71 - 80 of 183 results for: LINGUIST

Through readings and discussion, we will focus on two questions in this seminar:n(1) Is the balance of top-down versus bottom-up information different when processing careful vs. casual speech?n(2) What provides more information to a listener - Half of a clearly-articulated word, or an entire reduced word?nThis is not a project-based seminar, but the seminar is linked to an ongoing research project, and we will use that project to ground how a researcher might go about addressing the above questions. We will refer to our in-progress project to provide concrete examples of (a) testable, theoretically-grounded hypotheses, (b) appropriately matched methods/design, (c) benefits/costs of different types of statistical methods, and (d) supported vs. speculative accounts. The seminar is heavily based on reading and discussion, but will be supplemented by the practical issues associated with a related project. At the end of the seminar, students will have a basic understanding of the literature related to the topic, what gaps/inconsistencies exist in that work, and how to pursue those gaps, if interested. A research proposal is required at the end of the quarter.

Introduction to phonological theory and analysis based on cross-linguistic evidence. Topics: phonological representations including features, syllables, metrical structure; phonological processes; phonological typology and universals; the phonology/morphology interface; Optimality Theory.

New developments in phonological theory, in particular Optimality Theory, primarily on the empirical basis of stress, syllable structure, prosodic organization, and phonological variation.

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.

Topics vary each year. Previous topics include variation in the phonology of words according to their contexts within larger expressions and the place of these phenomena in a theory of grammar. May be repeated for credit.

May be repeated for credit.

An introduction to constructing and using phonologically annotated corpora to test phonological hypotheses. Hands-on experience in corpus manipulation and phonological modeling.

May be repeated for credit.

Major contemporary approaches to morphology. Word-based vs. morpheme-based morphol- ogy. Realizational vs. generative morphology. Affix ordering and morphological constituency. The mirror principle. The morphology/syntax boundary and the lexicalist hypothesis. Compound- ing: synthetic and phrasal compounds, incorporation. Prosodic morphology. The semantics of inflection and derivation. Feature decomposition of inflectional categories: markedness, blocking, underspecification. Gaps and periphrasis. Inheritance hierarchies. Valence-changing operations. This is a 4-unit course.  May be taken for fewer units with prior approval of the instructor.