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This is a one-time reading course, intended to explore the range of neurolinguistic methods (ERP, MEG, fMRI, etc.) now available for the study of sentence processing. Together we will search the web and other sources for reports of relevant experiments, which we will discuss and evaluate in class. We will consider what sorts of psycholinguistic issues can be answered by these methods, what constraints they impose on experimental sentences and design, and how productive they are in relation to their cost in money and effort. Researchers at CUNY and neighboring institutions with expertise in these methods will be invited to come and inform us about their work and their expectations for future research directions.  

Registered students will write a term paper outlining the design of an experiment for which this technology would be particularly suitable. Students are not required to conduct this experiment in order to get credit for the course. However, for any student who wishes to gain some hands-on experience in a neurolinguistics laboratory, we will do our best to arrange for an internship (no stipend but receive training in return for assisting in the lab’s research) in a subsequent semester, under the guidance of a faculty member at CUNY or nearby university.

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This course, styled as a workshop, represents an attempt to pull together emerging research on a variety of prosodic phenomena. We are first and foremost concerned with the phonology of prosody, considering an autosegmental-metrical framework which promises a formal account of phenomena from the word-level to the utterance level, across a variety of languages. We also consider issues around the phonetic realization of such a “mentalist” prosody, since this represents an illuminating instance of the phonology-phonetics interface — and one which bears crucially on how instrumental evaluations of prosodic phenomena are to be conducted, and how they are to be taken to bear on theory. We go on to consider the relation between prosodic and other grammatical systems, whether these are concerned with structure or with discourse-related notions like focus. And throughout all these explorations, we will constantly be keeping on eye on the consequences of prosodic variation on language behaviors (perception, production), being mindful of the prosodic differences found to exist across languages, and the grammatical, processing or resource differences that may distinguish native and non-native speaker-hearers.

Textbooks
Gussenhoven, C. (2004). The Phonology of Tone and Intonation. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. [Students should possess this text.]
Ladd, D. R. (1996). Intonational Phonology. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. [Students might purchase this text also, if funds permit.]

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Philosophical Logic intersects with and touches on issues central to Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language/Linguistics and Epistemology. This class is not one in formal logic. The material will be covered at a level so as to assess its philosophical and linguistic significance. The course will be organized for covering the central issues in two ways.

1. A practical consideration. We will cover classic material by Frege, Russell, Carnap, Quine, Davidson, Kripke, etc. which appears on our reading lists. In this sense the class will serve as a preparation for comprehensives. But there is a difference. We will also cover additional recent developments.
2. The jumping off point for discussing ideas will be Russell's theory of descriptions. It has been called a "paradigm of analytic philosophy" and this is the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of "On Denoting." I will make available papers scheduled to appear in the special anniversary issue of Mind (Neale, Schiffer etc.) and elsewhere.

The theory is connected with views concerning
a. Existence, empty names (free logic), ontological arguments
b. Ontological commitment, Substitutional quantification
c. Belief ascriptions and modal contexts.
Related topics to be dealt with concern the nature of logic, its scope, the apriori and analyticity.

Some readings (italicized for those on the reading list:
Russell, "On Denoting", Material from Principia Mathematica, parts of the Logical Atomism lectures, Description chapter in Introd. to Math. Philos. Material from Neale Descriptions, and Ostertag Descriptions
Frege "Sense and Reference"
Carnap, sections from Meaning and Necessity
Quine, "On What There Is" sections from Word and Object, sections from Orenstein Wlllard Van Orman Quine, "Two Dogmas", "Carnap on Logical Truth", Selections from recent Gibson Companion to Quine
Strawson, "On Referring" and Oxford object dependent views.
Davidson, "Logical Form", "The Logical Form of Action Sequences", "On Saying That", Schiffer belief attribution and material from his recent The Things We Mean
Kripke, from Naming and Necessity, "Speaker's Reference and Semantic Reference", "Belief Sentences" Hawthorne ed. Conceivability and Possibility

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The course offers in-depth study of the phonological system of Spanish, seen in the context of the major functional approaches to the study of sound systems.  Students will learn about the organizational structure of sound in several varieties of Spanish, and will place Spanish phonological patterns in the context of generalizations and constraints on the likely, possible and impossible types of organizations of sound in languages of the world.  Phonemic inventories, permissible syllable structures, markedness, and variable processes of assimilation and deletion will receive special attention.  Usage-based phonology and its application to Spanish will be one of the main theoretical paradigms that will serve to organize the presentations.

