LINGUIST 1:
Introduction to Linguistics
This introductory-level course is targeted to students with no linguistics background. The course is designed to introduce and provide an overview of methods, findings, and problems in eight main areas of linguistics: Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, Psycholinguistics, and Sociolinguistics. Through lectures, in-class activities, and problem sets, you will come away with an overview of various linguistic phenomena, a sense of the diversity across languages, skills of linguistic analysis, an awareness of connections between these linguistics and applications of linguistics more broadly, and a basis for understanding the systematic, but complex nature of human language. While much of the course uses English to illuminate various points, you will be exposed to and learn to analyze languages other than English. By the end of the course, you should be able to explain similarities and differences of human languages, use basic linguistic terminology appropriately, apply the tools of linguistic analysis to problems and puzzles of linguistics, understand the questions that drive much research in linguistics, and explain how understanding linguistics is relevant for a variety of real-world phenomena.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
LINGUIST 21N:
Linguistic Diversity and Universals: The Principles of Language Structure
The human capacity for language is able to support a staggering diversity of languages. But is anything possible in a human language, and is there anything that is common to all languages? Looking past the vast surface differences, linguists have discovered deep commonalities among the languages of the world as well as strict limits on the observed variation and on what a possible human language is. In this seminar, we will seek to uncover the building blocks of language and the laws that govern their interactions. Our goal will be to reach an understanding of the ways in which languages are systematically alike and different, as well as of the nature of language in general. We will investigate a variety of topics, including crosslinguistic differences and similarities with respect to word order, the grammatical structure of questions, and how languages mark subjects and objects. We will explore the structure of both sentences and words, identifying and studying their fundamental properties. In this pursuit, we will rely on data from a range of languages, such as English, Navajo, Zulu, and many others. This seminar will teach you how to view language as an object of scientific study, introducing you to central concepts and methods of linguistics (with a particular emphasis on syntax) along the way. It will give you the tools to describe and analyze even unfamiliar languages, and will teach you to construct explicit hypotheses about how language works and to test them empirically. There are no prerequisites for this course and no experience with linguistics will be assumed; the course is Socratically taught and there will be no textbook.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 30N:
Linguistic Meaning and the Law
We will investigate how inherent properties of language, such as ambiguity, vagueness and context-dependence, play into the meaning of a legal text, and how the meaning of a law can remain invariant while its range of application can change with the facts and with our discovery of what the facts are. Our focus will be on the perspective linguistic analysis brings to legal theory, addressing current controversies surrounding different conceptions of `textualism¿ and drawing on well-known examples of legal reasoning about language in cases of identity fraud, obstruction of justice and genocide.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR
LINGUIST 35:
Minds and Machines (PHIL 99, PSYCH 35, SYMSYS 1, SYMSYS 200)
(Formerly SYMSYS 100). An overview of the interdisciplinary study of cognition, information, communication, and language, with an emphasis on foundational issues: What are minds? What is computation? What are rationality and intelligence? Can we predict human behavior? Can computers be truly intelligent? How do people and technology interact, and how might they do so in the future? Lectures focus on how the methods of philosophy, mathematics, empirical research, and computational modeling are used to study minds and machines. Undergraduates considering a major in symbolic systems should take this course as early as possible in their program of study.
Terms: Win, Sum
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-FR
LINGUIST 36:
The Arabic Language and Culture (LINGUIST 270)
(Formerly AMELANG 36). Arabic language from historical, social, strategic, and linguistic perspectives. History of the Arabic language and the stability of classical Arabic over the last 15 centuries. Why the functionality of classical Arabic has not changed as Latin, Old English, and Middle English have. Social aspects of the Arabic language, Ferguson¿s notion of diglossia. The main varieties of Arabic, differences among them, and when and where they are spoken. Role of Arabic and culture in current world politics, culture, and economy. Linguistic properties of Arabic such as root-based morphology, lexical ambiguity, and syntactic structure relating it to current linguistic theories.
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 47N:
Languages, Dialects, Speakers
Preference to freshmen. Variation and change in languages from around the world; language and thought; variation in sound patterns and grammatical structures; linguistic and social structures of variation; how languages differ from one another and how issues in linguistics connect to other social and cultural issues; the systematic study of language.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
LINGUIST 50Q:
Life and Death of Words (CSRE 50Q, ENGLISH 50Q, FEMGEN 50Q, NATIVEAM 50Q)
In this course, we explore the world of words: their creation, evolution, borrowing, change, and death. Words are the key to understanding the culture and ideas of a people, and by tracing the biographies of words we are able to discern how the world was, is, and might be perceived and described. We trace how words are formed, and how they change in pronunciation, spelling, meaning, and usage over time. How does a word get into the dictionary? What do words reveal about status, class, region, and race? How is the language of men and women critiqued differently within our society? How does slang evolve? How do languages become endangered or die, and what is lost when they do? We will visit the Facebook Content Strategy Team and learn more about the role words play in shaping our online experiences. Together, the class will collect Stanford language and redesign the digital dictionary of the future. Trigger Warning: Some of the subject matter of this course is sensitive and may cause offense. Please consider this prior to enrolling in the course.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 55N:
Language in the City
Language communicates a great deal more than the meaning of our words. Our regional accents, for example, offer clues about where we grew up. And even though accents are usually labeled in geographical terms, their symbolic meanings extend far beyond mere coordinates on a map. When we hear a New Yorker, we not only wonder whether they¿re from Brooklyn, but also conjecture about the kind of person they are: they might prefer to walk down the street quickly over strolling, they might enjoy lively conversations where people talk over one another, and they might tend to express their opinions bluntly. This seminar explores the linguistic practices and social meaning of accents spoken in San Francisco. nClass participants will collectively choose a neighborhood in San Francisco for in-depth examination. Through a series of field trips (once every two or three weeks), students will document the varieties of English spoken by lifelong residents of the neighborhood. Field assignments will consist primarily of observation and audio-recorded interviews. Interviews will serve as data for linguistic analysis (transcription, quantitative analysis of a linguistic feature of interest) throughout the term. Linguistic patterns will be analyzed in relation to salient social issues in the community, which will be identified in both interview content and historical records.nUpon completing the seminar, students will have (a) learned how to treat language as an object of scientific analysis, (b) developed an understanding of the social ramifications of linguistic practice, (c) gained fieldwork skills in general and interviewing skills in particular, and (d) come to appreciate the diversity of experiences in an urban community near Stanford.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 61S:
Language Evolution and Change
Every human culture has a sophisticated, systematic means of communication which we call "language". Why? What makes languages the way they are, and what makes them keep changing over time? In this course, we will explore proposed explanations for language evolution and their connections to language change. In doing so, we will address a major roadblock in scientific inquiry: how do you study something you can't directly observe? Language evolution left no fossils behind, so how can different proposed explanations for it be evaluated? We will examine the argumentation behind different proposed explanations and the various methodologies that have been used to support them. Students will put to practice the knowledge and critical thinking skills gained from this course by developing and workshopping their own research project proposals. Students taking the course for 3 units will be expected to complete a project proposal and peer review in addition to the regular assignments.
