Linguistics

2018-19 General Catalog

239 and 241 Stevenson College
(831) 459-2905 (graduate program)
(831) 459-4988 (undergraduate program)
http://linguistics.ucsc.edu

Faculty | Program Statement

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Lower-Division Courses

50. Introduction to Linguistics. F,W,S
An introduction to the major areas, problems, and techniques of modern linguistics. (General Education Code(s): SI.) R. Bennett, I. Sichel, M. Wagers

53. Semantics I. F,W
Introduction to the logical foundations of natural language semantics. Logical and semantic relations, simple set theory, logical representations (propositional and predicate calculi, modal and tense logics) and their interpretations. A basic literacy course in the language of logical representation. (General Education Code(s): MF.) M. Toosarvandani, A. Brasoveanu

80C. Language, Society, and Culture. W
The study of language from a sociological perspective. Multilingualism, language change and variation, pidgins and creoles, the origin and diversification of dialects. (General Education Code(s): CC.) G. McGuire

80D. Language and Mind. F
A critical overview of the research program initiated by Noam Chomsky and its implications for theories of the human mind and brain. (General Education Code(s): PE-H.) M. Wagers

80K. Invented Languages, from Elvish to Esperanto. S
Considers invented languages, including Elvish and Klingon, as well as lesser-known ones that tackle ethical, social, or cognitive concerns. Students learn tools from contemporary linguistics to analyze language structures and understand how they relate to creator intentions. Enrollment limited to 70. (General Education Code(s): TA.) P. Anand

80V. Structure of the English Vocabulary. *
A systematic study of the elements of English words: besides the practical goal of vocabulary consolidation and expansion, explores the historical origin and development of word elements, as well as their sound, meaning, and function in the contemporary language. The Staff

99. Tutorial. F,W,S
Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. The Staff

Upper-Division Courses

101. Phonology I. W,S
Introduction to how sounds pattern in grammars-why they vary, how they combine, etc. Emphasis is on developing theories to explain the patterns. Topics include distinctive feature theory, phonemic analysis, autosegmental phonology, and principles of syllabification and stress. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements, course 50. (General Education Code(s): MF.) A. Rysling, The Staff

102. Phonology II. F
Advanced phonological theory. Topics include markedness; underspecification theories; advanced topics in feature geometry, syllable theory, and stress theory; and optimality theory. Readings include published articles. Emphasis on theory construction and argumentation based on data. Prerequisite(s): course 101, and course 111 or 112. J. Ito

103. Phonology III. W
Advanced topics in phonology, with an emphasis on reading both classic and contemporary research articles and book chapters. Prerequisite(s): course 102 and enrollment by interview. Enrollment limited to 15. R. Bennett

105. Morphology. W
Study of the principles of word formation: derivation, inflection, and compounding; cross-linguistic study of morphological processes, morphological investigation and analysis. Prerequisite(s): course 111or 112, and course 101. J. Hankamer

108. Poetry and Language. *
An introduction to the linguistic aspects of poetry, e.g., rhyme, meter, and larger-scale organization of poetic form. The emphasis is on English poetry, complemented by brief sketches of other poetic traditions. Prerequisite(s): course 101, and course 111 or 112. (General Education Code(s): TA.) The Staff

111. Syntactic Structures. S
Provides a basic introduction to the methods and results of generative grammar. It simultaneously provides an overview of the major syntactic constructions of English. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements. (General Education Code(s): MF.) M. Wagers

112. Syntax I. F,W
An introduction to syntactic investigation, developed through the study of central aspects of English syntax. A major purpose is to introduce students to the study of language as an empirical science. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements. (General Education Code(s): MF.) P. Anand, J. Hankamer

113. Syntax II. S
Further aspects of English syntax; universal and language-particular constraints on syntactic structures and rules. Further developments and extensions of generative theory. Prerequisite(s): course 53 and 112. M. Toosarvandani

114A. Syntax III. F
Advanced topics in syntax. Prerequisite(s): course 113, satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements and permission of instructor. J. Hankamer

114B. Readings in Syntax. *
Introduces reading the primary literature in syntax. Readings will vary. Emphasis is on how to read technically difficult works, evaluate arguments, and appreciate competing views. Coursework includes readings, presentations, and short response papers. Enrollment by permission of instructor. Prerequisite: course 113. The Staff

