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.
You do not have to be a computer wizard to break into the language technology industry. Computational models of human language (Natural Language Processing) are only as good as the annotations of different linguistic structures. Given the richness of human language, high quality and complex annotations can only be performed by humans equipped with formal linguistic training, native speaker's intuition, and knowledge of the world. Linguistic data annotation is thus extremely important, making it a sought-after skill in the language technology industry. 'Data annotator' is an entry-level position at technology companies which requires linguistics training but not programming experience. Annotators work in an interdisciplinary environment with engineers, managers, linguists and so on, and can find opportunities for furthering their careers in the technology industry. This course offers a taste of annotation work for those curious about the field, and provides practical training and experience for applying for such a position. In this course, students would gain a basic understanding of the annotation process, learn about the creation of different annotation schemes, work with annotation softwares commonly used in the industry and evaluation of annotations. Along the way, students will gain familiarity with common text-processing tools and data formats.