LING 490

Fall 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Aug 24-Dec 9

Special Topics in Linguistics

Credit: 3 OR 4 hours.

Course provides an opportunity to focus on various subfields of the linguistic sciences, depending on the interests of the faculty and student.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated as topic varies to a maximum of 9 undergraduate hours or 12 graduate hours. Students may register for up to two sections in the same term. Prerequisite: LING 100, LING 400, or consent of instructor.

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LING 490 class schedule data for fall 2026
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
70664	Lecture-Discussion	3CH	12:00PM -12:50PM	MWF	119 English Building	Nelson, S	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Info: Topic: Computational Phonology.This class will cover current approaches to computational phonology influenced by mathematical logic, automata theory, and abstract algebra. While computational phonology is an umbrella term that can cover many different approaches, this seminar takes the approach it does for the following reasons. First, it has direct ties with formal language theory, computational complexity theory, and computational learning theory which provide a way to quantify the restrictiveness of various phonological theories. Second, it provides a meta-language to reason about the similarities of what are often thought to be disparate theories. The primary focus of this class is theoretical, and the main goal is to show how computation itself can be a primary influence on phonological theory building rather than a secondary implementation mechanism. Restriction(s): Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.
48356	Lecture-Discussion	3UG	9:00AM -10:20AM	MW	145 Armory	Atiles, A	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Info: Topic: Statistics for Linguistics This course is an overview of statistical analysis for linguistics. While no prior background in statistics and R is assumed, students are encourage to get some basic R programming knowledge before the course to facilitate their learning and understanding . The goal of the course is for students to understand statistical concepts and analyses, in order to do analyses that are reasonable and appropriate. Focus will be placed on a critical analysis of current methods, as well as on scientific reproducibility and transparency. The course will begin with an overview of descriptive statistics, and will continue to hypothesis testing and linear regression. The course will be taught using the R software environment. Restriction(s): Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.
70668	Lecture-Discussion	4CH	12:00PM -12:50PM	MWF	119 English Building	Nelson, S	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 4 hours Section Info: Topic:Computational Phonology.This class will cover current approaches to computational phonology influenced by mathematical logic, automata theory, and abstract algebra. While computational phonology is an umbrella term that can cover many different approaches, this seminar takes the approach it does for the following reasons. First, it has direct ties with formal language theory, computational complexity theory, and computational learning theory which provide a way to quantify the restrictiveness of various phonological theories. Second, it provides a meta-language to reason about the similarities of what are often thought to be disparate theories. The primary focus of this class is theoretical, and the main goal is to show how computation itself can be a primary influence on phonological theory building rather than a secondary implementation mechanism. Restriction(s): Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
40583	Lecture-Discussion	4G	9:00AM -10:20AM	MW	145 Armory	Atiles, A	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 4 hours Section Info: Topic: Statistics for Linguistics This course is an overview of statistical analysis for linguistics. While no prior background in statistics and R is assumed, students are encourage to get some basic R programming knowledge before the course to facilitate their learning and understanding . The goal of the course is for students to understand statistical concepts and analyses, in order to do analyses that are reasonable and appropriate. Focus will be placed on a critical analysis of current methods, as well as on scientific reproducibility and transparency. The course will begin with an overview of descriptive statistics, and will continue to hypothesis testing and linear regression. The course will be taught using the R software environment. Restriction(s): Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
63731	Lecture-Discussion	G4	11:00AM -11:50AM	MWF	13 Sch of Info Sciences Bldg	Mendoza, A	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 4 hours Section Info: Topic: "Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in Applied Linguistics." This course is an overview of qualitative research methods in applied linguistics. No prior background is assumed before the course. The goal of the course is to understand the epistemological and methodological differences between different types of qualitative studies, the affordances of different types of data, developing research questions, research ethics, and how to design an empirically valid and transparent study. We will examine case studies, ethnographies, action research, and grounded theory in interview studies. We will use NVivo and Otter.ai. Restriction(s): Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
65072	Lecture-Discussion	UG	4:00PM -5:20PM	TR	1120 Literatures, Cultures, & Ling	Maskharashvili, A	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Info: MEETS WITH LING 506 (64841) Topic: “Logical Approaches to the Syntax-Semantics Interface”. Meets with LING 506. Prerequisites: 1.LING 301: Elements of Syntax (or more advanced course in Syntax) or LING 444: Computational Syntax) or equivalent. 2. LING 307: Elements of Semantics & Pragmatics or LING 490: Computational Semantics or equivalent. 3.In case of a relevant experience not listed above, please contact instructor for approval. Restriction(s): Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.
68133	Lecture-Discussion	UG3	11:00AM -11:50AM	MWF	13 Sch of Info Sciences Bldg	Mendoza, A	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Info: Topic: "Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in Applied Linguistics." This course is an overview of qualitative research methods in applied linguistics. No prior background is assumed before the course. The goal of the course is to understand the epistemological and methodological differences between different types of qualitative studies, the affordances of different types of data, developing research questions, research ethics, and how to design an empirically valid and transparent study. We will examine case studies, ethnographies, action research, and grounded theory in interview studies. We will use NVivo and Otter.ai Restriction(s): Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.