JAPN 131
Introduction to Japanese Formal Linguistics Fall 2023
Division I
Cross-listed ASIA 131

This course offers a general introduction to Japanese theoretical linguistics, a scientific study of the Japanese language. We will study the major subfields of theoretical linguistics, which addresses speech sounds (phonetics and phonology), word formation (morphology), sentence structures (syntax), and meaning (semantics). We will study those topics as we mainly compare Japanese and English. The knowledge and hands-on experience gained will enable us to pursue one of the above core fields and start investigating applied linguistics more effectively, including first/second language acquisition, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics and language change, and cross-linguistic variation and language universals. Although there is no prerequisite, Japanese language proficiency would be beneficial.