Download 109. - Department of English Literature and Linguistics

Bar Ilan University
English Dept.
LINGUISTICS
Course Descriptions for 2012-13
108.
Basic Reading and Academic Writing for Linguists
Students will study a selection of fundmental readings in Linguistics, writing short essays
on their reading.
184.
Introduction to Linguistics
The course begins from a perspective of general intellectual curiosity and
expects to instill an understanding of modern scientific linguistics. Topics
include: brain and language, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics,
phonetics, phonology, language acquisition, bilingualism, language
processing, computational linguistics, reading, sociolinguistics, language
and aging, and translation. The main goal of the course beyond the content
material is to improve skills in written composition.
286.
Phonetics and Phonology
 Introducing the study of systems and patterns of sounds and structures in human
languages
 Acquiring basic tools for phonetic and phonological analysis of linguistic data
287.
Syntax
An introduction to the generative approach to understanding sentence structure. Elements of
syntactic analysis are introduced: constituents and tree diagrams, X-bar theory,
complements and adjuncts, theta roles and the theta criterion, movement and the Dstructure/S-structure distinction. This course provides the tools to understanding the source
of phenomena such as structural ambiguities and the formation of interrogative sentences.
289.
Semantics
This course is an introduction to Semantics, i.e. to a theory of meaning in natural language.
We will develop a theory of Semantics within the Chomskian framework of generative
grammar. The theory we will focus on is formal (or - modeltheoretic) Semantics, which
gives interpretation to natural language expressions by using formal tools of logic and
philosophy of language, and which has proved to be extremely productive in accounting for
a wide variety of semantic phenomena. Among other things, this theory will enable us (a) to
“understand what we understand” in a precise and noncircular way, (b) to systematically
predict the meaning of complex expressions on the basis of the meaning of their parts (c) to
account for semantic productivity (the fact that we can create and understand the meaning
of sentences we never hear before) (d) to account for a variety of other semantic phenomena
such as entailment, synonymy, contradiction, semantic ambiguity, semantic infelicity,
presuppositions, etc.
494.
Topics in Clausal Syntax:
Discussion of selected problems in the analysis of the clause across languages. Among the
topics to be discussed: the syntax of verbless copular clauses; canonical and non-canonical
case marking; subject agreement and the syntax and semantics of non-agreeing subjects;
pro-drop and the licensing of null subjects.
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497.
Issues in Semantics-Pragmatics Interface
This seminar will deal with the semantics and pragmatics of discourse particles in different
languages, i.e. in particles whose lexical semantics lies only in the pragmatic contribution
they make, and in particular, in the information they convey about the epistemic state of the
discourse participants. We will look, for example, at (a) particles which indicate that the
proposition they attach too is part of the common ground (e.g. indeed (English), beemet (Hebrew) and ja (German)), (b) particles which indicate contrast (e.g. davka, aval, ela,
harey (Hebrew), but (English), doch (German)) (c) particles which express low or high
commitment of the speaker, or low / high degree of evidence for the proposition expressed
(e.g. clearly / probably (English), wohl (German)) We will read papers dealing with such
(and similar) specific particles as well as papers which will give us more general tools for
modeling important notions and relations in discourse, and tools for capturing the interface
between the semantic and the pragmaitc levels in natural language.
500.
First Language Acquisition
The course will focus on the process of first language acquisition across languages,
explaining various phenomena (such as the acquisition of word order, inflections and
subordination) from the different theoretical perspectives: developmental psycholinguistics
on the one hand and the generative (nativist) theory on the other hand. The course will also
give some insight to research methodologies used in this field.
517.
Methodology/Research Methods in Linguistics
The course provides backgound in research methodology, literature searches,
statistics, academic publishing.
518.
Language Testing
The course discusses issues in the development and evaluation of language tests, including
reliability, validity, backwash and others.
519.
The Bbiological Roots of Language: Language and Animal Communication
Subjects covered include: an introduction to the study of behaviour and a summary of the
basic biology of animal communication, using a wide variety of examples from bees to
primates; speech by doing, gestural communication in primates and crows, analysis of
which animals develop advanced vocal communication; the Ape Language Project and the
language of bonobos; the language of crows; tool use in animals and how tool-making
drove the development of human language ability and the development of Broca's area; the
interweaving of old systems of gesture and prosody in human communication and the
communicative function of the right hemisphere; an old area put to a new use, reading
recruits the face recognition area.
522.
Psycholinguistics
The course examines two main questions about the mind. The first is how children acquire
language. Two main views about language
acquisition will be discussed: the nativist (generative) and the empiricist approaches (in
which we may include the connectionist approach, and the neural networks approach).
The second question is how language is processed in the mind. Several models will be
discussed that deal with such a question. In an attempt to answer both questions, the course
will provide insight to research methodologies used in the field.
586.
Advanced Phonology
(Prerequisite 286)
Acontinuing course which will deal with more abstract representations
of speech sounds as well as the patterning and grouping of speech
sounds into larger organizational units such as syllables. This course
will present more formal devices such as rules and constraints to
describe linguistic processes and larger sound systems.
587.
Advanced Syntax
Continuation of 287. Introduction to the central components of modern syntactic theory:
functional projections in X-bar theory, Theta theory, Case theory, Binding theory, locality
and movement. Abstract notions such as empty categories (PRO, trace) and levels of
representations are developed, with the goal of arriving at a systematic theory of syntax that
can not only describe the language but also explain why it has the observed properties.
Prerequisite: Grammatical analysis (287
599.
