School of Interdisciplinary Studies

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Linguistics Courses

Listed below are the courses in Linguistics (LING) taught within SIS.

There are many additional courses across the College of Liberal Arts that contribute to the Linguistics plan of study.

  • Fall 2026
    • LING 201- Introduction to Linguistics
    • LING 311- Fundamentals of Phonology and Morphology
    • LING 315- Elements of Phonetics
    • LING 321- Foundations of syntax
    • LING 398- Computational Programming in Linguistics
    • LING 398- Forensic Linguistics
    • LING 398- Inventing Languages
    • LING 398- Struc Spanish I 
    • LING 498- Bilingualism
    • LING 499 - Research in Linguistics
    • LING 511- Phonology I:Descriptive Analysis 
    • LING 521- Syntax I: Syntactic Analysis
    • LING 590- Linguistics Lab Research   
    • LING 598- Indo-Eur Language Family
    • LING 598- Bilingualism & Lang. Acqui
    • LING 598- Anthrop Linguistics
    • LING 598- Inrto To Corpus Ling Python
    • LING 598- Teaching Linguisitics
    • LING 598- Statistical Modeling for Linguisitics
    • LING 689- Metacognition Acqu Of L2 Phon
  • Summer 2026
    • LING 201- Introduction to Linguistics
  • Spring 2026
    • LING 201- Introduction to Linguistics
    • LING 311- Fundamentals of Phonology and Morphology
    • LING 315- Elements of Phonetics
    • LING 321- Foundations of syntax
    • LING 398- Computational Programming in Linguistics
    • LING 398- Language & Society
    • LING 398- Structure of Farsi
    • LING 498 - Intoduction to Language Culture
    • LING 499 - Research in Linguistics
    • LING 531- Semantics
    • LING 541- Historical Linguistics
    • LING 565- Sociolinguistics
    • LING 570- Field methods in Linguistics and PAR
    • LING 590 - Direct Reading in Linguistics 
    • LING 591- Special Topics in Phonology: Phonological Typology
    • LING 593- Introduction to Semiotics
    • LING 598 - Theories in 2nd Language Acq
    • LING 598 - Typology & Universals
    • LING 598- Structure of Russian II: Morphology
  • Fall 2025
    • LING 201- Introduction To Linguistics                      
    • LING 315- Elements Of Phonetics                            
    • LING 321- Foundations Of Syntax and Semantics                 
    • LING 398- AI Language Learning And AI                            
    • LING 398- Struc Spanish I                        
    • LING 499- Research In Linguistics                 
    • LING 511- Phonology I:Dscr Analy                            
    • LING 521- Syntax I: Syntactic Analysis                    
    • LING 563- Language Acquisition               
    • LING 590- Linguistics Lab Research               
    • LING 591- Struc Russian I                           
    • LING 598- Anthropology Linguistics                 
    • LING 598- Morphological Systems               
    • LING 598- Reading Scandinavian Language                          
    • LING 689- Experimental Phonetics                       
    • LING 690- Individual Seminar                     
    • LING 698- Research MA Thesis                   
    • LING 699- Research PhD Thesis

