Minor in Linguistics

An introduction to the major features of languages and to the structure, use, and variation in the sign languages and sign systems commonly used in the United States. The course will cover four major topics: (1) Language: The nature and definition of languages, the uniqueness of language, and contrasts between language and other forms of communication; (2) Language and Culture: The role of language in human society, with special focus on language acquisition, language identity, and bilingualism; (3) American Sign Language Structure: A survey of the major features of the linguistic structure of ASL. Topics are: Phonology: the structure of the physical signals; Morphology: the basic structure and composition of meaningful units of ASL; Syntax: word order and nonmanual syntactic signals in ASL sentences; (4) Language Variation: Language variation and language contact in the deaf community, including discussions of contact varieties of signing and systems for representing English.

This course provides an introductory overview of the major linguistic structures of American Sign Language. Major topics are: phonology, morphology, syntax, language use, and linguistic applications. Some comparisons with English and other spoken and signed languages will be examined.

This course provides a broad introduction to the principles of the linguistic structure and analysis of the phonetics, phonology, and morphology of ASL, English and other languages, with a focus on the analysis and solution of linguistic problems. The course will cover a number of topics in phonology, such as phonological contrast, phonotactics, phonological processes, and several topics in morphology, such as inflection, derivation and lexicalization.

This course introduces students to theories and methods of two areas of study in linguistics: Syntax and Discourse. Syntax is concerned with the sentence as the unit of language, combining descriptions of events with communicative intentions, and grounding this into the reality of the here and now. The study of language in text and context is known in Linguistics as ''discourse analysis.'' This course provides an introduction to approaches to discourse analysis as well as tools used in the analysis of discourse.

This course will cover the different research traditions in linguistics, as well as the methodological issues involved in doing linguistic research. Students will learn how to access and summarize scholarly publications and how research findings are disseminated. Students will also learn about the ethical conduct of research. Students will work as a research assistant with a faculty member, applying what they learn throughout the semester. Students will periodically report on what they learn about research and about their work on the specific project.

Students are introduced to a descriptive framework with which to identify and analyze iconicity and depiction in ASL and other signed languages and spoken languages as well. The course focuses on depiction typology, examining the structure of role-shifting, constructed action and dialogue, classifier constructions/depicting verbs, aspectual constructions, abstract/metaphorical depictions, and other imagistic uses of space, including different types of gesture.