/College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Linguistics

Graduate Courses Schedule (Spring 2025)

For Ph.D./M.A. in Linguistics, M.A. in Computational Linguistics

This course is called “Statistics” but it is really “Practical Computational Linguistics 2”, and it follows up on “Practical Computational Linguistics 1”, which is the intro Python graduate course (called “Comp Ling 1”).

The course will be an introduction to dealing with linguistic data in large quantities.  It is focused on acquiring knowledge that is helpful for theoretical linguists and people who are more interested in building language technology systems.  It is not meant as an introduction to contemporary Natural Language Processing (NLP), though it should make it easier to take an NLP class subsequently.

All programming will be done in Python.

The course will cover the following issues:

   • Some basic concepts in scientific methodology, probability, statistics, and information theory  (2.5 weeks)
   • Acquiring data (1 week)
       • The post-twitter world
   • Analyzing data (2 weeks)
       • Correlation, statistical significance
   • Human-annotating data (1.5 weeks)
       • Inter-annotator agreement
   • Using automatic annotation on data (2 weeks)
       • Representing and automatically tagging phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics
   • Finding patterns in data: machine learning 1 (2 weeks)
       • Decision trees
       • Evaluation: metrics, statistical significance
   • Finding patterns in data: machine learning 2 (3 weeks)
       • Neural network basics, deep learning, LLMs, zero-shot, fine-tuning

Students will choose a project at the beginning of the semester.  I will provide projects for those who do not come with a project. Each student will develop their project over the course of the semester, implementing various concepts learned in class.  Each class, one or two students will present their current work.  Experienced PhD students will be asked to supplement the class with in-depth demos of how to use Python for the tasks discussed in class.

A detailed consideration of recent developments in syntactic theory, including treatments of constituency and word order, grammatical relations, typological variation and linguistic universals, and constraints on grammatical rules and representations.

A study of recent developments in phonological theory, with particular attention to nonlinear models of phonological representation and constraint-based models.

A survey of parsing theory for natural language processing and its applications in psycholinguistic modeling. The course covers a wide variety of parsing algorithms for context-free and mildly context-sensitive grammar formalisms. The performance of these algorithms is carefully analyzed and set in relation to empirical phenomena of human sentence processing.

An introduction to the theoretical foundation of computational linguistics. The course emphasizes the importance of algorithms, algebra, logic, and formal language theory in the development of new tools and software applications. Empirical phenomena in phonology and syntax are sampled from a variety of languages to motivate and illustrate the use of concepts such as strictly local string languages, tree transducers, and semirings. Students will develop familiarity with the literature and tools of the field.

Course Description: This course provides an overview of the history and structure of signed languages and gestural systems. It is designed for graduate students in linguistics with no prior sign language knowledge. You may pick up a few American Sign Language (ASL) signs along the way, but this is not an ASL language course. Sample topics include phonology, morphology, sign order & spatial grammar, grammatical use of facial expressions, constructed action, and role of iconicity. We will also discuss gesture, homesign, language emergence, historical change, dialects, acquisition, bilingualism, and sign language disorders. The course format includes Dr. Singleton’s lectures and student-led discussions on the assigned readings. Students will contribute posts to four online discussion prompts during the semester and complete a course paper on a sign language-related topic (to be developed in consultation with Dr. Singleton).

This seminar will examine various issues in the syntax of WH. Both then and now.
The seminar is divided into 4 primary modules:
(i) constraints and conditions (ii) WH in situ (iii) Multiple WH (iv) partial WH and typology
Each for-credit student will develop an original research project related to WH and will present it in blitz form at the WH Festival at the end of the semester, and write a term paper on it.
The most important ongoing requirement of the course is READING! Every week you should read carefully (at least) two things you have not read before (book chapters; articles, etc). Everyone is subject to “the collective arrangement” – the more you read, the less you will have to write !
Additionally, each student will do a language “sketch” of the WH situation in a language you do not know and have not worked on or studied. (There is an extensive “typology” folder with tons of papers on various languages on Brightspace that can serve as a starting point for “the sketch”)

An overview of different perspectives on the nature of markedness and the role of phonetic naturalness in phonological theory. A range of different theories and approaches are examined, including Radical Underspecification, Natural Phonology, Optimality Theory, Phonetically Based Phonology, Substance Free Phonology, and Evolutionary Phonology, among others.

An overview of the acquisition of morphology as a computational problem. Topics covered will include a characterization of the primary linguistic data, stages that child learners go through as they acquire their morphologies, and learning algorithms that have been proposed for various aspects of the acquisition process, including segmentation, inflection, and paradigm discovery.

For M.A. in TESOL

Content-based language and literacy instruction and assessment to children and adolescents for whom English is not their first language, in alignment with current state, national, and professional standards. Teacher candidates design standard-based and data-driven curricular modules for teaching language through mathematics, the sciences and the social studies, engage in reflective and collaborative practices, and evaluate web-based technologies. 3 credits, letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc)

Study of the acquisition of a second language by children and adults. The focus is on data; the systematicity of the learner' errors, the ease of acquisition in childhood, etc., the adequacy of theories (e.g. Interlanguage processes, the monitor model, the critical period) to explain data, and the reliability of methods of obtaining data. Students conduct an empirical study testing a current hypothesis.

In-depth exploration of the theories of literacy and language development of native English speakers and students who are English language learners pre-school through grade 12. The development and assessment of literacy skills among children at various stages of learning development and across disciplines will be examined. Attention will also be given to children with special needs and the integration of technology in the development of literacy skills.

Study of the systematic errors made by foreign language learners and the potential of various linguistic theories to predict and account for these errors.

Investigation and evaluation of instructional planning and assessment aligned with current state, national, and professional standards. Teacher candidates practice content-based curriculum development, and use of technologies for language and literacy development among English language learners and reflect on their teaching in multi-level classrooms. Partnerships with colleagues, parents and the respective communities are explored. 3 credits, letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc)

Exploration, inquiry, and practice of English language instruction strategies and approaches. Prerequisite: Admission to MA TESOL Teacher Education Program.