Schedule of topics

Structure of Japanese · Fall 2026

This schedule may be subject to adjustment as needed.

Monday
Wednesday
Friday
[outline] Aug 17
Intro to the course
Japanese and linguistics
[outline] Aug 19 | phonetics
Writing vs. language
Japanese vowels
[outline] Aug 21
Japanese consonants
Japanese vs. English phonetics
[outline] Aug 24 | phonology
Mental sound patterns:
Sounds that change in context
[outline] Aug 26
Segmental phonology:
Allophones and rules
[outline] Aug 28
Allophones and rules, cont.
Loanwords and exceptions
[outline] Aug 31
Loanwords; Writing
Segmental phonology wrap-up
[outline] Sept 2
Pitch accent
Intro to OJAD
[outline] Sept 4
Prosodic categories:
Moras and syllables
Sept 7
HOLIDAY
[outline] Sept 9
Discussion: Phonology
Implications for L2 (J or E)
Sept 11
Quiz: Phonetics/phonology
Sept 14 | morphology
Structure of words
Adjective, verb morphology
Sept 16
Verb morphology and phonology
Sept 18
V and A morphology: summary
Sept 21
WELL-BEING DAY
Sept 23
Diagnosing word class
Nouns and adjectival nouns
Sept 25
Diagnosing word class, cont.
Tools for linguistic analysis
Sept 28
Compounds and rendaku
Discussion: Morphology
Sept 30
Quiz: Morphology
Oct 2 | projects
Final project information
Designing project materials
Oct 5 | sociolinguistics
Language, gender, and identity
Oct 7
In-group and out-group
Dimensions of politeness
Oct 9
Thematic roles, case
Verbs of giving and receiving
Oct 12
Discussion: Social context, identity, language use
Oct 14
Quiz: Sociolinguistics
Oct 16
FALL BREAK
Oct 19 | projects
Project workshop day:
Article summary
Oct 21 | syntax
Sentence structure
Constituents and trees
Oct 23
Subcategorization
Empty categories
Oct 26
Flexible word order
Configurationality debate
Oct 28
"Particles" vs. postpositions
Discussion: Syntax
Oct 30
Quiz: Syntax
Nov 2 | projects
Project workshop day:
Topic proposal
Nov 4 | semantics/pragmatics
The topic marker wa
Nov 6
Tense and aspect
Nov 9 | projects
Project workshop day:
Methodology plan
Nov 11 | historical linguistics
How do we know what Japanese used to sound like?
Nov 13
Historical morphology and syntax
Nov 16
Is Japanese related to any other languages?
Nov 18 | dialects
Language varieties
Dialect differences
Nov 20
Dialect differences, cont.
Nov 23 | big picture
Japanese discourse in action
Nov 25
THANKSGIVING
Nov 27
THANKSGIVING
Nov 30
Course overview / conclusions
Implications for L2 (J or E)
Dec 2 | projects
Project workshop day:
Presentations
 

** Final exam period (project presentations): F Dec 4, 4-7pm **