Polarity and Scalarity
In this course we will deal with a long standing puzzle of natural language, which involves
(and thus opens windows to) the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface, namely the
distribution, meaning and use of Polarity Sensitive items. We will mainly examine negative
polarity items (NPIs), e.g. any and lift a finger as in (John didn't see any cat / John didn’t
lift a finger to help, but not in *John saw any cat / ??John lifted a finger to help, and (to a
lesser extent) positive Polarity Items (PPIs), like something or sorta as in (John saw
something / Mary was sorta rude to her secretary but not in #John didn't see something /
??Mary wasn’t sorta rude to her secretary). We will learn about the traditional downward
Entailing analysis of the distribution of NPIs (Ladusaw 1979), and then proceed to more
recent approaches which integrate the lexical meaning, the pragmatics (in particular
informativity and quantity constraints involved in various scales) and the systematic context
dependence of polarity sensitive items
861.
Research Seminar in Linguistics
Advanced Research Method –
This seminar aims to equip students with advanced tools and criteria for analyzing
scientific research, and to provide guidance and peer support for the student through
her work on the PhD proposal and research. The seminar focuses on clarification of
research questions, the match of theory and data, and means for scientific analysis;
these may include additional readings beyond the student's particular research. The
seminar is based on group meetings in which each PhD students gets an opportunity
to present and discuss her research. In each meeting, one student presents her
proposal, and at a later stage, her research, and gets feedback from the other students
and the lecturer. Every student will submit his presentation a week in advance to all
students and the lecturer, so everyone can read it before the meeting and prepare
comments and questions. A discussion will take place after the in class presentation,
where the students can raise further questions.
864.
Morphological Interfaces – Selected Topics
This seminar examines the interface of morphology with other components of the grammar:
phonology, the syntax and the lexicon. Such interfaces will be examined in different
domains such as prosodic constraints, valence changing, the morpho-phonology of loan
words etc. Morpho-phonological approaches proposed for English will be contrasted with
those for Semitic languages. Students will acquire tools to evaluate various models and
theories in morphology such as root-based vs. word-based approaches, lexical phonology
and paradigm based theories.
The seminar will be divided into three parts:
(i) Introducing main concepts in morphology
(ii) Discussion of selected topics and case studies. Some will be presented by the lecturer
and the others by the students.
(iii) Students presentations of seminar papres
875.
Linguistics of Narrative
The study of narrative in linguistics has become a subfield in its own right, nurtured by
research across the humanities (literature, philosophy) and social sciences (psychology,
sociology). This seminar casts a wide net on the study of narrative, looking at structural
approaches such as Story Grammars (Stein & Glenn 1979), work in Systemic Functional
Linguistics (Martin & Rose 2008) as well as more functional/integrated approaches (Labov
1967, 1972, 2001) and Berman ("Ravid & Berman 2009). Narratives allow one to
investigate multiple linguistic levels, particularly: lexis, grammar, discourse. In addition,
they ground language use in the speaker's social world, where the pragmatics is an umbrella
for linguistic features. Participants will analyze narrative data and write research papers
based on: immigrant and minority narratives from English- Hebrew –Yiddish bilingual
aphasics and Russian-Hebrew schizophrenics; retelling of familiar and unfamiliar stores
among English-Hebrew and Russian-Hebrew bilingual preschool children; and children's
Holocaust testimonies.
877.
Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics of Sentence Processing
Humans assign structure and meaning to sentences on the fly, under
conditions of great uncertainty. In this class we will present current models
of human on-line sentence processing, and discuss recent findings that bear
on these models. We will cover two classes of empirical data: (a)
Psycholinguistic experiments, using methods such as self paced reading and
eye tracking; (b) Neurolinguistic experiments, which utilize state-of-the-art
brain imaging methods including ERP,MEG and MRI. We will discuss the
mutual contribution between these two streams of studies and the theoretical
and empirical benefit in combining psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic
perspectives in the study of language processing.
922.
Psycholinguistics and Research Methods for Graduate Students
The course will focus on clinical aspects of psycholinguistics with a strong emphasis
on language acquisition and language impairments (both developmental and acquired). The
course will discuss both theoretical and empirical issues from different theoretical
perspectives: developmental psycholinguistics, the generative (nativist) theory and the
connectionist perspective. The course will explore methodological issues related to
experimental design and statistical analysis of findings.
928.
Reading in a Second Language
The seminar discusses the cognitive-linguistic factors that underline reading in a second
language with special emphasis on cross-linguistic variations in linguistic structures
964.
Topics in Numbers and Counting
This course will discuss expressions of number in language, including counting and
measuring contexts, and will discuss cross linguistic variation in the grammatical
expression of number.
971.
Language Acquisition Under Challenging Circumstances
The course compares the process of normal first language acquisition to the process
observed in natural second language acquisition, as well as to first language
acquisition by population with language impairments. The discussion will be limited
to theoretical issues focusing on the acquisition of syntax by the three groups.
Prerequisites: There are no formal prerequisites, but previous courses in syntax,
psycholinguistics and /or language acquisition are useful.
987.
Introduction to |Syntax and Semantics
This course gives the basics of syntactic and semantic theory within generative
(Chomskian) semantics. In the syntax part we will develop tools to account for a variety of
syntactic phenomena (such as ungrammaticality, ambiguity, infinite structures, etc.). We
will look at the notion of syntactic constituents and use tree diagram representations to
capture syntactic structures. In the semantic part we will learn how to use formal tools
(adopted from logic and philosophy of language) to build compositional interpretations of
complex expressions, and to account for semantic phenomena such as semantic ambiguity,
infelicity, entailment, contradiction, tautology, etc.
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