Department of Linguistics

www.unc.edu/depts/ling

Randall Hendrick, Chair

Professors

Randall Hendrick, Paul Roberge.

Associate Professor

Jennifer Smith.

Assistant Professors

Misha Becker, David Mora-Marín, Elliott Moreton, J. Michael Terry.

Introduction

Courses in the department are offered for the general student and for those who wish to receive the B.A. in linguistics. Courses in linguistics are intended to open up systematic perspectives on the nature of human language by means of detailed studies of language structure and language change, the sound system of language, and the syntactic/semantic system of language. Successful completion of the undergraduate major in linguistics leads to the award of the degree of bachelor of arts. The major is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of modern linguistics for the student seeking a general education in the liberal arts as well as for the student preparing for graduate study.

Programs of Study

The degree offered is bachelor of arts in linguistics. A minor is also offered in linguistics.

Majoring in Linguistics: Bachelor of Arts

Linguistics majors should fulfill one of the three social and behavioral sciences Approaches requirements with LING 101, which is a prerequisite for all linguistics courses listed below. LING 101 may not be counted as one of the seven courses required for the major.

Majors are required to take three courses from the following four courses, comprised of the introductory series LING 200, 201, 202, and 203. Majors also must take at least four additional linguistics courses numbered 200 to 600, excluding 400. (LING 400 is closed to students taking the LING 200, 201, 202 sequence.)

Students majoring in linguistics may concentrate entirely in linguistics, following an approved program of linguistics courses beyond those listed above, or they may elect to pursue a program of study that combines the courses above with an approved sequence of courses in a field related to linguistics. Suggested second-field options are linguistic anthropology, computer processing of language data, psychology of language, philosophy of language, sociology of language, study of a particular language or language family, and applied linguistics. The second field option will be planned in consultation with the student’s advisor. There is a special track for prespeech and hearing sciences students. Students interested in the linguistics major must consult with the department undergraduate advisor, Professor Jennifer Smith.

Minoring in Linguistics

The undergraduate minor in linguistics consists of four linguistics courses numbered 200 or higher. Two of these courses must be selected from LING 200, 201, 202, and 203. In order to fashion a coherent program of study that complements the student’s major, the Department of Linguistics encourages students to select the remaining two courses in consultation with the department undergraduate advisor, Professor Jennifer Smith.

Honors in Linguistics

Any linguistics major with a cumulative total GPA of at least 3.2 is eligible to attempt a degree with honors in linguistics. To graduate with honors, a student must work with a faculty supervisor, enroll in LING 691H and 692H during the senior year, and complete and defend an honors thesis according to departmental and Honors Program requirements. Interested students should contact the honors advisor, Professor Misha Becker, during their junior year.

Special Opportunities in Linguistics

Departmental Involvement

Many linguistics majors and minors join Underling, the undergraduate linguistics club, which sponsors a variety of educational, outreach, social, and career-development events each year.

Study Abroad

Students in linguistics are encouraged to consider study abroad. Courses that can be applied toward the linguistics major and minor are available through many of the programs administered by the Study Abroad Office.

Undergraduate Awards

The Marc Adam Eisdorfer Award recognizes the graduating senior judged most outstanding in academic achievement in linguistics. It was established in 1998 by Sandra Eisdorfer in memory of her son, a graduate of the class of 1984.

Graduate School and Career Opportunities

The Department of Linguistics at the University offers M.A. and Ph.D. programs with opportunities for specialization in a number of subareas. Detailed information is available from the department Web site.

Additionally, more than 100 colleges and universities offer linguistics programs, including several dozen that are considered major programs nationally. Faculty members are pleased to advise students regarding programs best suited to their needs and interests.

There are several ways to use a linguistics B.A. in planning a career. In general, the linguistics major is good preparation for a number of career paths because it develops problem solving, the ability to find patterns in complicated data, and writing and argumentation skills. These are abilities that can be emphasized when applying for many different kinds of jobs. Law and journalism schools and other professional schools are becoming increasingly aware that students with a linguistics degree have strengths in these important areas. United States citizens with a background in linguistics also may find jobs with United States government agencies.

Some students choose to continue specializing in linguistics teaching or research. For this, they will typically need to obtain a graduate degree in linguistics. Other possible careers for linguistics majors that have a close connection to language and linguistics include language teaching, speech pathology/speech and hearing science, language and information technologies (including speech synthesis and recognition, text-content analysis, and machine translation), information and library science, or editing and publishing; careers in these areas may require a graduate degree.

Contact Information

Randall Hendrick, Chair, or Jennifer Smith, Undergraduate Advisor, CB# 3155, Dey Hall, (919) 962-1192. Web site: www.unc.edu/depts/ling.