114C. Topics in Syntax. *
Advanced undergraduate course devoted to a topic in syntax. Topics vary and may include ellipsis, binding, agreement phenomena, alternative frameworks. Coursework includes problem sets, readings, presentations, and a term paper. Enrollment by permission of instructor. Prerequisite: course 113. The Staff

116. Semantics II. W
Major issues in natural language semantics: nature of lexical entries, thematic relations, propositional representation or "logical form"; relation between semantic interpretation and syntactic representations, quantification and scope relations, reference and presupposition, coreference and anaphoric relations. Prerequisite(s): course 53, and either course 111 or 112. D. Farkas

117. Pragmatics. S
Covers topics central in the study of pragmatics, the interpretation of language use. Topics include conversational implicature, speech acts and discourse understanding, and social deixis. Prerequisite(s): courses 53 and 101; and 111 or 112. D. Farkas

118. Semantics III. *
Uses the tools learned in courses 53 and 116 (Semantics I and Semantics II), giving students the opportunity to explore important topics with heavy emphasis placed on reading primary-source literature. Readings form the basis for weekly lectures and the discussion section. Prerequisite(s): course 116 and permission of instructor. Enrollment limited to 25. The Staff

120. Structure of English. *
Survey of grammatical structure of English and terminology of grammatical description. Covers phonological, morphological, and syntactic structure of English and contrasts it with other languages. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, and 101. The Staff

124. Language Typology. *
Introduces the branch of linguistics whose goal is to describe and explain the structural diversity of the world's languages. Focuses on what is known about variation in particular domains (e.g., syllable structure, word order, evidentiality), and how it might be explained. Prerequisite(s): course 111or 112, and course 101. Enrollment limited to 40. The Staff

125. Foundations of Linguistic Theory. *
Survey of some of the history and foundational assumptions of generative grammar; also looks at some of the influence of generative linguistic theorizing on disciplines outside linguistics, notably psychology and philosophy. Prerequisite(s): course 113 or 116. Enrollment limited to 25. The Staff

127. History of Linguistics. *
Topics in the history of linguistics, with a special focus on the 20th century. Prerequisite(s): course 101, and course 111 or course 112. The Staff

140. Language Change. F
Methods and problems in the study of change in linguistic systems. Reconstruction of proto-languages; the comparative method. Theories of change and implications for the theory of grammar. Prerequisite(s): course 101, and either course 111 or 112. Enrollment limited to 45. G. McGuire

141. Ellipsis. *
Introduction to and survey of the ellipsis in natural language, including the typology of ellipsis processes, cross-linguistic uniformity and variation in ellipsis, and theoretical approaches and issues. Prerequisite(s): courses 53 and 101; and 111 or 112 The Staff

144. Computational Methods for Linguists. *
Introduction to computational methods for linguists with little background in computer programming. Possible topics include: regular expressions, annotation, databases, and search. Students learn contemporary techniques in team-based programming and annotation. Prerequisite(s): courses 50, 53, and either 111 or 112. Enrollment is restricted to linguistics and language studies majors. (General Education Code(s): PR-E.) The Staff

145. Native Languages of North America. S
Selective survey of the indigenous languages of North America, including a formal/structural component and an historical/social component. Topics include typological properties of these languages, current status, and revitalization efforts. Prerequisite(s): course 101, and either course 111 or 112. The Staff

147. Quantitative Methods in Linguistics. *
Introduces quantitative methods for linguistics. Focuses on categorical data and continuous data, and using R. Students learn the basics of probability, statistics, and experimental design, and use R to apply them to linguistic data sets. Prerequisite(s): courses 53 and 101, and either course 111 or 112. (General Education Code(s): SR.) The Staff

151. Phonetic Analysis. F
Introduction to instrumental phonetic analysis—analysis using experimental methods. Emphasis is on the acoustics and perception of speech. Prerequisite(s): course 101. A. Rysling

152. Applied Phonetics. *
Examines areas in which phonetic analysis and experimentation are used in practice. Emphasizes problem-solving, experiments, and analytical tasks. Prerequisite(s): course 151. Enrollment limited to 25. The Staff

