Anthony Mattina, Chair

Linguistics is the science that investigates the structure of languages and their dialects that are in use, or have been in use, throughout the world. Its goal is to investigate specific languages in order to construct a theory of language that will account for all human language behavior. Because human language provides one nexus of human behavior, linguistics has implications for many other disciplines such as anthropology, education, foreign languages, literature, philosophy, psychology and sociology, just to name a few. The University offers an M.A. with a major in Linguistics with options in General and Applied Linguistics. Linguistics options are available to M.A. students in the departments of Anthropology and English. The University does not offer an undergraduate degree in Linguistics but students can earn baccalaureate degrees in Anthropology, English, French and German with options in Linguistics.

For specific course requirements in the Departments of Anthropology, English and Foreign languages and Literatures, students should refer to the relevant department's section in The University of Montana-Missoula catalog and confer both with the advisors in the individual departments and the undergraduate advisors in the Linguistics Program.
The University offers a sequence of courses (24 credits) that will lead to a Certificate of Accomplishment in Teaching English as a Second Language. The certificate will be issued by the University upon the recommendation of the Linguistics Program and the Faculty Senate.

In order to earn this certificate, a student must hold (or simultaneously earn) a baccalaureate or higher degree and complete the following courses: LING 270 or 470; LING 471; LING 472 or 466; LING 477 or 478; two upper-division electives (6 credits) from among LING 473, 476, 479, 483, 487, and 489; LING 480; and LING 494.

It is recommended that a student have the equivalent of two years of a foreign language. Non native speakers of English must take an English competency examination to be administered by the Linguistics Program.

English as a Second Language/Academic English

ESL/EAP instruction is offered in two distinct, but related, programs: the English as a Second Language (ESL/EAP) credit support courses and the English Language Institute (ELI). These programs are designed to meet the needs of students whose native language is not English. The ESL/EAP credit support courses carry undergraduate credit toward graduation and help students raise their English proficiency and academic skills level so that they can complete a degree successfully. The ELI provides full time, intensive instruction for students who must raise their English proficiency to gain admission to a university or college.

ESL/EAP Credit Support Courses

These courses bridge the gap between full time language instruction and full time academic work, serving students whose TOEFL scores range from 500 to 580. ESL/EAP courses are offered to increase proficiency in seven skill areas: reading, writing, speaking, listening comprehension, pronunciation, grammar, and study skills. Each course grants three semester credits, that count toward graduation. Courses are taught by ESL/EAP professional staff members and by teaching assistants pursuing advanced degrees in linguistics.

English Language Institute

The ELI primarily serves students who have not yet been admitted to the University and whose TOEFL scores are below 500 if undergraduate students or below 525 if graduate students. The program offers intensive English instruction and a cultural, social, and academic orientation to the United States. Instruction emphasizes proficiency in spoken and written English crucial to college and university work. Grammar, writing, reading, listening comprehension, pronunciation, and speaking are taught at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Each student receives twenty hours of classroom instruction and individual work in the language laboratory each week. Field trips and cultural and social experiences are an integral part of the program. Students enrolled in the ELI have full access to all University facilities. The program welcomes international students preparing to enter universities and colleges as well as other adults who want to improve their English skills. Instruction is by professional ESL instructors.

Students admitted to ELI receive a Certificate of Eligibility (Form I 20), which enables them to obtain a student visa at a U.S. Consulate. Application materials are available from the English Language Institute, Linguistics Program, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812.

Courses back to top

U = for undergraduate credit only, UG = for undergraduate or graduate credit, G = for graduate credit. R after the credit indicates the course may be repeated for credit to the maximum indicated after the R.

U 170 Orientation to the U.S. 2 cr. Offered intermittently. Examination of American cultural and societal trends from a cross cultural perspective to help new and continuing foreign students adjust to life in the United States and to offer U.S. students an opportunity to examine their own culture from the perspective of members of other cultures.

U 173 Introduction to Language 3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as COMM 173. A survey of the elements of language (structure, meaning, and sound) including language use in its social and cultural context. Credit is not allowed for students who have already completed Ling 270.

U 195 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.

U 198 Cooperative Education Experience Variable cr. (R 9) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of department. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Center for Work-Based Learning.

