University Catalog 2025-2026

Linguistics (LING)

LING 1000  Linguistics: An Introduction  (3)  

Linguistics is the study of language; this includes human language (spoken, written, and signed) as well as machine languages and animal communication. This course provides a broad overview of language as a symbolic system of communication as well as the basic methods of linguistic analysis.

LING 1940  Transfer Coursework  (0-20)  

Transfer Coursework at the 1000 level. Department approval may be required.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 2890  Service Learning  (0-1)  

Students complete a service activity in the community in conjunction with the content of a three-credit co-requisite course. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

LING 2940  Transfer Coursework  (0-20)  


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 3000  Tunica La's Sleeping Language  (3)  

Tulane has been collaborating with the Tunica tribe of Louisiana to bring back their language, the last speaker, Sesostrie Youchigant having died over fifty years ago. This course addresses the processes of language death, as well as methods and initiatives for language revitalization. Students will learn effective second language teaching methods and elementary Tunica. They will then apply what they have learned, serving as teaching assistants during the tribe's Language Summer Camp. The Tunica tribe will host the course in Marksville for the week of the Summer Camp. This course counts as a second tier service learning course.

Corequisite(s): LING 3890.

Course Limit: 3

LING 3010  Semantics  (3)  

What does the word cat mean? This course looks at three answers. One says that cat is just the set of all cats. Another says that cat refers to a prototypical cat, one described by the characteristics common to all the cats that you have ever seen. The third answer says that cat is the word that the brain associates with the cats that you saw when you were younger. Each of these answers assumes that the mind works in a certain way, so the right one tells us something about how the mind works in situations that have nothing to do with the meaning of cat

LING 3441  Lexicography  (3)  

Lexicography is the making of dictionaries. Dictionaries take many forms and fulfill many functions. Dictionaries have evolved new formats; professional lexicographers share word gleaning with internet users. Dictionaries may be monolingual, di-, tri-, or multi-lingual, etymological or encyclopedic, synchronic or diachronic, prescriptive or descriptive, terminological or generic. Dictionary construction requires a number of skills which co-vary with the type of dictionary to be produced. This course provides an overview of dictionaries, their forms, formats and histories, while fostering a basic skill set for harvesting words and compiling lexicons. Dictionaries provide a cognitive map to communities of speakers, both past and present. Notes: Writing Practica Option

LING 3600  Introduction to Psycholinguistics  (3)  

This course is an introduction to psycholinguistics, the field of study focusing on the psychological processing of language. Psycholinguistics is an interdisciplinary cognitive science shaped by research in psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, pedagogy, and philosophy. This course covers a variety of topics, including language development, reading, American Sign Language, aphasia, among others, and helps students acquire a better understanding of what language is and how it is processed and acquired.

LING 3700  Second Language Acquisition  (3)  

This course is intended to familiarize students with the field of Second Language Acquisition, including a history of the field's origins. Discussion of recent theories of second language acquisition and an overview of approaches to research methodology in this field.

LING 3810  Special Topics In Ling  (3)  

Special topics in linguistics. For description consult the director. Other departments offer courses with linguistic import as well. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 3811  Special Topics in Ling  (3)  

Special topics in linguistics. For description consult the director. Prerequisite(s): LING 1010.

Prerequisite(s): LING 1010.

LING 3820  Special Topics  (3)  

Special topics in linguistics. For description consult the director. Other departments offer courses with linguistic import as well. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 3821  Special Topics  (3)  

Special Topics in Linguistics Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 3822  Special Topics  (3)  

Special Topics in Linguistics Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 3823  Special Topics  (3)  

Special Topics in Linguistics

LING 3824  Special Topics  (3)  

Special Topics in Linguistics.

Prerequisite(s): LING 3822.

LING 3825  Special Topics  (3)  

Special Topics in Linguistics.

Prerequisite(s): LING 3823.