154. Language and Social Identity. F
Introduction to sociolinguistics exploring the relationship between language and such social parameters as social status, ethnicity, race, gender, etc., including the role of language differences in the creation of social stereotypes. Emphasis on gathering, examining, and reporting data. Prerequisite(s): course 101, and either course 111 or 112. I. Sichel

155. Language and Cognition. S
Introduces and examines some of the foundational assumptions, practices, and methods of generative grammar in comparison to those of other areas of cognitive science, notably psychology and philosophy. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, 53, and 101. The Staff

157. Psycholinguistics and Linguistic Theory. W
Theory and methods in psycholinguistics, covering perception, production, and acquisition of language and linguistic structure. A hands-on, laboratory-style introduction to the topic, focusing on the relation between experimental findings and linguistic theory. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 257. Prerequisite(s): course 102 or 105 or 113 or 116. Enrollment is restricted to linguistics and language studies majors. (General Education Code(s): SR.) A. Brasoveanu

158. Advanced Psycholinguistics. *
Advanced topics in psycholinguistics and experimental linguistics, contemporary memory models, computational models of comprehension and production, and neurolinguistic findings and methodologies. Student work revolves around an extended research project in which students learn to apply advanced analytical techniques. Prerequisite(s): course 157. Enrollment is restricted to linguistics and language studies majors. Enrollment limited to 12. The Staff

160. Language Engineering. *
Addresses a particular problem in language engineering, chosen for its practical and theoretical interest and its tractability. The entire course focuses on a team project to design a solution to the problem. Permission of instructor required. The Staff

180. Structure of a Particular Language. *
Topics in the phonology, morphology, syntax, or semantics of a language that is the research interest of the instructor. The language investigated changes with each offering of the course. Prerequisite(s): courses 101, and 111 or 112. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

181. Structure of Romance Languages. W
Discusses topics in the phonology, syntax, and semantics of Romance languages, with emphasis left to the discretion of the instructor. Students read original research articles and pursue empirical investigation of Romance languages by collecting data from scholarly publications, fieldwork, and/or corpus analysis. Some knowledge of Italian, French, or Spanish is required. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, and course 101. The Staff

182. Structure of Spanish. *
The phonology and syntax of Spanish, studied from a modern linguistic perspective. Some knowledge of Spanish is required. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, and course 101. The Staff

183. Structure of French. *
The phonology, morphology, and syntax aspects of French. Some knowledge of French is helpful. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, and 101. The Staff

185. Structure of Russian. *
The phonology, morphology, and syntax of Russian. Some knowledge of Russian is helpful. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, and course 101. Enrollment limited to 30. The Staff

186. Structure of German. *
Phonological, morphological, and syntactic aspects of the structure of the German language. Some knowledge of German is required. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, and course 101. The Staff

187. Structure of Japanese.
The phonology, morphology, and syntax of Japanese. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, and course 101. The Staff

188. Structure of Turkish. *
The phonology, morphology, and syntax of Turkish. Prerequisite(s): course 111 or 112, and course 101. The Staff

189. Structure of Arabic. *
The phonology, morphology, and syntax of Arabic. (Mainly modern standard, but also some regional dialects.) No knowledge of Arabic is required. Pre-requisite(s): course 101, and course 111 or 112. The Staff

193. Field Study. *
Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. The Staff

195. Senior Thesis. F,W,S
Deadline for submission of thesis proposal is one year in advance of proposed completion. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

198. Independent Field Study. F,W,S
Provides for department-sponsored individual study programs off campus for which faculty supervision is not in person (e.g., supervision by correspondence). Preparation and approval must be completed by the fifth day of instruction of any given quarter. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

199. Tutorial. F,W,S
Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

199F. Tutorial (2 credits). F,W,S
Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

Graduate Courses

211. Phonology A. F
First part of a three quarter introduction to phonology. Topics of the sequence include fundamentals of acoustic phonetics; introduction to optimality theory; theories of syllabification, stress, and prosodic organization; prosodic morphology; advanced issues in faithfulness and correspondence; segmental and suprasegmental processes. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. R. Bennett

212. Phonology B. W
Second part of a three quarter introduction to phonology. Topics of the sequence include fundamentals of acoustic phonetics; introduction to optimality theory; theories of syllabification, stress, and prosodic organization; prosodic morphology; advanced issues in faithfulness and correspondence; segmental and suprasegmental processes. Prerequisite(s): course 211. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. J. Ito

