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
Winter 2019 - I can't believe Suzy got so many bad reviews. I took 120A with her and it was a great experience. I would take her class again! She was very helpful on the final paper. Her handouts were so detailed and straight forward to a point you don't even need to pay too much attention in class but still do fine. She is also the most down to earth professor I have ever met. She would not only offer help on class related topics but also answer any question you might have about linguistics, even about future careers. I can't say enough good things about her. About guest lecturer part, I 've never had any guest lecturer coming to me 120A class, maybe that's just a 119A thing. I know that guest lectures are part of the course for 102, but again I took 103 and didn't have any. If you chose the easier alternative, maybe you should expect something being a little different. I can see how 119A was not the best class for some, but keep in mind people who take the time to write comments have strong negative or positive (like me) opinions. I think Suzy is a helpful and caring professor. I definitely recommend Suzy's class.
Winter 2019 - I can't believe Suzy got so many bad reviews. I took 120A with her and it was a great experience. I would take her class again! She was very helpful on the final paper. Her handouts were so detailed and straight forward to a point you don't even need to pay too much attention in class but still do fine. She is also the most down to earth professor I have ever met. She would not only offer help on class related topics but also answer any question you might have about linguistics, even about future careers. I can't say enough good things about her. About guest lecturer part, I 've never had any guest lecturer coming to me 120A class, maybe that's just a 119A thing. I know that guest lectures are part of the course for 102, but again I took 103 and didn't have any. If you chose the easier alternative, maybe you should expect something being a little different. I can see how 119A was not the best class for some, but keep in mind people who take the time to write comments have strong negative or positive (like me) opinions. I think Suzy is a helpful and caring professor. I definitely recommend Suzy's class.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2018 - She did not have an explicit and consistent late policy. She penalized students for breaking some random formatting rules even when submitting the rough draft. She changed the presentation schedule one day before the presentation and marked students down for not knowing it. Although her lectures were okay (they were clear enough but very boring), she showed deep mistrust toward students and was too arrogant and paranoid to be a professor.
Spring 2018 - She did not have an explicit and consistent late policy. She penalized students for breaking some random formatting rules even when submitting the rough draft. She changed the presentation schedule one day before the presentation and marked students down for not knowing it. Although her lectures were okay (they were clear enough but very boring), she showed deep mistrust toward students and was too arrogant and paranoid to be a professor.
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Most Helpful Review
The previous review is pretty spot on. I didn't find the course easy, but Phonology is NOT my subject. I went in completely intimidated and ended up with an A at the end of the course. I had to put in a lot of work (especially for the homework), but he is indeed lenient with the quiz grading. Save yourself pain, and GO TO OFFICE HOURS! For the final project, anyway. Ask a million questions. Take notes. That saved my group's grade, no doubt.
The previous review is pretty spot on. I didn't find the course easy, but Phonology is NOT my subject. I went in completely intimidated and ended up with an A at the end of the course. I had to put in a lot of work (especially for the homework), but he is indeed lenient with the quiz grading. Save yourself pain, and GO TO OFFICE HOURS! For the final project, anyway. Ask a million questions. Take notes. That saved my group's grade, no doubt.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - I loved phonology with Ben so much! He is genuinely my favorite ling professor I've had-- he taught the material incredibly clearly and had useful handouts and section assignments, manageable workload even though we covered some difficult material, and was super helpful and welcoming in office hours and before/after class if students had questions. I am really interested in taking more phonology after this class, having known basically nothing about it going in other than ling20 material. There were weekly quizzes given at the beginning of class on Thursdays but he allowed you to wait to turn it in during the break if you were late or just needed more time to finish. No lecture slides, but he made handouts for each lecture that were basically fill-in-the-blank notes. He was also very accommodating with due dates. I would take this class over again if I could and I hope I can take a class with Ben again soon.
Fall 2023 - I loved phonology with Ben so much! He is genuinely my favorite ling professor I've had-- he taught the material incredibly clearly and had useful handouts and section assignments, manageable workload even though we covered some difficult material, and was super helpful and welcoming in office hours and before/after class if students had questions. I am really interested in taking more phonology after this class, having known basically nothing about it going in other than ling20 material. There were weekly quizzes given at the beginning of class on Thursdays but he allowed you to wait to turn it in during the break if you were late or just needed more time to finish. No lecture slides, but he made handouts for each lecture that were basically fill-in-the-blank notes. He was also very accommodating with due dates. I would take this class over again if I could and I hope I can take a class with Ben again soon.
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