Spring 2000
Undergraduate Course Listings and Descriptions
To reduce file size, listings for undergraduate and graduate courses may be viewed
separately. This document contains undergraduate courses only. Graduate
courses are in a separate document.
Click on the course name for the course description. Click on home icon 
to see the
home page for that course, if there is one. For more information on these courses
(including instructor, course time and course location), see the current
Linguistics course schedule (undergrad).
LIN 306: Introduction to the Study of Language (Green)
This introductory course focuses on what speakers know when they know a language.
The course will introduce students to linguistics by investigating the areas of phonetics,
phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. The sections on phonetics and phonology
will focus on the description of speech sounds and the way these sounds pattern with
respect to rules. The morphology component of the course will survey the study of
the structure of words and the way minimal units are combined to form words. The
section on syntax will be concerned with grammatical sequences that conform to rules
of languages and ungrammatical sequences that violate them. The unit on semantics
will consider word and sentence meaning. This course will also discuss issues that
are related to language as it is used in society. For example, the course will consider
regional and social dialects, language and gender and slang. Finally, this course
will address basic issues in the study of language acquisition and the history of
language.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
- Homework assignments
- Exams
Texts
- Fromkin, V. and R. Rodman. 1998. Introduction to the Study of Language.
6th edition.
- Supplementary course packet
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 306: Introduction to the Study of Language (TBA)
This course is an introduction to the scientific study of language - the academic
discipline known as linguistics. What does it mean to say that you "know"
a language? How is language organized in the brain? What does it mean to a linguist
to "analyze" a language? How do languages resemble each other, how are
they different? Why and how do languages change? Do dolphins have language? Does
language control our view of reality? What role does language play in society and
in politics? What is the best way to learn a foreign language? What kind of language
should be taught in schools? Is English the World Language? What are the different
language families in the world?
In the first half of the course we survey formal linguistic theory: phonetics
(speech sounds), phonology (sound patterns), morphology (word formation),
syntax (sentence formation), and semantics (meaning). The rest of the
course is given over to sociolinguistics (language in society) and historical
linguistics (language change and language relationships).
See306 Home Page for prerequisites,
requirements, and texts.
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 312: Linguistics of Sign Language (Cormier)
This course is an introduction to the linguistics of signed languages, with particular
focus on American Sign Language (ASL). In this course we will address the following
issues: How have signed languages developed? How are the grammars of ASL and other
signed languages structured? Does the pictorial quality of many ASL signs have an
impact on the grammatical structure of signed languages? In what ways are the structures
of signed and spoken languages different, and how are they similar? What do these
similarities and differences have to tell us about linguistic universals?
We will also discuss ASL in terms of the major subfields of linguistics: phonetics/phonology,
morphology, syntax, semantics, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and neurolinguistics.
Other issues that will be discussed include transcription systems for signed languages,
and poetry and humor in signed languages.
Prerequisites
None. (No prior knowledge of ASL or background in linguistics is required.)
Requirements
Homework/Quizzes (10%), Presentation & abstract (40%), Research
paper (30%), Class participation (20%)
Texts
- Klima & Bellugi (1979). The Signs of Language.
- Groce, Nora Ellen (1988). Everybody Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness
on Martha's Vineyard.
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 312: Storytelling: Art of Oral Narrative (Johnson)
What makes a person a great storyteller? We'll find out by getting up close and
personal with some real live stories, in English and other languages. We will discover
how stories are structured, consciously and unconsciously, by the way the teller
uses language. We'll look at every layer, from sounds to syntax, from dialog to acts
and scenes, searching for patterns and verbal devices that control the pace, create
emotional effects, and add color to the story as it unfolds. You'll be astonished
at how good storytellers exploit all the features of their native languages for dramatic
purposes: sounds, pauses, and yes - even grammar!
