topics requiring a significant amount of reading as well as regular problem sets and essays.		Rachel Hastings Diego de Acosta		Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Spring	Spring
Understanding Language revised Diego de Acosta communication language studies linguistics		Program	JR–SRJunior–Senior	16	16	Day	F 14 Fall				This one-quarter program is designed to allow advanced students to develop their understanding of how languages are structured and how they change over time. We will consider linguistic structure at various levels, from the sounds and gestures of speech to the structure and meaning of words and sentences. We will also work to understand the complex relationship between an individual's knowledge of language and the broader function of language in human society and history. Throughout the quarter, we will look at a variety of languages from around the world and learn to analyze, describe and compare them. Topics for the quarter will include phonetics and phonology, historical linguistics, comparative linguistics and dialectology, language and gender, and field methods. Our work for the quarter will include discussions of linguistic theory, extensive reading of primary and secondary scientific literature, regular problem sets and an independent research project.		Diego de Acosta		Junior JR Senior SR	Fall	Fall