U 230 Explorations in American Culture 2 cr. Offered spring. U.S. and foreign students read fictional accounts of cultural adaptation. Some accounts written from the perspective of foreigners to give foreign students comparisons with their own acculturation process and provide a contrastive world-view for American students. Intended to give an understanding of the complexity and richness of cross-cultural ambiguity, dissonance, and convergence.

U 250 Intermediate English for Academic Purposes: I 3 cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Same as ENSL 250. Extensive training in reading, writing, and speaking grammatical English. This course is required of all foreign students with TOEFL scores between 500 and 525. Grading A, B, C, D, or F.

U 251 Intermediate English for Academic Purposes: II 3 cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., 500 to 525 on the TOEFL or consent of instr. Same as ENSL 251. English grammar, reading, writing, and conversation skills for students who are not native speaker of English; designed for students who have scored between 500 and 525 on the TOEFL. Grading A, B, C, D, or F.

U 270 Introduction to Linguistics 3 cr. Offered every term. Same as ANTH and ENLI 270. An introduction to the field of modern linguistics and to the nature of language. Emphasis on the ways different cultures develop symbol systems for representing meaning.

U 271 The Least You Should Know About English 3 cr. Offered intermittently. The principles behind grammatical nomenclature in human languages; emphasis on ways that humans use language to develop standard and non-standard dialects of the same language, special focus on English.

UG 381 Sociology of Language 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Prereq., SOC 110. Same as SOC 302. An examination of the ways language functions to fashion groups, situations, relationships, and memberships in contemporary society. Special emphasis on how language is used in actual social settings.

U 395 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Offered autumn and spring. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.

U 398 Cooperative Education Experience Variable cr. (R 9) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of department. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Center for Work-Based Learning.

UG 401 Applied French Linguistics 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., FREN 301 and LING 270 or consent of instr. Same as FREN 401. Contrastive analysis of French phonology (including phonetics), morphology, and syntax.

UG 403 Applied German Linguistics 3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as GERM 403. Contrastive analysis of German phonology, morphology, and syntax.

UG 405 Applied Spanish Linguistics 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., SPAN 302 and LING 270 or consent of instr. Same as SPAN 405. Topics and issues from various linguistic approaches, selected for their applicability to the teaching of Spanish.

U 450 Advanced English for Academic Purposes: I 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., TOEFL score of 526 or greater and consent of instr. Same as ENSL 450. Extensive training in reading, writing, and speaking grammatical English. Grading A, B, C, D, or F.

U 451 Advanced English for Academic Purposes: II 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., 526 to 580 on the TOEFL or consent of instr. Same as ENSL 451. English grammar, reading, writing, and conversation skills for students who are not native speakers of English; designed for students who have scored between 525 an 580 on the TOEFL. Grading A, B, C, D, or F.

UG 465 Structure of English for Language Teachers 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Same as ENLI 465. The development of the English language from a historical perspective contrasted with the phonological and grammatical structure of English from a modern linguistic point of view; specifically designed for teachers.

UG 466 Pedagogical Grammar 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. Discussion of English grammar from a non-native speaker perspective focusing on items and structures that are difficult for non-native speakers.

UG 470 Introduction to Linguistic Analysis 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Same as ANTH, FLLL, ENLI 470. An introduction to the field of modern linguistics and to the nature of language. Emphasis on linguistic analysis.

UG 471 Phonology and Morphology 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., LING 270. or equiv. A study of phonological and morphological systems from as many as 20 languages, most of them non Indo European; training in how to do linguistic analysis as well as linguistic theory.

UG 472 Generative Syntax and Semantics 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. A systematic study of the nature of syntactic and semantic systems in natural language. Emphasis on abstract argument.

UG 473S Language and Culture 3 cr. Offered autumn odd-numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or LING 470. Same as ANTH 473S. Technical study of the relationships between grammatical categories and world view.

UG 474 Language History, Variety, and Change 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. The principles of historical reconstruction and comparative method in the analysis of linguistic variation and change.

UG 475 Linguistic Fieldmethods 3 cr. Offered autumn even-numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or equiv. Writing up linguistic data; developing techniques for eliciting linguistic data by working with a native speaker of a non Indo European language.

UG 476 Child Language Acquisition 3 cr. Offered spring even-numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. The development of speech and language: phonologic, prosodic, semantic, pragmatic, and morphosyntactic systems.