Last offered: Summer 2018
| Units: 2-3
LINGUIST 64Q:
These languages were here first: A look at the indigenous languages of California (ANTHRO 64Q, NATIVEAM 64Q)
Stanford was built on land originally inhabited by the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, and Native American students have always held an important place in the university community from the writer and journalist John Milton Oskison (Cherokee) who graduated in 1894 to current enrolments of over three hundred students who represent over fifty tribes. Two hundred years ago, the Muwekma language was one of a hundred languages that made California one of the most linguistically-diverse places on earth. Today, less than half of these languages survive but many California Indian communities are working hard to maintain and revitalize them. This is a familiar pattern globally: languages around the world are dying at such a rapid rate that the next century could see half of the world's 6800 languages and cultures become extinct unless action is taken now. Focusing especially on California, this course seeks to find out how and why languages die; what is lost from a culture when that occurs; and how `sleeping¿ languages might be revitalized. We will take a field trip to a Native American community in northern California to witness first-hand how one community is bringing back its traditional language, songs, dances, and story-telling. We will learn from visiting indigenous leaders and linguistic experts who will share their life, language, and culture with the class. Through weekly readings and discussion, we will investigate how languages can be maintained and revitalized by methods of community- and identity-building, language documentation and description, the use of innovative technologies, writing dictionaries and grammars for different audiences, language planning, and data creation, annotation, preservation, and dissemination. Finally, the course will examine ethical modes of fieldwork within endangered-language communities.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
LINGUIST 65:
African American Vernacular English (AFRICAAM 21, CSRE 21, LINGUIST 265)
Vocabulary, pronunciation and grammatical features of the systematic and vibrant vernacular English [AAVE] spoken by African Americans in the US, its historical relation to British dialects, and to English creoles spoken on the S. Carolina Sea Islands (Gullah), in the Caribbean, and in W. Africa. The course will also explore the role of AAVE in the Living Arts of African Americans, as exemplified by writers, preachers, comedians and actors, singers, toasters and rappers, and its connections with challenges that AAVE speakers face in the classroom and courtroom. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center). UNITS: 3-5 units. Most students should register for 4 units. Students willing and able to tutor an AAVE speaking child in East Palo Alto and write an additional paper about the experience may register for 5 units, but should consult the instructor first. Students who, for exceptional reasons, need a reduced course load, may request a reduction to 3 units, but more of their course grade will come from exams, and they will be excluded from group participation in the popular AAVE Happenin at the end of the course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-EDP
LINGUIST 67S:
The Role of Language in Perception and Cognition
One of the driving questions in linguistics involves the relationship between language and cognition: what do the properties of language tell us about the nature of our thinking and reasoning? Whorf's theory of linguistic relativism, made famous in popular science, suggests that the structures and patterns of the language(s) we speak constrain the way we think. This hypothesis, and the data that motivated it, have been the subject of much debate in the linguistic literature over the past few decades.This course introduces methods and ideas in modern linguistics through the lens of this debate. We first discuss Whorf's original hypothesis, and then examine arguments and data for strong and weak interpretations of linguistic relativism. We look at data from languages that differ structurally and conceptually from English, including languages that divide the colour spectrum differently, languages that lack numerals beyond the low single digits, and languages that use geographical coordinate systems (north, south, etc) instead of speaker-oriented ones (left, right). We consider how to use these differences to investigate a potential connection between language and cognitive capacities, focusing on understanding and critiquing recent research and experimental work in these areas.
Last offered: Summer 2018
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 83Q:
Translation
Preference to Sophomores. What is a translation? The increased need for translations in the modern world due to factors such as tourism and terrorism, localization and globalization, diplomacy and treaties, law and religion, and literature and science. How to meet this need; different kinds of translation for different purposes; what makes one translation better than another; why some texts are more difficult to translate than others. Can some of this work be done by machines? Are there things that cannot be said in some languages?
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
LINGUIST 90:
Teaching Spoken English
Practical approach to teaching English to non-native speakers. Teaching principles and the features of English which present difficulties. Preparation of lessons, practice teaching in class, and tutoring of non-native speaker.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 105:
Phonetics (LINGUIST 205A)
Phonetics is the systematic study of speech. In this class, we will learn about the physical gestures and timing involved in the articulation of spoken language and about the resulting acoustic signal that is decoded into linguistic units by the human auditory system. The class is structured into two parts: A practical lab component, and a class component. This course highlights both the complexity of the physical nature of producing spoken language, and the highly variable acoustic signal that is interpreted by listeners as language. By the end of this course, you should: (1) Understand the process of preparing an utterance to articulating it; (2) Understand the basic acoustic properties of speech; (3) Provide detailed phonetic transcriptions of speech; (4) Produce and understand the gestures involved in nearly all of the world's speech sounds, and (5) Understand the ways this knowledge can be used to advance our understanding of spoken language understanding by humans and machines.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SMA
LINGUIST 110:
Introduction to Phonology
Introduction to the sound systems of the world's languages, their similarities and differences. Theories that account for the tacit generalizations that govern the sound patterns of languages.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-FR
LINGUIST 112:
Seminar in Phonology: Stress, Tone, and Accent
Stress, tone, and accent systems vary widely, sometimes even within closely related language groups. Adding to their linguistic allure are their interactions with morphology and syntax, and with one another. Stress, tone, and accent are often also closely linked to phonological quantity and syllable structure. nnThis course will survey the different behaviors of stress, tone, and accent systems in the languages of the world. Decades of work on this topic has led to fundamental changes in how we represent phonological structure. While we will analyze a few systems deeply in order to get at the heart of the topic, an even bigger aim will be breadth of coverage. The result will be a better empirical grasp of the underpinnings of the typology of accentual systems.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 121A:
The Syntax of English
A data-driven introduction to the study of generative syntax through an in-depth investigation of the sentence structure of English. Emphasis is on central aspects of English syntax, but the principles of theory and analysis extend to the study of the syntax of other languages. The course focuses on building up syntactic argumentation skills via the collective development of a partial formal theory of sentence structure, which attempts to model native speaker knowledge. Satisfies the WIM requirement for Linguistics and the WAY-FR requirement. Prerequisites: none (can be taken before or after Linguistics 121B). The discussion section is mandatory.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR
LINGUIST 121B:
Crosslinguistic Syntax
A data-driven introduction to the study of syntax through the investigation of a diverse array of the world's languages, including but not limited to English. Emphasis is on understanding how languages are systematically alike and different in their basic sentence structure. The course focuses on building up syntactic argumentation skills via the collective development of a partial formal theory of sentence structure, which attempts to model native speaker knowledge. Satisfies the WIM requirement for Linguistics and the WAY-FR requirement. Prerequisites: none (can be taken before or after Linguistics 121A). The discussion section is mandatory.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR
LINGUIST 130A:
Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics (LINGUIST 230A)
Linguistic meaning and its role in communication. Topics include logical semantics, conversational implicature, presupposition, and speech acts. Applications to issues in politics, the law, philosophy, advertising, and natural language processing. Those who have not taken logic, such as PHIL 150 or 151, should attend section. Pre- or corequisite: 120, 121, consent of instructor, or graduate standing in Linguistics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-FR
LINGUIST 130B:
Introduction to Lexical Semantics
Introduction to basic concepts and issues in the linguistic study of word meaning. We explore grammatical regularities in word meaning and the relation between word meaning and the conceptual realm. The questions we address include the following. How is the meaning of a word determined from its internal structure? How can simple words have complex meanings? What is a possible word? How does a word's meaning determine the word's syntactic distribution and what kind of reasoning does it support? What kind of information belongs to the lexical entry of a word? The course will show that the investigation of the linguistic and semantic structure of words draws on the full resources of linguistic theory and methodology. Prerequisites: Linguist 1 or equivalent or permission of the instructor. Linguist 130A is not a prerequisite for this course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-FR
