Courses

• CAS LX 355: Second Language Acquisition
  Overview of second language acquisition at all linguistic levels. Topics include the role of the native language; markedness; universals; environmental variables; cognitive and affective factors; social dimensions; individual differences among learners; and application of theory to third language acquisition. Also offered as GRS LX 655. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 542.
• CAS LX 359: Interrupted Acquisition and Language Attrition
  Examines native language knowledge and change in speakers who have become dominant in another language. Topics include differences among heritage speakers, international adoptees, and adult second language learners; language change in expatriates; and environmental and affective factors conditioning language loss. Also offered as GRS LX 659. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Incomplete Acquisition and Language Attrition" that was previously numbered CAS LX 546.
• CAS LX 360: Historical and Comparative Linguistics
  Introduction to language change and the methodology of historical linguistic analysis, using data from a wide array of languages. Investigates genetic relatedness among languages, language comparison, historical reconstruction, and patterns and principles of change in phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS. Also offered as GRS LX 660. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 535.
• CAS LX 364: The Linguistics of Contemporary English
  Systematic introduction to the linguistic analysis of modern English (phonology, morphology, syntax) from the perspective of generative grammar. Other topics include: English and its West Germanic relatives, non-standard varieties and the development of standard English, varieties of World Englishes. Also offered as GRS LX 664. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 406.
• CAS LX 365: Variation in Dialects of English
  Exploration of how dialects of English differ from each other, focusing on grammatical variation in the US, with occasional forays into British dialects. Students come to appreciate how linguists investigate grammatical diversity scientifically, revealing the complex structure of non-standard dialects. Also offered as CAS EN 313 and GRS LX 665. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 530.
• CAS LX 370: Romance Linguistics
  Covers sound and morphosyntactic change since Latin, plus various topics in the comparative grammar of modern Romance languages. Students deepen their linguistic knowledge and analytic skills by applying what they have learned in other linguistics courses to this language family. Also offered as GRS LX 670. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 532.
• CAS LX 372: French Phonetics
  Students improve their pronunciation and aural comprehension by applying linguistic principles governing the articulation and distribution of French sounds, liaison, "mute e," and intonation. Written exercises reinforce theoretical points; oral exercises and recordings allow focus on individual difficulties. Conducted in French. Also offered as CAS LF 500.
• CAS LX 373: The Structure of French: Phonology
  The sound system of standard French and dialect variation in France, Canada, and other Francophone regions. Questions about mental representation of linguistic information, processes of word formation, and language variation and change. Students discover linguistic regularities through frequent problem sets. Conducted in French. Also offered as CAS LF 503 and GRS LX 673.
• CAS LX 383: The Sounds of Spanish
  Introduction to Spanish phonetics and phonology. Covers articulatory, acoustic, and auditory phonetics, focusing on techniques for visualizing speech sounds. Examines the phonemic inventory and phonological organization of Spanish from several perspectives, including generative and articulatory phonology as well as sociolinguistics. Conducted in Spanish. Also offered as CAS LS 507 and GRS LX 683. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 507.
• CAS LX 390: Topics in Linguistics
  Topics vary by semester. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Fall 2018: Truth. Approaches the notion of truth through the study of lies and other forms of deception, partial truths, imprecision, subjectivity, bullshit, hustle, and nonsense. Builds on perspectives from linguistics, philosophy, media/communication, law (perjury), and political science (fact- checking).
• CAS LX 391: Linguistic Field Methods
  An in-depth investigation of the phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and lexicon of an African or other non-Indo-European language. Weekly sessions with language consultant. Also offered as GRS LX 691. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 501.
• CAS LX 394: Natural Language Processing and Computational Linguistics
  Introduction to computational techniques to explore linguistic models and test empirical claims. Serves as an introduction to programming, algorithms, and data structures, focused on modern applications to NLP. Topics include tagging and classification, parsing models, meaning representation, and information extraction. Carries MCS divisional studies credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS LX 403: Phonological Analysis
  Survey of phonological theory and analysis, with focus on cross-linguistic typology of phonological systems. Phonological reasoning and argumentation skills are developed. Empirical coverage includes contrast, distinctive features, rules and constraints, opacity, tone, syllabification, stress, and interactions with morphology and syntax. Also offered as GRS LX 703. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Introduction to Phonology" that was previously numbered CAS LX 513.
• CAS LX 405: Prosody
  Exploration of the melodic and rhythmic aspects of the languages of the world. Emphasis on theoretical and experimental approaches to cross-linguistic typology. Specific topics include syllables and syllable-weight, rhythm and speech timing; stress and metrics; tone and intonation. Also offered as GRS LX 705. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 525.
• CAS LX 422: Intermediate Syntax: Modeling Syntactic Knowledge
  Using linguistic data drawn from a wide variety of languages, students develop a precise model of syntactic knowledge through evaluation of hypotheses and arguments. Exploration of major discoveries and phenomena from the linguistic literature. Also offered as GRS LX 722.
• CAS LX 423: Advanced Syntax: Issues in Modern Syntactic Theory
  Exploration of advanced topics in syntax, chosen in part based on student interest, through reading and critical discussion of both foundational and recent literature. Also offered as GRS LX 723. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Syntax II" that was previously numbered CAS LX 523.
• CAS LX 432: Intermediate Semantics: The Grammatical Construction of Meaning
  Systematic development of a semantic theory of natural language, using the tools of model-theoretic semantics. In-depth study of the relation between meaning and grammar, and the relation between meaning and context. Also offered as GRS LX 732. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Semantics II" that was previously numbered CAS LX 503.
• CAS LX 433: Intermediate Pragmatics: Meaning in Context
  Covers the main areas of linguistic pragmatics, the study of language use and the relation between meaning and context. Study of pragmatic phenomena such as presuppositions, implicatures, anaphora, and focus, from the perspective of linguistic semantics. Also offered as GRS LX 733. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Topics in Pragmatics" that was previously numbered CAS LX 504.
• CAS LX 454: Acquisition of Syntax
  Exploration of the character and course of acquisition of syntactic knowledge in both first and second language contexts. Covers methodological principles for conducting studies and analyzing data, and topics such as development of verb movement, binding theory, and tense. Also offered as GRS LX 754. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 540.
• CAS LY 111: Elementary Modern Arabic 1
  Advances proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic to the Beginner Mid level. Expands vocabulary repertoire. Practice speaking, listening, reading, writing using engaging materials and real-life communicative activities.

Back to full list of College of Arts & Sciences