Syntax I

Next semester, I’ll be teaching a “Topics in Linguistics” course on questions. You can take a look at the sketchy and tentative syllabus online if you’re curious about what kinds of things we might be talking about.

You’re all eligible to take that course, as it has this course and no other courses as a prerequisite.

Although you’ve probably already registered, there’s no problem switching into the course now, or in the future (but now’s better because it helps me get an idea how many people will be in it).

And if the syllabus wasn’t enough to intrigue you, here’s another great reason you might consider: The CAS LX 500 course next semester will count toward the elusive “linguistic analysis of a specific language” requirement for the Linguistics major. There’s a chronic shortage of courses available to meet this requirement, but this one will, so if you’re looking to get that requirement out of the way, sign right on up!

The course should be quite interesting, I think. It’s unique in a couple of respects. First: it’s unique because it’s not regularly offered, there are no plans as of now to do it again, certainly not in the immediate future. Second: It provides a rare opportunity to go into some depth on a single topic, and analyze it from several different angles. We’ll start with the syntax and typology of questions across languages, but we’ll also get into the semantics, phonology, pragmatics, and acquisition of questions as well. Only this course (LX522) is a prerequisite, but it should fit in nicely taken concurrently with Semantics (LX502) or Phonology (LX513) or even Syntax II (LX523). Again, though, nothing but LX522 is required or expected.

So, check out the syllabus, look over your schedule for next semester, consider whether you still need to satisfy the “analysis of a specific language” requirement, and register if you’re interested..