LINGUIST 134A:
The Structure of Discourse: Theory and Applications (LINGUIST 234)
In this course we will address the structure of language above the sentence concentrating initially on: nn(1) defining the minimal units of discourse structuren(2) recursive rules of combination of minimal units (i.e. discourse ¿syntax¿)n(3) representations of discourse level phenomenan(4) the nature and structure of spoken and written formal and informal discourse genres and Speech events in English and other languages including stories, explanations, literary works etc. on the one hand, and socially constructed occasions of speaking such as classes, doctor patient interactions, and informal conversation on the other.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 140:
Learning to Speak: An Introduction to Child Language Acquisition
None of us were born talking. We all had to learn it. How did we do that? We start the journey by looking at the perception of sounds before birth. We follow infants as they discover the sounds of their native languages. We talk about how the infant mind breaks the speech stream into words, phrases, and sentences; how it makes sense of language and uses it to convey thoughts and feelings. We finish by discussing how the majority of children in the world learn two or more languages at once. The course content will introduce you to major topics in child language acquisition. Assignments will help you develop skills in collecting, analyzing, and reporting empirical data. The class project involves collecting data from children at the Bing Nursery school on campus as well as the analysis of a large dataset of children's speech online. Class discussion and projects focus on giving you a hands-on experience with critical and scientific thinking.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
LINGUIST 145:
Introduction to Psycholinguistics (LINGUIST 245A, PSYCH 140)
How do people do things with language? How do we go from perceiving the acoustic waves that reach our ears to understanding that someone just announced the winner of the presidential election? How do we go from a thought to spelling that thought out in a sentence? How do babies learn language from scratch? This course is a practical introduction to psycholinguistics -- the study of how humans learn, represent, comprehend, and produce language. The course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of both the research methodologies used in psycholinguistic research and many of the well-established findings in the field. Topics covered will include visual and auditory recognition of words, sentence comprehension, reading, discourse and inference, sentence production, language acquisition, language in the brain, and language disorders. Students will conduct a small but original research project and gain experience with reporting and critiquing psycholinguistic research.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 150:
Language and Society
How language and society affect each other. Class, age, ethnic, and gender differences in speech. Prestige and stigma associated with different ways of speaking and the politics of language. The strategic use of language. Stylistic practice; how speakers use language to construct styles and adapt their language to different audiences and social contexts. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
LINGUIST 152:
Sociolinguistics and Pidgin Creole Studies (LINGUIST 252)
Introduction to pidgins and creoles, organized around the main stages in the pidgin-creole life cycle: pidginization, creolization, and decreolization. Focus is on transformations in the English language as it was transported from Britain to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Resultant pidginized and creolized varieties such as Nigerian Pidgin English, Chinese Pidgin English, New Guinea Tok Pisin, Suriname Sranan, and the creole continua of Guyana, Jamaica, and Hawaii. Also French, Dutch, Portugese, Chinook, Motu, and Sango.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 155:
Hip Hop, Youth Identities, and the Politics of Language (AFRICAAM 121X, AMSTUD 121X, ANTHRO 121A, CSRE 121X, EDUC 121)
Focus is on issues of language, identity, and globalization, with a focus on Hip Hop cultures and the verbal virtuosity within the Hip Hop nation. Beginning with the U.S., a broad, comparative perspective in exploring youth identities and the politics of language in what is now a global Hip Hop movement. Readings draw from the interdisciplinary literature on Hip Hop cultures with a focus on sociolinguistics and youth culture.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 155K:
Seminar in Sociolinguistics: Applied Sociolinguistics -- Tryna Make a Difference (LINGUIST 255K)
In this new course, we will explore how sociolinguistic research and principles can be used to make a positive difference in society, especially for speakers of vernacular varieties, who are often stymied in schools, courtrooms, job searches, doctor¿s visits, apartment searches and so on. We will focus especially on language and the law, and language in education, drawing on some brand new texts, but also on recent and ongoing research and experimentation at Stanford and elsewhere. (Our schedule will include some visiting lecturers from other universities.)
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 156:
Language and Gender (FEMGEN 156X)
The role of language in the construction of gender, the maintenance of the gender order, and social change. Field projects explore hypotheses about the interaction of language and gender. No knowledge of linguistics required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
LINGUIST 157:
Sociophonetics (LINGUIST 257)
The study of phonetic aspects of sociolinguistic variation and the social significance of phonetic variation. Acoustic analysis of vowels, consonants, prosody, and voice quality. Hands-on work on collaborative research project. Prerequisite: 105, 110 or equivalent, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR
LINGUIST 160:
Introduction to Language Change
Principles of historical linguistics:, the nature of language change. Kinds and causes of change, variation and diffusion of changes through populations, differentiation of dialects and languages, determination and classification of historical relationships among languages, the reconstruction of ancestral languages and intermediate changes, parallels with cultural and genetic evolutionary theory, and implications of variation and change for the description and explanation of language in general. Prerequisite: introductory course in linguistics.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-FR
LINGUIST 162:
History Through Language
What we can learn about the human past through human language, especially where proper historical records are absent. Studying population migrations through language spread. Different types of change in different social environments: grammatical "simplification" of imperial languages vs. complexity of tribal languages. Effects of contact on languages. Methods for reconstructing linguistic past: comparative method, linguistic paleontology, computational phylogenetic methods.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 163A:
Endangered Languages and Language Revitalization (ANTHRO 163A, ANTHRO 263A, LINGUIST 263, NATIVEAM 163)
Languages around the world are dying at such a rapid rate that the next century could see half of the world's 6800 languages and cultures become extinct unless action is taken now. This course looks at how and why languages die, and what is lost from a culture when that occurs. We will investigate how this trend can be reversed by methods of language documentation and description, the use of innovative technologies, multimodal fieldwork, writing dictionaries and grammars for different audiences, language planning, and data creation, annotation, preservation, and dissemination. We will focus on a number of current programs around the world to revitalize languages. Finally, the course will examine ethical modes of fieldwork within endangered language communities, and the possibilities of successful collaborations and capacity building, focusing especially on Northern California Indian peoples and their languages.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3-4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
LINGUIST 167:
Languages of the World
The diversity of human languages, their sound systems, vocabularies, and grammars. Tracing historical relationships between languages and language families. Parallels with genetic evolutionary theory. Language policy, endangered languages and heritage languages. Classification of sign languages.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-EDP
LINGUIST 171:
Iberian Languages: Structure, Variation & Context
The course will center on Iberian languages with a special focus on Catalan. We will consider the relation between language structure and other factors, such as language variation in space and time, and sociological and political factors. Topics will include a contrastive analysis of selected features of Iberian languages, a survey of dialectal variation in some of the languages of the area and of their external linguistic history.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 180:
From Languages to Information (CS 124, LINGUIST 280)
Extracting meaning, information, and structure from human language text, speech, web pages, social networks. Methods include: string algorithms, edit distance, language modeling, the noisy channel, machine learning classifiers, inverted indices, collaborative filtering, neural embeddings, PageRank. Applications such as question answering, sentiment analysis, information retrieval, text classification, social network models, spell checking, recommender systems, chatbots. Prerequisites: CS103, CS107, CS109.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR
Instructors: ;
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Chen, J. (TA);
Cruz-Albrecht, L. (TA);
Kabaghe, C. (TA);
Khandelwal, U. (TA);
Mendelsohn, J. (TA);
Mistele, M. (TA);
Pattabi, V. (TA);
Plattner, C. (TA);
Quinn, M. (TA);
Redmond, S. (TA)
LINGUIST 182:
Computational Theories of Syntax (LINGUIST 282)
Salient features of modern syntactic theories, including HPSG, LFG, and TAG, motivated by computational concerns. Impact of work within these frameworks on the design of algorithms in computational linguistics, and its influence in both linguistics and computer science. Topics include: notions of unification; unification algorithms and their relation to linguistic theory; agenda-driven chart processing for analysis and synthesis; the interface with morphology, the lexicon, and semantics; and applications, notably machine translation.