Although we'll start by analyzing some stories that I have taped and transcribed,
the main part of this class will be hands-on work with your own material. Each student
will tape a short narrative, no more than ten minutes long, told by whomever you
choose - a friend, a relative, the guy at the coffee shop, yourself - anyone you
know who spins a good yarn. You'll learn how to transcribe the story and how to look
for parallelism and other patterns. We'll talk about issues of writing an oral text:
is it poetry, prose, a one-act play? At the end of all this, you'll have a better
understanding of what makes language tick and how a good storyteller really makes
it hum.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Attendance & participation: 15%
Homework: 20%
Midterm exam: 15%
Presentation: 25%
Final exam (non-SWC section): 25%
Final paper (6-8 pp.) (SWC section): 25%
proposal: 5%
first draft: 10%
final draft: 10%
Texts
There will be a packet of required readings and additional articles
on reserve in Hill Library.
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 312: Linguistics of Humor (Cohan)
Humor is a basic part of human experience: we find it in one form or another in
every culture. We may not be the only primates who seem to appreciate the humor of
a situation, but it is safe to say that we are the only ones who can create a comic
experience through language. Nearly every component of our linguistic system can
be exploited for the sake of a laugh, including morphology, syntax, semantics, phonetics,
prosody, pragmatics and the conventions of social interaction. What are the ways
in which language is used to create humor? What are the characteristics that make
an observation or a story funny? What abilities allow us to recognize humor when
we read it or hear it? What does it mean to "get a joke"?
In this course, we will explore these questions and others that connect our ability
to create and appreciate humor to our ability to use language. We will consider humor
as a genre of written and spoken expression from Shakespeare to stand-up, in texts
and recorded performances. We will examine the ways in which people manipulate aspects
of language and context for comic effect, identifying the conventions (and unconventions)
of comic language. Basic principles of linguistics will be covered so that we will
be able to do a ëseriousí analysis of humorous discourse.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
General requirements will include readings in articles on linguistics,
discourse analysis and discourse processing and, of course, the occasional humorous
text. Students will be required to gather humorous linguistic data for discussion
in short observational writing assignments. A midterm exam will be given in both
sections of the class. A 15-minute class presentation will be required of all students.
Students in the writing component section of this course will be required to write
a term paper on a topic appropriate to the class (presentation and paper topics should
coincide); students in the non writing component section will take a final exam.
Texts
None
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 315: Speech Science (Matyear)
[same as CSD 315S]
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
TBA
Texts
TBA
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 323L: English as a World Language (Underwood)
[same as E 323L]
This course studies the growth and spread of English around the world. Since there
is no linguistics course prerequisite for this class, it begins with a brief overview
of linguistics concepts and an introduction to the phonetics and phonology essential
for the course. It then moves to a brief study of the historical and social forces
that caused English to evolve as a language separate from its Germanic origins. It
studies the dissemination processes which first resulted in the spread of English
from southern England to Wales, Scotland, and Ireland and then the transportation
of the language to North America, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, and Oceania.
The course attempts a typology of major national and regional varieties of English
and considers the social and communicative functions of each. Approximately three-fourths
of the course will be devoted to looking at the rise of national varieties through
a wide-angle lens. At the same time one-fourth of the course will focus on the lexical
features of a single linguistic microcosm-the language of U.T. students-which will
serve as a "laboratory" for theory and processes essential to a better
understanding of the nature, development, and social functions of distinctive varieties
of the English language. The course is conducted through lectures, discussions, videotapes,
audiotapes, and student presentations.
Prerequisites
E 316K or equivalent.
Requirements
Students may choose one of two grading options.
Option One: The semester grade will be based upon three 50-minute tests (90%) and
an oral report (10%).
Option Two: The semester grade is based upon contractual obligations. To earn the
grade of C, the student must fulfill all of the requirements of the UT language study.
To earn the grade of B, the student (in addition to fulfilling the requirements for
the grade of C) must submit an acceptable paper on a relevant topic agreed upon by
the student and the instructor. To earn the grade of A, the student (in addition
to fulfilling the requirements for the grade of B) must make an acceptable oral report.
