This is the second half of the two-semester introduction to linguistics. This semester, we will turn to the analysis of meaning and language in use, including topics such as semantics, pragmatics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and linguistics as an empirical science.
Laboratory Phonology is the approach to studying phonology--the sound patterns in language--by using experiments. In this course, we will be particularly interested in answering questions about phonology using data from phonetics.Students will work together to conduct an original experimental study. Throughout the course, students will work collect data, analyze the data, and interpret results. By the end of the course, students will:- gain experience working together on a complex project- formulate a hypothesis and empirical predictions- design and implement an experimental protocol- analyze data using appropriate software, e.g. Praat, R- visualize data- interpret the hypothesis in light of the resultsStudents will finish the course with a proposal that can be developed into an AP paper if they so choose. After the class period, students will have the option to meet regularly with each other and with the instructor as they write their papers.
Students will develop an understanding of the history and current status of the languages of the United States. They will use linguistic data and structure to inform study of language variation, history, contact, endangerment, and revitalization.
Have you ever wondered why Voice Assistants (Siri, Amazon Echo and Google Assistant) could not quite understand your English accent? We, as linguists, can play an important role as evaluators of such complex systems. Through this beginner-friendly course, you will open up the black box of language technology by building them with mini-portable computers. In the process, you will acquire new digital skills that complement your linguistic training. Specifically, you will be given the unique opportunity to apply your English and linguistic knowledge for building everyday language technology applications such as evaluating the voice assistant's ability to perceive and produce different English accents, prosody patterns, styles, and emotions. You will be primarily working with mini-portable computers, [NVIDIA® Jetson Nano Developer Kit](https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/jetson-nano-developer-kit). With the NVIDIA Kits, you will build an interactive machine that can speak (Speech Synthess - convert written text into spoken speech) and can listen (Speech Recognition - transcribe spoken speech into written text). Furthermore, you will evaluate automated systems using linguistic analysis and provide you an opportunity to come up with novel linguistically-motivated evaluation methods. Prior programming knowledge is NOT required. You would be provided with instructions on developing these technologies and basic programming knowledge will be introduced as needed. Throughout the course, the focus will be on whether these language technologies can learn human-like linguistic abilities. At the end, you would be equipped to build your own interactive Speech Synthesizer and Speech Recognition systems with the NVIDIA devices.e/Software interaction. These digital skills are the most sought-after ones in the language technology industry.
In this module, students will learn to describe and analyze how words are formed out of smaller parts. Central questions will include: What are the constituent parts of words? How do parts combine together? Why is it so difficult to define “word”? How can we use morphology and the lexicon to mediate between theories of syntax, semantics, and phonology? Using a scientific perspective, we will practice generating and testing hypotheses and gathering primary language data. We will use theory to guide our interpretation of data, and we will use evidence from data to interpret theory. The primary goal of this exploration is to understand the human language capacity, through deep analysis of English data. We will also situate this work in the contexts of past and ongoing historical change, of sociolinguistic variation, and of cross-linguistic typology.
This course provides you with an elementary introduction to English phonetics and phonology, designed for those who have no previous knowledge whatsoever of the subject. It begins with a very elementary introduction to articulatory phonetics, and then proceeds to introduce the student to a very simplified account of some of the main aspects of the phonological structure of present-day English. Main textbook: Carr, Philip. 2013. English phonetics and phonology: An introduction. 2nd edn. Wiley-Blackwell.
This course will focus on the role of similarity in phonetics and phonology. Everybody uses puns (A. Zwicky & E. Zwicky 1986) and rhymes (Kawahara 2007), and experiences speech errors (Fromkin 1980) and speech misperception (Tang 2015). However, have you asked yourselves -- what makes a good pun and a good rhyme? How come 'Merry Christmas' is [mele kalikimaka] in Hawaiian? Who is Lady Mondegreen in the fourth line of the Scottish ballad 'The Bonny Earl of Murray'? In this course, we will look into these naturally-occuring linguistic phenomena with a focus in phonetic and phonological similarity. We will see these powerful linguistic external evidence has played an important role in theoretical linguistics and psycholinguistics. We will examine primary literature that use linguistic external evidence and we will learn how they can be quantitatively collected and analysed. There will not be a single textbook as such, but rather we'd sample from existing research studies on these topics.
This class is an introduction to computer programming in the high level programming language Python. To make the course relevant to linguists, you will learn how Python can be used to solve some fun linguistic problems such as ‘What’s the most used word by William Shakespeare? Who has a bigger vocabulary: Jay-Z or Helene Fischer? and some fundamental linguistic tasks: part-of-speech tagging, syllabification, discovery of morphemes and phrases, and cryptography/author identification. We will learn to conduct some basic language processing, such as compiling frequency lists for segments/syllables/words and regular expressions. The class is suitable for students with little to no prior experience in computing or programming.
Have you ever wondered why the voice from Google Maps sounds so robotic? In this course, you will take a look inside the black box of language technology and learn how text-to-speech systems work. Using mini-portable computers, NVIDIA® Jetson Nano Developer Kit, you will build your own text-to-speech system that can synthesize written text into spoken language. Prior knowledge of programming or other technical skills is not required. In this course, you will acquire new digital skills that complement your linguistic training. Specifically, you will learn about: practically applying your Phonetics knowledge, the role of Linguistics in text-to-speech systems, the components of Text-to-speech systems, building your own Text-to-speech system
This advanced seminar will explore the relationship between two closely-linked linguistic fields of phonetics (the study of language sounds) and phonology (the study of sound patterns). In what ways do the methods and findings of phonetics and phonology overlap, contradict, or inform what another? Students will learn to engage with the material as researchers. We will practice how to read primary research articles, discuss ideas orally and in writing, and conduct original research. Students are encouraged to explore their own interests, and parts of the syllabus will change depending on the interests of the group. The final research paper is an opportunity for each student to more deeply explore a topic of their interest in, or relating to, phonetics-phonology. The development of the paper topic will take place in dialogue with the readings and each other, with structured guidance and feedback.