Spring 2026 undergraduate courses

For a full list of undergraduate courses in linguistics offered in recent years, see: CAS – Linguistics Courses.

Language and Music

CAS LX 120

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.

BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Scientific Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.

Introduction to Linguistics

CAS LX 250 / MET LX 250

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. Also offered through Metropolitan College as MET LX 250. (Students must also register for a discussion section.)

BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.

“Having” and “Being” across Languages

CAS LX 317

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 or consent of instructor.

Syntax: Introduction to Sentential Structure

CAS LX 321

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.  (Students must also register for a discussion section, CAS LX 322.)

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250, or consent of instructor.

BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.

Sociolinguistics

CAS LX 341

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 or CAS AN 351, or consent of instructor.

Historical and Comparative Linguistics

CAS LX 360

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.

Prerequisites: CAS LX250 or consent of instructor.

BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.

History of French

CAS LX 375

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. Conducted in English.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250, or consent of instructor.

BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.

Topics in Linguistics

CAS LX 390 A1 – Psycholinguistics

“Language allows us to understand others’ thoughts and express our own—but how does it work? This course explores the cognitive and neural systems underlying human language and provides hands-on training in psycholinguistic research methods, quantitative analysis, and scientific communication.”

CAS LX 390 B1 – Large Language Models

This course introduces the history, science, engineering, and social implications of generative AI technologies based on large language models (LLMs). Students will practice writing software with LLMs while analyzing their behavior and performance using scientifically rigorous evaluations. No background in AI, machine learning, or data science is necessary.

Prerequisites: LX 394/694 or any course or other prior experience involving computer programming.

Phonological Analysis

CAS LX 403

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 301, or consent of instructor.

Advanced Syntax

CAS LX 423

Exploration of advanced topics in syntax, chosen in part based on student interest, through reading and critical discussion of both foundational and recent literature.

Prerequisites: CASLX 422 or consent of instructor.

Intermediate Semantics: The Grammatical Construction of Meaning

CAS LX 432

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 331, or consent of instructor.

Computational Linguistics

CAS LX 496

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 and either CAS CS 112 or CS LX 394, or consent of instructor.

BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.