  • LING 20100: Introduction to Linguistics
    • Basic concepts of linguistics and methods of analysis of language; overview of linguistics and the role of language in society. Introduction to phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, and to problem-solving techniques, with material drawn from a variety of languages.
  • LING 31100: Fundamentals of Phonology and Morphology
    • Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 201 or equivalent. Basic concepts and tools of phonological and morphological analysis viewed through the material of American English. Current theoretical approaches to phonology and morphology, including word-formation processes and applications.
  • LING 31500: Elements of Phonetics
    • Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 201 or equivalent. Credit will not be given for both LING 315 and SLHS 306. Introduction to articulatory phonetics. Mechanisms of production of speech sounds. Sounds of languages of the world, ear training for discriminating speech sounds, and practice in broad and narrow phonetic transcription. Introduction to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
  • LING 32100: Foundations of Syntax and Semantics
    • Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 201 or equivalent. Credit will not be given for both LING 321 and ENGL 328. Introduction to syntactic and semantic analysis based on American English and its dialects. Underlying structure and its relation to meaning. Analysis of parts of speech, constituent phrases, sentence structure, representations, ambiguity, and applications of current theory.
  • LING 36800: Sociolinguistic Study of African American English 
    • (ANTH 368, COM 368, ENGL 368, FLL 368, IDIS 378) A study of the history, structure, uses, and educational concerns of African American English in African American speech communities and the United States culture at large.
  • LING 39800: Special Topics in Linguistics I
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of a special topic in linguistics. The topic will vary from semester to semester. * Inventing Languages, Foreign Language, Teaching Mthdlgy, Structure of Farsi*
  • LING 49000: Directed Reading in Linguistics
    • Admission by consent of the chair of the Linguistics Program; May be repeated for credit. Independent study and reading on a topic in linguistics directed by a faculty member.
  • LING 49800: Special Topics in Linguistics II
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of a special topic in linguistics. The topic will vary from semester to semester.
  • LING 49900: Research in Linguistics
    • Undergraduate research into a designated topic in linguistics. Permission of instructor required.
  • LING 57500: Theories for Foreign Language Acquisition
    • This is an advanced course designed to provide an overview of major theoretical issues in foreign language acquisition research. Provides a broad historical introduction to theories of acquisition that underlie these different perspectives. This course also provides an understanding of skills assessment and selection of instructional materials.
  • LING 59600: Statistical Modeling for Linguistics

Graduate courses below may be opened to upper-level Linguistics undergraduate students, with permission of advisor.

