Spring 2027 graduate courses

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

Syntax: Introduction to Sentential Structure

CAS LX 621

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.

Sociolinguistics

CAS LX 641

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.

Languages in Contact

CAS LX 645

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.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 250 or consent of instructor.

Psycholinguistics

CAS LX 651

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.

Prerequisites: CAS LX250 or consent of instructor.

History of French

CAS LX 675

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.

Topics in Linguistics

CAS LX 690 A1 – Advanced Child Language Acquisition

This advanced seminar builds on Introduction to Child Language Acquisition, digging deeper into the theories and empirical evidence behind how kids learn language. Each week, we read classic literature and explore cutting-edge research that has shaped, and continues to challenge, what we know. Class time is built around lively discussions, visits from scholars in language development, and, depending on interest, opportunities for hands-on data collection with families from our community.

Pre-requisites: Intro to Child Language Acquisition (previously a Topics class) or instructor approval.

CAS LX 690 B1 – Intermediate Morphophonology

Investigation of what morphology and phonology are, how they may or may not be distinct, and how they interact. Can be counted in place of LX 403/LX703 Phonological Analysis, or as an advanced phonetics, phonology, or morphology course for the purposes of the breadth requirement in the PhD program.

Prerequisite: CAS LX 302 Phonetics and Phonology

Intermediate Semantics: The Grammatical Construction of Meaning

CAS LX 732

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 631, or consent of instructor.

Computational Linguistics

CAS LX 796

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.

Advanced Topics in Computational Linguistics

CAS LX 797

Covers advanced topics in computational linguistics. Topics vary. May be repeated for credit as topics change.

Topic for Spring 2027: Contemporary Research in Neural Network Models of Language. This seminar discusses contemporary research in computational linguistics and cognitive science, focusing on neural network models. We aim to survey new research directions enabled by recent technological advances, contrasting things possible e.g., in the second wave of connectionism.

Prerequisites: CASLX 496/796 or CASCS 505, or consent of instructor.

Advanced Quantitative Methods in Linguistics

CAS LX 799

This course provides students who already have a foundation in statistical analysis with a deeper understanding of data management and visualization, (mixed effects) regression modeling, dimensionality reduction, model selection, contrast coding schemes, interaction, partitioning algorithms, and strategies for streamlining workflow.

Prerequisite: CASLX 795, or consent of instructor.