| Topic: ConLangs: How to Construct a Language
A constructed language (a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary are consciously devised for some purpose, instead of having developed naturally by a community of speakers over the course of generations. There are many reasons to create a
language, such as to ease communication (with machines, aliens, or with other people), to give fiction work (movies or books) an added layer of realism, for experimental and linguistic research (to study how language is learned and processed by humans and/or machines), for artistic creation, or simply for pleasure. In this course students will learn how the languages of
the world and their writing systems work, and construct their own languages and writing system. This course will also explores famous conlangs, such as Esperanto, Klingon, Tolkien's Elvish, Na¿vi, and Dothraki. Through regular assignments, students describe the phonology,
morphology, syntax, semantics, and writing system of their constructed language. The final assignment is a grammatical description of the new language.
The course will also introduce students to what they need to know to succeed as undergraduate students at a research university. What is going to be expected of them? What are some of the do¿s and don¿ts? How do they make the most of the experience? On a second
level, the students will familiarize themselves with some basic elements of academia and scientific research, and will even gain a modest amount of hands-on experience with those. We will explore concepts such as research questions, hypothesis testing, evidence, data,
experiments, the nature of scientific theories, and peer review - and we will examine the ¿mechanics¿ (organization and processes) of how these concepts are implemented in academia. |
| The three credit UB Seminar is focused on a big idea or challenging issue to engage students with questions of significance in a field of study and, ultimately, to connect their studies with issues of consequence in the wider world. Essential to the UB Curriculum, the Seminar helps students with common learning outcomes focused on fundamental expectations for critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and oral communication, and learning at a university, all within topic focused subject matter. The Seminars provide students with an early connection to UB faculty and the undergraduate experience at a comprehensive, research university. This course is equivalent to any 199 offered in any subject. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade of F or R may not be able to repeat the course during the fall or spring semester. |
