Advances in human language technology have opened up a range of possibilities in providing unprecedented benefit to those working on language, such as linguists, language learners, language teachers and translators. The suite of software tools we focus on in this course enables us to create and manage textual, audio and associated video data for a wide range of purposes including language documentation, language processing, dictionary design, language learning, the analysis of classroom talk. We also demonstrate how known techniques can be applied to various domains, such as using concordances to analyse discourse or check the naturalness of candidate translation options. We cover the application of techniques and tools across a range of languages and subdisciplines.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

a)      be proficient in using one of the tools to create and manage linguistic data and resources as evidenced from the project assignment;

b)      understand key concepts in linguistics, and;

c)      develop problem-solving skills in linguistic analysis as exemplified in tutorial materials and problem sets.

The proposed assessment will consist of:

1. Problem sets (30%)
2. Project, using specific tools
   -project proposal (20%)
   -project (50%)

The course requires three contact hours each week for a lecture, a tutorial, and an introduction to tools (one hour each) and from six to ten hours a week outside the contact hours.

Entry to masters coursework program, or permission of convenor.

No prior knowledge required.

A reading brick will be made available combined with online reading.
For the relevant computational tools, manual and related information will be also made available on-line.

Students need access to a computer and the internet.