UG 477 Bilingualism 3 cr. Offered autumn even-numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. Societal and individual bilingualism: topics include language policy such as maintenance and interference; code switching and mixture; and bilingual education.

UG 478 Second Language Acquisition 3 cr. Offered autumn odd-numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. Discussion of theories of SLA, analysis of the development of Interlanguage and study and use of the research methods in SLA.

UG 479 Pragmatics 3 cr. Offered spring odd-numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. Relations between language and its interpreters focusing on presupposition, speech acts, discourse analysis, and the application of pragmatics to second and foreign language acquisition.

UG 480 Teaching English as a Foreign Language 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. Same as ENLI 480. The application of principles of modern linguistics to the problems of teaching English as a foreign language.

UG 481 The ESL Professional 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq. or coreq., LING 494; prereq., LING 480 or consent of instr. Professional development techniques for the independent language teacher: language test construction, self-critique of teaching strategies, materials development, curriculum evaluation and design, electronic and print media resources for the language teaching professional.

UG 482 Philosophy of Language 3 cr. Offered odd-numbered years. Prereq., upper division standing. Structure and functions of natural and ideal languages; the relations of language to thought and reality.

UG 483 Education in English as a Second Language 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. Same as ENLI 483. Examination of the development of academic language proficiency in English as a second language and discussion of procedures educators use when working with students with limited English proficiency.

UG 484 North American Indian Linguistics 3 cr. Offered spring odd-numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. Same as ANTH 484. Analysis and characteristics of American Indian languages in historical perspective.

UG 485 Topics in the Linguistic Structure of French 3 cr. (R 6) Offered autumn. Prereq., FREN 301 and LING 270 or consent of instr. Same as FREN 485. Synchronic and diachonic topics in French phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon.

UG 487 Computer Assisted Language Instruction 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Prereq., LING 270 or 470 or consent of instr. Use of computer programs to supplement and complement modern foreign language techniques; emphasis on English language instruction.

UG 489 Languages of the World 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., LING 270 or 470. A survey of the grammatical features of several unrelated languages to provide the student with a broad overview of how world languages compare and contrast.

UG 494 ESL Senior Seminar 3 cr. Prereq., or coreq., LING 480. Offered every term. Same as ENLI 494.

UG 495 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.

UG 496 Independent Study Variable cr. (R 9) Offered every term. Prereq., consent of instr. Special projects in linguistic analysis.

U 498 Cooperative Education Experience Variable cr. (R 12) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of department. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Center for Work-Based Learning.

G 570 Seminar in Linguistics 3 cr. (R 12) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., LING 270 or equiv. Same as ANTH 570 and ENLI 570. Advanced topics in linguistic analysis.

G 575 Teaching College Level English as a Second Language 3 cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of instr. Same as ENLI 575. Methods and procedures for teaching English as a second language to university students.

G 595 Special Topics Variable cr. (R 9) Offered every term. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.

G 596 S Independent Study 1 3 cr. (R 6) Offered every term.

G 598 Cooperative Education Experience Variable cr. (R 6) Offered autumn and spring.

G 599 Professional Paper Variable cr. (R 6) Offered every term.

G 699 Thesis Variable cr. (R 6) Offered every term.

Faculty back to top

Irene Appelbaum, Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1995, Assistant Professor (Philosophy)
Anthony Beltramo, Ph.D., Stanford University, 1972, Professor (Foreign Languages and Literatures)
Albert Borgmann, Ph.D., University of Munich, 1963, Professor (Philosophy)
Merrel D. Clubb, Jr., Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1953, Emeritus (English)
Julie Eells, M.A., Saint Michael's College, 1994, Adjunct Instructor (English Language Institute)
Stephen Greymorning, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 1997, Assistant Professor (Anthropology)
Robert Hausmann, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1972, Professor (Linguistics)
Donovan Lytle, M.A., The University of Montana, 1990, Adjunct Instructor (English Language Institute)
Anthony Mattina, Ph.D., University of Hawaii, 1973, Professor (Linguistics)
Lee Ann Millar, M.A., San Francisco State University, 1991, Adjunct Instructor (English Language Institute)
O.W. Rolfe, Ph.D., Stanford University, 1967, Profesor (Foreign Languages and Literatures)
Wesley Shellen, Ph.D., Ohio University, 1973, Professor (Communication Studies)