Linguistics Concentration

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language; it is concerned with how languages are structured, how they change, and how language is represented in the mind/brain. Linguists therefore study grammar, the social and psychological aspects of how people use language, relationships among different languages and dialects, and how languages change over time. Linguists use various methods to study these topics —including formal analysis, experimental methods, and the investigation of “corpora” (large collections of written or recorded language).

While linguists study language from these different angles, language itself is usually divided into four basic components, each of which is addressed in LING courses in the CSI English Dept. These are:

Phonetics: The study of how speech sounds are articulated and perceived in human languages, their acoustic properties, and their measurement. Relevant Courses: LING 302 (Phonetics) and LING 402 (Speech Science)

Phonology: The study of how speech sounds form a system in languages, how they pattern, and the rules that can be used to describe the patterning. Relevant Courses: LING 303 (English Phonology)

Morphology: The study of how words are structured in languages, including how they are built from smaller units, like roots, suffixes, prefixes, and other processes, and also how words have meaning. Relevant Courses: LING 350 (Structure of Words)

Syntax and Semantics: These areas study sentence grammar: how sentences are structured, and the meanings that result from these structures. Relevant courses: LING 304 (Syntax I), LING 404 (Syntax II), LING 405 (Semantics & Pragmatics)

Additionally, the following areas address the different perspectives on language described above:

Sociolinguistics: Studies the impact of social factors, such as class, race, region, gender, and ethnicity on how people use and react to language. Relevant Courses: LING 380 (Sociology of Language)

Psycholinguistics: Studies the cognitive/psychological processes used by humans to store linguistic information in, and retrieve it from, the mind/brain. Relevant Courses: LING 305 (Language Acquisition & Psycholinguistics)

Historical linguistics: The study of how a language’s grammar (phonology, syntax, and semantics) changes over time. Relevant Courses: LING 370 (Language Change) and LING 390 (History of English)

Linguistics is highly relevant to students interested in Education, ESL/Foreign Language Teaching, Law, Publishing, Computer Technology, and careers related to Communication Disorders / Speech-Language Pathology. For more information about the Linguistics Program (including majoring in English with a concentration in Linguistics),

Please contact:

Professor Jason Bishop at jason.bishop@csi.cuny.edu (office 2S-207),

Professor Christina Hagedorn at christina.hagedorn@csi.cuny.edu (office 2S-228)

Professor Christina Tortora at christina.tortora@csi.cuny.edu (office 2S-201)

THREE REQUIRED LINGUISTICS COURSES (12 credits):

• LING 301         Introduction to Linguistics        4 credits          (formerly ENL 422)
• LING 302         Phonetics                                 4 credits          (formerly ENL 428)
• LING 304         Syntax I                                    4 credits          (formerly ENL 423)

ADDITIONAL LINGUISTICS COURSES (20 credits):

Choose FIVE additional Linguistics courses from the following:

• LING 201         Introduction to Language                               (formerly ENH 230)
• LING 303         Phonology I                                                    (formerly ENL 449)
• LING 305         Second Language Learning                           (formerly ENL 426)
• LING 350         The Structure of Words                                  (formerly ENL 447)
• LING 360         Word & Sentence Prosody
• LING 370         Language Change                                          (formerly ENL 424)
• LING 380         Sociology of Language                                   (formerly ENL 427)
• LING 390         History of English                                           (formerly ENL 425)
• LING 402         Speech Science                                             (formerly ENL 448)
• LING 403         Phonology II
• LING 404         Syntax II
• LING 405         Semantics & Pragmatics
• LING 410         First Language Acquisition
• LING 411         Psycholinguistics
• LING 412         Sign Language Linguistics
• LING 420         Anatomy & Physiology for Speech Science
• LING 430         Phonetic & Phonological Disorders
• LING 450         Audiology

REMAINING COURSES (8 or 12 credits-depending upon date of declaration)*:

These eight or twelve credits may be Linguistics (LING 201 / LING 300-level or higher), Literature (ENL), Writing (ENL), or ENL 302 (Oral Interpretation of Literature).

For English majors in the adolescence education sequence, ENL 323 (Coming of Age Narratives) or ENL 305 (Critical Approaches to Children's and Young Adult Literature) is required.

Fall 2023

LING 101         Linguistic Diversity                                                      Prof. Selin Alkan

Online Asynchronous

LING 201         Introduction to Language                                           Prof. Chen Zhou

Hybrid asynch. (in-person & online async.)

(Synch-Monday 10:10am-11:10am; Async-Wed.)

LING 201         Introduction to Language                                           Prof. Chen Zhou

Hybrid asynch. (in-person & online async.)

(Synch-Monday 4:40pm-5:40pm; Async-Wed.)

LING 301         Introduction to Linguistics                                          Prof. Oana Popescu

LING 301         Introduction to Linguistics                                          Prof. Oana Popescu

                        Online Asynchronous

LING 302         Phonetics                                                                     Prof. Lorenza Colonna

Hybrid asynch. (in-person & online async.)

(Sync-Monday 12:20-2:15; Async-Wednesday)

LING 304         Syntax I                                                                        Prof. Christina Tortora

Online Mix (online async. & online sync.)

Async-Monday; Sync-Wednesday 2:30-4:25)

LING 303         Phonology I                                                                 Prof. Kevin Hughes

Online Mix (online sync. & online async.)

