Introduction to the linguistic study of language pathology, concentrating on experimental approaches and theoretical explanations. Discussion of Specific Language Impairment, autism, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, normal aging, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hemispherectomy and aphasia. Focuses on the comparison of linguistic abilities among these syndromes, while drawing clear comparisons with first and second language acquisition. Topics include the lexicon, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Relates the lost linguistic abilities in these syndromes to properties of the brain.

This course is a graduate introduction to natural language processing - the study of human language from a computational perspective. It covers syntactic, semantic and discourse processing models, emphasizing machine learning or corpus-based methods and algorithms. It also covers applications of these methods and models in syntactic parsing, information extraction, statistical machine translation, dialogue systems, and summarization. The subject qualifies as an Artificial Intelligence and Applications concentration subject.

This course focuses on phonological phenomena that are sensitive to morphological structure, including base-reduplicant identity, cyclicity, level ordering, derived environment effects, opaque rule interactions, and morpheme structure constraints. In the recent OT literature, it has been claimed that all of these phenomena can be analyzed with a single theoretical device: correspondence constraints, which regulate the similarity of lexically related forms (such as input and output, base and derivative, base and reduplicant).

Detailed investigation of the major issues and problems in the study of lexical argument structure and how it determines syntactic structure. Empirical scope is along three dimensions: typology, lexical class, and theoretical framework. The range of linguistic types include English, Japaneses, Navajo, and Warlpiri. Lexical classes include those of Levin's English Verb Classes and others producing emerging work on diverse languages. The theoretical emphasis is on structural relations among elements of argument structure.

Cultura is a Web-based, intercultural project situated in a language class, that connects American students with other students in different countries. It was originally created as an exchange between American and French students. Cultura has since been adapted to other schools and languages, connecting students in the US with students in Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia and Spain. Following a common calendar, students explore together a variety of materials that progressively broaden their scope of inquiry.

Students examine the anthropological perspective of human culture, including such institutions as kinship, politics, and religion, and evaluate the interrelationship between culture, environment and biology. Students explore the effects of globalization on culture while developing critical thinking skills through the application of essential anthropological approaches, theories, and methods.

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CAPL is an authentic visual glossary for foreign languages that provides teachers and learners with a database of creative commons licensed images to use in the development of classroom materials.

The materials provided are taken from three postgraduate modules which students study as part of the School's distance learning MA degree programmes in 'Literary Linguistics', 'Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching' and 'Modern English Language'.

Our courses generally consist of 10 units which cover the key areas of study within particular disciplines, in conjunction with material documenting the latest developments within each field. The 'Descriptive Linguistic Analysis' units are taken from the compulsory foundational module, enabling students to gain the core knowledge that they will need throughout their programme.

The 'Literary Linguistics' and 'Language and Gender' units are examples from modules that students chose to specialise in, depending upon their own particular interests. At present, 100 Students from a range of diverse backgrounds in numerous locations throughout the world are registered on these courses. Students use these materials as starting points to their study, and then interaction with tutors and fellow students is maintained via email, discussion boards and chat rooms.

The 2006 E-MELD (Electronic Metastructure for Endangered Languages Data) workshop on digital language documentation is entitled 'Tools and Standards-the State of the Art.' This annual E-MELD workshop marks the culmination of the 5-year E-MELD project; thus one goal of the workshop is to review digital standards ratified by the community in prior workshops on text, lexicons, databases, and annotation.

Enables students to use vocabulary that would normally be used on an everyday basis to resolve four scenarios.

Divides the class into three large groups to discuss three areas pertaining to crime and punishment in the United States as well as in Spain. At the end of class, students will need to use reported speech to summarize the major points talked about in the small group discussions. Resource is in a .doc format.

The use of grammar is more complex than it appears. This unit looks at the way grammar can be used as a tool for adapting our communications (both written and spoken) in ways which present us and our message in different lights.

