Undergraduate Adviser: Jason Merchant, Cl 305, 702-8523,
merchant@uchicago.edu

Departmental Secretary: Vanessa Wright, Cl 304, 702-8522, vwright@midway.uchicago.edu

Web: www.humanities.uchicago.edu/depts/linguistics/

Program of Study

The purpose of the B.A. program in linguistics is to provide a solid, integrated introduction to the core subdisciplines of linguistics, as well as to ensure that the student has a language background sufficient to provide a database for the theoretical parts of the program and for an understanding of the complexities of human language. This introduction provides students with a general orientation and overview of the field and prepares them for productive advanced study in linguistics.

Program Requirements

The B.A. in linguistics requires thirteen courses. These courses fall into two categories: departmental courses in linguistics and language requirements. The following departmental courses must be taken by all linguistics majors: (1) Introduction to Linguistics (LING 20100-20200-20300), usually taken during the second year; (2) the four linguistics core courses: Syntax I (LING 20400), Phonetics (LING 20600), Semantics I (LING 20700), and Phonology I (LING 20800), which are usually divided between the third and fourth years.

The language requirement is designed to ensure breadth of study in a non-Indo-European language and can be met in four different ways: (1) registration in a three-quarter course in a non-Indo-European language on campus; (2) examination credit in a non-Indo-European language for which the University offers placement examinations; (3) registration for an intensive one-quarter course in the structure of a non-Indo-European language offered by a member of the linguistics faculty (or by another faculty member upon approval by the linguistics undergraduate adviser); or (4) completion of an approved intensive language program taken elsewhere for languages not offered or tested for at the University of Chicago. Students who fulfill the language requirement with fewer than three quarters must substitute elective courses offered in linguistics for the language quarters not taken.

The first three electives for the major must be courses offered by the department. For any further electives, a student may petition the department to substitute a related course in another department. In no case can a total of fewer than thirteen quarters of study fulfill the requirements for the B.A.

Summary of Requirements

                                  3      LING 20100-20200-20300 (introductory courses)

                                  4      LING 20400, 20600, 20700, and 20800 (core courses)

                               0-3      courses in a non-Indo-European language*

                               3-6      linguistics major electives, depending on

                                __         how the language requirement is satisfied**

                                13

  *        Credit may be granted by examination. When the language requirement is met by examination, three electives in linguistics
must be substituted.

**       At least three courses must be taken in the linguistics department.

            With prior approval of the undergraduate adviser, up to three

            of the remaining electives may be taken in other departments.

Honors. Fourth-year students who have maintained a 3.0 or higher overall GPA and a 3.5 or higher GPA in linguistics courses may consult with the departmental undergraduate adviser about submitting an honors essay. Consultation should take place at the beginning of the student's senior year. The honors essay must be submitted by the fifth week of the quarter in which the student plans to graduate.

Grading. Linguistics majors must take requirements for the program for quality grades. With consent of instructor, nonmajors may take linguistics courses for P/F grades.

Faculty

A. Dahlstrom, B. Darden, V. Friedman, S. Gal, A. Giannakidou, J. Goldsmith, G. Gragg,
J. Merchant, S. Mufwene, J. Sadock, M. Silverstein, A. Yu

Courses

Linguistics (ling)

11100. Biological and Cultural Evolution. (=BIOS 29286, BPRO 23900, CHSS 37900, HIPS 23900, NCDV 27400, PHIL 22500/32500) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing or consent of instructor. Core background in evolution and genetics strongly recommended. For information on when course will be offered, call Margot Browning at 702-5657. For course description, see Biological Sciences. W. Wimsatt, S. Mufwene. Spring.