Texts
The Story of English
English Around the World
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 340: Automata Theory (Rich)
In this class, we will develop a single framework in which all kinds of computational
problems can be defined and analysed. The framework is based on the idea of a language,
and problems are defined as the task of determining whether an input string is a
member of some particular language. Thus this area is often called formal language
theory. But a key idea is that all problems can be described as language recognition
tasks so this framework shouldn't be thought of as limiting. Instead think of it
as a simple mechanism by which problems that may initially appear very different
can be compared and analysed to see whether there can exist computational solutions
to them at all, and, if there can, what power those solutions must possess. We will
discuss computational models ranging from very simple (finite state machines) to
pushdown automata (with the power to recognize context free languages, including
standard programming languages) to Turing Machines, which are powerful enough to
solve any problem for which a solution exists, yet simple enough to describe that
we can prove theorems about what they can and cannot do.
Prerequisites
CS 336 or consent of the instructor.
Requirements
TBA
Texts
TBA
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 344K: Phonetics (Harms)
This course is an introduction to phonetics, the area of linguistics concerned
with such questions as how speech sounds are produced, how different speech sounds
differ acoustically, and how they are perceived.The first part of the course is concerned
with the production of speech sounds as well as their phonetic transcription. The
anatomy and physiology of the vocal tract as well the interplay of sound energy and
the vocal tract will be presented. The second part of the course is concerned with
the properties of sound waves. To understand this, students will be introduced to
basic. These concepts will be illustrated through lab demonstrations and assignments
using acoustics analysis software. The third part of the course is concerned with
auditory phonetics, how the ear works in the perception of speech sounds.
Prerequisites
LIN 306 or consent of instructor.
Requirements
TBA
Texts
Ladefoged, A Course in Phonetics
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 345: Language Change and Language Variation (King)
An introduction to the phenomenon of language change, to the linguistic and social
phenomena which influence it, and to the principles which linguists have developed
to account for it. These principles have led to methods, to be examined in the second
half of the class, for reconstructing the vocabularies and grammars of the prehistoric
parent languages of languages which exist today, or which have been preserved in
writing.
Prerequisites
LIN 344K
Requirements
Classes will be a mix of lectures, discussion, and problem solving
using data from a wide range of languages. Grade is based on homework assignments
(50%), two in-class examinations (40%), and class participation (10%).
Texts
Crowley, Terry. An Introduction to Historical Linguistics
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 350: Language, Gender and Sexual Orientation (Walters)
Do lesbians and gay men use language in ways that mark them as different from
their heterosexual counterparts? If so, do these processes represent resistance,
play, or something else? How do transgendered individuals learn to talk like members
of the sex they wish to be taken as being? Is anything known about the language of
bisexual women? How does language interact with sexuality in other cultures, where
identity categories like 'lesbian', 'gay', and 'straight' don't seem to have the
power they do in this culture? Where do language-based stereotypes like the lisping
homosexual male come from? How is what one writer terms "compulsory heterosexuality"
in this culture constructed through language? In this course, we seek to understand
the complex relationship between language, gender, and sexuality by considering these
questions and many more. Initially, we'll seek to understand how recent theorists
have talked about issues of sexual identity; then, weíll consider how this theorizing
is supported (or called into question) by studies of language in use. Along the way,
we'll consider the nature of identity (and identities), the social construction of
gender and sexuality (as well as gendered sexuality), and language used by and about
gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered individuals, and heterosexuals.
Prerequisites
Upper-division status. An interest in the subject and a willingness
to be challenged in your thinking.
Requirements
In addition to a mid-term (15%) and a final (20%), students will complete
several shorter assignments, responses to texts we read or videos we watch (25%).
Students will also work together in small groups on a class project, which will require
some writing (25%). Class participation/attendance is mandatory (15%).
Texts
Jagose. 1996. Queer theory: An introduction.
Livia, Anna & Kira Hall. 1997. Queerly phrased: Language, gender, and sexuality.
Leap. 1995. Beyond the lavender lexicon.
A reader of other articles at a campus copy shop.
