What is language?

This course provides a general introduction to the topic of both language and the study of language. The first objective of the course is to arouse interest in language as a rich and interdisciplinary phenomenon; the second - to make the students acquainted with a broad range of basic linguistic terminology providing a solid knowledge base helpful in their further course of study.

An approximate list of topics (the order and exact allocation of classes might change slightly during the semestre):

0 - Introduction and presentation of the content

1 - Language - what is it and how does it exist (langue, parole, I-language, E-language, language faculty)

2 – The sound of language (phonetics – phonology)

3 - Language - its structure, form, and function (morphology - semantics - syntax - pragmatics; the Jacobsonian functions of language)

4 - Language and communication (Hockett's design features of language)

5 - How did language begin (apes - hominids - evolution of language)

6 - Language and regional variation (languages of the world, language contact, bilingualism, diglossia)

7 - Language and social variation (social markers, prescriptivism and descriptivism, language and gender)

8 - Language is multimodal! (gesturology, sign language)

9 - Does language help us think? (the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, its modern extensions, "thinking for speaking")

10 - Revision and summary

Assessment methods:

- written test

- class participation

Assessment criteria:

- written test (60%)

- class participation (40%)

satisfactory- (60%)

satisfactory plus- (67%)

good - (74%)

good plus- (82%)

very good- (90%)

As in the general description

As in the general description

As in the general description