20100-20200-20300/30100-30200-30300. Introduction to Linguistics I, II, III. (=ANTH 27001-27002-27003/37001-37002-37003, SOSC 21700-21800-21900) Must be taken in sequence. This course is an introductory survey of methods, findings, and problems in areas of major interest within linguistics and of the relationship of linguistics to other disciplines. Topics include the biological basis of language, basic notions of syntax, semantics, pragmatics, basic syntactic typology of language, phonetics, phonology, morphology, language acquisition, linguistic variation, and linguistic change. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

20400/30400. Syntax I. (=ANTH 37801) PQ: LING 20100-20200-20300/30100-30200-30300 or equivalent. This course is an introduction to basic goals and methods of current syntactic theory through a detailed analysis of a range of phenomena, with emphasis on argumentation and empirical justification. Major topics include phrase structure and constituency, selection and subcategorization, argument structure, case, voice, expletives, and raising and control structures. Autumn.

20500/30500. Syntax II. (=ANTH 37802) PQ: LING 20400/30400 or consent of instructor. This course is an continuation of LING 20400/30400. Major topics include wh-movement in questions, relative clauses, clefts, and comparatives; islands, crossover, parasitic gaps, superiority, resumptivity, wh-in-situ, multiple wh-fronting, reconstruction, and anaphora, with special attention to understanding their properties and distribution cross-linguistically. Winter.

20600/30600. Phonetics. (=ANTH 37700) PQ: LING 20100-20200-20300/30100-30200-30300 or consent of instructor. This course is an introduction to the study of speech sounds. Speech sounds are described with respect to their articulatory, acoustic, and perceptual structures. There are lab exercises both in phonetic transcription and in the acoustic analysis of speech sounds. Autumn.

20700/30700. Semantics I. This course is an introduction to natural language semantics and to formal, model-theoretic approaches to aspects of truth-conditional meaning. Topics include quantification, modality, polarity, tense and aspect, event structure, and the semantics of noun phrases. Tools from classical logic (propositional and predicate logic; type theory) are covered. Further topics include non-truth-conditional aspects of meaning such as presupposition and implicature. Autumn.

20800/30800. Phonology I. (=ANTH 37301) PQ: LING 20100-20200-20300/30100-30200-30300 or 20600/30600, or equivalent. This course is an introduction to the general principles of phonology as a discipline. The emphasis is on fundamental notions that have always been central to phonological analysis and that transcend differences between theoretical approaches: contrast, neutralization, natural classes, distinctive features, and basic phonological processes (e.g., assimilation). We focus on generative phonology, both "classical" and autosegmental models, with brief discussion of optimality theory. Winter.

20900/30900. Phonology II. (=ANTH 37302) PQ: LING 20800/30800. This course deals with the interfaces between phonology and morphology and phonetics. Topics vary, but generally include issues in prosodic morphology and optimality theory. Spring.

21000/31000. Morphology. (=ANTH 37500) This course deals with linguistic structure and patterning beyond the phonological level, focusing on analysis of grammatical and formal oppositions, and their structural relationships and interrelationships (morphophonology). Spring.

21100-21200/31100-31200. Language in Culture I, II. (=ANTH 37201-37202, ISHU 21202/35400) PQ: Consent of instructor. Must be taken in sequence. For course description, see Anthropology. M. Silverstein, Autumn; S. Gal, Winter.

21300/31300. Introduction to Language Change and Comparative Linguistics. PQ: LING 20600/30600 or 20800/30800, or consent of instructor. This course deals with the issue of variation and change in language. Topics include types, rates, and explanations of change; the differentiation of dialects and languages over time; determination and classification of historical relationships among languages, and reconstruction of ancestral stages; parallels with cultural and genetic evolutionary theory; and implications for the description and explanation of language in general. A. Yu. Spring.

21600/31600. Introduction to Language Development. (=HUDV 23900, PSYC 23200/33200) For course description, see Psychology. S. Goldin-Meadow, C. Johnson. Winter, 2005.

