10 The field of sociolinguistics deals with the ways in which language serves to define and maintain group identity and social relationships among speakers. 11 Phonology is the study of the system underlying selection and use of sounds in languages of the world. The course will introduce students to investigation of these topics from the perspective of recent theories of phonology. Readings, class discussions, and homework problems will provide a basis for understanding the origin, role, and uses of sound systems in spoken languages. This course aims to familiarize the student with some of the leading theories in syntax.
Discourse analysis examines linguistic structures that exist beyond the sentence level.
Special attention is given to the global properties of connected speech and writing, including mechanisms of coherence and cohesion. Other topics include narrative structures, new and old information, topicalization, foregrounding and backgrounding, and the methods of conversation analysis and variation analysis. By doing so, one can determine both universal features of language and limits to the ways in which languages can differ. Therefore, typology provides crucial insights into the human capacity for language. This course is an introduction to the field of language typology.