Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics

About this Course

All over the place, day by day, all people makes use of language. There isn’t any human society, irrespective of how small or how remoted, which doesn’t make use of a language that’s wealthy and numerous. This course introduces you to linguistics, that includes interviews with well-known linguists and with audio system of many various languages. Be part of us to discover the miracles of human language!

The Miracles of Human Language introduces you to the many-faceted research of languages, which has amazed people because the starting of historical past. Along with audio system of many different languages around the globe, in addition to with well-known linguists corresponding to Noam Chomsky and Adele Goldberg, you’ll study to grasp and analyse how your native tongue is on the identical time related and completely different from many different languages. You’ll study the essential ideas of linguistics, get to know among the key options of huge and small languages and get perception into what linguists do. This course offers an introduction into the research of languages, the sphere of linguistics. With the assist of the essential linguistic terminology that’s provided within the course, you’ll quickly be capable of remark each on selection between languages, in addition to on a single language’s inside construction. Anybody who needs to grasp how languages work, and the way they can provide us perception into the human thoughts may be very welcome to hitch. The course is beneficial if you wish to get a reasonably fast introduction into linguistics, as an illustration since you are contemplating learning it additional, or as a result of you have an interest in a neighbouring self-discipline corresponding to psychology, pc science or anthropology. Moreover, the course will enable you develop analytical abilities. If you’re curious to grasp how language works and the way it offers perception into the human thoughts, this course is unquestionably for you!

SKILLS YOU WILL GAIN

• Essay Writing
• Historical past
• English Language
• Chinese language Language

Syllabus – What you’ll study from this course

Content material Ranking96%(59,022 rankings)

WEEK

1

4 hours to finish

Introduction to Linguistics

On this first week, we are going to attempt to decide what makes language human: why do (virtually) all human beings have a language, and what makes human language completely different from animal communication techniques? We are going to moreover talk about the numerous completely different locations the place linguists work, and the numerous completely different methodologies that they use for conducting their analysis. You’ll furthermore get to know all the opposite members on this MOOC: my college students Inge and Marten, in addition to the audio system of six completely different languages. Lastly, don’t neglect to look at our first professional interview: Marten and Inge have talked with Dr. Victoria Nyst of Leiden College, who has enlightened us within the fascinating world of signal languages! For the assignments with the assist of Ethnologue, please be certain to review the directions listed in ‘required and non-compulsory readings’ of this module.

WEEK

2

2 hours to finish

The research of sound: Phonology and Phonetics

On this module we are going to delve into what seem like the smallest constructing blocks of spoken language: ‘sounds’. As we are going to see nonetheless, all just isn’t what it appears, as we are going to in actual fact encounter a good smaller constructing block of language, a real atom. One other fascinating factor about this module is that as of this week our 6 informants will all solely communicate their very own language. Naturally, there’s additionally an interview with my very particular buddy Prof. dr. Claartje Levelt, whom I’ve introduced earlier than.

WEEK

3

5 hours to finish

The research of phrases and sentences: Morphology and Syntax

On this module we are going to talk about phrases and sentences. All languages have them; however as I’ll illustrate, they are often organized in very alternative ways in several languages. I’ll moreover display what cupcakes have in widespread with phrases in a sentence. This module’s interview is with probably the most cited and re-knowned linguists alive, Prof. Noam Chomsky! Lastly, our 6 language informants will present us with details about the phrase order of their languages.

WEEK

4

3 hours to finish

The research of which means: Pragmatics and Semantics

This module offers with a subject which lots of you discover very fascinating: which means. How can we decide what a phrase means? To what extent does our language affect our considering? How can we modify the world with language? As standard, we even have a further interview with an professional of the present module’s theme: on this module Barend Beekhuizen talks to Inge and Marten about his work as a Leiden PhD scholar in computational linguistics.