LING 120A
Phonology I
Description: Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Requisites: courses 20, 103. Introduction to phonological theory and analysis. Rules, representations, underlying forms, derivations. Justification of phonological analyses. Emphasis on practical skills with problem sets. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - I absolutely loved Professor Zuraw!! It is so clear how passionate she is about teaching, and the class was setup to ensure that students could make mistakes but still receive a great grade as long as you showed mastery later on. This year, she experimented with having technology-free class and we were given physical paper handouts to follow along with lecture. I felt a bit skeptical at first, but it actually helped me focus really well, and the handouts were a great resource to look back to especially if you don't have the time to look through the textbook (although I personally found the textbook helpful too). The class was skills-mastery based, and we had quizzes (very low-stakes) every week as well as long catch-up quizzes that gives you lots of opportunities to master the skills you need. I didn't even have to attend the final because I was able to get all my points during class. Homework assignments were definitely very enriching, and despite phonological analysis being one of my weaker spots, I feel a lot more comfortable and confident working with phonological data now. The homework pushed us to write phonological rules for data from different languages every other week, and we were given both an original + revision deadline to receive written feedback on our submissions. Because all of the homeworks were technically due on finals week, we had lots of time to visit office hours where she was more than happy to help walk through things, or ask for direct feedback. Overall would definitely recommend taking Ling 120A with Prof Zuraw :)
Fall 2025 - I absolutely loved Professor Zuraw!! It is so clear how passionate she is about teaching, and the class was setup to ensure that students could make mistakes but still receive a great grade as long as you showed mastery later on. This year, she experimented with having technology-free class and we were given physical paper handouts to follow along with lecture. I felt a bit skeptical at first, but it actually helped me focus really well, and the handouts were a great resource to look back to especially if you don't have the time to look through the textbook (although I personally found the textbook helpful too). The class was skills-mastery based, and we had quizzes (very low-stakes) every week as well as long catch-up quizzes that gives you lots of opportunities to master the skills you need. I didn't even have to attend the final because I was able to get all my points during class. Homework assignments were definitely very enriching, and despite phonological analysis being one of my weaker spots, I feel a lot more comfortable and confident working with phonological data now. The homework pushed us to write phonological rules for data from different languages every other week, and we were given both an original + revision deadline to receive written feedback on our submissions. Because all of the homeworks were technically due on finals week, we had lots of time to visit office hours where she was more than happy to help walk through things, or ask for direct feedback. Overall would definitely recommend taking Ling 120A with Prof Zuraw :)
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