Linguistics

• GRS 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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  • Scientific Inquiry II
  • Quantitative Reasoning I
  • Critical Thinking
• GRS LX 611: Morphology: Introduction to the Structures and Shapes of Words
  Graduate Corequisites: GRS LX 612.
  (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.
• GRS 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.
• GRS 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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  • The Individual in Community
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Critical Thinking
• GRS 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.
• GRS 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
• GRS LX 645: Languages in Contact: The High Stakes of Grammatical Border-Crossing
  Examines the mechanisms and outcomes of language contact by surveying cases around the globe from the past and present. Topics include lexical-borrowing, code-switching, pidgins and creoles, language death, and the emergence of entirely new language systems. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 515.
• GRS LX 646: Language Variation and Change
  Why do languages change over time? Who leads and who follows in situations of language change? The course answers these questions by examining the link between language change and linguistic variation, focusing on how synchronic variation leads to diachronic change. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • Social Inquiry I
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• GRS LX 649: Bilingualism
  The psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics of life with two languages. Topics include bilingual language use, processing, acquisition, organization; effects of bilingualism on cognition and development; the bilingual brain; the bilingual speech community; bilingual education; bilingualism in the media and public eye. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 545. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Critical Thinking
• GRS LX 655: 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. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 542.
• GRS LX 665: Variation in Dialects of English
  Graduate Corequisites: GRS LX 666.
  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. Students must also register for GRS LX 666.
• GRS LX 667: Indigenous Languages of Latin America
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LX 250; and First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g. CAS WR 100; WR 120)
  Exploration of the structure, history, and varieties of indigenous languages of Latin America, and of the communities that speak them. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• GRS LX 670: Romance Linguistics
  Graduate Prerequisites: prior study of some Romance language at the 4th semester level or higher (e.g. CAS LF 212 or LI 212 or LP 212 or LS 212 or CL 212, or equivalent); or consent of instructor.
  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. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 532.
• GRS LX 673: The Structure of French: Phonology
  Graduate Prerequisites: one CAS LF 300-level course, or consent of instructor.
  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.
• GRS LX 683: The Sounds of Spanish
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: one LS 300-level language course; or consent of instructor.
  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. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS LX 507.
• GRS LX 690: Topics in Linguistics
  Topics and pre-requisites vary by semester and section. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Fall 2022: Language Revitalization. (pre-req: CAS LX 250, Introduction to Linguistics, or equivalent.) 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. Topic for Spring 2023: Metrics and Evaluation in Natural Language Processing. Much recent progress has been made in Natural Language Processing, sometimes accompanied by descriptions like "human-level performance." This course serves as an introduction to how "progress" is measured and evaluated, and invites broader discussions about claims of human parity.
• GRS LX 691: Linguistic Field Methods
  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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  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• GRS LX 694: 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. Topics include tagging and classification, parsing models, meaning representation, and information extraction. [Not intended for students with a background in programming or computer science] This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Research and Information Literacy
• GRS LX 703: Phonological Analysis
  Graduate Prerequisites: GRS LX 601 (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. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Introduction to Phonology" that was previously numbered CAS LX 513.
• GRS LX 706: Advanced Topics in Phonology
  Graduate Prerequisites: CAS LX 403/ GRS LX 703
  Topics will vary. May be taken more than once for credit with different topics. First topic: Distinctive feature theory from Structuralism to the present. Issues include the putative universality of distinctive features, their phonetic underpinnings, tension among the various roles features play in the grammar, and applicability of features to phonology beyond consonants and vowels.