How has the English language changed over the course of the last 500 years? What are the social and political contexts that have affected how these changes have come about? This unit will consider the development of the English language from the 15th to the 19th century.

In this course we will examine the development of feminist theory over time. Some subjects we will examine in detail include suffrage and equality; radical feminism; psychoanalysis and feminism; theories of power; sexuality and gender; embodied knowledge; pornography; identities and global feminism; militarism; and the welfare state. Throughout the course we will analyze different ways of looking at power and political culture in modern societies, issues of race and class, poverty and welfare, sexuality and morality.

Advances in cognitive science have resolved, clarified, and sometimes complicated some of the great questions of Western philosophy: what is the structure of the world and how do we come to know it; does everyone represent the world the same way; what is the best way for us to act in the world. Specific topics include color, objects, number, categories, similarity, inductive inference, space, time, causality, reasoning, decision-making, morality and consciousness. Readings and discussion include a brief philosophical history of each topic and focus on advances in cognitive and developmental psychology, computation, neuroscience, and related fields. At least one subject in cognitive science, psychology, philosophy, linguistics, or artificial intelligence is required. An additional project is required for graduate credit.

Human communication is vastly more complex than that of any other species we know about. It is so complex that linguists are only just beginning to identify the processes in the brain that are related to understanding language. This unit looks at how language is understood by taking an interdisciplinary approach.

Examines the development of computing techniques and technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly critical evaluation of how the very idea of "computer" changes and evolves over time. Emphasis is on technical innovation, industrial development, social context, and the role of government. Topics include Babbage, Hollerith, differential analyzers, control systems, ENIAC, radar, operations research, computers as scientific instruments, the rise of "computer science," artificial intelligence, personal computers, and networks. Includes class visits by members of the MIT community who have made important historical contributions. This course focuses on one particular aspect of the history of computing: the use of the computer as a scientific instrument. The electronic digital computer was invented to do science, and its applications range from physics to mathematics to biology to the humanities. What has been the impact of computing on the practice of science? Is the computer different from other scientific instruments? Is computer simulation a valid form of scientific experiment? Can computer models be viewed as surrogate theories? How does the computer change the way scientists approach the notions of proof, expertise, and discovery? No comprehensive history of scientific computing has yet been written. This seminar examines scientific articles, participants' memoirs, and works by historians, sociologists, and anthropologists of science to provide multiple perspectives on the use of computers in diverse fields of physical, biological, and social sciences and the humanities. We explore how the computer transformed scientific practice, and how the culture of computing was influenced, in turn, by scientific applications.

Students studying linguistics and other language sciences for the first time often have misconceptions about what they are about and what they can offer them. They may think that linguists are authorities on what is correct and what is incorrect in a given language. But linguistics is the science of language; it treats language and the ways people use it as phenomena to be studied much as a geologist treats the earth. Linguists want to figure out how language works. They are no more in the business of making value judgments about people's language than geologists are in the business of making value judgments about the behavior of the earth. But language is a cultural phenomenon and we all have deep-seated, cultural ideas about what it is and how we ought to use it, so knowing where to begin in studying it scientifically is not a trivial matter at all. Issues arise that would not if we were geologists figuring out how to study earthquakes or the structure of the earth's crust. For this reason, before we dive into the study of language, we will need to examine some of the biases that we all have concerning language and to set some ground rules for how we are going to proceed. Because there is more than one way to begin, it will also be useful to establish a basic stance to guide us. Finally, because human language is an enormously complex subject, the book will focus on a narrow range of topics and themes; there will be no pretense of covering the field in anything like a complete fashion. This first chapter is designed to deal with these preliminary issues. But first, you will need to know about the various conventions that I will be using in the book.

Critical thinking is one of education's central goals and most valued outcomes, but it can difficult to teach effectively. The Reason! project has developed the Reason!Able software as part of a general method aimed at enhancing critical thinking skills. This paper describes the challenges involved, the theoretical basis of the Reason! project, the Reason!Able software, and results of intensive evaluation of the Reason! approach.