Fresno State Tutoring Student Success Site

Linguistics

Welcome to the Linguistics page!

This is the Learning Center Linguistics page. Feel free to browse the free and available resources for LING 139, 142, 143, 148, and 165. These resources were curated by Linguistics M.A. Student and Learning Center Writing Tutor Aidan Boyles, with the advice of and support from Dr. Sean Fulop, Dr. Chris Golston, Dr. Brian Agbayani, Dr. Michael Shepherd, and Dr. Jidong Chen of the Linguistics Department.

What is Phonetics?

Phonetics focuses on the production and classification of the world’s speech sounds in different languages (Centre for Linguistics Research, n.d.). Students will discover how your vocal organs (e.g., lips, tongue, teeth) interact to produce a wide range of speech sounds (Centre for Linguistics Research, n.d.).

Please refer to the Fresno State Course Catalog when you search for LING 139 and the LING 139 Course Syllabus when you enroll in the class.

LING 139 (Phonetics) Primary Materials

Click on the cover (or this link) to access and download the free PDF version of the LING 139 textbook:

This is the website that accompanies the course textbook.

Click on the front page of the website (or this link) to access it:

This is Praat, a computer software program that you can download to analyze phonetic sounds on your computer. You will need to use Praat for specific assignments.

Click on the front page (or this link) to access the website and follow the instructions to download it:

LING 139 (Phonetics) Supplementary Materials

Intro to Phonetics (Part 1)

Crash Course Linguistics introduces viewers to phonetics (the study of speech sounds), consonants, and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

If the video does not play on this page, click on this link watch it on YouTube.

Intro to Phonetics (Part 2)

We’ll learn about vowels, those sounds you can sing with your mouth open, and how we can represent them clearly using the IPA.

If the video does not play on this page, click on this link watch it on YouTube.

What is Phonology?

Phonology looks at how speech sounds (e.g., intonation, vowels, consonants, tones, pitch) are represented and organized in different languages (Sounds in Trees, n.d.). Students will learn how to idenitfy the phonological elements of speech sounds and assess how these elements comprehensively function in "syllables, words, and sentences" (Golston, Spring 2025 Course Syllabus).

Please refer to the Fresno State Course Catalog for more information about LING 142 and the LING 142 Course Syllabus when you enroll in the class.

LING 142 (Phonology) Primary Materials

Make sure that Praat is installed on your computer. You will need to to collect and anlayze speech data on Praat for your term paper.

Doulos SIL is a Linguistics-specific font that you use for MacOS, Windows, or Linux. This font enables you to use IPA letters and symbols on Google Docs and Microsoft Word. You will need to have Doulos SIL installed on your computer to complete your assignments and finish the term paper.

LING 142 (Phonology) Supplementary Materials

Intro to Phonology

We’ll learn about phonology and the phonological systems we see in different languages to gain a better understanding of phonological patterns.

If the video does not play on this page, click on this link watch it on YouTube.

Distinguishing Phonemes & Allophones

Evan Ashworth, the person in the video, provides a brief overview of the phonological differences between phonemes and allophones.

If the video does not play on this page, click on this link watch it on YouTube.

What is Syntax?

Syntax investigates how phrases and sentences are naturally structured across different languages to answer the following question: "What makes us human?" (Agbayani, Course Syllabus, Spring 2025). Students will learn what syntactic categories and constituents are in natural language and how ro apply a series of specific tests that help determine their constituency (Agbayani, Course Syllabus, Spring 2025).

Please refer to the Fresno State Course Catalog for more information about LING 143 and the LING 143 Course Syllabus when you enroll in the class.

LING 143 (Syntax) Primary Materials

JS Syntax Tree is a free website that enables you to easily build syntax trees. You may need JS Syntax Tree to answer questions for of the course assignments. Please click on the front page below (or this link) to access the website.

LING 143 (Syntax) Supplementary Materials

Intro to Syntax (Part 1)

Grammar sometimes gets a bad reputation, but we're actually doing grammar all the time! And we're pretty good at it!

We'll begin our discussion of syntax by learning how we can take words and morphemes and turn them into sentences, questions, stories, and even videos like this!

If the video does not play on this page, click on this link watch it on YouTube.

Intro to Syntax (Part 2)

There are many theories of syntax and different ways to represent grammatical structures, but one of the simplest is tree structure diagrams!

We’ll use tree structure diagrams to keep track of words and groups of words within sentences, and we’ll break down what roles different types of words and phrases play within a sentence.

If the video does not play on this page, click on this link watch it on YouTube.

The Ling Space Playlist (Morphology & Syntax)

This is a playlist of Mophology and Syntax videos from The Ling Space, the building blocks and structures we use to build words and sentences.

Click on the front page below (or this link) to access the playlist and watch the videos on YouTube.

Lingthusiasm Podcast Playlist (Syntax Episodes)

This is a playlist of Syntax episodes from the Lingthusiasm podcast. Lingthusiasm episodes assume no prior knowledge of linguistics and are designed to be listenable in any order.

Click on the front page below (or this link) to access the playlist and watch the videos on YouTube.

