historicallinguist
-
Posts
215 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by historicallinguist
-
-
On May 29, 2016 at 11:42 AM, advil said:
This is a bit belated, but as a linguist (faculty) at JHU I wanted to attempt to clear up any confusion about linguistics at JHU. I'm not entirely sure what a "UG degree" is, but it is true that all of the linguistics research at JHU is strongly in the generative / formal linguistics camp, including Legendre's and Smolensky's research, and there is substantial interest in language variation and explanations for it. Our students do not tend to closely resemble linguistics researchers that I would describe as "UG" people, though. When evaluating a program for fit it is always helpful to look at the alumni page to get a sense for what students might do. For more information on linguistics research, this page might be helpful.
JHU CogSci would not be an appropriate place to do cognitive linguistics (and cognitive linguistics has very little to do with cognitive science); I agree with fuzzylogician's assessment of the fit issue for the schools in the OP. Edit: I would add to the OP, though, that's it's not obvious from your description of what you want to do that it would in fact be cognitive linguistics, which has very specific meaning and connotations. So it might be worth assessing what you really mean "cognitive linguistics" or you really mean linguistics/language research in a cognitive science context -- the latter will open a lot more doors.
Sorry for the confusion. I meant to say "undergraduate degree" when I said "UG degree" in the previous post. It looks like the program at JHU prefers candidates with previous degree(s) in disciplines such as psychology, computer science, linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, or formal disciplines such as mathematics, physics, applied mathematics, to candidates with previous degree(s) in disciplines such as XXX foreign language, or communication. That is, it seems to me that candidates with BA degrees except the few ones that specifically mentioned by the program are not particularly welcomed to apply to the linguistics program at JHU, due to the formal and quantitative nature of the program.
-
On May 20, 2016 at 2:05 AM, nickcsd said:
I'm a current undergrad student hoping to do a master's in computational linguistics/NLP. The more I read about it, the more I'm drawn to the University of Washington's MS program, but I'm rather worried because my GPA isn't great... around 3.3 at McGill University in a cognitive science program (though McGill has no cognitive science courses, so a majority of the courses I've taken for the 54-credit program have been in linguistics and computer science). However, that also includes six semesters of Arabic courses, in which I did quite well; if you drop those and look only at the linguistics and computer science courses, the average is closer to 3.0.
Am I crazy even to be thinking of applying to this program? How about the other programs (either MS/MA)? It's very difficult to find information on what sorts of applicants get accepted... Also, in the case that this isn't really a possibility for me right out of undergrad, what sorts of steps might I be looking at taking in order to strengthen my application with an eye to getting accepted the following year? Or, for that matter, what steps should I consider taking now in order to make the most of this upcoming year, my last of undergrad, in order to improve my chances the first time around?
You said the average is closer to 3.0, if looking at only linguistics and computer science courses. Do you mean that if including everything on the transcript, the cumulative GPA is below 3.0? If that is the case, I would suggest that you try everything you can to make sure that your cumulative GPA above 3.0, because 3.0 is like a threshold, and it is VERY IMPORTANT that you have a GPA higher than that.(it is a necessary but not sufficient condition though. If higher than that, no guarantee for admission. If lower than that, unlikely to get admission unless you have something else that makes you an exceptional candidate, e.g. some journal articles published in Language.
That said, because McGill's linguistics program is one of the best in the world, if you could get some letters of recommendation from some people from the linguistics department at McGill, and if the letters from these people are positive, it may be possible that your low GPA will be substantially boasted by the letters from these well-known people, and therefore you may still be admitted with a below-threshold GPA. As far as I know, most of the profs. at McGill's linguistics department are exceptionally wonderful people both in terms of their qualification and the quality of the papers they published. I would suggest you to take full advantage of this precious human (and academic) resources available to you.
You said you a in a cognitive science program but there is no cognitive science courses for your program at McGill. I am a bit confused by this. What do you mean? How could there be a program without courses within the program?
The Arabic courses you mentioned were not particularly relevant in this case. When you do write your statement, the emphasis should be placed on theoretical linguistics and computer sciences, not specific languages. After all, the pedagogical grammars of Arabic you studied in the past have very little, if anything, to do with the generative grammar, and formal theory of language (and programming language) you will be concentrating on when you are in the MS program at UW in the future.