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 350: Intro to Computational Linguistics (Bhatt)
This course will deal with basic techniques in mathematical and computational
linguistics, especially focusing on grammars, formal languages, automata, role of
formal grammars and machines in linguistics (in phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics,
and some aspects of discourse).
After a brief introduction to the basic concepts of set theory, relations, and functions,
properties of relations, and basic concepts of algebra we will cover the following
topics, not all at the same level.
Grammars, languages, and automata- finite state grammars, regular expressions, finite
state transducers, context-free grammars and pushdown automata. Context-sensitive
grammars- string context sensitivity and structural context-sensitivity. Mildly context-sensitive
grammars. Turing machines. Grammars as deductive systems, parsing as deduction. Stochastic
grammars.
The course will deal with these topics in a very basic and introductory manner, i.e.,
the key ideas of the proofs and not detailed proofs will be presented. More importantly,
throughout the course plenty of linguistic examples will be discussed to bring out
the linguistic relevance of these topics.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Some familiarity with formal reasoning. Some familiarity with a programming
language will be helpful, but is not necessary. There will be two exams--mid-term
and final. Both will be closed book exams.
Texts
- Michael Sipser, Introduction to the theory of computation, PWS Pub. Co., c1996
(I'll only use Chapters 0, 1, and 2.)
- James Allen, Natural language understanding, Menlo Park, Calif. : Benjamin/Cummings
Pub. Co., 1995
- Partee, Barbara Hall, Alice ter Meulen, and Robert E. Wall, Mathematical methods
in linguistics, Dordrecht ; Boston : Kluwer Academic, c1990. ISBN :9027722447, 9027722455
(pbk.)
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 350.1: Language and the Brain (Sussman)
[same as CSD 350]
This course is designed to provide up-to-date information and theory regarding
language representation in the brain. No prior background is assumed as a complete
grounding in human neuroanatomy and neurophysiology is provided. Topics to be discussed
include: (1) localizationist vs. holistic arguments for language representation in
the brain; (2) brain scanning (PET, FMRI) studies; (3) the neuropathology of speech-language
disturbance following brain injury, i.e., aphasia, dysarthria; (4) left-right hemispheric
specializations.
The format is informal lecture-style with class participation encouraged. Note
packet available and essential.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Grading is based on four exams. No term paper.
Texts
None
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 360K: Introduction to English Grammar (Underwood)
[meets with E 360K]
The title of this course is misleading. Two-thirds of the course is devoted to
"grammar" (the study of the systems of inflection and syntax of the language),
the remaining one-third to "usage" (the study of how words and phrases
are actually used and attitudes toward those uses). The course does not include any
attention to "mechanics" (spelling, punctuation, and capitalization). The
purpose of the course is to teach students to analyze the structure of sentences
and to become more sophisticated in their understanding of usage. It does not presume
to teach them skills in the use of English.
The course begins with the establishment of theoretical framework for studying
the English language. Following a brief, but critical, review of the traditional,
Latinate description of English grammar to establish its numerous inadequacies, the
course progresses with the development of a phrase structure analysis of English
syntax. Additionally, the course establishes the basis for usage controversies, examines
various approaches to usage choice, and surveys critically the different sources
of information about English usage.
This is not a remedial course. The course assumes a familiarity with traditional
Latinate grammar of English, which is commonly taught in primary and secondary schools
in this country. Students who have forgotten what they were taught about grammar
will need to review on their own.
Note: E 360K and LIN 360K cannot both be counted
Prerequisites
Upper division standing.
Requirements
The semester grade is based upon no more than ten take-home quizzes
(30%), no more than ten homework excercises (20%), and no more than three tests (50%).
Texts
Three course packets available from Speedway Printing in Dobie Mall.
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 360K: Introduction to English Grammar (Smith)
This course will provide an informal introduction to syntax in the general framework
of generative grammar. Syntax is the study of how words group together to form phrases
and sentences. We will study the syntax English, with some comparisons to other languages.
There will be an emphasis on the techniques of syntactic analysis as well as the
facts. At the end of the course you should have a firm grasp of the basic syntax
of English, and as introductory knowledge of the field of syntax.
