Linguistics courses that carry credits in the BU Hub are as follows:
Aesthetic Exploration
CAS LX 120 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Aesthetic Exploration Research and Information Literacy Scientific Inquiry I
Is the co-occurrence of music and language in human societies coincidental or inevitable' This course examines this question by defining what language and music are, exploring their structural similarities and differences, and surveying global diversity in musical and linguistic expression. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Scientific Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
Historical Consciousness
CAS LX 205 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Historical Consciousness Teamwork/Collaboration
Overview of the world's major writing systems: Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs; Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform; West Semitic consonantal scripts (abjads); East Asian scripts; runes; Greek and Roman alphabets. Considerable linguistic component supplemented by historical information about ancient languages and cultures. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Also offered as CAS CL 205. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration.
CAS LX 360 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Creativity/Innovation Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Historical Consciousness
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) or consent of instructor. - 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. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
CAS LX 375 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Historical Consciousness
Undergraduate pre-requisites: CASLX 250. - Overview of socio-historical and linguistic factors underpinning the emergence, development, and spread of the French language over time. Study of historical, societal, and political events, along with phonetic, morphological, syntactic, and orthographic changes. Representative texts demonstrate stages of language change. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Scientific Inquiry I
CAS LX 120 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Aesthetic Exploration Research and Information Literacy Scientific Inquiry I
Is the co-occurrence of music and language in human societies coincidental or inevitable' This course examines this question by defining what language and music are, exploring their structural similarities and differences, and surveying global diversity in musical and linguistic expression. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Scientific Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS LX 250 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Critical Thinking Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Scientific Inquiry I
Properties that languages share and how languages differ with respect to structure (sound system, word formation, syntax), expression of meaning, acquisition, variation, and change; cultural and artistic uses of language; comparison of oral, written, and signed languages. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
Scientific Inquiry II
CAS LX 301 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Critical Thinking Quantitative Reasoning I Scientific Inquiry II
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) or consent of instructor. ; Undergraduate Corequisites: (CASLX302) - (Students must also register for required co-req CAS LX 302.) 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.
Social Inquiry I
CAS LX 110 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More The Individual in Community Research and Information Literacy Social Inquiry I
Exploration of how variation in accents and dialects interacts with various aspects of society and human life. Students examine how dialect variation arises, how it can be described, and how it interacts with literature, film, humor, and music. Cannot be taken for credit by students who have previously taken, or are currently taking, CAS LX 250 or a higher-level linguistics course. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS LX 342 4 credits.
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) 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 Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration.
CAS LX 346 4 credits.
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.
Social Inquiry II
CAS LX 349 4 credits.
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) or consent of instructor. - 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
Quantitative Reasoning I
CAS LX 301 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Critical Thinking Quantitative Reasoning I Scientific Inquiry II
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) or consent of instructor. ; Undergraduate Corequisites: (CASLX302) - (Students must also register for required co-req CAS LX 302.) 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.
Quantitative Reasoning II
CAS LX 394 4 credits.
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.
CAS LX 433 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Creativity/Innovation Digital/Multimedia Expression Quantitative Reasoning II
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.
CAS LX 496 4 credits.
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.
The Individual in Community
LX 110: Say what? Accents, Dialects, and Society LX 331: Semantics and Pragmatics LX 349: Bilingualism
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
CAS LX 205 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Historical Consciousness Teamwork/Collaboration
Overview of the world's major writing systems: Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs; Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform; West Semitic consonantal scripts (abjads); East Asian scripts; runes; Greek and Roman alphabets. Considerable linguistic component supplemented by historical information about ancient languages and cultures. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Also offered as CAS CL 205. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration.
CAS LX 250 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Critical Thinking Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Scientific Inquiry I
Properties that languages share and how languages differ with respect to structure (sound system, word formation, syntax), expression of meaning, acquisition, variation, and change; cultural and artistic uses of language; comparison of oral, written, and signed languages. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
CAS LX 331 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy The Individual in Community Teamwork/Collaboration
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) or consent of instructor. - 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork and Collaboration.
CAS LX 360 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Creativity/Innovation Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Historical Consciousness
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) or consent of instructor. - 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. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
CAS LX 367 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Research and Information Literacy Writing-Intensive Course
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASLX250) 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.
CAS LX 375 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Historical Consciousness
Undergraduate pre-requisites: CASLX 250. - Overview of socio-historical and linguistic factors underpinning the emergence, development, and spread of the French language over time. Study of historical, societal, and political events, along with phonetic, morphological, syntactic, and orthographic changes. Representative texts demonstrate stages of language change. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
CAS LX 391 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Ethical Reasoning Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Teamwork/Collaboration
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.
Ethical Reasoning
CAS LX 235 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Ethical Reasoning Oral and/or Signed Communication Teamwork/Collaboration
Exploration of the role of human language in society, focusing on language in legal settings. Addresses governmental policy on language; language crimes such as perjury, solicitation, and bribery; the meaning of consent; and the linguistics of legal interpretation. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.
CAS LX 391 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Ethical Reasoning Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Teamwork/Collaboration
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.
Writing Intensive Courses
LX 367: Indigenous Languages of Latin America
Oral and/or Signed Communication
CAS LX 235 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Ethical Reasoning Oral and/or Signed Communication Teamwork/Collaboration
Exploration of the role of human language in society, focusing on language in legal settings. Addresses governmental policy on language; language crimes such as perjury, solicitation, and bribery; the meaning of consent; and the linguistics of legal interpretation. Carries humanities divisional studies credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.
Digital/Multimedia Expression
CAS LX 433 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Creativity/Innovation Digital/Multimedia Expression Quantitative Reasoning II
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.
Critical Thinking
LX 250: Intro to Linguistics
Research and Information Literacy
LX 110: Say what? Accents, Dialects, and Society
Teamwork / Collaboration
LX 205: Origins of Writing
Creativity / Innovation
LX 360: Historical and Comparative Linguistics