21700/31700. Experimental Phonetics and Phonology. PQ: LING 20600/30600 or consent of instructor. This course provides students with hands-on experience in learning methods in experimental phonetic research, including the acoustic analysis and synthesis of speech, recording and interpreting aerodynamic parameters during speech (air flow, air pressure), and recording place of articulation information using palatography. The design of perception tests and reaction time tests is also covered, along with simple statistics and methods of presenting results graphically. The course is suitable for students planning future research and study in phonetics and phonology, especially in linguistics but also in speech technology and communication disorders. A. Yu. Winter.

22100/32100. Semantics II. PQ: LING 20700/30700. This course is a continuation of LING 20700/30700 with emphasis on the interfaces with syntax and pragmatics. Topics include temporal and aspectual operators in an event semantics with times, as well as type-shifting, partitivity, and crosslinguistic variation in NP-quantification. We also discuss negative polarity, scalarity, and free choice phenomena with modality, as well as scope, indefinites, choice functions, and the semantics of questions. Winter.

23900/33900. Languages of the World. This course is a nontechnical general survey of human languages, examining their diversity and uniformity across space and time. Major topics include language families and historical relationships, linguistic typology and language universals, language and population distribution, sprachbund effects, sound and structural features of the world's languages, and writing systems. Winter.

24500/34500. Dialect Voices in Literature. (=AFAM 24500, ENGL 14600/34600) In this course we use linguistic techniques to analyze literary texts, especially to assess how adequately and successfully dialect is represented, whether it matches the characters and cultural contexts in which it is used, and what effects it produces. Authors addressed may include Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and Richard Wright, but the list is by no means closed. S. Mufwene. Winter, 2005.

27200/37200. Language, Power, and Identity in Southeastern Europe: A Linguistics View of the Balkan Crisis. (=ANTH 27400/37400, HUMA 27400, SLAV 23000/33000) For course description, see Slavic Languages and Literatures (General Slavic). V. Friedman. Winter, 2006.

27500/37500. Language and Globalization. (=ANTH 27705/47905, BPRO 24500) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. For course description, see Big Problems. S. Mufwene, W. Wimsatt. Spring, 2005.

28350/38350. Structure of Bantu Languages. In this course we discuss some structural aspects of Bantu languages that make them typologically interesting, or peculiar, compared to other languages. We focus especially on the noun class and the agreement system it governs within the noun phrase and the verb phrase, the significance of the verb extension system relative to its argument structure, Pro-Drop, word order and movement rules (and their implications for verb agreement), and one important question: do Bantu languages have serial verb constructions or not? S. Mufwene. Spring, 2006.

29100/39100. Survey of Industrial Linguistics. This course introduces computer science students to concepts of linguistics and linguistics students to basic approaches in language processing, so that the unique problems involved in processing natural human language and speech can be better grasped in relation to software development. Spring.

29300/39300. Russian Historical Syntax. (=HUMA 21800, RUSS 21800/31800) For course description, see Slavic Languages and Literatures (Russian). D. Hristova. Autumn, 2004.

29700. Reading and Research Course. PQ: Consent of instructor and undergraduate adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29900. B.A. Paper Preparation Course. PQ: Consent of instructor and undergraduate adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

33950. Practicum in Field Methods. We study a tonal Bantu language through elicitation work with a native speaker, trying to come to a basic understanding of some aspects of the tonology, morphology, and syntax of the language. Students actively participate in the research, and write a paper on their conclusions at the end of the quarter. J. Goldsmith. Spring, 2005.

35150. Development of Phonological Theory, 1960 to 2000. PQ: Prior course on phonological theory. In this course we trace the origins of generative phonology in American and European structuralism (Harris, Hockett, Jakobson), the attraction to Chomsky and Halle's generative model, the concern with abstractness after The Sound Pattern of English, the development of models of phonological representation (autosegmental and metrical phonology), efforts to reintegrate the difference between morphophonology and phonology (lexical phonology), and various efforts to integrate surface patterns into phonological theory (notably optimality theory). J. Goldsmith. Autumn, 2004.

