Linguistics

Tully J. Thibeau, Director

Mission

Objectives. The objectives of the Linguistics Program are to train students in the scientific analysis of languages. Students are prepared for further graduate study in the field: to study other languages; to apply their understanding of language to other fields; and to teach English and other languages to non–native students of those languages.

Indigenous and Endangered Languages.The research focus of the program includes indigenous languages of North America.  Montana is the aboriginal home of speakers of languages that belong to four distinct language families: 1. Kutenai (isolate); 2. Flathead (Salish); 3 Cree, Blackfoot, Northern Cheyenne, and Gros Ventre (Algonquian); 4. Assiniboine, Sioux and Crow (Siouan).  Of the approximately six thousand languages currently spoken in the world, only about five percent are projected to survive into the 22nd century.  The Linguistics Program is committed to preserving and promoting the linguistic diversity of the region and the state.

Interdisciplinarity.The Linguistics Program is situated within the Department of Anthropology.  In offering its curriculum the Linguistics Program collaborates with Native American Studies, English, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Communication Studies, Philosophy, and the McNair Program.

Degree Offered.
  • Graduate Program:  The Program offers an M.A. in Linguistics.  Students admitted to the Program pursue two tracks: general or applied. The program also supports students pursuing an MA degree with a Linguistics specialization through the Department of Anthropology.
  • Undergraduate Program: There is no linguistics major or minor.  However, students may pursue a Linguistics Option while earning a BA degree through the following departments:  Anthropology, English, and Modern and Classical Languages and Literature.  For specific course requirements, students should refer to the relevant department’s section in this catalog.
  • Certificate of Accomplishment in English as a Second Language. The University offers a sequence of courses (24 credits) that will lead to a Certificate of Accomplishment in 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 470; LING 471; LING 472; LING 477 or 478; two upper–division electives (6 credits) from among LING 466, 473, 475, 476, and 489; LING 480; and LING 491.  Courses required for the Certificate may not be taken on a pass–not pass basis.
  • English as a Second Language/Academic English.Outside of its curriculum, the Linguistics Program directs several EASL courses for international students whose TOEFL scores range between 500 and 580.
    EASL courses enhance learning second language English as the language of classroom instruction at an English–speaking university or college.  These courses facilitate the transition from learning academic English to actually using English in academic settings.  Course content concentrates on academic uses of language skills : reading, writing, speaking and listening, with a limited degree of periodic intensive activities involving grammar and/or pronunciation.
    Trained, supervised graduate assistant teachers who are pursuing advanced degrees in linguistics instruct academically–oriented EASL courses.  Each EASL course lasts one semester and grants international students three credit hours that count toward graduation.  The needs of individuals who must raise their English proficiency to gain admission to a university or college are addressed by the English Language Institute.
  • Teacher Preparation in English as a Second Language. Minor Teaching Field: For an endorsement in the minor teaching field of English as a Second Language, a student must complete LING 470, 471, 472, 477 or 478, 480 and 491; at least two courses from the following: LING 466, 473S, 475, 476, and 489. Students also must gain admission to Teacher Education and Student Teaching and meet the requirements for certification as a secondary teacher (see School of Education section of this catalog.) Courses in the teaching minor may not be taken on a pass–not pass basis.

Courses

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. Credits beyond this maximum do not count toward a degree.

English as a Second Language (EASL)

  • U 250 Intermediate English for Academic Purposes: I 3 cr. (R–6) Offered autumn and spring. 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. 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 450 Advanced English for Academic Purposes: I 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., TOEFL score of 526 or greater and consent of instr. 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. 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.

