Undergraduate Course Descriptions
LING 1020: Speech for International Students
Designed for international students learning English as a second language. Emphasis on improving oral English communication skills through lectures and labs on speech sound production, vocabulary, grammar, word order, intonation and idioms. Individual and small-group work.
LING 2050: The Language of Now: Pop Culture, Technology, and Society
Explores the relationship among pop culture, rapidly changing technology and language change. Examines the linguistic significance of new technologies such as texting, gaming, instant messaging and social networking.
LING 2996: Honors College Mentored Research Experience
Research experience conducted by freshman or sophomore honor students under the supervision of a faculty member.
LING 3040: Language and Power
Provides students with the meta-language and analytical tools to describe, analyze and uncover the various biases in language, and how these biases reflect, maintain and create power relationships among individual speakers and in the general public’s opinion.
LING 3050: Animal Communication
Considers preconceived notions of animals in comparison to findings from recent scientific studies. Students gain a broad knowledge of the hypotheses and issues related to animals and communication. No previous knowledge of linguistics is required.
LING 3060: Principles of Language Study
Introductory linguistics course that focuses on the structure of English (phonology, morphology and syntax). Includes language acquisition and development, the history of English, dialects of American English, and problems of usage.
LING 3070: Introduction to Linguistics
Introduces students to the richness and complexity of human language. Focuses on the fundamentals of phonetics, phonology, morphology syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
LING 3080: Language and Society
Survey of the quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches used to understand language as a social practice. Analyzing the fluid, rather than static, structure of language, as it exists and changes in the service of people and communities.
LING 3090: Discourse Analysis: Talking and Telling
Methods and concepts of discourse analysis and conversational analysis. Applying these methods to the study of spoken language.
LING 3996: Honors College Mentored Research Experience
Research experience conducted by an honors student with at least junior standing under the supervision of a faculty member.
LING 4010: English Language in America
Linguistic analysis of historical and contemporary American English; regional and social variations.
LING 4020: Structure of Modern English
Modern English grammars, morphology and syntax; principles of analysis and various theories of English structure; relationship between linguistic structure, rhetorical pattern and literary style.
LING 4030: Acquisition of English as a Second Language
Study of language acquisition, development, production and comprehension focusing on the application of current research findings to the context of learning and teaching English as a second language.
LING 4040: Phonetics and Phonology: The Sound Patterns of Language
Explores two fundamental aspects of the sounds used in human language: phonetics and phonology. Analyzes the sounds of English and other languages spoken around the world.
LING 4050: Morphology and Syntax
Examines the internal structure of words and rules of word formation and the structure of phrases and clauses.
LING 4060: Scientific Methods
Hands-on introduction to the basic terminology, concepts and procedures associated with scientific thought, practice and academic writing in linguistics.
LING 4070: History of the English Language
Evolution of Modern English from Indo-European through Old English and Middle English.
LING 4080: Teaching English as a Second Language
Theory and method of teaching English as a second language. Study of major approaches with specific attention to methods of teaching, listening, speaking, reading and writing.
LING 4090: Semantics and Pragmatics
Introduction to the linguistic sub-discipline of semantics. Examines how meaning emerges at the word, sentence, constructional and utterance levels, and how it is required by second language users. Includes an introduction to empirical methods for the study of meaning.
LING 4100: Poetics
Examines the universal language of linguistic power and how writers choose their words and sequences of words.
LING 4120: Gypsy Language and Culture
Presents the historical, linguistic and cultural origins of the Roma People. Examines various theories relating to the migration of the Roma people from the Indian subcontinent to the subsequent migrations to Europe.
LING 4410: World Englishes
Examines the historical and political reasons for the spread of English around the world and the creation of new varieties of English. Unique formal structures, pragmatic and conversational principles of interaction used in local and global print and broadcast media, creative fiction, and technical writing. Includes a survey of how English is taught around the world.
LING 4800: Special Seminar in Linguistics
Study of linguistics that extends scope of traditional offerings.
LING 4900: Special Problems
LING 4910: Special Problems
LING 4950: Senior Capstone Field Experience
Applies the tools used for linguistic research and conducting linguistic fieldwork; transcribing, coding and analyzing linguistic data; and presenting research before an audience.
LING 4951: Honors College Capstone Thesis
Major research project prepared by the student under the supervision of a faculty member and presented in standard thesis format. An oral defense is required of each student for successful completion of the thesis.