-
12 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:
through working with people who had different approaches than mine
Just have some quick thoughts on methodology. While different approaches may achieve the some goal or goals in the end, the works each method entails vary greatly. Method A entail a great deal of works, whether it is in terms of collecting data or analyzing data, etc, in order to either prove or disprove a hypothesis, whereas Method B entail very little work to get the proof or disproof. If we agree that effectiveness=WORK/TIME for a certain goal and that the time we have is a constant (or finite), and, if we agree that we should be effective, then we want to minimize the work we do in order to achieve the goal so as to be effective. In this case, I think method A should be abolished, and Method B should be adopted unless a more effective NEW method C appears. Method A should only be of interest to history of linguistics, not linguistics. An analogy can be found in the field of physics. Instead of studying Aristotelian physics, we study Newtonian physics in high-school and college in our physics classes. Aristotelian physics is only of interest to the history of physics, not modern physics. Thus, I think part of the linguistic inquiry is to find the most effective way (i.e. entailing the least amount of work possible) to understand language.
-
On April 22, 2016 at 10:08 AM, charlemagne88 said:
I see that this is super old now, so I don't expect you to see this or even respond, but if you do I'd be thrilled. I'm having the hard choice of having to choose between CU-Boulder and Indiana University Bloomington. I'm confident I will like CO more than IN, but I'm worried that CU doesn't really offer much in terms of phonology... can you relieve any of my hesitation about the program???
What about funding? Which school offers you more funding? Also, what about fit? Are you really wanting to do phonology yet the school that offers you the better funding does not offer what you want in phonology? If this is the case, all you need to do is to consider whether you want to take priority to get into a program with better academic support but less financial support, or the other way around, i.e., with more financial support but less appropriate academic support.
-
From what the OP had said, it looks like the OP is in some kind of language program rather than a linguistics program, because usually it is only a specific language program that would constrain linguistic data on a very specific language. What do you mean by communities of practice? Do you mean some kind of pragmatic issues? If that is the case, what is your theoretical approach? Are you doing Neo-Gricean pragmatic theory and its application to the study of Arabic or something else? You said you wanted to compare. But what are you trying to compare? Are you comparing one modern Arabic dialect with another modern dialect? Or are you comparing with one modern Arabic dialect and its historical version? Or are you comparing with one modern Arabic dialect with another modern Semitic language? or something else? Another layer of this question of comparison would be what aspects of these two languages you would like to compare. Are you going to compare the lexical semantics, syntax, phonology, or something else of these two languages? So, all in all, you need to consider very carefully 1. Theoretical Framework of the research 2. Specific Object of research 3. Is this project workable yet trivial, or important yet not workable, or both workable and important?
-
On April 12, 2016 at 1:10 PM, preantepenultimate said:
Thanks for the reply.
-It's mixed for each program of course, but there is a lot of overlap between the committees, the contact persons, and department faculty/directors/etc.
-That's fine for the unofficial acceptance at least, but I'm still worried about the unofficial offer, mainly because they are absolutely silent when I try to get in touch about the possibility. They were fine with communicating up to and just after my visit, but nothing since.
-I'll still hope for the reimbursement, then!
-The only problem with the definite offer is that I would still incur some debt, as I still have to pay a substantial chunk of tuition (and housing). I would really like to receive a full ride, especially since that's what I was expecting from the program I visited. For the other offer, I did follow up, and the response was that decisions are ongoing and I could receive an offer at anytime or not at all.
I would say it is now the time to email the Chair of the Admission Committee. I was on a similar boat with you two months ago. I was accepted into a Ph.D. program at School A in February, without no funding offer along side with the admission offer. The department at school A told me that their funding situation this year is particularly bad, but that they may have some funding coming up in late March or early April. So, even though I had already accepted a funded offer from School B, I emailed School A today asking what is going on about the funding. School A has been silent since February, and, as expected, School A told me that they are unable to offer me funding.
So, if the school that offered you admission told you something like "funding situation may be better sometime later", "some new funding may come up later" etc but has been silent for a very long period since it offered you admission, I would say that this is a very bad sign. After all, saying nothing about funding on its own is saying something about the dire funding prospect.
For reimbursement, do not worry about it. You will be reimbursed. The bureaucracy of the university makes it taking forever to get you reimbursed, and this is something generally beyond the control of the department.
Where were your follow-up messages sent to? Did you send them to you POIs, DGS, or administrative staff, or did you send your messages to all of these people? If it is your POIs who ignored your repeated emails, I would think twice before going to this school. Based on my past experience, those who continue to ignore emails tend to support students academically no more than the baseline minimum required by the regulation of the university. As a result, I would recommend you to carefully assess the risk of not being academically well-supported in this program before you make the decision to attend.
-
1 hour ago, Abendstern said:
That is not at all what I meant. I specifically said non-academic positions. It is naive to think that everybody now admitted to PhD can or will want to finish. Many will go on to private sector jobs, apply to law schools or other professional programs, etc. For these positions, you still want a strong GPA. While you may not be submitting a transcript, you certainly will be submitting a resume. And I can tell you from experience that, when I review resumes, I immediately look at the GPA (and negatively view those who don't include it). This is especially true for applying to law school (and yes, even many law jobs). A "C+ for your 'Calculus III' class" will look especially bad, because it is at the end of your undergrad career and is higher level. It's the early, less important grades that tend to be written off.
But as others have already pointed out, even for post-doc positions you often are required to submit all transcripts.Just curious. If someone lists on the resume something like "summa cum laude"/"cum laude" etc rather than the numerical GPA, would such a resume be reviewed positively for non-academic job application? Do you think that listing both the Latin Honor and the Numerical GPA would be a better presentation on the resume?
-
7 hours ago, rising_star said:
I'm not in philosophy OR linguistics but I've applied for a number of faculty and postdoc positions where I was required to submit ALL transcripts, both undergraduate and graduate, as part of my application.
I am quite surprised about this. But certainly it is good for me to know.(Fortunately, I did get the highest possible grades for the last semester of my undergraduate career).
-
1 hour ago, Abendstern said:
It would be unbelievably foolish to slack off on college courses. You can never go back and redo your undergrad degree. You may, someday, want to apply to another school if you change you mind about philosophy or you may try to get a non-academic job. In both cases your undergraduate grades matter. In law, which I imagine is a popular exit option for philosophy PhDs, undergraduate grades always carry the most weight, even if you have stellar graduate grades. Don't make the mistake of slacking off on something just for the sake of something as silly as senioritis.
Do you mean that, when you apply for a post-doc position/position that requires a Ph.D., the employer/post-doc fellowship committee still requires you to submit your undergraduate transcript?
I am in linguistics and this is certainly not the case for linguistics. Maybe you are right if this is the case for law. But it depends on what courses you are taking during your last semester in your undergraduate institution. I doubt whether it will really matter when you apply for a position in law if you get a C+ for your "Calculus III" class during your last semester in your undergraduate institution.
-
1 minute ago, Horb said:
We have had entirely different experiences that are field dependent. Proceed with caution op.
Yes, I think you are right. Proceed with caution.
-
On February 20, 2016 at 8:05 PM, hurricaneal said:
I was just rejected by my last hope school, Colorado Boulder.
As an international student, I have to apply to something in order to stay in the U.S. after my I20 expiration.
My first choice is to apply to an OPT extension and re-apply to grad school next year.
The other choice is to find some master programs in physics. Does anyone know some such programs?
Here are my grades,
GPA 3.89, from a US top 40 school, no high reputation in physics
GRE V156/Q170/W4.0
PGRE 990
Thank you very much
I really want to continue doing physics...
How about schools with rolling enrollment? If you can pay for it either with your own fund or with a student loan, I think you could try to apply to schools with rolling enrollment.
You do not have to finish the master degree in the school with rolling enrollment. You can start to apply to some other funded programs when you are in the unfunded program. As soon as you get some offers from some funded program, you could quit the unfunded program and then transfer to the funded program, without first finishing the degree in the unfunded program.
