Recent Graduate Courses
ENGL/LING 517X | Corpus Linguistics
Corpus linguistics methods of language analysis, including corpus design, construction and annotation; data in corpus studies; tools and methods of analysis. Corpus methods applied in vocabulary, grammar, register and dialect variation, language change, pragmatics, semantics, stylistics, language learning and teaching, and language testing.
ENGL/LING 527 | Discourse Analysis
Discourse analysis is concerned with making sense of how language is used in the wider communicative context, and focuses on the way that texts are organized and constructed to create meaning. This course explores linguistic approaches to discourse analysis and considers a range of theories and methods, such as genre or move analysis, register analysis, Systemic Functional Linguistics, and corpus-based discourse analysis. Theories and methods of discourse analysis are discussed and practiced while exploring topics such as language use, language variation, information structure, coherence and cohesion, text structure, pragmatics, register/genre variation, and classroom discourse, in both spoken and written language.
ENGL/LING 537 | Corpus-Based Approaches to Grammatical Analysis
This course focuses on the structural and functional analysis of grammar using authentic, representative language data, along with methodologies from corpus linguistics. Using a major corpus-based reference grammar paired with hands-on analyses, we explore language in terms of its form, grammatical function and discourse function, in conjunction with how grammar varies across register, how lexis interfaces with grammar (i.e., lexico-grammar), and how linguistic and non-linguistic factors are associated with the choice between grammatical variants.
ENGL/LING 630 | PhD Seminar in Corpus Linguistics
This seminar focuses on corpus linguistics methodologies for analyzing large samples of authentic language. The first part of the course focuses on foundational concepts in corpus linguistics methodologies, from corpus design and representativeness, quantitative research designs for corpus data, corpus analysis tools (from concordancers to specialized computer programs), the definition of language varieties (registers, genres, text types), and the major types of corpus analyses. The second part of the course surveys and critiques corpus research on a range of topics, such as vocabulary and lexis, grammar, lexico-grammar, learner language, and register variation, along with others selected by students in the class. The final part of the course focuses on multi-dimensional analysis, including the theory and assumptions underlying this analytical approach and the steps required to carry out and interpret multi-dimensional analyses.
ENGL/LING 630 | PhD Seminar in Corpus Linguistics and Language Teaching
This seminar focuses on corpus linguistics and its applications to language teaching, considering theories regarding how corpora can inform language pedagogy along with practical applications to the development of language learning materials and the use of corpora by learners in the language classroom. The course centers on the following main topics:
- applying corpus-based research to classroom materials development;
- considering the role of learner corpora (or novice writer corpora) in informing language pedagogy
- designing and critiquing corpus-based classroom instruction in which language learners use corpora in the classroom (e.g., data-driven learning)
Recent Undergraduate Courses
ENGL/LING 437 | Grammatical Analysis
This course focuses on the analysis and explanation of the structure of the English language, using authentic language data that represents the complexities of language as it is actually used by speakers and writers. This analysis includes both structure (how words and phrases combine into larger units) and syntactic roles (the relationships between words, phrases, and clauses). However, we will not solely examine structure and grammatical role. Just as important are the discourse functions of particular linguistic features—that is, what we achieve with language, and why we use particular features to achieve those goals. The course will begin with a corpus-based perspective that analyzes common language patterns in different situations of language use (such as conversation versus writing). We’ll look not only at what is possible, but also what is common. We will focus not only on analyzing specific linguistic structures, but also on aspects of the surrounding linguistic environment that help to explain variations in the use of those structures. Importantly, we consider grammar in context, analyzing not only isolated examples, but how grammar is realized in discourse contexts – i.e., in texts.
ENGL/LING 320 | Special Topics: Constructed Languages
From Esperanto to Elvish to Klingon to Na’vi to Dothraki, humans have invented a vast array of languages for a variety of reasons: to promote world peace, to prohibit change and reduce exceptions, to promote language acquisition, or to create the ambience and culture for a new world. Creating a language is a tricky task, because it involves making decisions about writing systems, what the language will sound like, what its vocabulary will be like and how new words will be formed, whether the grammatical system is completely without exception or involves exceptions, and how semantic and pragmatic usages will communicate linguistic and cultural meanings. In this course, students will explore how and why some of the most well-known invented languages came into being and will discuss the principles on which they were built. Students will use what they have learned about how human languages are structured to create their own invented language, developing the beginnings of systems for writing, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics.