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University of Calgary Calendar 2023-2024 COURSES OF INSTRUCTION Course Descriptions L Linguistics LING
Linguistics LING

For more information about these courses, see the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures website: arts.ucalgary.ca/languages-linguistics-literatures-cultures.

Junior Courses
Linguistics 201       Introduction to Linguistics I
Introduction to the scientific study of language, including the analysis of word, sentence, and sound structure, and the exploration of language as a human, biological, social, and historical phenomenon.


Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Antirequisite(s):
Credit for Linguistics 201 and either 205 or 207 will not be allowed.
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Linguistics 202       Introduction to Linguistics II
Further introduction to the scientific study of language. Topics include: language change, language acquisition, language families and areas, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and bilingualism, and writing systems.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
Antirequisite(s):
Credit for Linguistics 202 and any of 203, 205 or 207 will not be allowed. Students may not register in or have credit for Linguistics 202 if they have previous credit for, or are currently enrolled in Linguistics 316, 353, 373, 467, or 531.
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Linguistics 221       Modern English Grammar
A comprehensive exploration of contemporary English, based on modern linguistic analysis, but also includes traditional grammatical terminology, as well as language change, attitudes to language varieties and problems in usage.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Antirequisite(s):
Credit for Linguistics 221 and 321 will not be allowed.
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Linguistics 223       Language and Advertising
An investigation of the nature of persuasive messages from the perspective of linguistic theory. Topics may include truth and falsity, implication, ambiguity, and context-dependence.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
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Linguistics 225       Varieties of English
Survey and analysis of the varieties of English currently spoken in the world, including various dialects, especially Canadian and American, and English-based pidgins and creoles.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
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Linguistics 227       Rap Linguistics
The leading music genre known as rap is dominated by language. Explores how this creatively flourishing art-form relates to language science. An examination of the manipulation of sounds, words, grammar, and meaning in rap, and what it reveals about language in the mind and in society.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
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Senior Courses
Linguistics 301       Syntax I
Introduction to syntax. Emphasis on tree-drawing and basic argumentation skills. Topics may include: syntactic categories; grammatical, thematic, and structural relations; syntactic movement.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 303       Phonology I
Theory and practice of phonological analysis: the classical phoneme; distinctive features and their organization; methods of analysis; underlying and surface representations; rules and derivations.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 309       Language and Power
The nature of the linguistic resources used to create, enhance and justify positions of dominance or subordination, or to influence and persuade populations. Examples drawn from the discourse of gender and ethnic relations, government and business.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
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Linguistics 316       Language Acquisition I
Introduction to basic ideas and issues in first- and second-language acquisition. Adopts a linguistic approach, viewing language acquisition as the acquisition of a “mental grammar”, looking at examples from sound, sentence structure, word learning and meaning. Focus on defining the essential properties of an explanatory theory of language acquisition.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 319       Introduction to Semantics
Introduction to the study of conventional meaning. Topics may include: word meaning, propositional and predicate logic, properties of quantifiers, definite and indefinite descriptions, and pragmatics.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 337       Introduction to Speech-Language Pathology
A comprehensive overview of the subject including: basic components of speech and language, normal language development, communication disorders, and current professional issues.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
Antirequisite(s):
Credit for Linguistics 337 and 437 will not be allowed.
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Linguistics 341       Phonetics I
Intensive practice in the perception, production and transcription of speech sounds accompanied by an introduction to the physiology and acoustics of speech.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 349       Language and Mind
An overview of central issues in the study of language and its relationship to the human mind. Topics may include the nature/nurture debate, human specialization for language, and theories of mental representation.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 353       Historical Linguistics I
Central topics in the study of language change including: principles and methods of linguistic reconstruction; universals, typologies, and the explanation of language change; sources of language change with a consideration of acquisitional and sociolinguistic factors.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 373       Introduction to Sociolinguistics
Social differentiation of language in terms of the gender, socio-economic status and geographical distribution of speakers.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 377       Introduction to Pragmatics
An introduction to the study of context-dependent meaning. Topics may include: deixis, reference, implicature, presupposition, speech acts, and information structure.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
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Linguistics 381       The History of English
An introduction to important changes and stages in the history of English including its Indo-European and Germanic origins and a consideration of Modern English grammar and orthography from a historical perspective.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
Also known as:
(English 381)
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Linguistics 401       Syntax II
A theoretically grounded approach to syntax using data from a variety of languages. Constructing and evaluating syntactic hypotheses. May involve collecting data from a native speaker of a foreign language.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 301.
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Linguistics 403       Phonology II
Recent issues in phonological theory.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 303.
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Linguistics 407       Morphology I
An introduction to the study of word-structure, inflectional and word-formation morphology, morphological processes, morphological organization, interfaces with phonology and syntax. Practical problems in word analysis.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Corequisite(s):