Last offered: Winter 2010
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 183:
Programming and Algorithms for Natural Language Processing
Construction of computer programs for linguistic processes such as string search, morphological, syntactic, and semantic analysis and generation, and simple machine translation. Emphasis is on the algorithms that have proved most useful for solving such problems.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
LINGUIST 185:
Writing Systems in a Digital Age (LINGUIST 284A)
Introduction to the variety of writing systems and their behaviors. Classification of all existing scripts as alphabetic, syllabic, ideographic; unifying and differentiating features within each group. How writing captures human language in various ways. The development of the alphabet, from ancient Semitic scripts to modern times. How writing systems are extended to additional languages. Chinese writing, its characteristics and sphere of influence. Japanese writing as a hybrid system that includes Chinese. Korean writing as an ideally designed script. The Indian system of writing as the foundation of numerous Asian syllabic scripts. Unicode as global standard for encoding text in all languages. Font technology: the emulation of human writing in the digital realm. nBasic knowledge of phonetics recommended. Knowledge of foreign languages helpful.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 2-3
LINGUIST 188:
Natural Language Understanding (CS 224U, LINGUIST 288)
Project-oriented class focused on developing systems and algorithms for robust machine understanding of human language. Draws on theoretical concepts from linguistics, natural language processing, and machine learning. Topics include lexical semantics, distributed representations of meaning, relation extraction, semantic parsing, sentiment analysis, and dialogue agents, with special lectures on developing projects, presenting research results, and making connections with industry. Prerequisites: one of LINGUIST 180, CS 124, CS 224N, CS224S, or CS221; and logical/semantics such as LINGUIST 130A or B, CS 157, or PHIL150
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
Instructors: ;
MacCartney, B. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Bhaskaran, J. (TA);
Farhangi, A. (TA);
Geiger, A. (TA);
Kim, M. (TA);
Li, L. (TA);
Wang, C. (TA);
Yerukola, A. (TA);
Zhou, X. (TA)
LINGUIST 191:
Linguistics and the Teaching of English as a Second/Foreign Language (LINGUIST 291)
Methodology and techniques for teaching languages, using concepts from linguistics and second language acquisition theory and research. Focus is on teaching English, but most principles and techniques applicable to any language. Optional 1-unit seminar in computer-assisted language learning.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci
LINGUIST 192:
Language Testing (LINGUIST 292A)
Performance with language (speaking, reading, writing, listening, translating or interpreting) is used to measure a person's proficiency or achievement level in the language. Language performance is also used to measure other human characteristics, including psycho-social states and traits. The course will review basic methods in language measurement and cover their use as applied in education, psychology, and commerce. Topics include both traditional and automatic methods for assessing speaking, reading, writing, affect, and language disorders. Students will develop, apply, and evaluate a language test.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 195A:
Undergraduate Research Workshop
Designed for undergraduates beginning or working on research projects in linguistics. Participants present and receive feedback on their projects and receive tips on the research and writing process.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 2 units total)
LINGUIST 196:
Introduction to Research for Undergraduates
Introduction to linguistic research via presentations by Stanford linguistics faculty and graduate students. Open to undergraduate students interested in linguistics. Required for linguistics majors.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
LINGUIST 197A:
Undergraduate Research Seminar
Senior capstone seminar. Joint readings in an annually varying topic, exploring the implications and importance of linguistic research for other domains of knowledge or practice.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-3
LINGUIST 198:
Honors Research
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Anttila, A. (PI);
Bresnan, J. (PI);
Clark, E. (PI);
Condoravdi, C. (PI);
Degen, J. (PI);
Eckert, P. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gribanov, V. (PI);
Harizanov, B. (PI);
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Kay, M. (PI);
Kiparsky, P. (PI);
Lassiter, D. (PI);
Levin, B. (PI);
Manning, C. (PI);
Peters, S. (PI);
Podesva, R. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Rickford, J. (PI);
Sumner, M. (PI);
Wasow, T. (PI);
Zwicky, A. (PI)
LINGUIST 199:
Independent Study
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Anttila, A. (PI);
Bresnan, J. (PI);
Clark, E. (PI);
Condoravdi, C. (PI);
Degen, J. (PI);
Eckert, P. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gribanov, V. (PI);
Harizanov, B. (PI);
Hubbard, P. (PI);
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Kay, M. (PI);
Kiparsky, P. (PI);
Lassiter, D. (PI);
Levin, B. (PI);
Manning, C. (PI);
Peters, S. (PI);
Podesva, R. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Rickford, J. (PI);
Sumner, M. (PI);
Wasow, T. (PI);
Zwicky, A. (PI)
LINGUIST 200:
Foundations of Linguistic Theory
Restricted to Linguistics Ph.D. students. Theories that have shaped contemporary linguistics; recurrent themes and descriptive practice. Strong background in Linguistics or permission of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 205A:
Phonetics (LINGUIST 105)
Phonetics is the systematic study of speech. In this class, we will learn about the physical gestures and timing involved in the articulation of spoken language and about the resulting acoustic signal that is decoded into linguistic units by the human auditory system. The class is structured into two parts: A practical lab component, and a class component. This course highlights both the complexity of the physical nature of producing spoken language, and the highly variable acoustic signal that is interpreted by listeners as language. By the end of this course, you should: (1) Understand the process of preparing an utterance to articulating it; (2) Understand the basic acoustic properties of speech; (3) Provide detailed phonetic transcriptions of speech; (4) Produce and understand the gestures involved in nearly all of the world's speech sounds, and (5) Understand the ways this knowledge can be used to advance our understanding of spoken language understanding by humans and machines.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 207A:
Advanced Phonetics
In this seminar, we will work collaboratively on a research project in spoken word recognition and/or memory, that is sensitive to current issues dealing with phonetic variation. We will choose one of four clearly delineated questions and work as a team throughout the quarter to complete the project. With this structure, everyone will gain hand-on experience in experimental design, stimulus development, experimental setup, data collection, and data analysis.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 210A:
Phonology
Introduction to phonological theory and analysis based on cross-linguistic evidence. Topics: phonological representations including features, syllables, metrical structure; phonological processes; phonological rules and constraints; phonological typology and universals; the phonology/morphology interface; Optimality Theory and Harmonic Grammar.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 210B:
Advanced Phonology
New developments in phonological theory, in particular Optimality Theory, primarily on the empirical basis of stress, syllable structure, prosodic organization, and phonological variation.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
LINGUIST 211:
Metrics
Principles of versification from a linguistic point of view. Traditional and optimality-theoretic approaches. The canonical system of English metrics, and its varieties and offshoots. The typology of metrical systems and its linguistic basis. Meter and performance.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-4
LINGUIST 217:
Morphosyntax
The role of morphology in grammar: how word structure serves syntax in the expression of meaning. Lexical semantics, Theta-roles, argument structure, and grammatical relations. Licensing: case, agreement, word order, and their interaction.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 219:
Frequency and the Grammar of Alternations
Variationist, and psycholinguistic studies of how syntactic alternations (for example, the English dative, genitive, and passive) develop in time and space.