Prerequisites
Upper division standing.
Requirements
TBA
Texts
Maggie Tallerman, Understanding Syntax. Arnold 1998
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 360K: Introduction to English Grammar (Cable)
[same as E 364M]
This course aims to present the historical development of English by striking
a balance between the internal history--sounds, inflections, vocabulary--and the
external history--the political, social, and intellectual forces that have determined
the course of that development at different periods. The main topics (which will
be covered fully in class lecture-discussion) include the Indo-European Family of
Languages, Old English, The Norman Conquest and the Subjection of English (1066-1200),
The Re-establishment of English (1200-1500), The Renaissance (1500-1650), The Appeal
to Authority (1650-1800), The Nineteenth Century and after, and the English Language
in America.
Prerequisites
9 semester hours of lower-division English including credit for E
306 and E 316K, and completion of 30 semester hours.
Requirements
There will be regular homework exercises on vocabulary, phonological
change, etc., due at the beginning of the class period.
Texts
Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable, A History of the English Language
Thomas Cable, A Companion to Baugh & Cable's History of the English Language
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 372K: Sound Patterns: Sound to Word (Crowhurst)
This course provides an introduction to phonology for undergraduate majors and
minors in linguistics (as well as any other interested parties with the necessary
prerequisites). LIN 372K resumes the study of the sound patterns in human languages
where 344K ended. Where LIN 344K was concerned with the physical properties of speech
sounds and their perception by listeners, LIN 372K provides an introduction to the
ways in which languages organize these sounds on more abstract levels, and to the
models phonologists propose for representing sounds and the relationships between
them. We will begin with an examination of language prosody, which has to do with
how languages organize sounds into larger units such as syllables and stress units.
Following this, we will move on to an examination of the ways in which sounds affect
one another, and how these processes might be affected by the prosodic structure
introduced earlier in the course. The reading component the course will not be especially
heavy, but students will be required to turn in weekly solutions to problem sets
that will require some analysis and creative thought. Learning to do phonology has
real-world applications: the skills in pattern recognition, analysis, and argument
building students acquire transfer well to any field which requires skills in logic
and reasoning (for example, law). In addition, individuals with training in linguistics,
including phonetics and phonology are in demand by software companies developing
programs for speech recognition, and translation.
Prerequisites
Upper division standing & LIN 344K
Requirements
Texts
Ladefoged, Peter. A Course in Phonetics, 3rd ed.
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 372K: Pre-Islamic Middle Eastern Civilizations-W (Southern)
[meets with ANS 372, CC 348, MEL 372, MES 321K]
This seminar offers a comparative introduction to the evolving cultures and languages
of the Pre-Islamic Middle East (Fertile Crescent and the Nile). Through selected
textual readings from the rich literary traditions of particular languages, principally
Sumerian and Akkadian, Assyro-Babylonian, Hittite, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ugarite/Phonecian,
Egyptian, Linear B, Iranian, Armenian, and South Semitic, we will concentrate on
tracing the socioócultural, religious, literary and linguistic evolution of the area.
We will be using the panorama of the languages records as a springboard for addressing
wider issues of cultural change. The comparative cultural, ethnohistorical, poetic,
legal, and religious traditions that underlie and connect the various civilizations
of the region before the advent of Islam will be explored in depth. Comparative connections
with cultural neighbors (e.g. Indus Valley and Vedic India, Greece and Rome) will
be particularly emphasized.
Prerequisites
Upper division standing
Requirements
Seminar participation and discussions: 50%
Presentations, final paper: 50%
Texts
Alter, Robert. The World of Biblical Literature, Harper Collins
Gurney, Oliver. The Hittites. Penguin
Pritchard, James B. (ed). The Ancient Near East (An Anthology of Texts and Pictures)
vols. 1-2. Princeton UP
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 373: Language and Speech in American Society (Sherzer)
[meets with ANT 325N, AMS 321, SOC 352M.3]
Just talking to friends around the University or listening to the radio and watching
TV makes us aware of the diversity of ways of speaking in the United States. This
diversity becomes even more striking when we look at American society more generally,
in relation to history and geography, with regard to such social and cultural categories
as gender, ethnicity, and class, and in terms of such institutions as politics, law,
and education. This course provides useful and interesting understanding of the languages,
dialects, and patterns of speaking in American society.
