Spring 2026 linguistics courses

Undergraduate courses

New! Animal Communication

ENGL/LING1180X MWF11:00-11:50
Study of communication mechanisms of non-human beings – including bees, octopuses, crows, dolphins, dogs, elephants, and more – through a linguistic framework. Introduction to what makes a communication system a “language,” as well as to similarities and differences in sound creation across species. Examination of ethical uses of artificial intelligence to pave the way for decoding animal language.

New! Introduction to Communication Disorders

ENGL/LING 2210 TR 12:40-1:55
Overview of speech and language disorders, from babies to adults. Discuss experiences of individuals who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing. Learn how to be a supportive listener when communicating is difficult. Explore person-centered care, whether in a helping profession or supporting individuals with disabilities.

New! Studies in Language Use: Human Language and Generative AI

ENGL/LING 3190 MWF 8:50-9:40
Methods and concepts for describing and evaluating the human-like qualities of language generated by AI tools and apps used by humans. Historical grounding on the role of linguistics in artificial intelligence research leading to the accomplishment of language generation.

New! Language as Data

ENGL/LING 4100 MW 3:20-4:35
Methods of discovering language patterns in text documents and solving practical text analysis problems in the disciplines. Fundamentals of linguistics and its role in text analysis. Fundamentals of language as data for LLMs, generative AI, and data science applications. Practice writing Python and/or R scripts to perform text analysis and visualize textual data.

Introduction to World Languages

WLC/LING 1190 MWF 9:55-10:45
Study of language diversity and the personal, social and political effects of diversity. Language families, attitudes toward language and language use, language and culture, multilingualism, foreign language learning, written codes, official languages, and language policy.

Introduction to Linguistics

Section for linguistics majors: ENGL/LING 2190-1 MWF 12:05-12:55; section for all other students: ENGL/LING 2190-2 TR 12:40-1:55
Introduction to linguistic concepts and principles of linguistic analysis with English as the primary source of data. Sound and writing systems, sentence structure, vocabulary, and meaning. Issues in the study of usage, regional and social dialects, language acquisition, and language change.

Descriptive English Grammar

ENGL/LING 2200-1 TR 11:00-12:15; 2200-2 TR 12:40-1:55
Overview of grammatical structures and functions. Parts of speech; phrase, clause, and sentence structure; sentence types and sentence analysis; rhetorical grammar and sentence style; terminology. Not a remedial, English composition, or ESL course.

Introduction to Culture and Language

LING/ANTHRO 3090 ONLINE
Introduction to the study of language, culture and society from an anthropological perspective. Focus on language and thought, ethnography of speaking, discourse and narrative, writing and literacy, and media communication. Discussion of theories and methods of linguistic anthropology.

Truth, Meaning, and Necessity

LING/PHIL 3170 MWF 9:55-10:45
Major movements in recent and contemporary philosophy such as realism, logical positivism, ordinary language philosophy, and naturalism. Russell, Wittgenstein, Quine and other leading figures. Topics include knowledge of the material world, mind, language, values, and philosophical method.

Theory of Computing

COMS/LING 3310 MWF 1:10-2:00; W 4:25-5:15
Models of computation: finite state automata, pushdown automata and Turing machines. Study of grammars and their relation to automata. Limits of digital computation, unsolvability and Church-Turing thesis. Relations between classes of languages.

Introduction to Spanish-English Translation

LING/SPAN 3510 ONLINE
Introduction to the theory, methods, techniques, and problems of translation. Consideration of material from business, literature, and the social sciences. Taught in Spanish.

Spanish Pronunciation

LING/SPAN 3520 TR 11:00-12:15
An introductory study of the articulation, classification, distribution, and regional variations of the sounds of the Spanish language. Taught in Spanish.

Phonetics and Phonology

LING 371 TR 2:10-3:25
Terminology, theory, research, and applications of the science of the sounds of spoken language. Emphasis on American English and International Phonetic Alphabet.

Second Language Learning and Teaching

ENGL/LING 4250 TR 5:15-6:30
The process of second language learning and principles and techniques of teaching second languages. Learning and teaching in specific situations and for particular purposes. Current applications of technology in teaching and assessment.

Contemporary Spanish Linguistics

SPAN/LING 4630 TR 12:40-1:55
Study of various topics related to the Spanish language. Topics may include bilingualism, historical linguistics and dialectology, Spanish in the U.S., language assessment, computer-assisted language learning and instruction, and second language acquisition. Taught in Spanish.
Language and Reading Development in Children ENGL/LING 4710 TR 11:00-12:15
Development of spoken language, reading and writing covering semantics, syntax, morphology, phonology, and pragmatics.