Below are graduate courses. Students should check MyPurdue to learn the details of each semester's offerings; for example, the "Field Methods" class analyzes different languages, and the Special Topics and Seminar classes look at different issues each semester.  Students are encouraged to use classes from other departments towards their degree, with their advisors' approval. For example, many graduate students take statistical methods, research design, and/or language classes. 
  • LING 51100: Phonology I: Descriptive Analysis
    • Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 500 or equivalent (ENGL 513). Foundations of phonological analysis. Development of concepts and methods for the analysis of phonological data and the phonological structures of natural languages within the framework of generative phonology. Focus on problem solving and linguistic argumentation.
  • LING 52100: Syntax I: Syntactic Analysis
    • Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 500 or equivalent (ENGL 512). Foundations of syntactic analysis and syntactic theory within the framework of generative grammar. Focuses on the central concepts of syntactic theory and on the principles and methods of syntactic analysis and argumentation. using a core of topics relevant for syntactic theory.
  • LING 53100: Semantics I: Lexical and Sentential Semantics
    • Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 500 or equivalent (ENGL 511). Foundations of semantic analysis and survey of current linguistic semantic theories and methods. Semantics at the lexical and sentential levels. Combinatorial, truth-conditional, pragmatic, contextual, and computational semantics.
  • LING 54100: Historical Linguistics and Language Change
    • Prerequisite: LING 500 or equivalent (ENGL 563, FLL 563). A general examination of the ways in which languages and their subsystems change over time and of the forces that produce change. The comparative method; internal reconstruction; geographical variation; and social variation. Overview of world language families and genetic relationships.
  • LING 56300: Language Acquisition
    • This course offers an introduction to main linguistic, psycholinguistic and sociocultural approaches to language acquisition theory and research. Through extensive reading, students will develop a deep understanding of central issues affecting language acquisition in typically developing children, including age effects, and input and output conditions in the acquisition of syntax, semantics, phonology, lexicon and morphology. Emphasis will be made on experimental approaches and research methods in the acquisition of syntax in L1 and child bilingual development.
  • LING 56500: Sociolinguistics
    • An introduction to language in its social context, focusing on uses and users of language.  Topics include social class, ethnic group, gender, language attitudes, and bilingualism.
  • LING 57000: Field Methods in Linguistics
    • This course deals with the basic techniques for collecting language data, and is designed to reproduce and explore the conditions and methods of linguistic fieldwork in a classroom.  The course also addresses questions related to the ethics of retrieving linguistic data, the relations between the linguist and the speaking communities, and the use of collected data.  A non-Indo-European lesser-studied language will be examined with the help of a native speaker.  The main areas of its grammar will be covered: phonetic and phonological system, inflectional and derivational morphology, basic syntactic structures and basic semantic phenomena.  The final goal is to obtain a basic grammatical description of the language.  Lab sessions will be directed towards training in the software and audio and video tools used for the trade.
  • LING 57500: Theories for Foreign Language Acquisition
    • This is an advanced course designed to provide an overview of major theoretical issues in foreign language acquisition research. Provides a broad historical introduction to theories of acquisition that underlie these different perspectives. This course also provides an understanding of skills assessment and selection of instructional materials.
  • LING 57600: Latin American Indigenous Languages & Cultures
    • This course will help students to learn the importance of understanding the diversity of Latin American indigenous languages and cultures as well as the intercultural understandings gained when these indigenous languages are valued.  Moreover, this course will provide a general cultural and linguistic framework to understand the sociolinguistic status of the language within the context where it exists.  In this course, students will deepen their knowledge of Latin American indigenous cultures and their histories, as a means to achieving a greater understanding of both a shared humanity and the variety of human experiences.
  • LING 59000: Directed Reading in Linguistics
    • Admission by consent of the chair of Linguistic Program; May be repeated for credit. Independent study and reading on a topic in linguistics directed by a faculty member.
  • LING 59100: Special Topics in Phonology
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in phonology. Topic varies from semester to semester.
  • LING 59200: Special Topics in Syntax
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in syntax. Topic varies from semester to semester. 
  • LING 59300: Special Topics in Semantics
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in semantics. Topic varies from semester to semester.
  • LING 59400: Special Topics in Historical Linguistics
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in historical linguistics. Topic varies from semester to semester.
  • LING 59600: Statistical Modeling for Linguistics
  • LING 59800: Special Topics in Linguistics
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in linguistics. Topic varies from semester to semester. Examples: Acoustics of Speech, Bilingualism.
  • LING 61900: Seminar in Phonology
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in phonology. Topic varies from semester to semester. Example: Acquisition of L2 Phonology.
  • LING 62900: Seminar in Syntax
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in syntax. Topic varies from semester to semester. Example: Experimental Syntax.
  • LING 63900: Seminar in Semantics
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in semantics. Topic varies from semester to semester. Example: Semantics and Humor.
  • LING 64900: Seminar in Historical Linguistics
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated from credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in historical linguistics. Topic varies from semester to semester. Example: History of Indo-European Languages.
  • LING 68900: Seminar in Linguistics
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in linguistics. Topic varies from semester to semester. Examples: Language and Code-Switching; World Englishes, Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition.
  • LING 69000: Individual Seminar
    • Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated up to 6 hours for credit. Under the individual guidance and supervision of a faculty member, students will select and investigate a topic and will produce a paper of professional caliber on the subject.
  • LING 69800: Research M.A. Thesis
  • LING 69900: Research Ph.D. Thesis

Courses from other departments:

  • Language classes that count towards the language requirements for the MA and PhD can be taken through many departments. Consider looking under Arabic (ARAB), American Sign Language (ASL), Chinese (CHNS), French (FR), German (GER), Greek (GREK), Hebrew (HEBR), Italian (ITAL), Japanese (JPNS), Portuguese (PTGS), Russian (RUSS), and Spanish (SPAN) for language classes. 
  • Classes in the School of Languages and Cultures are listed under LC. The Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences lists its courses under SLHS. Many of these classes will be cross-listed with LING. Both Communications (COM) and Statistics (STAT) offer courses that can be helpful for students interested in methods courses, quantitative research, or sociolinguistics.