Prerequisite or Corequisite: Linguistics 303.
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Linguistics 416       Language Acquisition II
In-depth investigation of issues in language acquisition. Topics include differentiating populations of learners (monolingual, bilingual and delayed first-language learners, child and adult second-language learners, heritage language learners) and the exploration of different kinds of research tasks and methods.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 316.
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Linguistics 419       Advanced Semantics
Continuing study of conventional meaning accompanied by an introduction to some technical tools used in the field of semantics. Topics may include: compositionality, sets and functions, tense, aspect, modality, and event semantics.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 319.
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Linguistics 441       Phonetics II
Continuing study of the anatomy, physiology, and acoustics of speech and related issues in speech research, paralleled by laboratory work in the acoustic and physiological analysis of speech.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 341.
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Linguistics 451       History of Linguistic Thought
A survey of major schools of linguistic thought. Focus on the origin and development of concepts central to contemporary linguistic theory.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 301 or 303.
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Linguistics 453       Historical Linguistics II
Theoretical approaches to current topics in the field of historical linguistics. Research methods and practical skills in data collection and analysis.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 353.
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Linguistics 455       Typology
Study of the unity and diversity of the world's languages. How do the grammars of individual languages differ from each other, and in what ways are they all alike? Which characteristics are common across languages, and which are rare? An overview of the methodology and main results of typological research. Students work with data from unfamiliar languages.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201 and 301.
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Linguistics 467       Psycholinguistics
Exploration of the cognitive, neuropsychological, and social processes that underlie language abilities, with reference to linguistic theory.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 201.
Antirequisite(s):
Credit for Linguistics 467 and either 339 or 439 will not be allowed.
Also known as:
(Psychology 467)
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Linguistics 505       Field Methods for Indigenous Languages
Principles and techniques of collecting, editing and analyzing elicited linguistic data and associated problems. Practical experience with language consultant(s).
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 301 and 303.
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Linguistics 507       Morphology II
A survey of issues in morphological theory.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 401 and 407.
Antirequisite(s):
Credit for Linguistics 507 and either 551.02 or 599.13 will not be allowed.
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Linguistics 511       Advanced Syntactic Analysis
A survey of current work in syntactic theory.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 401.
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Linguistics 512       Advanced Phonological Analysis
An advanced course on current work in phonological theory.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 403.
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Linguistics 516       Topics in Language Acquisition
Exploration of a selected topic related to current research in language acquisition. Topics may include current research on a specific population of learners, a particular research methodology, and the acquisition of a specific learning problem (e.g., phonotactics, intonation, binding, quantification).
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 416.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Linguistics 519       Formal Semantics of Natural Language
Central issues in the logical semantics of natural language, focusing on topics such as quantification, scope, and the interpretation of pronouns.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Philosophy 279 or 377.
Antirequisite(s):
Credit for Linguistics 519 and 509 will not be allowed.
Also known as:
(Philosophy 519)
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Linguistics 531       Survey of Indigenous Languages of the Americas
A survey of the Indigenous languages of the Americas, including classifications of language families and structural analysis of selected languages.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 301 or 303.
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Linguistics 542       Topics in Phonetics
Exploration of a selected topic related to current research in phonetics. Topics may include theories of speech perception, speech production, the relationship between phonetics and phonology, sources of phonetic variation, or experimental methodologies used in phonetics research.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 441.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Linguistics 551       Topics in Linguistic Analysis
Linguistic analysis of a language or language family.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 301 or 303.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Linguistics 553       Topics in Historical Linguistics
An advanced course in the theory of historical linguistics.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 453.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Linguistics 560       Statistics for Linguistic Research
Introduction to basic statistical concepts, methods of analysis, and quantitative modelling techniques, with a focus on their application to the unique properties of language research and linguistic data.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 341.
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Linguistics 571       Corpus and Experimental Methods for Syntax and Semantics
Introduction to programming methods for the development and searching of text corpora, as well as the design and implementation of studies using open source software. Study design will be introduced through critical reading of studies covering a range of syntactic and semantic phenomena.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Linguistics 319 and 401.
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Linguistics 598       Honours Seminar
Students carry out a specific research project under the supervision of a staff member and submit a thesis acceptable to the Linguistics Division of the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures.
Course Hours:
6 units; (2S-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Admission to the Linguistics Honours degree program.
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Linguistics 599       Advanced Topics in Linguistics
Seminar in linguistics for advanced students.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3S-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the Linguistics Division of the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Graduate Courses