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This course traces the external and internal history of Spanish (standard and non-standard dialects as well as contact varieties). The historical frame is wide, spanning from the spread of Latin in the Iberian Peninsula to present-day issues associated with the unity and prestige of Spanish throughout the world. One component of the course will outline the traditional description of the language's history as a linear evolution of forms (phonetic, morphological, syntactic) from Latin to Spanish. A second component will present sociolinguistic and cultural phenomena (bilingualism, diglossia, standardization, language death) relevant to the understanding of the emergence of Spanish as a "language" and of its spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula and the Americas (lectures in Spanish, readings in Spanish and English, students allowed to use Spanish or English in class and assignments)

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This course is a general introduction to the issues involved in the use of language, as this interacts with syntax and semantics. Prominent in discussion will be speech act theory, as developed by Austin, Searle, and others; more specific areas of interest will include presupposition, the deictic use of linguistic expressions, and issues surrounding anaphora. It is assumed that the student will have some syntax and/or semantics background.

Textbook
Davis, Steven,  "Pragmatics,' Oxford University Press.
Levinson, Stephen,  "Pragmatics," Cambridge University Press

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In this course we will examine the role of language in the definition and construction of individual and group identity. Our study will be informed by theoretical perspectives including intergroup theory (Giles and Johnson), acts of identity (Le Page and Tabouret-Keller), negotiation and performance of identity (Blackledge and Pavlenko; Doran), and subject positioning (Davies and Harré). Readings and discussions will revolve around three main areas: language, race, and ethnicity; native vs. non-native speakerhood; and language education. Some of the questions we will consider are: Can one be a member of a certain ethnic group without speaking the language associated with that group? Can linguistic competence override racial or ethnic labels and vice versa? What criteria define native speakerhood? How does learning another language affect an individual’s sense of identity? How does an individual’s identity construction affect second language acquisition? In which language should students be taught? Which variety of a language should students learn? What is a heritage language speaker? What role does the heritage language play in a speaker’s identity? Does language loss cause a loss of identity? Class will be conducted in English. Written work will be accepted in English and Spanish.

Here is the required reading list for LING 821 (2 books plus readings that will be on E-reserve in Mina Rees library):
(1) Harris, Roxy and Rampton, Ben, eds. 2003. The Language, Ethnicity and Race Reader. London: Routledge.
(2) Joseph, John E. 2004. Language and Identity: National, Ethnic, Religious. New York: Palgrave.
(3) Readings on E-Reserve.

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This course provides an introduction to Principles and Parameters Theory (P&P). A relatively recent development within the framework of Chomsky’s Generative Grammar, P&P intends to account for cross-linguistic syntactic variation by pursuing the idea that a pre-determined set of principles underlies the grammars of all languages; the apparent differences we see among languages are the result of parameter settings. Although we will examine similarities and differences between languages, English (and other European languages) will be a main point of reference in our understanding of the theory. This course will also train the student to "do" syntax and to become proficient at engaging in syntactic argumentation.

Text:
Liliane Haegeman (1994), Introduction to Government and Binding Theory; Oxford: Blackwelll

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This seminar will take a close look at the locality of syntactic movement, from the perspective of current generative theory (the minimalist program). Starting out from the hypothesis that Agree is a prerequisite for Move/Attract, we discuss the structural conditions on the establishment of Agree relationships. Central to current thinking about syntactic locality is the notion of a phase (similar to the barrier of Chomsky 1986) as the opacity factor reining in the distance over which Agree relationships can be established. We will look carefully at the way in which the phase is to be defined, and will try to arrive at a comprehensive inventory of phases. The seminar will also address the conditions on the establishment of Agree relationships across phase boundaries: the Phase Impenetrability Condition prevents a probe from Agreeing with a goal that is wholly contained in a phase that the probe is excluded by, but allows Agree between an outside probe and the head and the ‘edge’ of a phase. The role of equidistance and domain extension in the theory of locality will also be featured prominently in the course; the idea that phases can be extended upwards as a result of movement of the head of the phase (‘phase extension’) will be discussed with reference to the locality restrictions on Predicate Inversion. If, as the Phase Impenetrability Condition has it, Agree cannot reach into the domain of a phase, any legitimate instance of Move/Attract across a phase boundary must be broken down into a first step that manoeuvres the goal into a position on the edge of the phase, after which Agree can proceed, and subsequent movement further up towards the probe -- this is successive cyclicity. What triggers successive-cyclic movement (in particular, what triggers the first of the two movement steps alluded to in the previous sentence) is a matter of substantial debate in the literature. The seminar will survey the various possibilities, and will also evaluate the empirical support for successive cyclicity. Of particular interest in this connection are cross-clausal agreement relationships of the type found in languages as diverse as Hungarian, Tsez, Itelmen and the Algonquian languages. A separate portion of the course will be devoted to the analysis of island effects, and the difference between so-called ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ islands. Finally, we will look at anti-locality: not only can movement not cover too great a distance, it appears that it is also impossible for movement to be ‘too local’ (vacuous movement and movement wholly within a given domain are illegitimate).