LING

050 First-Year Seminar: Language in the U.S.A. (3). The linguistic landscape of the United States in historical and contemporary perspective: American English dialects, language maintenance and shift among Native American and immigrant groups, language politics and policy.

101 [030] Introduction to Language (3). A survey of the many aspects of human language, including the history of language, similarities and differences among languages, language and culture, dialects, writing systems, child language acquisition, animal “languages,” and the use of computers in analyzing languages. Linguistic methods used to describe and relate languages.

145 [222] Language and Communication (PHIL 145) (3). See PHIL 145 for description.

200 Phonology (3). Prerequisite, LING 101 or permission of the instructor. Description and analysis of sound patterns from languages around the world. Introduction to formal phonological models, written argumentation, and hypothesis testing.

201 Syntax (3). Prerequisite, LING 101 or permission of the instructor. Introduction to the goals and methods of transformational analysis, using English primarily, but examining how these techniques can be used to describe syntactic processes in other languages.

202 [062] Linguistic Variation and Language Change (3). Prerequisite, LING 101 or permission of the instructor. Introduction to the analysis and description of language change, relationships among languages, and types of linguistic structure.

203 [063] Language Acquisition and Development (3). Prerequisite, LING 101. Provides an introduction to first-language acquisition, focusing on the acquisition of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as well as on the social context of language acquisition and issues of atypical language development.

296 [070] Independent Reading (3). Prerequisite, LING 101 or permission of the instructor. In-depth treatment of a selected issue or topic in linguistics. Topic will vary with the instructor. Course may be taken more than once when the topic varies.

301 [071] Language and Computers (COMP 371) (3). Prerequisite, LING 101. Uses simple linguistic problems to introduce students to the use of programming languages especially suited to analyze and process natural language on the computer. No prior programming knowledge is presupposed.

302 [072] Language and Power (ANTH 302, WMST 302) (3). This course provides an overview of language and power studies. Issues: sexist and sex-neutral language; languages of subcultures defined by gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity; hate speech; “politically correct” language.

303 [073] Native Languages of the Americas (ANTH 303) (3). This course is an introduction to languages indigenous to the Americas. The course touches on the linguistic structure and classification of Native American languages as well as on social issues.

304 [074] Introduction to Discourse (3). Prerequisite, LING 101. Focuses on the use of linguistic forms to express communicative intentions. How language is used for the purposes of persuasion, manipulation, irony, humor, poetry, propaganda, and attitudes.

306 [075] Language and Nationalism (SLAV 306) (3). See SLAV 306 for description.

310 Formal Perspectives on African American English (3). Prerequisite, LING 101 or permission of the instructor. This course treats the structural properties of African American English. Students will learn to use sentence data to test hypotheses about language structure by investigating the syntax and semantics of African American English.

360 [076] The Spanish Language Today (SPAN 376) (3). See SPAN 376 for description.

363 [077] Grammatical Structure of Spanish (SPAN 377) (3). See SPAN 377 for description.

367 [078] Cultural and Linguistic History of the Spanish Language (SPAN 378) (3). See SPAN 378 for description.

383 [083] Linguistic Structuralism: Sources and Influences (3). Linguistic structuralism as a background for modern theories of language.

400 [100] Introduction to General Linguistics (ANTH 400) (3). An introduction to the scientific study of language. The nature of language structure. How languages are alike and how they differ.

409 [109] Cognitive Linguistics (SLAV 409) (3). See SLAV 409 for description.

415 [115] Advanced Topics in Linguistics (3). Directed readings on linguistic topics not covered in specific courses.

445 [410] Philosophy of Language (PHIL 445) (3). See PHIL 445 for description.

455 [104] Symbolic Logic (PHIL 455) (3). See PHIL 455 for description.

484 [184] Discourse and Dialogue in Ethnographic Research (ANTH 484, FOLK 484) (3). See ANTH 484 for description.

506 [106] Greek Dialects (GREK 506) (3). See GREK 506 for description.

520 [120] Linguistic Phonetics (ANTH 520) (3). Introduction to the general principles of linguistic phonetics; anatomy of vocal tract, physiology of speech production, universal phonetic theory. Practice in the recognition and transcription of speech sounds.

523 Phonological Theory I (ANTH 523) (3). Prerequisite, LING 520 or equivalent. Introduction to the principles of modern generative phonology. Methods and theory of phonological analysis. Not normally open to those who have taken LING 200, unless permission of the instructor is given.

524 Phonological Theory II (3). Prerequisite, LING 523. Intermediate phonological theory and analysis.

525 [101] Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics (3). Theories and methods of historical and comparative linguistics, with emphasis upon the Indo-European family.