Last offered: Autumn 2010
| Units: 1-4
LINGUIST 221A:
Foundations of English Grammar
A systematic introduction to the formal analysis of English grammar using the framework of head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG). Topics: feature structure modeling, lexical and phrasal organization in terms of type hierarchies and constraint inheritance, clausal types, patterns of complementation, the auxiliary system, extraction dependencies, wh-constructions, and the syntax-semantics interface.
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 1-4
LINGUIST 221B:
Studies in Universal Grammar
Focus is on grammatical analysis of individual languages. Builds directly on the theoretical foundations presented in 221A. Topics vary each year.
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 222A:
Foundations of Syntactic Theory I
The roles of the verb and the lexicon in the determination of sentence syntax and their treatment in modern grammatical theories. Empirical underpinnings of core phenomena, including the argument/adjunct distinction, argument structure and argument realization, control and raising, operations on argument structure and grammatical function changing rules. Motivations for a lexicalist approach rooted in principles of lexical expression and subcategorization satisfaction. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 222B:
Foundations of Syntactic Theory II
The nature of unbounded dependency constructions such as constituent questions, topicalization, relative clauses, and clefts, among others. Topics include A-bar movement, constraints on extraction, successive cyclicity, as well as variation in the way unbounded dependencies are established crosslinguistically. Prerequisite: 222A.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 222C:
Foundations of Syntactic Theory III - Topics
This course introduces contemporary approaches to syntactic theory. Focus is on a few central topics of current interest such as ellipsis, binding, locality, movement, case and agreement, among others. Prerequisites: Linguist 222B or permission of the instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 224A:
From Text to Natural Reasoning
To reason about textual information we rely extensively on extra-linguistic information but the syntactic structure and lexical items used also play a role in guiding us to conclusions. In by now traditional semantic practice the contributions of those are treated in model theoretic terms. But formulas of first or higher order logic do not come with effective procedures for the reasoning that is required to draw inferences or answer questions given some natural language input. Natural Reasoning is a cover term we use for a family of proof-theoretic formal approaches that are currently used by computational linguists. The course will give an overview of proof-theoretic logic as applied to natural language, discuss some of the computational systems that incorporate this view (Stanford's NatLog, Bar Ilan's Biutee, Parc's Bridge) and conclude with a critical view of the linguistic generalizations that underlie these approaches and means to improve them or mitigate their shortcomings. The examples of natural reasoning will mainly be in the domain of monotonicity reasoning and reasoning about the factuality of events.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 1-4
LINGUIST 224B:
Advanced Topics in Lexical Functional Grammar
May be repeated for credit.
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 225:
Seminar in Syntax: Distributed Morphology
Seminar on advanced topics in syntax. Topics may vary from year to year. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 225D:
Seminar in Syntax: Advanced Topics
Seminar on advanced topics in syntax. Topics may vary from year to year. Prerequisites: LINGUIST 222A and 222B, or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 12 units total)
LINGUIST 225S:
Syntax and Morphology Research Seminar
Presentation of ongoing research in syntax and morphology. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 5 units total)
LINGUIST 229A:
Laboratory Syntax I
Critiques of the empirical foundations of syntax. The roles of introspective, usage-based, experimental, and typological evidence. Modern methods of data collection and analysis used in syntax. Hands-on, practical work with data sets. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Winter 2011
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 229B:
Laboratory Syntax II
Hands-on use of methods for handling syntactic data, including corpus work on ecologically natural data and controlled experimental paradigms. Explanatory models of syntactic processing and their relation to theories of grammar. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Winter 2007
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 229C:
Laboratory Syntax III
Hands-on use of methods for handling syntactic data, including corpus work on ecologically natural data and controlled experimental paradigms. Explanatory models of syntactic processing and their relation to theories of grammar. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2006
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 229D:
Empirical Syntax Research Seminar
Recent work in syntax that employs data-rich methods like corpora and laboratory studies, emphasizing research by seminar participants. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Autumn 2007
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 230A:
Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics (LINGUIST 130A)
Linguistic meaning and its role in communication. Topics include logical semantics, conversational implicature, presupposition, and speech acts. Applications to issues in politics, the law, philosophy, advertising, and natural language processing. Those who have not taken logic, such as PHIL 150 or 151, should attend section. Pre- or corequisite: 120, 121, consent of instructor, or graduate standing in Linguistics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 230B:
Semantics and Pragmatics I
The primary goal of this course is to cover advanced topics in semantics and pragmatics that are central to research in those fields. The course is aimed at advanced graduate students who plan to do research in semantics, pragmatics, or philosophy of language. Prerequisites: LINGUIST 130A/230A or permission from instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 230C:
Semantics and Pragmatics II
We focus on a topic in the meaning and use of linguistic expressions to explore a number of central issues in semantics and pragmatics. These include quantification, binding, referentiality, presupposition, pragmatic inferences, context-dependency, indexicality, and systems of dynamic interpretation. Prerequisites: LINGUIST 230B or permission of the instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 12 units total)
LINGUIST 232A:
Lexical Semantics
Introduction to issues in word meaning, focused primarily around verbs. Overview of the core semantic properties of verbs and the organization of the verb lexicon. Approaches to lexical semantic representation, including semantic role lists, proto-roles, and causal and aspectual theories of event conceptualization.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 232B:
Seminar in Lexical Semantics: Lexical semantic typology
An examination of the strategies languages use to describe various types of events focusing on to what extent the attested differences stem from varying lexical and morphosyntactic resources available to individual languages and to what extent they reflect alternate conceptualizations of certain event types. Case studies may be drawn from the following domains: change of state events, motion events, surface contact events, creation events, and causative events. Prerequisite: Linguist 232A or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit with different content.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 234:
The Structure of Discourse: Theory and Applications (LINGUIST 134A)
In this course we will address the structure of language above the sentence concentrating initially on: nn(1) defining the minimal units of discourse structuren(2) recursive rules of combination of minimal units (i.e. discourse ¿syntax¿)n(3) representations of discourse level phenomenan(4) the nature and structure of spoken and written formal and informal discourse genres and Speech events in English and other languages including stories, explanations, literary works etc. on the one hand, and socially constructed occasions of speaking such as classes, doctor patient interactions, and informal conversation on the other.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 236:
Seminar in Semantics: Causation
Discussion of theories of causation, causal reasoning, and their expression in natural language. Prerequisite: 230A, or 232A, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 245A:
Introduction to Psycholinguistics (LINGUIST 145, PSYCH 140)
How do people do things with language? How do we go from perceiving the acoustic waves that reach our ears to understanding that someone just announced the winner of the presidential election? How do we go from a thought to spelling that thought out in a sentence? How do babies learn language from scratch? This course is a practical introduction to psycholinguistics -- the study of how humans learn, represent, comprehend, and produce language. The course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of both the research methodologies used in psycholinguistic research and many of the well-established findings in the field. Topics covered will include visual and auditory recognition of words, sentence comprehension, reading, discourse and inference, sentence production, language acquisition, language in the brain, and language disorders. Students will conduct a small but original research project and gain experience with reporting and critiquing psycholinguistic research.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 245B:
Methods in Psycholinguistics
Over the past ten years, linguists have become increasingly interested in testing theories with a wider range of empirical data than the traditionally accepted introspective judgments of hand-selected linguistic examples. Consequently, linguistics has seen a surge of interest in psycholinguistic methods across all subfields. This course will provide an overview of various standard psycholinguistic techniques and measures, including offline judgments (e.g., binary categorization tasks like truth-value judgments, Likert scale ratings, continuous slider ratings), response times, reading times, eye-tracking, ERPs, and corpus methods. Students will present and discuss research articles. Students will also run an experiment (either a replication or an original design, if conducive to the student's research) to gain hands-on experience with experimental design and implementation in html/javascript and Mechanical Turk; data management, analysis, and visualization in R; and open science tools like git/github.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
