| Meeting time | MWF 2-3, CAS 212 |
| Instructor | Paul Hagstrom |
| hagstrom@bu.edu | |
| Phone | (617) 353-6220 |
| Office | 621 Commonwealth Ave., Rm. 105 |
| Office Hours | M 4-5; WF 3-4 (and by appointment) |
Prerequisite: CAS LX250 (Introduction to Linguistics), or consent of instructor.
Course Description: The characterization of question formation has played a significant role in the development of Linguistics, and brings together many different subfields. In this course, we look at questions from various perspectives, both in order to gain a deeper understanding of this rich area of language, and to gain insight into the larger picture of how linguistic subfields interact in the overall system of human language. The issues raised by question formation are substantial in every area of Linguistics. What functions do questions have in the development of discourse (pragmatics)? What kind of meaning a question can be assigned and how this might be represented alongside usual representations of statements (semantics)? What are the morphological characteristics of question words and particles (morphology)? What are the structural properties of questions as compared to statements (syntax)? What are the intonational characteristics of different types of questions (phonology)? Even beyond these narrower topics, we will look at how languages can and cannot differ, to get a sense of the overall typology of questions, and how the syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and intonational interact in a more complete understanding of question formation.
In this course, we will survey the phenomena, issues, proposals, and debates, drawn from the current and classic linguistic literature on a range of topics, including one of each student’s choosing, to be investigated independently and reported on (briefly) at the end of the course.
Students completing this course will:
Readings. There will be readings for each class session. All readings mentioned on the schedule are required, and should be completed by the beginning of class. Students registered for GRS LX 628 will have additional readings (often the entire paper, for which only excerpts are required for CAS LX 328, but sometimes additional related readings).
Attendance and participation. Regular attendance is required, and participation in classroom discussions is expected.
Homework. There will be homework assignments on roughly a weekly schedule. Students registered for GRS LX 628 will have an additional weekly assignment pertaining to the readings. On weeks in which no course project milestone is due during the second half of the course, homework will still be assigned but they will be shorter, given that it will coincide with work on the course project as well.
Midterm. There will be a midterm, midway through the term. But there won’t be a final, there will instead be a…
Course project. The course project will span roughly the last third of the course. There will be a short proposal due initially. Following that, there will be an interim report on progress and results on the project due (2–5 pages), a draft of the final paper due for comment, a short class presentation of the issue and results, and a final write-up of the project. The presentations will take place over the few class meetings of the semester, and the write-up is due on the last day of classes. For students taking CAS LX 328, the paper and presentation should be 10–15 pages and 10 minutes, respectively; for students taking GRS LX 628, 15–25 pages but still 10 minutes, respectively, because we have to get everybody in. Topic options will also differ depending on the course level registered for.
Late assignments. Late assignments will not be accepted without prior arrangement.
We live in an electronic age. You (unlike me) have always lived in an electronic age. You are expected to be reachable via your BU email address. The central communication center for the course is the course blog. Announcements, notes on readings, homework errata, and other information will be posted there on a regular basis, and things that are posted there will be assumed to have been communicated. Homework assignments can be sent (whenever feasible, and unless otherwise indicated) by email, or handed in on paper. It is your responsibility to ensure that electronically submitted material is in a readable format—if there is a question (for example, if you use a special font or an obscure word processor), send it early for verification. Unreadable submissions do not count as having been handed in.
There is no textbook for this course. Individual readings (articles, book chapters, notes) will be assigned throughout the semester.
| Homework (lowest dropped) | 35% |
| Midterm | 15% |
| Course project: proposal | 10% |
| Course project: interim report | 5% |
| Course project: paper draft | 10% |
| Course project: presentation and write-up | 15% |
| Regular attendance, participation | 10% |
It is essential that you read and adhere to the CAS Student Academic Conduct Code. Graduate students must also follow the policies of the GRS Academic Conduct code.