printer friendly pageLINGUIST 1: Introduction to Linguistics
This course introduces students to the cognitive organization of linguistic structure and the social nature of language use. We will investigate language as it is used in our everyday lives, highlighting both the variability and systematic nature of all levels of linguistic structure. In doing so, we will discover how to approach language from a scientific perspective, learn the fundamentals of linguistic analysis, and understand the foundational concepts of the field of Linguistics.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI
LINGUIST 3: Glamour of Grammar
In this course, we will dispel many a mystery of English grammar, often presented as a dull and dreary subject in schools: we will see that the words 'glamorous' and 'grammar' come from the same root meaning 'mysterious or occult' and we will ask: Why is there 'stupidity' but not 'smartity'? Why can we 'blacken' fish or 'whiten' teeth, but not 'pinken' or 'greenen' anything? Who makes up new words anyway? How do we put words together into meaningful sentences? And how do we understand the nuances of English without much direct instruction? While the focus of this course is on English grammar, we will also see that other languages possess grammars that are based on the same principles and constraints.
Last offered: Spring 2013
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.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Harizanov, B. (PI)
LINGUIST 35: Minds and Machines (PHIL 99, PSYCH 35, SYMSYS 1)
(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: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-FR
Instructors:
Skokowski, P. (PI)
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.
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.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| 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
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
Instructors:
Podesva, R. (PI)
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.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2-3
Instructors:
Todd, S. (PI)
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
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
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