LINGUIST 247:
Seminar in Psycholinguistics: Advanced Topics (PSYCH 227)
This year's seminar will focus on experimental pragmatics. The field of experimental pragmatics combines an interest in the theoretical complexities of language use with the experimental methodologies of psycholinguistics. The course will present a broad survey of recent work in this area that has attempted to apply the methods of experimental psychology to classic issues in theoretical pragmatics. Each class session will include both theoretical and experimental readings on topics such as reference, implicature, presupposition, and speech acts. The course will be organized primarily around discussion of the assigned readings. Students will develop a research proposal relevant to issues in language use. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 249L:
Workshop on Incremental Language Processing (PSYCH 249L)
Language is processed incrementally over time. This has consequences for language comprehension, production, acquisition, and change, all of which occur at different timescales. What is the role of time in language? The class will be based around visiting lectures by major researchers in this area, along with meetings to prepare for their visits by discussing key readings. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 3 units total)
LINGUIST 250:
Sociolinguistic Theory and Analysis
Methods of modeling the patterned variation of language in society. Emphasis is on variation, its relation to social structure and practice, and its role in linguistic change. Intersection between quantitative and qualitative analysis, combining insights of sociology and linguistic anthropology with quantitative linguistic data. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Linguistics or consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 252:
Sociolinguistics and Pidgin Creole Studies (LINGUIST 152)
Introduction to pidgins and creoles, organized around the main stages in the pidgin-creole life cycle: pidginization, creolization, and decreolization. Focus is on transformations in the English language as it was transported from Britain to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Resultant pidginized and creolized varieties such as Nigerian Pidgin English, Chinese Pidgin English, New Guinea Tok Pisin, Suriname Sranan, and the creole continua of Guyana, Jamaica, and Hawaii. Also French, Dutch, Portugese, Chinook, Motu, and Sango.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 253:
Race, Ethnicity, and Language: Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic Formations (ANTHRO 320A, CSRE 389A, EDUC 389A)
Language, as a cultural resource for shaping our identities, is central to the concepts of race and ethnicity. This seminar explores the linguistic construction of race and ethnicity across a wide variety of contexts and communities. We begin with an examination of the concepts of race and ethnicity and what it means to be "doing race," both as scholarship and as part of our everyday lives. Throughout the course, we will take a comparative perspective and highlight how different racial/ethnic formations (Asian, Black, Latino, Native American, White, etc.) participate in similar, yet different, ways of drawing racial and ethnic distinctions. The seminar will draw heavily on scholarship in (linguistic) anthropology, sociolinguistics and education. We will explore how we talk and don't talk about race, how we both position ourselves and are positioned by others, how the way we talk can have real consequences on the trajectory of our lives, and how, despite this, we all participate in maintaining racial and ethnic hierarchies and inequality more generally, particularly in schools.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
LINGUIST 254:
Race, Ethnicity, and Language: Writing Race, Ethnicity, and Language in Ethnography (ANTHRO 398B, EDUC 389B)
This methods seminar focuses on developing ethnographic strategies for representing race, ethnicity, and language in writing without reproducing the stereotypes surrounding these categories and practices. In addition to reading various ethnographies, students conduct their own ethnographic research to test out the authors' contrasting approaches to data collection, analysis, and representation. The goal is for students to develop a rich ethnographic toolkit that will allow them to effectively represent the (re)production and (trans)formation of racial, ethnic, and linguistic phenomena.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 255A:
Seminar in Sociolinguistics: California Dialectology
This seminar organizes and analyzes data gathered by the Voices of California project. This year, we will be working with the data from Humboldt County. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 255J:
Seminar in Sociolinguistics: Style
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 255K:
Seminar in Sociolinguistics: Applied Sociolinguistics -- Tryna Make a Difference (LINGUIST 155K)
In this new course, we will explore how sociolinguistic research and principles can be used to make a positive difference in society, especially for speakers of vernacular varieties, who are often stymied in schools, courtrooms, job searches, doctor¿s visits, apartment searches and so on. We will focus especially on language and the law, and language in education, drawing on some brand new texts, but also on recent and ongoing research and experimentation at Stanford and elsewhere. (Our schedule will include some visiting lecturers from other universities.)
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 255L:
Seminar in Sociolinguistics: Multiracial Identity in Variation Studies
This course confronts the challenge of investigating linguistic variation among multiracial speakers. Hands-on individual and collaborative projects using the voices of California corpus. Prerequisite: Linguistics 258 or equivalent, no exceptions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-4
LINGUIST 257:
Sociophonetics (LINGUIST 157)
The study of phonetic aspects of sociolinguistic variation and the social significance of phonetic variation. Acoustic analysis of vowels, consonants, prosody, and voice quality. Hands-on work on collaborative research project. Prerequisite: 105, 110 or equivalent, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-4
LINGUIST 258:
Analysis of Variation
The quantitative study of linguistic variability in time, space, and society emphasizing social constraints in variation. Hands-on work with variable data. Prerequisites: 105/205 and 250, or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 1-4
LINGUIST 258A:
Variation and Social Meaning
The social meaning of linguistic variation. Approaches to investigating social meaning, encoding meaning across different levels of language, the structure of meaning and theories of indexicality, the role of meaning in language change.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 260A:
Historical Morphology and Phonology
Sound change and analogical change in the perspective of linguistic theory. Internal and comparative reconstruction. Establishing genetic relationships.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 260B:
Historical Morphosyntax
Morphological and syntactic variation and change. Reanalysis, grammaticalization. The use of corpora and quantitative evidence. This is a 4-unit course. May be taken for fewer units with prior approval of the instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 263:
Endangered Languages and Language Revitalization (ANTHRO 163A, ANTHRO 263A, LINGUIST 163A, NATIVEAM 163)
Languages around the world are dying at such a rapid rate that the next century could see half of the world's 6800 languages and cultures become extinct unless action is taken now. This course looks at how and why languages die, and what is lost from a culture when that occurs. We will investigate how this trend can be reversed by methods of language documentation and description, the use of innovative technologies, multimodal fieldwork, writing dictionaries and grammars for different audiences, language planning, and data creation, annotation, preservation, and dissemination. We will focus on a number of current programs around the world to revitalize languages. Finally, the course will examine ethical modes of fieldwork within endangered language communities, and the possibilities of successful collaborations and capacity building, focusing especially on Northern California Indian peoples and their languages.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3-4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
LINGUIST 265:
African American Vernacular English (AFRICAAM 21, CSRE 21, LINGUIST 65)
Vocabulary, pronunciation and grammatical features of the systematic and vibrant vernacular English [AAVE] spoken by African Americans in the US, its historical relation to British dialects, and to English creoles spoken on the S. Carolina Sea Islands (Gullah), in the Caribbean, and in W. Africa. The course will also explore the role of AAVE in the Living Arts of African Americans, as exemplified by writers, preachers, comedians and actors, singers, toasters and rappers, and its connections with challenges that AAVE speakers face in the classroom and courtroom. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center). UNITS: 3-5 units. Most students should register for 4 units. Students willing and able to tutor an AAVE speaking child in East Palo Alto and write an additional paper about the experience may register for 5 units, but should consult the instructor first. Students who, for exceptional reasons, need a reduced course load, may request a reduction to 3 units, but more of their course grade will come from exams, and they will be excluded from group participation in the popular AAVE Happenin at the end of the course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
LINGUIST 270:
The Arabic Language and Culture (LINGUIST 36)
(Formerly AMELANG 36). Arabic language from historical, social, strategic, and linguistic perspectives. History of the Arabic language and the stability of classical Arabic over the last 15 centuries. Why the functionality of classical Arabic has not changed as Latin, Old English, and Middle English have. Social aspects of the Arabic language, Ferguson¿s notion of diglossia. The main varieties of Arabic, differences among them, and when and where they are spoken. Role of Arabic and culture in current world politics, culture, and economy. Linguistic properties of Arabic such as root-based morphology, lexical ambiguity, and syntactic structure relating it to current linguistic theories.
