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Everyday, we face variation in language. As readers, we see words printed in different fonts, sizes, and typefaces, typically static on a page. As listeners, we hear a speech signal riddled with variation. We are exposed to words, but a single word is produced differently each time it is uttered. These words stream by listeners at a rate of about 5 syllables per second, further complicating the listeners' task. How listeners map a speech signal into meaning despite massive variation is an issue central to linguistic theory. The field of experimental phonetics investigates how listeners take words that often vary drastically and understand them as quickly and adeptly as they do. This class introduces students to acoustic and auditory phonetics. As a class, we will carry out a project in experimental phonetics aimed at understanding how different realizations of words are able to be understood by listeners. Throughout the course, students will read background literature, become familiar with the Stanford Linguistics Lab, and learn to use software integral to the design, data collection, and data analysis of experiments. Each week, we will have two meetings¿one in a seminar setting and one in the lab.

Grammatical constructions, primarily English, and their consequences for a general theory of language. Practical experience in forming and testing linguistic hypotheses, reading, and constructing rules.

The diversity of human languages, their sound systems, vocabularies, and grammars. Tracing historical relationships between languages and language families. Parallels with genetic evolutionary theory. Language policy, endangered languages and heritage languages. Classification of sign languages.

Research seminar for undergraduate students interested in Linguistics. Faculty and graduate students from the Linguistics department will rotate discussing their own research projects

Introduction to phonological theory and analysis based on cross-linguistic evidence. Topics: phonological representations including features, syllables, metrical structure; phonological processes including assimilation and dissimilation; and phonological typology and universals; optimality theory.

The roles of the verb and the lexicon in the determination of sentence syntax and their treatment in modern grammatical theories. Empirical underpinnings of core phenomena, including the argument/adjunct distinction, argument structure and argument realization, control and raising, operations on argument structure and grammatical function changing rules. Motivations for a lexicalist approach rooted in principles of lexical expression and subcategorization satisfaction. Prerequisite: 120 or permission of instructor.