Topics in linguistics

This course is part of the programme
Master in SL studies - Linguistics

Objectives and competences

• To introduce students to current developments in linguistic theory and current issues in linguistics;
• To introduce students to primary linguistic sources and teach them how to search for information in different types of sources;
• To help students develop the ability to recognize and pursue significant research topics in linguistics;
• To offer students the opportunity to conduct original linguistic work on any given topic in linguistics.

Prerequisites

In order to successfully participate in in-class discussions and to follow the lectures, the student should take the introductory linguistic courses. This course is related to other courses in the programme curriculum.

Content

The content of this course is not fixed and as such will change from year to year. The overall aim of the course is to offer an in-depth exploration of current issues relating to natural language in relation to recent developments in linguistic theory. The organization of the course is such so as to enable investigations of issues within the various fields of linguistic theory, i.e. to cover topics in syntax, semantics, phonology or any other field in linguistics.

Intended learning outcomes

The students will have a sound knowledge of some concrete topic, know the basic literature about it and the main directions of current research.

Readings

Primary reading material would be articles from leading linguistic journals, such as: Linguistic Inquiry, Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, Syntax, Lingua, The Linguistic Review, Natural Language Semantics, Language, Linguistics, etc..

Assessment

Active participation in in-class discussions (40%). Final term paper (60%)

Lecturer's references

Associate professor of Linguistics at the University of Nova Gorica.

STEPANOV, Arthur, STATEVA, Penka. When QR disobeys superiority. Linguistic inquiry, ISSN 0024-3892, 2009, vol. 40, no. 1, str. 176-185. [COBISS.SI-ID 1130491]
STEPANOV, Arthur, STATEVA, Penka. Successive cyclicity as residual wh-scope marking. Lingua, ISSN 0024-3841. [Print ed.], dec. 2006, vol. 116, no. 12, str. 2107-2153.
STATEVA, Penka. On the status of parasitic gaps in Bulgarian. Journal of Slavic linguistics, ISSN 1068-2090, 2005, vol. 13, no. 1, str. 137-155. [COBISS.SI-ID 1154811]
STATEVA, Penka. Possessive clitics and the structure of nominal expressions. Lingua, ISSN 0024-3841. [Print ed.], Aug. 2002, vol. 112, no. 8, str. 647-690, doi: 10.1016/S0024-3841(01)00066-3. [COBISS.SI-ID 1150203]