Last offered: Spring 2009
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 272:
Structure of Finnish
Central topics in Finnish morphology, syntax, and semantics and how they bear on current theoretical debates. Topics: clause structure; case; aspect; word order.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 272A:
Structure of Slavic
Central topics in the syntax, morphology, and phonology of Slavic languages and how they bear on current theoretical debates. Prerequisites: Linguistics 222A (Foundations of Syntactic Theory I) and Linguistics 210A (Phonology)
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
LINGUIST 274A:
Linguistic Field Methods
Practical training in the collection and analysis of linguistic data from native speakers of a language largely unknown to the investigator. Documentation of endangered languages. Research goals, field trip preparation, ethics (including human subjects, cooperation with local investigators, and governmental permits), working in the community, technical equipment, and analytical strategies. Emphasis is on the use of recording devices and computers in collection and analysis. Students are strongly encouraged to make a commitment to both 274A and 274B in the same year. Prerequisites: One course in phonetics or phonology and syntax, or permission of the instructor. Open to undergraduates with permission of instructor only.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 274B:
Field Methods II
Continuation of 274A, with a focus on student projects in a targeted language. Prerequisite: 274A or consent of instructor. Graduate students are strongly encouraged to make a commitment to both 274A and 274B in the same year. For full credit, students are expected to work privately with the consultant outside of class time.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 2-3
LINGUIST 275:
Probability and Statistics for linguists
Introduction to probability and statistical inference, with a focus on conceptual and practical issues relevant to theoretical, experimental, and corpus linguistics. Data analysis and modeling using R. Course project will involve reproducing a published modeling result or statistical analysis in full detail.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 277:
Laboratory Methods in Psycholinguistics
Issues that commonly arise in the design and implementation of linguistic experiments and in the statistical analysis of empirical results. Topics in experimental design include selection of stimuli, blocking, and power analysis and sample size calculation. How to fit and interpret statistical models using the multilevel regression and Bayesian inference, as implemented in software packages R and Bugs. Topics include interpretation of model coefficients for fixed and random effects, collinearity, model criticism, as well as comparison and reporting of models. Theoretical issues worked out at lab sessions using examples from experiments and corpus studies, including those provided by students.
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 278:
Programming for Linguists
Computer programming techniques for collecting and analyzing data in linguistic research. Introduction to the UNIX, regular expressions, and Python scripting. Hands-on experience gathering, formatting, and manipulating corpus, field, and experimental data, combining data from multiple sources, and working with existing tools. Knowledge of computer programming not required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-4
LINGUIST 280:
From Languages to Information (CS 124, LINGUIST 180)
Extracting meaning, information, and structure from human language text, speech, web pages, social networks. Methods include: string algorithms, edit distance, language modeling, the noisy channel, machine learning classifiers, inverted indices, collaborative filtering, neural embeddings, PageRank. Applications such as question answering, sentiment analysis, information retrieval, text classification, social network models, spell checking, recommender systems, chatbots. Prerequisites: CS103, CS107, CS109.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
Instructors: ;
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Chen, J. (TA);
Cruz-Albrecht, L. (TA);
Kabaghe, C. (TA);
Khandelwal, U. (TA);
Mendelsohn, J. (TA);
Mistele, M. (TA);
Pattabi, V. (TA);
Plattner, C. (TA);
Quinn, M. (TA);
Redmond, S. (TA)
LINGUIST 282:
Computational Theories of Syntax (LINGUIST 182)
Salient features of modern syntactic theories, including HPSG, LFG, and TAG, motivated by computational concerns. Impact of work within these frameworks on the design of algorithms in computational linguistics, and its influence in both linguistics and computer science. Topics include: notions of unification; unification algorithms and their relation to linguistic theory; agenda-driven chart processing for analysis and synthesis; the interface with morphology, the lexicon, and semantics; and applications, notably machine translation.
Last offered: Winter 2010
| Units: 3-4
LINGUIST 283:
Basic Algorithms for Computational Linguistics
Foundational algorithms of non-statistical computational linguistics, including string searching, suffix trees and suffix arrays, finite-state technology for phonology, morphology and dictionary access, classical back-tracking programs for sentence analysis, the use of charts in parsing, generation and translation. Students complete a programming project in one of these areas.