-
42 minutes ago, Horb said:
I disagree with a lot of this advice. If OP is going for a masters, they most likely won't get funded, even if they were in the us. That has nothing to do with field or department merit. It has to do with how schools structure their programs. Many schools in the US do have cash cow programs (NYU, UChicago) but a lot more, though you pay for them, provide the same access to professors. I mean, imagine someone telling you turn down Harvard Law because they didn't find you. You will have far more job opportunities with Harvard than a low tier school.
Also, in terms of the withdrawing method: you will most likely have to pay a deposit that is nonrefundable and you will lose that regardless of whether or not you formally withdraw or do this odd waiting until you're kicked out method. I don't know why you would do that to a school, especially one that liked you enough to fund you. They clearly would have planned for you to teach or conduct research. It's highly unprofessional and you could encounter these people in your future job/field and your withdrawing tactic will be remembered. So, if you do accept and change your mind, just tell them in May when you here back.
I beg to disagree. I was in a cash cow master program in a presumable top tier school in the U.K. I was thinking the same thing you said before I enrolled in this cash cow program. Actually, it turned out to be one of the most serious disasters in my life. In terms of job opportunities, it depends on what kind of job you are looking for. If you are looking for non-academic jobs, a degree from a cash cow program in a school with high overall ranking would help a lot. However, if you want to continue to get a Ph.D./get some kind of academic jobs, I do not think a degree from a cash cow program would help a lot (even if it does help in some way).
Actually, at least in my field, there is no deposit to pay and all I need to do is to simply send back an email saying I would like to attend/to go to the online system and click "accept"/ return the signed form saying I would like to attend (this is the case for both MA and Ph.D programs in my field). I agree with you that this tactic is highly unprofessional, and, frankly speaking, it is a tactic that takes advantage of the loophole of the contract. I would say this tactic would be something like a last resort when no other better option is available. So, all in all, I would suggest the OP uses this tactic with caution.
-
On March 19, 2016 at 6:01 PM, completeurprofile said:
After getting acceptances, I am no longer motivated to do well in my courses. Will anyone care if grades slip in the final semester of your undergrad transcript? Will professors get upset at you for dropping the ball? Does anyone look at undergrad transcripts? I know there are only a few weeks left, but I do not feel like doing much. lol... Is anyone else on the same boat?
It depends on what kind acceptances you got. If you got MA acceptances, DEFINITELY TRY YOUR BEST AND DO WELL IN THE FINAL SEMESTER OF YOUR UNDERGRAD. This is because when you apply for Ph.D. in the future, adcoms are going to look at it.
However, if you got Ph.D. acceptances, forget about it, and just get a passing grade (sometimes, it is even unnecessary to pass if it is an elective course that does not count for anything and you have already got more than enough credits to graduate.) In this case, I think it is even morally acceptable to do the bare minimum. Doing more than the minimum could potentially generate a negative overall utility (your unhappiness due to more work + the unhappiness of the people around you due to your unhappiness - your prof's happiness due to your handwork > 0) , while doing the minimum should generate a 0 overall utility as your happiness due to doing less work offsets the unhappiness of your prof due to your worsened grade. So, if you adopt the moral theory of act utilitarianism, you would agree that it is morally acceptable to do the bare minimum in this case.
-
8 hours ago, amayadoli said:
hold Japanese language teaching positions while also carrying out research on their own
What kind of research? I am just a little bit curious.
-
No, not at all. GRE is like a threshold. As long as you are above the threshold (I guess it is around 320/340, writing 4/6), it does not matter any more.
I think the personal statement and wring sample are far more important when it comes to whether you can get admitted or not.
-
18 minutes ago, heliogabalus said:
Oh, and on the matter of translations--original texts are static, but since language constantly changes then new translations are always welcome and interesting. Each translation will carry different interpretations and readings (as well as appealing to different audiences) so they are always worth doing. The only real issue in my mind is figuring out which works to translate--would it be better to spend your time translating the Chronica Boemorum into English since nobody has (well finally one person did) instead of Tacitus?
On the matter of translation, essentially you are mapping one form to another.
Suppose we got a Latin text. Let's call this Latin text X.