527 [127] Morphology (3). Prerequisite, LING 101, 400, or permission of the instructor. Cross-linguistic investigation of internal word structure: inflection and derivation, word formation rules versus affixation, autosegmental morphology, morpholexical and morphophonemic rules, and the interaction of morphology with phonology and syntax.

528 [210] Language Acquisition I (3). Child language from a theoretical perspective. Topics include segmentation problems, acquisition of phonology, morphology and syntax, lexical acquisition, and language development in blind and deaf children and in bilinguals.

529 Linguistic Acquisition II (3). Prerequisite, LING 203 or 528. This course focuses on the development of syntax in first language acquisition in children. Topics will include parameter setting, null subjects, root infinitives, aspect, A-movement, binding theory, and control.

530 Syntactic Theory I (3). Prerequisite, LING 400 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Methods and theory of grammatical analysis within the transformational generative framework. Special emphasis on analyzing syntactic and semantic structures of English.

533 Syntactic Theory II (3). Prerequisite, LING 530 or equivalent. Methods and theory of grammatical analysis, with special reference to transformational grammar.

537 Semantic Theory I (3). Prerequisite, LING 101, 400, or permission of the instructor. Semantics as a part of linguistic theory: co- and disjoint reference among nominals, “crossover” phenomena, quantifier scope, lexical semantics, Montague grammar and compositional semantics, and explanatory universals in semantic theory.

538 Semantic Theory II (3). Prerequisite, LING 537 or permission of the instructor. A continuation of LING 537 (Semantic Theory I), this course prepares the student to read the formal semantic literature and to do original research in the field.

539 [139] Language of Time (3). Prerequisite, LING 101, 400, or permission of the instructor. The representation of time and temporal relations in natural languages. Cross-linguistic study of tense and aspect distinctions, modality, temporal adverbials, temporal anaphora, and sequences of tenses.

540 [140] Mathematical Linguistics (3). Introduction to topics in logic, set theory, and modern algebra with emphasis on linguistic application. Automata theory and the formal theory of grammar with special reference to transformational grammars. No previous mathematics assumed.

541 [170] Sociolinguistics (ANTH 541) (3). Prerequisite, LING 101, 400, or permission of the instructor. Introduction to the study of language in relation to society; variation as it correlates with socioeconomic status, region, gender; the social motivation of change; language and equality; language maintenance, planning, shift.

542 [172] Pidgins and Creoles (GERM 542, ANTH 542) (3). See GERM 542 for description.

543 [175] Language in Politics (3). Examines language as a political issue in the 19th and 20th centuries. Emphasis placed on American and British politics but attention to one other national context as well.

545 [145] Language and Mind: Linguistics and the Brain (3). Prerequisite, ENGL 313; LING 101, 400; PHIL 145; or permission of the instructor. The course treats the relationship among linguistics, artificial intelligence, neurobiology, cognitive psychology, and the philosophies of mind, language, and science.

547 [147] Language Deficits and Cognition (3). Prerequisite, LING 101 or permission of the instructor. Survey of the linguistic properties associated with aphasia, autism, Williams syndrome, dyslexia, and schizophrenia. Emphasis on the implications of these conditions for theories of mind.

550 [150] Introduction to Indo-European: Phonology (3). A survey of the phonological systems of the major Indo-European languages and their development from Proto-Indo-European.

551 [151] Introduction to Indo-European: Morphology (3). Prerequisite, LING 550 or permission of the instructor. Introduction to the major morphological categories in the Indo-European languages and their development from the proto-language.

561 [161] Native Languages of the Americas (3). Prerequisite, LING 101, 400, or permission of the instructor. This course explores the phonological and morphological structure of selected Amerindian languages indigenous to the Americas. Emphasis is on the linguistic analysis of original as well as published primary data.

563 Sturcture of Japanese (JAPN 563) (3). Prerequisites, JAPN 102 and LING 101, or permission of the instructor. Introductory linguistic description of modern Japanese. For students of linguistics with no knowledge of Japanese and students of Japanese with no knowledge of linguistics.

564 [164] History of the French Language (FREN 564) (3). See FREN 564 for description.

565 [165] French Phonetics and Phonology (FREN 565) (3). See FREN 565 for description.

566 [166] Structure of Modern French (FREN 566) (3). See FREN 566 for description.

583 [183] History and Philosophy of Linguistics (3). Prerequisite, LING 101 or permission of the instructor. Linguistic theories from classical times to the present with special emphasis on the origins of contemporary theories.

613 [136] Grammar of Current English (ENGL 613) (3). See ENGL 613 for description.

691H [097] Senior Honors Thesis (3). See the program for honors in the College of Arts and Sciences and the department honors advisor.

692H [098] Senior Honors Thesis (3). See the program for honors in the College of Arts and Sciences and the department honors advisor.