36500. Grammar, Cognition, and Experience. (=HUDV 39200) For course description, see Human Development. C. Johnson. Autumn.

37950. Structure of Cantonese. Prior knowledge of another Chinese language helpful but not required. This course offers a survey of the linguistic structure of Cantonese. A. Yu. Winter.

Languages in Linguistics (lgln)

20100-20200-20300/30100-30200-30300. Introductory Modern Hebrew I, II, III. (=HEBR 10501-10502-10503, JWSC 25000-25100-25200, JWSG 35000-35100-35200) For course description, see Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Hebrew). A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

20400-20500-20600/30400-30500-30600. Intermediate Modern Hebrew I, II, III. (=HEBR 20501-20502-20503, JWSC 25300-25400-25500, JWSG 35300-35400-35500) PQ: LGLN 20300 or equivalent. For course description, see Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Hebrew). A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

22900-23000-23100/32900-33000-33100. Advanced Modern Hebrew I, II, III. (=HEBR 30501-30502-30503, JWSC 25600-25700-25800, JWSG 35600-35700-35800) PQ: LGLN 20600 or equivalent. For course description, see Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Hebrew). A. Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

24350-24450-24550/34350-34450-34550. Macedonian Language and Linguistics. (=SOSL 24101-24200-24300/34101/34201/34301) For course description, see Slavic Languages and Literatures (South Slavic). V. Friedman. Autumn, Winter, Spring. Offered 2005-06; not offered 2004-05.

25100/35100. Old Church Slavonic. (=SLAV 22000/32000) PQ: Knowledge of another Slavic language or good knowledge of one or two other old Indo-European languages required; SLAV 20100/30100 recommended. For course description, see Slavic Languages and Literatures (General Slavic). S. Clancy, Winter, 2005; V. Friedman, Winter, 2006.

28200/38200. Bulgarian for Reading Knowledge. (=BULG 21000/31000, HUMA 21001) For course description, see Slavic Languages and Literatures (Bulgarian). D. Hristova. Spring, 2005.

28250/38250. Topics in Bulgarian Linguistics. (=BULG 21300/31300, HUMA 21301) PQ: SOSL 21000/31000 or knowledge of another Slavic language helpful but not required. For course description, see Slavic Languages and Literatures (Bulgarian). D. Hristova. Spring 2006.

37900. Introduction to Comparative Semitics. (=NELG 20301/30301) PQ: LING 21300/31300 or one year of a Semitic language. This course examines the lexical, phonological, and morphological traits shared by the members of the Semitic language family. We also explore the historical relationships among these languages and the possibility of reconstructing features of the parent speech community. G. Gragg. Autumn.

Modern Greek

11100-11200-11300. Elementary Modern Greek I, II, III. This course is designed to help students acquire communicative competence in the Greek spoken today in Greece and Cyprus and to reach a basic mastery of its structures. Through a variety of exercises and readings, students develop all skill sets. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

American Sign Language (aslg)

10100-10200-10300. American Sign Language I, II, III. American Sign Language is the language of the deaf in the United States and much of Canada. It is a full-fledged autonomous language, unrelated to English or other spoken languages. This introductory course teaches the student basic vocabulary and grammatical structure, as well as aspects of deaf culture. D. Ronchen. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

10400-10500-10600. Intermediate American Sign Language I, II, III. PQ: LGLN 10300. In this course we continue to increase grammatical structure, receptive and expressive skills, conversational skills, basic linguistic convergence, and knowledge of idioms. Field trip required. D. Ronchen. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

Swahili (swah)

25200-25300-25400/35200-35300-35400. Swahili I, II, III. This course is designed to help students acquire communicative competence in Swahili and a basic understanding of its structures. Through a variety of exercises, students develop both oral and writing skills. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

26800-26900-27000/36800-36900-37000. Intermediate Swahili I, II, III. This course is a continuation of SWAH 25200-25300-25400. Autumn, Winter, Spring.