Linguistics has treated language as an active, living, social practice inseparable from human minds and communities. The rapid ascent of Large Language Models (LLMs) and data capitalism threatens to disrupt this foundation, forcing the discipline into to revisit fundamental assumptions. This course investigates the profound, unanswered questions that generative AI introduces to the study of language.
We will explore the theoretical, methodological, and political-economic gray zones where AI challenges core linguistic tenets. Students will interrogate pressing questions: Can we theoretically decouple "language" from a human "speaking subject"? How do we map conversational agency and "footing" when collaborating with an algorithm? How do sociolinguists track organic language change on an internet increasingly flooded by synthetic text and automated feedback loops? Finally, we will assess the risks of "algorithmic erasure" – how the commercial pressure for scale structurally flattens dialectal variation, minority syntax, and pragmatic nuances.
This course will take the format of a reading group.
Assessment is 100% coursework
- Class participation and discussion (20%);
- Critical reflections (written + oral) (40%);
- Term paper (40%);
We will read a mix of recent scholarly texts that provide an overview of linguistic issues that AI has introduced, as well as classic texts that pre-date LLM, based on which we will evaluate the extent to which existing concepts and theories need to be adapted for the age of AI.
A list of required and recommended readings will be provided.