Lingthusiasm Podcast Playlist (Morphology Episodes)

This is a playlist of Morphology episodes from the Lingthusiasm podcast. Lingthusiasm episodes assume no prior knowledge of linguistics and are designed to be listenable in any order.

Click on the front page below (or this link) to access the playlist.

Lingthusiasm Podcast Playlist (Semantics Episodes)

This is a playlist of Morphology episodes from the Lingthusiasm podcast. Lingthusiasm episodes assume no prior knowledge of linguistics and are designed to be listenable in any order.

Click on the front page below (or this link) to access the playlist.

Lingthusiasm Podcast Playlist (Morphology Episodes)

This is a playlist of Syntax lectures that go along with Andrew Carnie's Syntax: A Generative Introduction (textbook). Andrew Carnie is a syntactician at the University of Arizona. Andrew is able to explain undergraduate Syntax in a easy-to-understand format as a self-study.

These videos can be viewed in sequence for (1) an effective crash course on Syntax and (2) to help you prepare for LING 143.

Click on the front page below (or this link) to access the playlist and watch the videos on YouTube.

LING 143 (Syntax) Term Paper

You must write a research paper "on the morphology and syntax on a language other than English" (Syntax Paper Guidelines, p. 1). If you are a native speaker of a language (e.g., Spanish), that can become the subject of your paper (Syntax Paper Guidelines). Alternatively, you may also work with a native speaker or consult with "a reference grammar on the language of your choice" when collecting and analyzing your syntactic data (Syntax Paper Guidelines, p. 1).

Syntax Formatting, Citation Methods, & References Tips

Although you do not need a title page, but the title of your paper and your name the must be "at the very top" and "centered", precisely so:

The Syntax of Viennese German

Aidan Boyles

The research paper itself also must

be between 10-15 pages in length;
be formatted with 12 Font and Times New Roman for the entire paper (e.g., title, headings, and all text);
use 1.5 line spacing and 1-inch margins on all sides (e.g., top, bottom, right, left) (Syntax Paper Guidelines, p. 1).

When illustrating your syntactic data in your research paper, the Syntax Paper Guidelines (p. 3) notes that a sentence example must be written out with

a numbered example of the featured sentence;
an IPA transcription or English romanization of the sentence;
an "interlinear gloss (with the morphemes indicated)"; and,
an English translation of the sentence:

(1) Shinji-ga hon-o kat-ta

Shinji-Nom book-Acc bought-Past

'Shinji bought a book'

For more info about glossing, please refer to the Leipzig Glossing Rules on the Max Planck Department of Linguistics website.

If you use published or web resources, please follow the citation method to format your references according to the Linguistic Society of America's Language Style Sheet (Syntax Paper Guidelines, p. 1).

The in-text and full-text citations for the references section must be formatted in Chicago style, like so:

ABELS, KLAUS. 2003. Successive cyclicity, anti-locality, and adposition stranding. Storrs: University of Connecticut dissertation.

As for the in-text citations, you must use a colon (:) in lieu of a comma (,) between the date of publication and page number (for direct quotations):

E.g., … (Fränkel 1960:142).

Wikipedia articles often contain a references section, which you could cite those sources (in the reference section) as a starting point for conducting research.

Only cite the Wikipedia article's references, NOT the Wikipedia article itself:

The Syntax Paper Guidelines document will be located on the LING 143 Canvas Module. If you have any questions and/or concerns about drafting the research paper (e.g., formatting, proper quotations, citations), please email Dr. Brian Agbayani, our resident Syntactician. He's always happy to help!

Addtional Syntax Term Paper Resources

Glottolog (Language Index/Reference)

Glottolog is a comprehensive database of the world's languages. You can use Glottolog to find more information about "different languages, dialects, and families of the world ('languoids')" (n.d.). Remember to cite what you describe in the References of your Syntax paper. Click on the map below (or this link) to get started.

Ethnologue (Language Index/Reference)

Ethnologue is another language database to find information on over six thousand languages and dialects. If you cannot find anything that is helpful on Glottolog, perhaps Ethnologue might have the specific kind of information you are looking for. Remember to cite what you describe in the References of your Syntax paper.

Click on the front page below (or this link) to get started.

World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS)(Language Index/Reference)

WALS is another language database that details the "structural (phonological, grammatical, lexical) properties of languages" (Dryer & Hapelsmath, 2013). So, If you cannot find anything on Glottolog and Ethnologue that is relevant for the paper, perhaps WALS might have the specific kind of information you're looking for.

NOTE

It is imperative that you cite the specific chapter that you are taking your information from, not just the general work of "The World Atlas of Language Structures Online" (Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin 2013), unless you are citing data from more than 25 chapters simultaneously.

WLAS recommends that you cite the general work as:
- Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) 2013. WALS Online (v2020.4) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13950591 (Available online at https://wals.info, Accessed on 2025-04-04.)
And WALS Online chapters, as in the following example:
- Ian Maddieson. 2013. Consonant Inventories. In: Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) WALS Online (v2020.4) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13950591 (Available online at http://wals.info/chapter/1, Accessed on 2025-04-04.)

Click on the front page below (or this link) to get started.

Report abuse