Topics covered:
- Languages and dialects in the USA
- Black English/Ebonics
- Spanish and English in Mexican American speech communities
- Language and language use among American Indians
- Men's and women's speech
- Language and medicine
- Language and law
- Language and education
- Playful, expressive, and artistic uses of language
- Storytelling
- Nonverbal communication
Prerequisites
ANT 302 or LIN 306
Requirements
Two exams during the semester; no final exam.
Three short projects involving analysis of language and speech.
In the compilation of the grade, exams count 45%, projects count 45%, and class participation
counts 10%.
Texts
Textbook and course packet
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 373.1: Child Language (Echols)
This course will be an advanced introduction to cognitive development. It will
provide an overview of cognitive change from infancy to adolescence, with an emphasis
on the earlier years. The course will cover various theoretical perspectives on cognitive
change as well as current research in areas such as infant perception and cognition,
categorization, number, understanding of biological and physical concepts, problem-solving
and language. Educational implications and cross-cultural issues will be touched
on.
Prerequisites
Psychology 301 with a grade of at least C, Psychology 304 or 333D,
Psychology 418 or an equivalent statistics course with a grade of at least C, and
upper division standing.
Requirements
TBA
Texts
TBA
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 373.7: Intro to Cognitive Science-W (Wechsler)
[same as CGS 360.1 & PHL 365.2]
This course itnroduces the inter-disciplinary field of Cognitive Science, the
modern study of mind and brain. The field draws on research in psychology, computer
science, linguistics, philosophy, and neuroscience.
One leading idea in Cognitive Science has been that computation of information
underlies many mental activities. Another is that there are specialized modules of
mind for certain mental processes, whereas others are general. Also, all mental processes
are ultimatelty realized in the brain, and research at a concrete level has begun
to give fairly clear ideas about how the brain actually works. But there is still
a wide gamut between abstract and computer models of sub-systems of cognition and
their implementation in the brain.
We will learn about the Cognitive Science approach in several key areas, including
coginitive psychology, linguistics, language acquisition, vision, neuroscience, and
artificial intelligence. There will be several presentations in class by faculty
members of UT who are activiely engaged in research in Cognitive Science.
This course is suitable for anyone interested in learning about Cognitive Science.
It is introductory; not a technical course. Discussion will be emphasized.
Prerequisites
Upper division standing.
Requirements
Regular discussion notes on the readings, a mid term examination and
two essays, each in a preliminary and a final version.
Texts
1. Paul Thagard, Mind: Introduction to Cognitive Science. Cambridge,
Mass.: MIT Press. 1996. $22.50
2 & 3: Daniel Osherson (ed.), An Invitation to Cognitive Science, Vol.
1: Language, edited by Lila R. Gleitman and Mark Liberman. Cambrdige Mass.:
MIT press. 1995. $25.00. Vol. 3: Thinking, edited by Edward E. Smith and Daniel
N. Osherson. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 1995. $27.50.
4.: The MIT Encyclopedia on Cognitive Science, available on-line at http://mitpress.mit.edu/MITECS/.
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 379: Conference Course
Individual instruction. Prerequisites: Six hours of upper-division Linguistics.
Consent of instructor must be obtained. Requirements: You must have the prior written
consent of the instructor before you register for or add this course. Undergraduate
conference course agreement forms are available in Calhoun 503.
Back to undergraduate course index
LIN 379H: Honor Tutorial Course
Individual instruction. Prerequisites: Admission to the Linguistics Honors Program.
Consent of instructor must be obtained. Requirements: You must have the prior written
consent of the instructor before you register for or add this course. Undergraduate
conference course agreement forms are available in Calhoun 503.
25-Oct-99
Comments to: linclass@www.utexas.edu