Last offered: Winter 2012
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 284:
Natural Language Processing with Deep Learning (CS 224N)
Methods for processing human language information and the underlying computational properties of natural languages. Focus on deep learning approaches: understanding, implementing, training, debugging, visualizing, and extending neural network models for a variety of language understanding tasks. Exploration of natural language tasks ranging from simple word level and syntactic processing to coreference, question answering, and machine translation. Examination of representative papers and systems and completion of a final project applying a complex neural network model to a large-scale NLP problem. Prerequisites: calculus and linear algebra; CS124 or CS121/221.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
Instructors: ;
Manning, C. (PI);
Agrawal, S. (TA);
Balachandar, N. (TA);
Chopra, S. (TA);
Chute, C. (TA);
Dhoot, A. (TA);
Dong, S. (TA);
Hu, A. (TA);
Hung, C. (TA);
Kamath, A. (TA);
Pandey, S. (TA);
Patel, V. (TA);
Paul, S. (TA);
Price, L. (TA);
See, A. (TA);
Sharma, P. (TA);
Wang, H. (TA);
Wang, Y. (TA);
Zang, X. (TA);
Zhou, B. (TA)
LINGUIST 284A:
Writing Systems in a Digital Age (LINGUIST 185)
Introduction to the variety of writing systems and their behaviors. Classification of all existing scripts as alphabetic, syllabic, ideographic; unifying and differentiating features within each group. How writing captures human language in various ways. The development of the alphabet, from ancient Semitic scripts to modern times. How writing systems are extended to additional languages. Chinese writing, its characteristics and sphere of influence. Japanese writing as a hybrid system that includes Chinese. Korean writing as an ideally designed script. The Indian system of writing as the foundation of numerous Asian syllabic scripts. Unicode as global standard for encoding text in all languages. Font technology: the emulation of human writing in the digital realm. nBasic knowledge of phonetics recommended. Knowledge of foreign languages helpful.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 2-3
LINGUIST 285:
Spoken Language Processing (CS 224S)
Introduction to spoken language technology with an emphasis on dialogue and conversational systems. Deep learning and other methods for automatic speech recognition, speech synthesis, affect detection, dialogue management, and applications to digital assistants and spoken language understanding systems. Prerequisites: CS 124, 221, 224N, or 229.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 2-4
LINGUIST 286:
Information Retrieval and Web Search (CS 276)
Text information retrieval systems; efficient text indexing; Boolean, vector space, and probabilistic retrieval models; ranking and rank aggregation; evaluating IR systems; text clustering and classification; Web search engines including crawling and indexing, link-based algorithms, web metadata, and question answering; distributed word representations. Prerequisites: CS 107, CS 109, CS 161.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 288:
Natural Language Understanding (CS 224U, LINGUIST 188)
Project-oriented class focused on developing systems and algorithms for robust machine understanding of human language. Draws on theoretical concepts from linguistics, natural language processing, and machine learning. Topics include lexical semantics, distributed representations of meaning, relation extraction, semantic parsing, sentiment analysis, and dialogue agents, with special lectures on developing projects, presenting research results, and making connections with industry. Prerequisites: one of LINGUIST 180, CS 124, CS 224N, CS224S, or CS221; and logical/semantics such as LINGUIST 130A or B, CS 157, or PHIL150
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
Instructors: ;
MacCartney, B. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Bhaskaran, J. (TA);
Farhangi, A. (TA);
Geiger, A. (TA);
Kim, M. (TA);
Li, L. (TA);
Wang, C. (TA);
Yerukola, A. (TA);
Zhou, X. (TA)
LINGUIST 291:
Linguistics and the Teaching of English as a Second/Foreign Language (LINGUIST 191)
Methodology and techniques for teaching languages, using concepts from linguistics and second language acquisition theory and research. Focus is on teaching English, but most principles and techniques applicable to any language. Optional 1-unit seminar in computer-assisted language learning.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
LINGUIST 292A:
Language Testing (LINGUIST 192)
Performance with language (speaking, reading, writing, listening, translating or interpreting) is used to measure a person's proficiency or achievement level in the language. Language performance is also used to measure other human characteristics, including psycho-social states and traits. The course will review basic methods in language measurement and cover their use as applied in education, psychology, and commerce. Topics include both traditional and automatic methods for assessing speaking, reading, writing, affect, and language disorders. Students will develop, apply, and evaluate a language test.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3
LINGUIST 294:
Linguistic Research Discussion Group
Restricted to first-year Linguistics Ph.D. students.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
LINGUIST 390:
M.A. Project
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-6
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Anttila, A. (PI);
Bresnan, J. (PI);
Clark, E. (PI);
Degen, J. (PI);
Eckert, P. (PI);
Harizanov, B. (PI);
Hubbard, P. (PI);
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Kay, M. (PI);
Lassiter, D. (PI);
Levin, B. (PI);
Manning, C. (PI);
Peters, S. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Rickford, J. (PI);
Sumner, M. (PI);
Wasow, T. (PI);
Zwicky, A. (PI)
LINGUIST 391A:
Curricular Practical Training
Educational opportunities in research and development labs in industry. Qualified linguistics students engage in internship work and integrate that work into their academic program. Students register during the quarter they are employed and complete a research report outlining their work activity, problems investigated, results, and follow-on projects they expect to perform. Course may be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Sum
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 3 units total)
LINGUIST 393:
Summer Research Activity
Restricted to Linguistics Ph.D. students. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1-8
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 394:
TA Training Workshop
For second-year graduate students in Linguistics
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
LINGUIST 395:
Research Workshop
Restricted to Linguistics Ph.D. students. Student presentations of research toward qualifying papers. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
for credit
LINGUIST 395D:
Linguistics Writing Group
Restricted to Linguistics Ph.D. students. May be repeated for credit. Meets weekly to support student writing projects
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 5 units total)
LINGUIST 396:
Research Projects in Linguistics
Mentored research project for first-year graduate students in linguistics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-3
Instructors: ;
Anttila, A. (PI);
Bresnan, J. (PI);
Clark, E. (PI);
Condoravdi, C. (PI);
Degen, J. (PI);
Eckert, P. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Goodman, N. (PI);
Gribanov, V. (PI);
Harizanov, B. (PI);
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Karttunen, L. (PI);
Kay, M. (PI);
Kiparsky, P. (PI);
Lassiter, D. (PI);
Levin, B. (PI);
Manning, C. (PI);
Podesva, R. (PI);
Sumner, M. (PI);
Wasow, T. (PI);
Zaenen, A. (PI)
LINGUIST 397:
Directed Reading
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Alim, H. (PI);
Anttila, A. (PI);
Bresnan, J. (PI);
Clark, E. (PI);
Condoravdi, C. (PI);
Degen, J. (PI);
Eckert, P. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gribanov, V. (PI);
Harizanov, B. (PI);
Hubbard, P. (PI);
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Karttunen, L. (PI);
Kay, M. (PI);
Kiparsky, P. (PI);
Lassiter, D. (PI);
Levin, B. (PI);
Manning, C. (PI);
Peters, S. (PI);
Podesva, R. (PI);
Polanyi, L. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Rickford, J. (PI);
Rosa, J. (PI);
Sumner, M. (PI);
Wasow, T. (PI);
Zaenen, A. (PI);
Zwicky, A. (PI)
LINGUIST 398:
Directed Research
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Anttila, A. (PI);
Baglini, R. (PI);
Bresnan, J. (PI);
Clark, E. (PI);
Condoravdi, C. (PI);
Degen, J. (PI);
Eckert, P. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gribanov, V. (PI);
Harizanov, B. (PI);
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Karttunen, L. (PI);
Kay, M. (PI);
Kiparsky, P. (PI);
Lassiter, D. (PI);
Levin, B. (PI);
Manning, C. (PI);
Peters, S. (PI);
Podesva, R. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Rickford, J. (PI);
Sumner, M. (PI);
Wasow, T. (PI);
Zaenen, A. (PI);
Zwicky, A. (PI)
LINGUIST 399:
Dissertation Research
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Anttila, A. (PI);
Bresnan, J. (PI);
Clark, E. (PI);
Condoravdi, C. (PI);
Degen, J. (PI);
Eckert, P. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gribanov, V. (PI);
Harizanov, B. (PI);
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Kay, M. (PI);
Kiparsky, P. (PI);
Lassiter, D. (PI);
Levin, B. (PI);
Manning, C. (PI);
Peters, S. (PI);
Podesva, R. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Rickford, J. (PI);
Sumner, M. (PI);
Wasow, T. (PI);
Zwicky, A. (PI)
LINGUIST 802:
TGR Dissertation
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Anttila, A. (PI);
Bresnan, J. (PI);
Clark, E. (PI);
Condoravdi, C. (PI);
Degen, J. (PI);
Eckert, P. (PI);
Frank, M. (PI);
Gribanov, V. (PI);
Harizanov, B. (PI);
Hubbard, P. (PI);
Jurafsky, D. (PI);
Kay, M. (PI);
Kiparsky, P. (PI);
Lassiter, D. (PI);
Levin, B. (PI);
Manning, C. (PI);
Peters, S. (PI);
Podesva, R. (PI);
Potts, C. (PI);
Rickford, J. (PI);
Sag, I. (PI);
Sumner, M. (PI);
Wasow, T. (PI);
Zwicky, A. (PI)