Suppose we had a English translation of X in 1800s. Let's call this english translation of x in 1800s Y.
Now we want to make a new English translation of X in 21st century English. Let's call this translation we want to do Z. Let's call 21st century English "21E".
Potentially, we could map X to 21E in order to create Z, or we could map Y to 21E to create Z.
Mutatis mutandis, if we have other earlier English translation, we will have more possible mappings.
The real question would be which way of mapping will achieve the best balance between accuracy and efficiency.
-
10 minutes ago, heliogabalus said:
Wait--somebody posting something eurocentric in a Classics department thread! *drops monocle in tea* Despite all the undergrad rage mustered at this concept, the US for the most part is a very Western country (as is every country in America, since the majority or official language of every one is indeed European), and as a result Western Culture is viewed as patrimony. If you're upset about this, a Classics thread doesn't seem like a place to hang out.
I am not upset about this.
Suppose you are right and the U.S. is pretty much a Western country. But how about the classics of the Nordic and Germanic countries? Shouldn't these classical works written in Runes be also considered part of the patrimony of European peoples or Americans with European ancestry?
There is nothing wrong to do Greek/Roman classics. But I think it is problematic to assign cultural prestiges to these two cultures. This is because, when you assign a label of "being prestigious" to a certain culture, you underlying connotation is that there are some other "inferior cultures" that are inferior to the one you assign prestige to.
Essentially, assigning prestige to a certain culture is in itself a discriminatory act of judgment.
-
On March 15, 2016 at 5:59 PM, MakeAmericaGreekAgain said:
I was accepted to the Classics MSt course at Oxford and the Classics MPhil course at Cambridge. I'm seriously considering those offers. Has anyone here done those programs? If so, what was your experience? How rigorous was your course? Were you satisfied or disappointed with it? Also, as a graduate of an American undergraduate institution, I am wondering how the transition to a British graduate school went for you. I'd appreciate any insight you might have!
Which Mst course you got into in Oxford? Is your Mst in the Faculty of Classics or the Faculty of Philology?
-
On March 17, 2016 at 9:22 PM, Agrippina said:
I think that there is a case for each generation to interact with the material from our patrimony, so I think that is at least one reason why new translations are a good idea. While Latin isn't really changing, vernacular languages certainly are. English is not the same as it was ten, twenty, fifty, three-hundred years ago.
What do you think?
What do you mean by "our patrimony"? Not everyone in the U.S. has European ancestry. "Our Patrimony" sounds very Euro-centric, and it sounds like you dismissed the diversity of different non-European cultures.(For example, it is hard for Native Americans for recognize the Western classics as their patrimony).
-
34 minutes ago, humidz said:
I'd say it is very unlikely to have positive impact. I doubt people are actually that cynical, but from the objective perspective of the department, they should be happy to not give you any money if you are willing to go there without any. It surely can't hurt to politely ask them about the funding situation though. I would generally advise against going to any program without funding. It's probably not going to be a great thing on your CV - it might look like you went to a program not based so much on your merits, but on your financial abilities to pay for yourself. You'll definitely look like a second class student.
True. I would say accept the unfunded offer ONLY IF the unfunded offer is the ONLY OFFER you have.
-
4 hours ago, Paper Moon said:
Thank you for the advice.
That's what I feared. The program told me that I might still get scholarships and that I shouldn't decline my offer yet.
I'n in a bit of a pickle, because I can choose my dream school with no funding, wait for a really fantastic program that won't get back to me until May and could be fully funded (in Germany), or accept a program I am so-so about which has offered me full funding (but I would hate to turn them down after accepting them, but I won't know about the German school until May and I have to let the so-so school know by 15 April).
Accept the one (Let's say School A) with full funding with an April 15 deadline first. Then, see whether you got the German school in May. If you do, do not register for Fall classes for School A, and School A will automatically deem you as withdrawing from the program.(Then, you can avoid the problem of violating a contract because technically speaking, one of the fellowship/TAship contract would be registering for a certain credits of classes. If you do not register, you fail to meet the condition of the contract, so you are no longer eligible for the offer you accepted. Then, you could get of the offer you accepted without violating the contract).
