In this workshop, consisting of videos, exercises, code examples, and a (recorded) live session, learners are introduced to Python and its application in (corpus) linguistics. After a short general introduction to programming as well as Python, the language is utilized to solve several (corpus) linguistic exercises.

This course is the third and final part of our graduate introduction to semantics. The other two classes are 24.970 Introduction to Semantics and 24.973 Advanced Semantics. The semester will be divided into somewhat independent units. One unit will be devoted to conversational implicatures (mainly scalar implicatures) and another to presupposition. In each unit, we will discuss basic concepts and technical tools and then devote some time to recent work which illustrates their application.

The course introduces formal theories of context-dependency, presupposition, implicature, context-change, focus and topic. Special emphasis is on the division of labor between semantics and pragmatics. It also covers applications to the analysis of quantification, definiteness, presupposition projection, conditionals and modality, anaphora, questions and answers.

This course explores topics related to the representation and expression of propositional attitudes (e.g. belief, knowledge, and desires) and speech acts (e.g. saying and asking) in natural language. The main focus will be on semantics of predicates such as believe, know, want, say, ask, etc. Other topics will include the syntax of main and embedded clauses and formal representation of the pragmatics of conversation. The course provides practice in written and oral communication.

Corpus Linguistics: Method, theory and practice is a new textbook introducing corpus linguistics, published by Cambridge University Press, and written by Tony McEnery and Andrew Hardie.

This text is a practical guide for linguists, and programmers, who work with data in multilingual computational environments. We introduce the basic concepts needed to understand how writing systems and character encodings function, and how they work together at the intersection between the Unicode Standard and the International Phonetic Alphabet. Although these standards are often met with frustration by users, they nevertheless provide language researchers and programmers with a consistent computational architecture needed to process, publish and analyze lexical data from the world's languages. Thus we bring to light common, but not always transparent, pitfalls which researchers face when working with Unicode and IPA. Having identified and overcome these pitfalls involved in making writing systems and character encodings syntactically and semantically interoperable (to the extent that they can be), we created a suite of open-source Python and R tools to work with languages using orthography profiles that describe author- or document-specific orthographic conventions. In this cookbook we describe a formal specification of orthography profiles and provide recipes using open source tools to show how users can segment text, analyze it, identify errors, and to transform it into different written forms for comparative linguistics research.

Linguists take it for granted that all languages, including languages in the Global South, are worthy of study. Yet some 40% of children in the world are prevented from studying in and valorizing their home languages—including some of the very languages that linguists study with such fondness. So much research in linguistics and the benefits thereof remain inaccessible to the bulk of the very speech communities whose languages linguists study. This seminar examines efforts by linguists and educators to make their research more inclusive, accessible, and hospitable, and to reduce linguistic-discrimination practices in various communities world-wide.

There is a great deal of evidence that families play a critical role in their child’s learning. This resource details strategies for engaging families from culturally diverse backgrounds, families with English as an additional language, and families from refugee backgrounds, elaborating on the ‘promising approaches’ outlined in AERO’s family engagement for learning practice guides.

This Module examines the ways in which culture influences the daily interactions that occur across all classrooms and provides practice for enhancing culturally responsive teaching (est. completion time: 1 hour).

There is a great deal of evidence that families play a critical role in their child’s early learning and development. This resource details strategies for engaging families from culturally diverse backgrounds, families with English as an additional language, and families from refugee backgrounds by elaborating on the ‘promising approaches’ outlined in AERO’s family engagement for early learning practice guides (which target early childhood services with 3 to 5 year-olds).

In WAC and Second-Language Writers, the editors and contributors pursue the ambitious goal of including within WAC theory, research, and practice the differing perspectives, educational experiences, and voices of second-language writers. The chapters within this collection not only report new research but also share a wealth of pedagogical, curricular, and programmatic practices relevant to second-language writers. Representing a range of institutional perspectives—including those of students and faculty at public universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and English-language schools—and a diverse set of geographical and cultural contexts, the editors and contributors report on work taking place in the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

This course is designed to help students understand the aspects of linguistic principles and processes that underlie oral and written language proficiency, and how this knowledge is relevant K-12 instruction. Emphasis is on a thorough, research-based understanding of phonology, morphology, orthography, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics. Students learn ways to use this information to support literacy and oral language development for elementary and secondary school students. Issues of linguistic diversity and second language learning are addressed.

Covers the major results in the study of first language acquisition concentrating on the development of linguistic structure, including sentence structure and morphology. Universal aspects of development are discussed, as well as a variety of cross-linguistic phenomena. Theories of language learning are considered, including parameter-setting and maturation.

Classroom Activities for Teachers New to Corpus Linguistics

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Caribbean Creole languages result from language contact via colonization and the slave trade. In this course we explore the history of Creole languages from cognitive, historical and comparative perspectives. We evaluate popular theories about "Creole genesis" and the role of language acquisition. Then we explore the non-linguistic aspects of Creole formation, using sources from literature, religion and music. We also look into issues of Caribbean identities as we examine Creole speakers' and others' beliefs and attitudes toward their cultures. We also make comparisons with relevant aspects of African-American culture in the U.S.

This course will acquaint you with some of the important results and ideas of the last half - century of research in syntax. We will explore a large number of issues and a large amount of data so that you can learn something of what this field is all about. From time to time, we will discuss related work in language acquisition and processing. The class will emphasize ideas and arguments for these ideas in addition to the the details of particular analyses. At the same time, you will learn the mechanics of one particular approach (sometimes called Principles and Parameters syntax).
Most of all, the course tries to show why the study of syntax is exciting, and why its results are important to researchers in other language sciences. The class assumes some familiarity with basic concepts of theoretical linguistics, of the sort you could acquire in 24.900.

This course explores languages that have been deliberately constructed, including Esperanto, Klingon, and Tolkien's Elvish. Students construct their own languages while considering the basic linguistic characteristics of various languages of the world. Through regular assignments, students describe the phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and writing system of their constructed language. The final assignment is a grammatical description of the new language.