LING 3890  Service Learning  (0-1)  

Students complete a service activity in the community in conjunction with the content of a three-credit co-requisite course. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Corequisite(s): LING 3000.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 3940  Transfer Coursework  (3)  


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 4110  Brain and Language  (3)  

The goal of this course is to learn how the brain is organized to produce and comprehend language and to understand linguistic disorders attendant on brain damage. There is an optional service learning component in which students can work with a speech therapist at a local health-care provider.

LING 4500  Textual Computation  (3)  

This course teaches how to make a computer perform various useful tasks with text. Students will learn new algorithms, discuss linguistics, and program useful systems that operate on real data.

LING 4560  Internship  (1-3)  

Internships with Community Partners to develop language and linguistic resources. Experiences may include language teaching, materials development, web-design and curricular innovation. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 4570  LX CPS Internship  (3)  

Internships with Community Partners to develop language and linguistic resources. Experiences may include language teaching, materials development, web-design and curricular innovation. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 4700  Applied Second Language Acquisition  (3)  

This course reviews the fundamentals of Second Language Acquisition and focuses on applying theories and research to teaching second and foreign languages. Students will acquire concrete experience through the mandatory 20-hour Service Learning component that requires student to teach, tutor an/or be conversation partners with learners of English as a second language.

Corequisite(s): LING 4890.

LING 4720  Translation Studies Theory  (3)  

This course is an exploration of the development of the field of Translation, from Ancient Civilization through the twenty-first century, with a heavy emphasis on primary source commentaries on translation produced by translators over time. Students should expect to study the writings and historical context of such translators as Cicero (100-43 BCE), St. Jerome (4th century AD), Erasmus (1500s), Martin Luther (1520s-1530s), Etienne Dolet (1540s), Friedrich Schleiermacher (1813), Walter Benjamin (1923), Roman Jakobson (1959), Eugene Nida (1960s), Miguel Leon Portilla (20th century Mexico), Jacques Derrida (responding to Jakobson), Lawrence Venuti (1990s), and Dennis Tedlock (1990s) and complete a comparative analysis of multiple versions of a translation of a text of their choosing.

LING 4810  Special Topics In Linguistics  (3)  

Special topics in linguistics. For description consult the director.

LING 4850  Proseminar In Linguistics  (3)  

This course will examine a topic within linguistics, integrating the various levels of linguistic analysis: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Students will be asked to apply linguistic theory to data within their field of concentration, synthesizing materials from primary and secondary sources.

LING 4880  Writing Practicum: LING 4910  (1)  

Writing practicum.

LING 4890  Service Learning  (0-1)  

Students complete a service activity in the community in conjunction with the content of a three-credit co-requisite course. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Corequisite(s): LING 4700.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 4891  Service Learning  (0-1)  

Students complete a service activity in the community in conjunction with the content of a three-credit co-requisite course. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 4910  Independent Study  (1-3)  

Independent study in Linguistics. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 4990  Honors Thesis  (3)  

For especially qualified seniors with approval of the faculty director. Students are generally expected to have a minimum of a 3.400 overall grade-point average and a 3.500 grade-point average in the major.

LING 5000  Honors Thesis  (4)  

For especially qualified seniors with approval of the faculty director. Students are generally expected to have a minimum of a 3.400 overall grade-point average and a 3.500 grade-point average in the major.

Prerequisite(s): LING 4990.

LING 5380  Junior Year Abroad  (1-20)  


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 5390  Junior Year Abroad  (1-20)  


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 6500  Textual Computation  (3)  

This course teaches how to make a computer perform various useful tasks with text. Students will learn new algorithms, discuss linguistics, and program useful systems that operate on real data.

LING 6620  The Reading Brain  (3)  

This course examines the science behind reading and its instruction. Following a brief overview of the history of writing, child language acquisition, and an introduction to relevant linguistic concepts, students will analyze primary academic sources from several disciplines (e.g. education, psychology, linguistics, neuroscience) spanning over seventy years of research. They will also explore the different approaches to reading instruction employed in the United States over the last century and consider the ways in which they do and do not align with the science.