I think LSE would be your least priority. If the department does not have funding for you at all, you need to think twice before you accept their offer. Not for the reason that you will have to pay (of course this is part of the consideration, but there is some other considerations). If a department does not have funding at all for you, it is possible that this department has some serious internal financial issues. Such issues will not only manifest themselves in the form that you are not offered funding at all, but also possibly manifest themselves in the form that there may not be much student-professor interactions (because, if the department (at least in the U.K.) lacks of the financial resources, generally the professors on the website may not even teach you. You will be taught in the way that is most economical (i.e. cheapest) for the department) You may be taught be phd students, departmental lecturer, etc. And class size may be huge as a direct result of the fact that the department lacks of financial resources.) So, all in all, I think you need to do more research on what kind of academic supports you can get when you are in the program at LSE. If prestige (of a certain professor/of the department/of the school) is the only reason that drives you to LSE, go to the other funded programs.
Your academic progress is not going to be supported by the prestige of the professor/of the department/of the school. After all, your academic progress is going to be supported by the academic support from your professors, and the financial support from you department and school.
- Horb and Paper Moon
-
1
-
1
-
On March 18, 2016 at 2:00 AM, Paper Moon said:
Does anyone know of any LSE scholarships (or scholarships for Americans who want to study at LSE/the UK) aside from the graduate support scheme?
Maybe federal plus loan is a possibly option. I do not think U.K. schools such as LSE has too many scholarships for American citizens. If it does, it is unlikely that the scholarship will cover everything. Either way, you may need to consider federal plus loan as an option, if you really want to attend LSE.
-
On March 8, 2016 at 2:04 AM, fencergirl said:
Ah, so you've already waited 14 of the 15 days then?? That is tricky... You probably should have asked have for an extension from school B earlier. Perhaps you can call them and ask now though? Say you are waiting to hear from another school and want to consider all your options, and you thought you would have heard by now but you haven't, or something like that? That still seems preferable to accepting an offer and then later backing out.
Accepting an offer from one school and then turning it down later is very bad form (and will reflect badly and you and maybe even your letter writers) and should be avoided if at all possible. On the other hand, this is a pretty tricky situation considering B is your dream school and they say you are high on the list. Maybe some more experienced people can weigh in. Good luck!
Not backing out DE JURE, but back out DE FACTO. Just not register for fall classes. Then, the original poster can automatically get out of the offer he/she accepted, without violating the binding contract of TAship/Fellowship (by not satisfying on purpose one of the essential conditions of the contract)
-
On March 8, 2016 at 1:33 AM, sighsdeeply said:
Hi. I hope you all can give me some advice. I have received an amazing offer from one of my top choice programs, let's call it A. Literally at any other time, I'd have jumped at the bit to accept it and I would be very happy to go there. But the university I consider my dream school has emailed me that I'm very high on their final post-interview consideration list and they will let me know soon, let's say they're B. University A has told me to indicate accept or decline of their offer within 15 days. I have waited 2 weeks for University B and they say they are still considering applications and that I will know within a week. Can I enroll at A now and then later back out if B works out? Or are enrollments binding? Please help!
ETA: They have stated that I just indicate preliminary acceptance on their website, but that the admission is only official when I make the deposit and sign the offer letter before April 15th.
Technically speaking, Yes. You can always accept an offer and then get out of it in various ways (without violating your own promise/contract). For example, you can withdraw during the summer by not registering classes in the online registration system for the fall. Technically speaking, if you withdraw, you are nothing violating your TA contract/Fellowship contract, because one of the conditions on your TA contract/Fellowship contract should be something like "you got to register enough credits in order to receive the funding in a certain semester". Because you are unable to fulfill this condition (by not registering for class on purpose), you can automatically get out of the offer that you accepted.
But this trick will make you leave a very bad impression to the faculty members in School A (maybe you will make the people who accepted you quite angry). I would suggest you to use this trick only if you are sure that you are not going to need something in the future from the profs in School A. So, use it with caution!
Reading recommendations?
in Linguistics Forum
Posted
Here is one for semantics: Semantics in Generative Grammar by Heim and Kratzer (1998).