Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Prerequisites

24.900 Introduction to Linguistics, or permission of instructor.

Course goals

  • Overview of major questions and results from the study of language sound structure
  • Develop analytic skills: describing data, formulating and testing hypotheses, evaluating alternatives
  • Preparation for graduate school in linguistics or speech
  • Useful background for career in speech science and technology, foreign language teaching and study

Course format

  • Reading assignments from textbooks and research articles
  • Weekly problem sets (exercises): due at beginning of Monday class

Grading Policy

ACTIVITIES PERCENTAGES
Problem sets 40%
Mid-term exam 25%
Final exam or final research project 25%
Participation and attendance 10%

For problem sets, acknowledged collaboration with other students is permitted but you must write up your own solutions. Exams will take place in class and are closed-book. At the end of the semester you will be able to choose between a final exam covering material from the second half of class, or a 5-10 page report on some research project of your choosing.