Only where appropriate to a student's program may graduate credit be received for courses numbered 500-599. Admission to all 600-level courses is with consent of the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures in addition to any other prerequisites which may be stated.

Linguistics 600       Introduction to Graduate Studies in Linguistics
This course provides an introduction to areas of research and theoretical orientations in which faculty in this department specialize, as well as to research and professional skills.
Course Hours:
1.5 units; (2-0)
NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
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Linguistics 605       Field Methods

Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Linguistics 611       Advanced Syntactic Analysis
An advanced course in syntactic theory with focus on analytical and critical skills required for conducting syntactic research.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
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Linguistics 613       Advanced Phonological Analysis
An advanced course in phonological theory with focus on analytical and critical skills required for conducting phonological research.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
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Linguistics 631       Topics in Linguistic Theory

Seminar in core areas of theoretical linguistics.

631.01. Phonetics

631.02. Phonology

631.03. Morphology

631.04. Syntax

631.05. Semantics


Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
Notes:
Consult the program regarding topics offered in any given year as topics vary. Not offered every year.
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Linguistics 633       Topics in Language Acquisition

Seminar in language acquisition.

633.01. First Language Acquisition

633.02. Second Language Acquisition


Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
Notes:
Consult the program regarding topics offered in any given year as topics vary. Not offered every year.
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Linguistics 635       Analysis of a Language or Language Family
Seminar in the analysis of a selected language or language family
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
Notes:
Consult the program regarding topics offered in any given year as topics vary. Not offered every year.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Linguistics 651       Topics in Historical Linguistics
Seminar in historical linguistics.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
Notes:
Consult the program regarding topics offered in any given year as topics vary. Not offered every year.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Linguistics 660       Quantitative Modelling of Linguistic Data
Introduction to basic statistical concepts, methods of analysis, and quantitative modelling techniques, with a focus on their application to the unique properties of language research and linguistics data.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
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Linguistics 671       Methods for Corpus and Experimental Studies in Syntax and Semantics
Introduction to programming methods for the development and searching of text corpora, as well as the design and implementation of studies using open source software. Study design will be introduced through critical reading of studies covering a range of syntactic and semantic phenomena. Programming skills to convert experiment software output into a format suitable for statistical analysis will also be covered.
Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
Antirequisite(s):
Credit for Linguistics 671 and 699.07 (Python for Linguistics) will not be allowed.    
Notes:
Registration priority will be given to students in the Linguistics graduate program.
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Linguistics 697       Thesis Research Development

Course Hours:
3 units; (3-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
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Linguistics 699       Conference and Reading Course

Course Hours:
3 units; (3S-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
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Linguistics 797       Senior Doctoral Seminar
A forum for discussing and presenting candidacy paper research, thesis research, and conference presentations/publications in preparation.
Course Hours:
1.5 units; (2-0)
Prerequisite(s):
Consent of the program.
NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
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