Linguistics (LING)

  •  U 173 Introduction to Language 3 cr. Offered every term. Same as COMM 173. A survey of the elements of language (structure, meaning, and sound) including language use in its social and cultural context.
  •  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 Internship Variable cr.   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 Internship Services office.  A maximum of 6 credits of Internship (198, 298, 398, 498) may count toward graduation.
  • U 270 Introduction to Linguistics 3 cr. Offered every term. Same as 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 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 Internship Variable cr.   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 Internship Services office. A maximum of 6 credits of Internship (198, 298, 398, 498) may count toward graduation.
  •  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.
  • UG 465 Structure and History of English for 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 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 ENLI 470. An introduction to the field of modern linguistics and to the nature of language.  Emphasis on linguistic analysis.
  •  UG 471 Phonetics and Phonology 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., LING 470.  A study of phonetic and  phonological 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 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., LING 470. A  study of the human language sentence–formation system, the means for expressing semantic information as propositional content.  Emphasis on the abstraction of utterances in the form of mathematical objects.
  •  UG 473S Language and Culture 3 cr. Offered autumn even–numbered years. Prereq., LING 470.  Technical study of the relationships between grammatical categories and world view.
  •  UG 474 Historical and Comparative Linguistics 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., LING 470.  The principles of historical reconstruction and comparative method in the analysis of linguistic variation and change.
  •  UG 475 Linguistic Field Methods  3 cr. Offered spring odd–numbered years. Prereq., LING 470.  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 470. The development of speech and language: phonologic, prosodic, semantic, pragmatic, and morphosyntactic systems.
  •  UG 477 Bilingualism 3 cr. Offered autumn odd–numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or equiv. Societal and individual bilingualism:  topics include language policy, maintenance, interference, code switching and mixture, and bilingual education.
  • UG 478 Second Language Development 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., LING 471 and 472 or consent of instructor.  Like studies in Second Language (L2) Acquisition, this course considers Interlanguage (i.e., a language system that develops non–natively) and includes analysis of L2 data taken from naturalistic and experimental setting. .
  • UG 479 Pragmatics 3 cr. Offered spring odd–numbered years. Prereq., LING 270 or equiv.  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 equiv. 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 491; 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, and electronic and print media resources for the language teaching professional.
  •  UG 482 Topics in the Philosophy of Language 3 cr. (R–6) Offered Intermittently. Prereq., upper–division standing. Same as PHIL 471. Discussion of one or more of the following topics: theories of meaning, theories of reference, pragmatics, the origin of language, psycholinguistics, and foundations of linguistic theory.
  • UG 484 North American Indian Linguistics 3 cr. Offered spring odd–numbered years. Prereq., LING 470. Same as ANTH 484. Analysis and characteristics of American Indian languages in historical perspective.
  • UG 489 Languages of the World 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., LING 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 491 ESL Practicum 1– 3 cr. Prereq., or coreq., LING 480. Offered every term.  Same as ENLI 491.  Students with a teaching major take the course for 3 credits; others take it for 1 credit and do one third of the work.
  •  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 Internship Variable cr.   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 Internship Services office. A maximum of 6 credits of Internship (198, 298, 398, 498) may count toward graduation.
  •  G 570 Seminar in Linguistics 3 cr. (R–12) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., LING 470. Same as ANTH 570. Advanced topics in linguistic analysis.
  •  G 575 Preceptorship 1 cr. (R–4) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of instr. Materials development, assessment and evaluation of learners’ needs and interests in teaching English as an academic second Language to international students attending universities with English instruction.
  •  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 Internship 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

  • Irene Appelbaum, Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1995, Associate Professor (Linguistics)
  • Leora Bar–el, Ph.D., :University of British Columbia, 2005, Assistant Professor (Linguistics)
  • Gary Bevington, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1970, Adjunct Professor (Linguistics)
  • Anthony Mattina, Ph.D., University of Hawaii, 1973, Professor, (Linguistics)
  • Donna Mendelson, Ph.D., State University of new York at Binghamton, 1997, Adjunct Professor
  • Miyashita Mizuki, Ph.D., University of Arizona, 2002, Assistant Professor (Linguistics)
  • Naomi Shin, Ph.D., City University of New York, 2006, Assistant Professor (Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures)
  • Tully J. Thibeau, Ph.D., University of Arizona, 1999, Assistant Professor (Director of Linguistics)