Linguistics

• CAS LX 403: Phonological Analysis
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASLX 301, 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.
• CAS LX 422: Intermediate Syntax: Modeling Syntactic Knowledge
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASLX 321, 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.
• CAS LX 423: Advanced Syntax: Issues in Modern Syntactic Theory
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASLX 422 or consent of instructor. Graduate Prerequisites: CASLX 722 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.
• CAS LX 432: Intermediate Semantics: The Grammatical Construction of Meaning
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASLX 331. - 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.
• 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 454: Acquisition of Syntax
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASLX 321, - 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 including development of verb movement, binding theory, morphosyntax, and tense expression.
• 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