Christopher Geissler
Nov 19, 2025 · Historical comment
Chris is so funny and engaging in class. Cares a lot about linguistics and makes it actually fun to learn. Workload was not too bad and he is not a harsh grader. Def recommend!
LING3101 · Slavic & Eastern Languages and Literatures
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
An introduction to linguisticsthe scientific study of human languageand contemporary linguistic theory. Linguists use mathematical systems (often called formal systems) to develop precise theories that help us understand the rich cognitive processes that support our use of language to communicate, to conduct internal monologues, and much more. The course focuses on the major subfields within linguistics: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics: how do linguists create and manipulate representations of language phenomena, and how do they analyze linguistic data? Our primary data will be from English, but we will also employ data from other languages. No previous exposure to the field is presupposed.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.2 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.3 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.3 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.5 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~3
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect the evaluations connected to this course.
3 evaluations for this course
3.8 / 5
3.8 / 5
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Eastern, Slavic & German Studies
4.1 / 5
3.8 / 5
Professor Emeritus, Department of Eastern, Slavic & German Studies
3.5 / 5
3.1 / 5
Student perspective
Anonymous comments from BC students past and present are shown as submitted and may reflect different course formats.
Nov 19, 2025 · Historical comment
Chris is so funny and engaging in class. Cares a lot about linguistics and makes it actually fun to learn. Workload was not too bad and he is not a harsh grader. Def recommend!
Across time
Available section-level results across semesters.
Fall 2024
1 sectionFall 2023
1 sectionFall 2022
1 sectionFall 2021
1 sectionFall 2020
1 section