Prerequisites: The prerequisite for enrollment in this course will be successful completion of Syntax I (LING 72100); familiarity with the material covered in Syntax II (LING 72200) will also be highly beneficial, though it is not a requirement: knowledge of Syntax II material will not be presupposed but will be filled in as we go along.

Literature: A reading list will be made available at the beginning of the course; no textbooks will be used, and no book purchases will be necessary: the reading materials will largely consist of journal articles and manuscripts that will be distributed electronically.

Credit: Students enrolled for credit will be expected to actively participate in the discussions in class, and to produce a term paper at the end of the semester on any topic that comes under the rubric of the topic of the seminar.

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This introductory course is designed for students in linguistics with no necessary background in cognitive or experimental psychology. It is intended to acquaint them with the questions that psycholinguists ask about language phenomena, and the research techniques through which answers to those questions are pursued. It surveys current research and theory in human language processing, construed broadly. The core concerns of psycholinguistics lie in the mechanisms by which speaker-hearers deploy their abstract knowledge of a language’s grammar to produce the remarkably fluent performance that characterizes everyday language use. And, since our uses of language routinely invoke our construal of an external world, we are also concerned with how the language faculty interfaces with other cognitive domains. We focus on the variety of mental structures and processes supporting the adult native speaker’s primary language behaviors — comprehension and production — and on the coordination of these processes in real time. Selected topics in acquisition (including acquisition of literacy) are also included, but receive briefer coverage. In every class, we emphasize the issues of experimental method and design that are standard in research gathering evidence about language behavior. The aim is to build towards the intricate skills set necessary for the conduct of a research project of one’s own. At the very least, the course equips students to appreciate fine detail in reports of current research in the field, at a level sufficient for considered judgments about scientific merit.

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This course traces the main concepts and problems of modern theoretical linguistics to its historical ancestors, sketching the development of linguistics through the centuries. It pauses at episodes which have proved particularly significant, looking at case studies that characterise these developmental stages (in the domains of phonology, morphology and syntax), presented in the class in the form of problem sets. Attention will be paid to the development of the generative approach to linguistic theory, as well as to functionalist approaches and sociolinguistics.  In a series of guest lectures by CUNY faculty at the end of the semester, the course will also address four applied fields of linguistic research prominently featured in the Program: first language acquisition, second language acquisition, computational linguistics, and sentence processing.

Text:
(*) Anderson, S. (1985). Phonology in the Twentieth Century. University of Chicago Press.
* Bloomfield, L. (1933). Language. Holt, Rinehart & Winston/University of Chicago Press.
Carnie, A. (2002). Syntax: A Generative Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.
Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic Structures. Mouton.
Chomsky, N. (1964). Current Issues in Linguistic Theory. Mouton.
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. (1966). Cartesian Linguistics. Harper & Row.
Chomsky, N. (2000). New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind. Cambridge: CUP.
* Harris, R. & T. Taylor (1997). Landmarks in Linguistic Thought I (2nd edn). Routledge.
Hockett, C. (1987). Refurbishing Our Foundations: Elementary Linguistics from an Advanced point of View. Benjamins.
(*) Lasnik, H. (2000). Syntactic Structures Revisited: Contemporary Lectures on Classic Transformational Theory. MIT Press.
* Newmeyer, F. (1996). Generative Linguistics: A Historical Perspective. Routledge.
Saussure, F. de (1916). Cours de linguistique générale. Ed. by C. Bally & A. Sechehaye. Payot; translated, with an introduction and notes, by Roy Harris (1986). Open Court.
* Seuren, P. (1998). Western Linguistics: An Historical Introduction. Blackwell.
(the ones marked with a * are worth purchasing).

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This course is an introduction to linguistic phonetics and phonological analysis: the fundamental articulatory and acoustic characteristics and the basic patterns of the sounds of languages.

The required texts for the Phonetics course are:
1.  Peter Ladefoged, A Course In Phonetics (with CD-ROM), 5th ed., 2006 (available now), Thomson (ISBN 1413006884)
2.  David Odden, Introducing Phonology, Camridge Univesity Press, 200 5
* the required textbook info was updated on August 3rd.

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This course will cover educational and urban linguistics by analyzing both early work and more recent research. Needed future research will be proposed. The required reading will provide students with a substantive overview of the field. Issues in bilingualism and bidialiectalism, particularly in the urban classroom, will be a central focus of the course. A major goal will be to link research findings to practice in the classroom.

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A continuation of semantics I. Topics to be covered include generalized quantifiers, type theory, type-shifting, lambda abstraction, events. Students finishing Semantics II will be fully prepared to take the First Exam in Semantics.

The Graduate Center City University of New York 365 Fifth Avenue, Room 7407 New York, NY 10016-4309 telephone: 212-817-8500 fax: 212-817-1526 email: linguistics@gc.cuny.edu

Last Update: September 28, 2005