214. Phonetics. *
Introduction to phonetic theory concentrating on acoustic phonetics and speech perception along with common experimental methods, the role of phonetic principles in explaining phonological patterns and markedness. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. Enrollment limited to 12. The Staff

216. Phonology Proseminar. *
One or more topics in phonological theory. Topics vary from year to year, covering literature and current research in phonology. Prerequisite(s): course 212. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

219. Phonology Seminar. S
Advanced topics in phonology drawn from the current research interests of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): course 212. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

219G. Phonology Seminar (3 credits). *
Advanced topics in phonology drawn from the current research interests of the instructor. Three-credit version of course 219. Does not require a final paper. Prerequisite(s): course 212. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

221. Syntax A. F
Introduction to syntactic theory. Phrase structure; subcategorization; lexical entries; passive; infinitival constructions. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. M. Toosarvandani

222. Syntax B. S
Continuation of Syntax A. The syntax of unbounded dependencies, including constituent questions, relative clauses, clefts, topicalization. Constraints on extraction; unbounded versus successive cyclic movement; the licensing of gaps. Prerequisite(s): course 221. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. I. Sichel

226. Proseminar in Syntax. *
In-depth investigation of some topic in syntactic theory. Topics vary from year to year, covering literature and current research in grammatical structure from varying theoretical perspectives. Prerequisite(s): course 222. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. The Staff

226G. Proseminar in Syntax (3 credits). *
In-depth investigation of some topic in syntactic theory. Topics vary from year to year, covering literature and current research in grammatical structure from varying theoretical perspectives. Three-credit version of course 226. Does not require a final paper. Prerequisite(s): course 222. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

229. Syntax Seminar. F,W
Advanced topics in syntax drawn from the current research interests of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): course 222. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. I. Sichel, M. Toosarvandani

229G. Syntax Seminar (3 credits). *
Advanced topics in syntax drawn from the current research interests of the instructor. Three-credit version of course 229. Does not require a final paper. Prerequisite(s): course 222. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

231. Semantics A. F
Introduction to linguistic semantics: nature of lexical entries, thematic relations, representation of logical form; relation between semantic interpretation and syntactic representation, quantification and scope relations, reference and presupposition. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. A. Brasoveanu

232. Semantics B. W
Model-theoretic semantics for natural language. Truth-conditional, compositional semantics. Various logical ontologies and their application to natural language categories. Dynamic interpretation of discourse and anaphoric relations. Treatment of illocutionary force. Prerequisite(s): course 231. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. D. Farkas

236. Proseminar in Semantics. *
In-depth investigation of some topic in semantics and pragmatics. Topics vary from year to year, covering literature and current research in linguistic semantics and pragmatics. Prerequisite(s): course 231. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. The Staff

236G. Semantics Proseminar (3 credits). *
In-depth investigation of some topic in semantics and pragmatics. Topics vary from year to year, covering literature and current research in linguistic semantics and pragmatics. Three-credit version of course 236. Does not require a final paper. Prerequisite(s): course 231. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students, or by consent of instructor. Enrollment limited to 12. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

239. Semantics Seminar. S
Advanced topics in semantics drawn from the current research interests of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): course 232. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. P. Anand

239G. Semantics Seminar (3 credits). *
Advanced topics in semantics drawn from the current research interests of the instructor. Three-credit version of course 239. Does not require a final paper. Prerequisite(s): course 232. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

240. The Pedagogy of Linguistics (1 credit). F,W
Provides training for graduate students in university-level pedagogy in general and in the pedagogy of linguistics specifically. Under the supervision of a faculty member, coordinated by a graduate student with substantial experience as a teaching assistant. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. May be repeated for credit. M. Wagers

244. Computational Methods for Linguists. *
Practical introduction to computational methods for linguists. Topics covered: database development; indexation and search; morphological and syntactic parsing; and modern annotation methodologies. Students concurrently learn Python and JavaScript. No background in programming is required. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students, or by consent of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 12. The Staff

