Certificate
Requirements for a Certificate in Linguistics
A. LIN 201/ENG 213 Introduction to Language and Linguistics
B. 4 additional courses
C. Senior independent work
A. LIN 201 is an introduction to the linguistic theory that forms the basis for most of the other courses offered by the Program in Linguistics. It is also a prerequisite for most advanced courses in Linguistics.
B. Any LIN course, 200-level or above, counts for this category. Cognate courses
include those listed below. The Program Director may approve additional courses on an individual basis.
Classics 208 Origins and Nature of English Vocabulary
Classics 210/LIN 210 Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics
East Asian Studies
444 Introduction to Chinese Linguistics
446 History of the Chinese Language
447 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
Philosophy 317 Philosophy of Language
Psychology 309 Psychology of Language
Graduate courses may be counted as related courses with the approval of the Director.
C. Ideally some aspect of linguistics will be incorporated into the senior thesis. Other arrangements can be made if this is not practical.
Application: online or PDF
Meet the Concentrators
Sarah D’Antonio, a junior from Garden City, NY, is an independent concentrator in linguistics. She studied linguistics and math abroad in the Pembroke-King’s Programme at the University of Cambridge in England during her sophomore summer. At Princeton, Sarah sings in the Chapel Choir, performed with the Tigerlilies, and is a member of the Linguistics Club. She is also a member of Colonial Club.
My name is Erik Zyman, and I'm from New York City. I'm an alumnus of Stuyvesant High School; a veteran of the National Spelling Bee and the National Vocabulary Championship; and president of the Princeton Linguistics Club. I'm independently concentrating in linguistics because I find fascinating the project of discovering how the extremely intricate system of knowledge we call language—which we control unconsciously and with almost no effort—works. Or, in other words, by what rules and principles it's governed.
I'm interested in syntax, information structure, morphology, semantics, and their interrelationships, and I also maintain interests in prosodic and typological issues. My JPs investigated phenomena in P'urhépecha, a genetically isolated agglutinating indigenous language of the state of Michoacán in central-western Mexico. My first JP sought to determine whether the language has split intransitivity; tentatively, the answer seems to be yes. The second tested the hypothesis that the language's rather free constituent order (all orders of S, V, and O are attested) could be explained with reference to information structure; it seems that, to a very great extent, it can. For my thesis, I'm testing the predictions of the Cinque hierarchy, and exploring other aspects of adverbial syntax and semantics. My other research interests, which I hope to pursue or keep pursuing in the future, include the following, among others: 1) binding and reference, quantifier scope, and their interact ions with ellipsis; 2) long-distance dependencies; 3) enriching the empirical base of theoretical linguistics through fieldwork on endangered and understudied languages; and 4) integrating the insights of different research programs within linguistics (e.g., formal and functional, generative and typological, theoretical and experimental).
My interests outside linguistics range from molecular biology to logic to ethics. Among my nonacademic hobbies I count reading, listening to music, watching movies, working out, surfing the Internet, and hanging out with friends. I also have a weakness for Latin and Ancient Greek, and am the winner of the 2010 Stinnecke Prize.