(Sync-Tuesday 10:10am-12:05pm; Async-Thursday)

LING 390         History of English                                                        Prof. Joe Pentangelo

                        In person, W 6:30-9:50pm

LING 405         Semantics and Pragmatics                                         Prof. Joe Pentangelo

Online Synchronous F 2:30-6:20pm

LING 410         First Language Acquisition                                          Prof. Lorenza Colonna

Online Asynchronous

LING 420         Anatomy & Physiology for Speech Science                Prof. Lorenza Colonna

Online Asynchronous

• LING 101 Linguistic Diversity
• LING 201 Introduction to Language
• LING 201 Introduction to Language
• LING 301 Introduction to Linguistics
• LING 301 Introduction to Linguistics
• LING 302 Phonetics
• LING 304 Syntax I
• LING 370 Language Change
• LING 350 Structure of Words
• LING 405 Semantics and Pragmatics
• LING 410 First Language Acquisition
• LING 420 Anatomy & Physiology for Speech Science

LINGUISTICS COURSES

LING 201                               INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE                     COLONNA

This course, intended for a general undergraduate audience, will provide an overview of various aspects of human language. We will consider the many ways in which human language is unique, and what makes languages of the world similar in many respects, though diverse in others. Additionally, we will discuss common misconceptions about human language, issues in language acquisition, and groundbreaking scientific developments related to language and the brain. Though this course does not provide in-depth training in formal linguistic analysis, it will provide a basic understanding of how language is systematically studied by linguists.

*This is a Linguistics course.

LING 201                               INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE                     HUGHES

This course, intended for a general undergraduate audience, will provide an overview of various aspects of human language. We will consider the many ways in which human language is unique, and what makes languages of the world similar in many respects, though diverse in others. Additionally, we will discuss common misconceptions about human language, issues in language acquisition, and groundbreaking scientific developments related to language and the brain. Though this course does not provide in-depth training in formal linguistic analysis, it will provide a basic understanding of how language is systematically studied by linguists.

*This is a Linguistics course.

LING 301                               INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS                  POPESCU

This course is an introduction to the scientific study of human language, a prerequisite for further study in linguistics/speech-language pathology. We will cover the basic areas of linguistic grammar: phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax. Students may also have the opportunity to explore applications of linguistic theory to questions about language change (historical linguistics), first language acquisition (how children learn language), second language learning (how adults learn a second language), sign languages, language and the brain (psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics), and computational linguistics.  *This is a Linguistics course.

LING 302                                           PHONETICS                                                   COLONNA

This course is an introduction to the linguistic subfield of phonetics—the study of how speech sounds are articulated, transcribed, and represented in the mind/brain. Students will learn how to use the International Phonetic Alphabet and how to produce nearly all of the basic sounds used in all of the world's languages. This course is a prerequisite for all upper-level courses related to speech sounds, including courses related to speech-language pathology.

*This is a Linguistics course and an SLP course.

LING 304                                           SYNTAX I                                                        TORTORA

This course is an introduction to syntax, the study of phrase structure in human language. Through examination primarily of English varieties, students will develop various skills in scientific analysis, such as: the identification of evidence to support hypotheses; the ability to deduce the nature of lexical and syntactic categories (such as noun, verb, noun phrase, subject, object); and the ability to recognize the abstract properties, elements, and operations which give rise to e.g. syntactic ambiguity, recursion, and the variety of surface forms we recognize as distinct “constructions,” such as active vs. passive, interrogatives, and relative clauses.

*This is a Linguistics course.

LING 350                               STRUCTURE OF WORDS                               STAFF

An introduction to linguistic morphology, the study of word structure and word formation in languages of the world. This course will explore how words can be analyzed into smaller units of meaning and sound, the semantic properties of words, the origin of English words, and how word structure interacts with sound and sentence structure.

*This is a Linguistics course.

LING 405                               SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS          PENTANGELO

An introduction to linguistic meaning, exploring how sentences obtain their meanings from both structure and from context. Other topics addressed include lexical (word) meaning, discourse meaning, and intonational meaning. Prerequisite: LING 304.

ENL 410                                 FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION                   COLON

An examination of how typically-developing children naturally acquire their first language, surveying what is known about grammatical development at the levels of phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. Both theory and data on child language acquisition are discussed, with special emphasis on developmental universals

*This is a Linguistics course.

LING 412                   SIGN LANGUAGE LINGUISTICS                       PENTANGELO

 A cross-linguistic survey of the structure of sign languages. Major emphases include the exploration of (a) how various areas of linguistic theory (e.g., phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax) apply to sign languages, and (b) structural aspects that are specific to the world’s sign languages. The course will also include discussion of the acquisition of sign languages, as well as their sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic aspects. Knowledge of a sign language (e.g., Nicaraguan Sign Language, Swedish Sign Language, American Sign Language, etc.) is not required for this course. Prerequisites: (LING 302 or LING 303) and LING 304.

LING 420       ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY FOR SPEECH SCIENCE   HAGEDORN

An introduction to the typically-developed anatomy and physiology of the structures involved in the production of human speech and in hearing. Topics include the mechanisms of respiration, phonation, articulation, and audition. Prerequisite: LING 302; (BIO 106 and BIO 107) or (BIO 170 and BIO 171).