Linguistics (LING)
Director: Professor Michael J. Flynn
Professor: Michael J. Flynn
Linguistics is the study of the remarkable capacity of human beings to learn, use and manipulate the stunningly complex and orderly systems we call languages. Carleton offers a range of courses on this topic. In addition to those listed below, see those listed under the Cognitive Studies Concentration. There is not a regular major in Linguistics, but sometimes a special major is possible. Please see our Web page for up to date information.
Linguistics Courses
LING 110. Introduction to Linguistics The capacity to acquire and use natural languages such as English is surely one of the more remarkable features of human nature. In this course, we explore several aspects of this ability. Topics include the sound systems of natural languages and gestural systems of signed languages (and the relation between these), principles that regulate word order (and what these reveal about the nature of the mind), the course of language acquisition in children, and some of what is known about how knowledge of language is realized in the human brain. No prerequisite. 6 credits cr., SS, Fall,Winter,Spring—M. Flynn
LING 115. Introduction to the Theory of Syntax This course is organized to enable the student to actively participate in the construction of a rather elaborate theory of the nature of human cognitive capacity to acquire and use natural languages. In particular, we concentrate on one aspect of that capacity: the unconscious acquisition of a grammar that enables a speaker of a language to produce and recognize sentences that have not been previously encountered. In the first part of the course, we concentrate on gathering notation and terminology intended to allow an explicit and manageable description. In the second part, we depend on written and oral student contributions in a cooperative enterprise of theory construction. No prerequisite. 6 credits cr., SS, Winter—M. Flynn
LING 180. The Structure of Japanese This course will examine some aspects of Japanese from the viewpoint of linguistic theory. It is not conducted in Japanese, nor is it a course in which students will learn Japanese. Instead, we will look at the language in the same way that a biologist might look at a complicated organism, as an interesting object of study. We will examine its history, aspects of its structure, its use in social and artistic contexts. as well as its extraordinary writing system. Some knowledge of Japanese would be helpful, but is not required. No knowledge of linguistics will be presupposed. No prerequisites. 6 credits cr., SS, Not offered in 2004-2005.
LING 215. The Syntax of an Unfamiliar Language In this course we examine, with the help of a native speaker informant, the syntax of a language deliberately chosen for its being unfamiliar to all the participants. Our goal will be to construct a coherent and theoretically respectable account of some of the principles that enter into the cognitive organization of speakers of the selected language. Each student will investigate some aspect of the language in depth, culminating in a class presentation and research report. Prerequisite: Linguistics 115. 6 credits cr., SS, Not offered in 2004-2005.
LING 217. Phonetics and Phonology Although no two utterances are ever exactly the same, we humans don't function like tape recorders; we overlook distinctions to which mechanical recording devices are sensitive, and we "hear" contrasts which are objectively not there. What we (think we) hear is determined by the sound system of the language we speak. This course examines the sound systems of human languages, focusing on how speech sounds are produced and perceived, and how these units come to be organized into a systematic network in the minds of speakers of languages. Prerequisite: Linguistics 110. 6 credits cr., SS, Fall—M. Flynn
LING 250. Linguistics and the Literary Art This course examines approaches to the question: "How do artists who use language as a medium manipulate that medium, and to what effect?" Prerequisite: Linguistics 110 or permission of instructor. 6 credits cr., SS, Not offered in 2004-2005.
LING 270. Language, Speech, and Evolution Languages can be thought of as abstract devices that link signals and messages. For the signal part, the vast majority of human languages use speech. Speech production and speech perception are both very complicated, probably unique to human beings, and "tuned" to each other in interesting ways. In this course we will have a close look at the relevant mechanisms, with the goal of approaching the question of how this remarkable system could have arisen in our species. Prerequisite: Linguistics 110 or permission of the instructor. 6 credits cr., SS, Not offered in 2004-2005.
LING 317. Topics in Phonology More on phonology, with special attention to issues involving the evolution of sound systems and their development in children. Prerequisite: Linguistics 217. 6 credits cr., SS, Not offered in 2004-2005.
Other Courses Pertinent to Linguistics:
ASLN 111 Writing Systems
ASLN 260 Historical Linguistics