Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• CAS LX 390: Topics in Linguistics
  Topics and pre-requisites vary by semester and section. May be repeated for credit as topics change. The pre-requisite for all three Fall 2024 sections is CASLX250 or equivalent. Topics for Fall 2024: Section A1: Language Revitalization. Languages become "endangered" or "dormant" for multiple reasons, and efforts to revitalize languages take many paths. We examine key cases of language revitalization, including examples from around the world, but with a primary focus on indigenous languages of North America. Section B1: Cognitive Science of Language. This course serves as an introduction to studying language as a part of broader cognitive science, exploring questions about the nature of linguistic representations, how they are processed and acquired, and how they interact with other cognitive domains. Section C1: Lexical Semantics. Pre-requisite in addition to CASLF 250 is CASLX 331 or 631 or equivalent. Recommended is CASLX321/621 or equivalent; or consent of the instructor. Investigation of the traditional notion of morpheme as a “minimal form-meaning pairing," and its attendant difficulties. Students gain an appreciation of the relationship between word structure and word meaning across languages via a series of case studies.
• CAS LX 391: Linguistic Field Methods
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) or consent of instructor. - A team-based in-depth investigation of the phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and lexicon of an African or other non-Indo-European language. Bi-weekly sessions with language consultant. Weekly trainings on methodology, ethics, analysis, and presentation of results. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• CAS LX 394: Introduction to Programming for 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 Natural Language Processing (NLP). Topics include tagging and classification, parsing models, meaning representation, and information extraction. (Not intended for students with a background in programming or computer science.) Carries MCS divisional studies credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS LX 403: Phonological Analysis
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LX 301 (formerly CAS LX 510), or consent of instructor. - 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
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LX 301 (formerly CAS LX 510), or consent of instructor. - 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
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LX 321 (formerly CAS LX 522), or consent of instructor. - 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
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX422) or consent of instructor. - 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
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LX 331 (formerly CAS LX 502). - 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: Experimental Pragmatics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LX 331 (formerly CAS LX 502), or consent of instructor. - Covers recent developments in the theory of pragmatics and related empirical findings obtained through a variety of experimental methods. Topics include scalar implicature and its relation to vagueness and imprecision, hyperbole, metaphor, irony, politeness, and the pragmatics of reference to objects in visual scenes. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Topics in Pragmatics" that was previously numbered CAS LX 504. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • Creativity/Innovation
  • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
• CAS LX 453: Acquisition of Phonology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX301) - Surveys current knowledge about how children acquire phonology during the first years of life. Topics include biological foundations; perceptual and vocal development; word learning; phonological universals; implicit and explicit learning mechanisms; formalist and functionalist models; and individual variation. Also offered as GRS LX 753. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Phonological Development" that was previously numbered CAS LX 541.
• CAS LX 454: Acquisition of Syntax
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX321) - 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 LX 496: Computational Linguistics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) and CASCS112 or CASLX394); or consent of instructor. - Introduction to computational techniques to explore linguistic models and test empirical claims. Serves as an introduction to concepts, algorithms, data structures, and tool libraries. Topics include tagging and classification, parsing models, meaning representation, corpus creation, information extraction. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS LX 601: Phonetics & Phonology: Introduction to Sound Systems
  Introduction to the nature and patterning of sounds in human language. Presents articulatory and acoustic phonetics, and basic phonological analysis, focusing on cross-language typology and comparison. Hands-on development of practical skills, including IPA transcription, field techniques, and digital speech analysis. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning I
  • Scientific Inquiry II
• CAS LX 611: Morphology: Introduction to the Structures and Shapes of Words
  Graduate Corequisites: (GRSLX612) - (Students must also register for required co-req GRS LX 612.) Morphology, the study of the internal structure and the shapes of words across languages, straddles the boundary between syntax and phonology. This course covers the major empirical and theoretical issues in the study of morphology, emphasizing links to other components of grammar. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Morphology" that was previously numbered CAS LX 521.
• CAS LX 617: "Having" and "Being" across Languages
  Languages differ startlingly in how they express the apparently basic concepts of "possession" and "essence". Students explore this variety and its implications, addressing fundamental questions about linguistic relativism, language universals, and the relationship between structure and meaning. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 517.
• CAS LX 621: Syntax: Introduction to Sentential Structure
  Introduction to syntax as an object of inquiry. Students build an increasingly sophisticated model of syntactic knowledge to account for data from English and other languages, constructing and evaluating alternative hypotheses about how sentence structure works. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Syntax I" that was previously numbered CAS LX 522.
• CAS LX 628: Questions
  Exploration of question formation across languages, and from several theoretical perspectives, integrating syntax, phonology, semantics, morphology, pragmatics, and philosophy in pursuit of a general understanding of one of the central phenomena in theoretical linguistics. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 519.
• CAS LX 631: Semantics & Pragmatics: Introduction to Linguistic Meaning
  Systematic examination of how meaning is encoded in words and sentences, and how it can emerge from the complexity of the grammar. Also touches on various aspects of pragmatics--the study of how meaning is shaped by context. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Semantics I" that was previously numbered CAS LX 502. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • The Individual in Community
• CAS LX 641: Sociolinguistics
  Introduction to language in its social context. Methodological and theoretical approaches to sociolinguistics. Linguistic variation in relation to situation, gender, socioeconomic class, linguistic context, and ethnicity. Integrating micro- and macro-analysis from conversation to societal language planning. Also offered as CAS AN 521.
• CAS LX 642: Language, Race, and Gender
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Graduate standing in the Linguistics program, or consent of instructor . - Do women talk differently from men? How do race and ethnicity relate to the way people use language? This course examines these interrelated questions from the perspective of modern sociolinguistic theory, analyzing a range of languages and communities throughout the world. Effective Spring 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • Social Inquiry I
  • Teamwork/Collaboration