LING 6700  Applied Second Language Acquisition  (3)  

This course reviews the fundamentals of Second Language Acquisition and focuses on applying theories and research to teaching second and foreign languages. Students will be introduced to research methods in the field and will acquire concrete experience with an associated practicum.

LING 6720  Translation Studies Theory  (3)  

This course is an exploration of the development of the field of Translation, from Ancient Civilization through the twenty-first century, with a heavy emphasis on primary source commentaries on translation produced by translators over time. The course intends to prepare the advanced graduate student for undertaking independent research in the field of translation studies by familiarizing him/her with the issues in the field of translation from Ancient to Modern times.

LING 6810  Special Topics  (3)  

Special topics in linguistics. For description consult the director. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 6820  Special Topics  (3)  

Special topics in linguistics. For description consult the director. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 6823  Special Topics  (3)  

Special topics in linguistics. For description consult the director.

LING 6910  Independent Study  (1-3)  

Independent study in Linguistics.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 7010  Semantics  (3)  

What does the word cat mean? This course looks at three answers. One says that cat is just the set of all cats. Another says that cat refers to a prototypical cat, one described by the characteristics common to all the cats that you have ever seen. The third answer says that cat is the word that the brain associates with the cats that you saw when you were younger. Each of these answers assumes that the mind works in a certain way, so the right one tells us something about how the mind works in situations that have nothing to do with the meaning of cat.

LING 7120  Phonology  (3)  

This course provides an introduction to phonological analysis and theory, with strong emphasis on description and analysis of data from a wide variety of languages. Major issues to be addressed include universal principles of human phonological systems, language-specific variation, constraints on representation of rules, the relationship of phonology to morphological and syntactic components of the grammar, and the historical underpinnings of current theoretical models.

LING 7130  Phonetics  (3)  

The course offers an overview of articulatory and acoustic phonetics with emphasis on matching acoustic cues closely with the articulatory gestures. The first part of the course will study the articulatory and acoustic cues to range of English and non-English speech sounds with information about the normal range of variation. The second part will focus on collecting and interpreting acoustic data, and using such data as evidence to solve phonological problems in normal and pathological speech.

LING 7210  Grammaticalization in Romance Languages  (3)  

This course provides an overview of grammaticalization as a theory and of the development of Romance languages from Latin to their contemporary varieties. Students will study the internal linguistic and external historical factors of the evolution of Romance languages and will learn how to apply grammaticalization processes to analyze the linguistic change of these languages.

LING 7310  Morphology  (3)  

This course provides an introduction to prosodic and non-prosodic morphology with emphasis on data analysis and argumentation. With data from a variety of languages, the first part of the course will examine non-prosodic morphological processes to highlight the typology of word structure across languages. The second part will examine morphological processes conditioned by prosody, and consider the various frameworks for analyzing the data; eventually, the course will work toward a formal model like that of McCarthy and Prince's "Theory of Prosodic Morphology". The main objectives of the course are: (1) to learn to analyze morphological data; (2) to learn to compare alternative analysis for a given set of data and to find evidence to choose between the alternative, and (3) to learn to present linguistic analysis and argumentation in a coherent essay.

LING 7330  Syntactic Theory  (3)  

Introduction of transformational generative syntax, with examples from selected areas of English grammar. Formal models in grammatical description. Emphasis on the logic of linguistic argumentation.

LING 7630  Language and Advertising  (3)  

This course provides students with the tools of linguistic analysis to critically examine advertisements. Students will become familiar with fundamental concepts in linguistics and cognition and use what they learn to analyze and apply the linguistic strategies used in ad campaigns.

LING 7960  Independent Study  (3)  

Independent study in Linguistics.

LING 9980  Master's Research  (0)  

Master's Research. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Enrollment limited to students in the Linguistics department.


Maximum Hours: 99

LING 9990  Dissertation Research  (0)  

Dissertation Research. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.


Maximum Hours: 99