Courses Detail Information

LIN1120J – Introduction to Language and Linguistics

Instructors:

Credits: 3

Pre-requisites:

Description:

Designed to meet the needs of students with broad interests in language-related issues as well as those of students with more focused interests in the study of language, the course offers a well-rounded introduction into language studies and linguistics.

Course Topics:

1. What is language, and why is it crucial to human beings?
2. How does language work? Language analysis and language structure (phonology; morphology; syntax; semantics; pragmatics)
3. Phonetics: physical production of language
4. Language universal and language varieties
5. Semantics: the study of meaning
6. Relation between language and thought
7. How does language change across time?
8. Language change and how languages encode history
9. Language, society and the pragmatics of communication
10. Language acquisition
11. Human language vs animal communication
12. Writing system: origins, kinds, and impacts on society and culture
13. Computational linguistics, computers and AI