Theory of Language: Syntax and Phonology

Within linguistics, phonology is the study of sound patterns inside words, and syntax considers how words can be assembled into sentences. This class will examine phonological and syntactic data from a wide variety of languages in order to investigate what sort of grammatical knowledge people have when they 'know a language'. Students will frequently construct analyses of unfamiliar linguistic data, and we will consider the implications of these analyses for universal grammar and grammatical theory. Students will be introduced to, and will evaluate, theoretical proposals about formal linguistic grammars. This course satisfies Division I distribution requirements. REA, WRI.