LING 594 - Communication and Translation | 2025-2026

Discusses foundational principles of translation as cross-linguistic communication, with a focus on minority and minoritized language environments. Students will study the principles involved in understanding a message as originally communicated in one language and cultural setting, and in communicating that message in a very different language and culture. Students will apply theories from different schools of thought regarding communication and the idea of quality in translation.

LING 577 - Language Ecology: Sociolinguistics | 2025-2026

An exploration of the language ecology of speech communities around the world. Students engage with both theory and practice related to topics such as multilingualism, language shift, language reclamation, language advocacy, and language policy. Students will conduct sociolinguistic research, communicate research findings, and make practical applications to the language-use goals of speech communities.

LING 572 - Orthography | 2025-2026

Prepares linguists and literacy workers to guide speakers of an unwritten language to develop an orthography that will accurately represent the sound system of the language, be acceptable to the speakers of the language, and be easily learned for reading and writing the language. This includes consideration of both linguistic and sociolinguistic factors, and representation of non-segmental features such as tone. Although the focus is on alphabetic scripts, non-Roman scripts, including syllabic and logographic, are also considered.

LING 570 - Language and Culture Acquisition: Theory and Praxis | 2025-2026

This course introduces students to theories of second language and second culture acquisition. Students develop and evaluate self-directed strategies based on personal learning styles. Practical experience in the above topics is gained by working with a speaker of a non-Indo-European-language

LING 566 - Principles of Sociolinguistic Survey | 2025-2026

This course introduces the students to the rudiments of linguistic and sociolinguistic survey. The focus is on purpose-driven language survey design and appropriate subsequent reporting of the findings. Consideration is given to current issues in social science research such as the ethics of sampling, and statistical significance of sample populations.