Overview

Introduction to Linguistics is a one-semester tour of the science of language. Language is one of our most distinctive characteristics as humans, and it is often the cause of heated conflict. Our goal in this class will be to step back from the fray and take a look at the objective facts about language. For us as normal adults, use of language generally seems effortless and intuitive - does this mean that language really is simple and intuitive, or is it just the result of a system so sophisticated an automatic that it requires little or no conscious attention?

• What are the units of human language?
• What is it about humans that gives us this special ability to master language?
• How similar or different are the languages of the world?
• Are some languages or dialects better or worse than others? How systematic is standard and non-standard English?
• How do children learn language?

The study of linguistic knowledge is divided into several areas: the study of sounds and their patterns (Phonetics and Phonology), words (Morphology), sentences (Syntax) and meanings (Semantics). Linguistics also study how linguistic knowledge is applied in social situations in different cultures (Sociolinguistics), how people learn languages (Language Acquisition), and how language is processed in the human brain (Neurolinguistics).

The diversity of human languages and the prominent role language plays in culture makes language a critically important factor in studying human behavior. For this reason LING 101 satisfies the UD multicultural (Group C) requirement. The study of linguistics is concerned with every language, but you will notice that many of the examples come from non-Western languages, or from signed languages. Homework assignments and exam questions will include data from many unfamiliar languages.