245. Computational Models of Discourse and Dialogue. *
Focuses on classic and current theories and research topics in the computational modeling of discourse and dialogue, with applications to human-computer dialogue interactions; dialogue interaction in computer games and interactive story systems; and processing of human-to-human conversational and dialogue-like language such as e-mails. Topics vary depending on the current research of the instructor(s) and the interests of the students. Students read theoretical and technical papers from journals and conference proceedings and present class lectures. A research project is required. (Also offered as Computational Media 245. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Undergraduates may enroll with permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

248. Topics in Computational Methods and Models. *
Seminar in computational approaches in linguistics and the language sciences with topics drawn from the current interests of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): courses 221 and 231. Enrollment is restricted to linguistics graduate students. Enrollment limited to 14. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

249. Morphology Seminar. *
Presents theoretical and descriptive issues, particularly those raised by the framework of distributed morphology and its current competitors. Course work consists of readings, squibs, and a term paper. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. The Staff

249G. Morphology Seminar (3 credits). *
Presents theoretical and descriptive issues, particularly those raised by the framework of distributed morphology and its current competitors. Coursework consists of readings and squibs. Three-credit version of course 249. Does not require a final paper. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

257. Psycholinguistics and Linguistic Theory. W
Theory and methods in psycholinguistics, covering perception, production, and acquisition of language and linguistic structure. A hands-on, laboratory-style introduction to the topic, focusing on the relation between experimental findings and linguistic theory. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 157 or 257G. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. M. Wagers

258. Advanced Psycholinguistics. S
Advanced topics in psycholinguistics and experimental linguistics. Contemporary memory models. Computational models of comprehension and production. Neurolinguistic findings and methodologies. Student work revolves around an extended research project in which students learn to apply advanced analytical techniques. Graduate students have separate evaluation criteria. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 258G. Prerequisite(s): course 257. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. A. Rysling

258G. Advanced Psycholinguistics (3 credits). *
Advanced topics in psycholinguistics and experimental linguistics. Contemporary memory models. Computational models of comprehension and production. Neurolinguistic findings and methodologies. Student work revolves around an extended research project in which students apply advanced analytical techniques. Graduate students have separate evaluation criteria. Three-credit version of course 258. Does not require a final paper. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 258. Prerequisite(s): course 257. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12. The Staff

259. Phonetics Seminar. F
Advanced topics in acoustic and articulatory phonetics. Prerequisite(s): course 214. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. A. Rysling

259G. Phonetics Seminar (3 credits). *
Advanced topics in acoustic and articulatory phonetics. Three-credit version of course 259. Does not require a final paper. Prerequisite(s): course 214. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

279. Research Seminar in Psycholinguistics. *
Contemporary research in psycholinguistic theory models, and methods. Topics vary with research interests of faculty and graduate students. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. Enrollment limited to 12. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

280. Proseminar in Experimental Linguistics. *
Examines experimental design and analysis for gathering linguistic data; the advantages and disadvantages of major response measures, including reaction times; interaction with extra-grammatical factors; and statistics on categorical and continuous measures. Students present results in research papers. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 280G. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. The Staff

280G. Proseminar in Experimental Linguistics (3 credits). *
Examines experimental design and analysis for gathering linguistic data: the advantages and disadvantages of major response measures, including reaction times; interaction with extra-grammatical factors; and statistics on categorical and continuous measures. Three-credit version of course 280. Does not require a final paper. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. Enrollment limited to 12. The Staff

282. Field Methods. *
Exploration of a language previously unfamiliar to students through elicitation from a native speaker. Discussion of elicitation techniques. Students investigate selected aspects of the language in depth. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students; enrollment is by instructor permission only. The Staff

290. Research Seminar. W
A research seminar for undergraduate and graduate students to develop the skills of the profession. Critical reading, reviewing, teaching, presentation, and writing. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. Enrollment limited to 10. G. McGuire

295. Directed Reading. F,W,S
Directed reading which does not involve a term paper. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. The Staff

296. Linguistics Colloquium (2 credits). F,W,S
Independent graduate-level activities and assignments relating to professionalism; organizing and attending colloquium and conferences; participation in discussion at such events; and preparation of commentaries on academic papers. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. Enrollment is restricted to linguistics graduate students. May be repeated for credit. M. Wagers

297. Independent Study. F,W,S
Enrollment is restricted to graduate students or by permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

299. Thesis Research. F,W,S
The Staff

 

* Not offered in 2018-19

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Revised: 07/15/18