Introduction to linguistics 15-WDJ-ZL
Contents of the course:
1: Language as a means of communication, its properties and structure;
2. Phonetics and phonology;
3. Morphology;
4. Syntax;
5. Semantics;
6. Pragmatics;
7. Language origins and language universals;
8. Language change and language contact;
9. Language acquisition and language learning;
10. Language as a social phenomenon;
The first part of the course is devoted to language itself — it comprises introductory, theoretical topics, as well as a brief overview of major subsystems of language from a purely descriptive, atheoretical perspective. The second part of the course introduces various theoretical approaches to language and serves as a foundation for a further pursuit of linguistics study in more advanced courses.
Each lecture will present an introduction to the major concepts of a particular subject area. Afterwards you will be expected to familiarise yourselves with the assigned reading material and complete various tasks.
The course will heavily utilise the WA e-learning platform (Moodle; http://wa.amu.edu.pl/moodle/). IReading assignments, supplementary materials, homeworks, and quizzes will be provided via Moodle.
Module learning aims
Information on where to find course materials
Major
Methods of teaching for learning outcomes achievement
Student workload (ECTS credits)
Cycle of studies
Module type
Year of studies (where relevant)
Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
As our lectures are most certainly not enough for you to feel comfortable with the subject matter of the course, the final grade will depend on your off-class performance connected with the contents of the lectures and reading material. It will consist of the following components:
(a) post-lecture Moodle quizzes on the content of the lecture;
(b) post-lecture Moodle written assignments on a topic based on the lecture content and reading material assigned.
Post-lecture quizzes: 50%
Written assignments: 50%
The mode of the final examination is written. The final examination will be of an open-book kind and will consist of six tasks and will last 90 minutes. It will cover both the lecture and reading material. The tasks will test your knowledge by applying it to specific linguistic issues and problems. As such, while the theoretical part of every task obviously has to comply with the knowledge presented during the course, most tasks will be open-ended, i.e., there will be more than one possible answers, and, depending on how you support your answers with linguistic knowledge, even answers leading to incorrect conclusions may be accepted.
General grading criteria:
(a) factual and theoretical knowledge;
(b) application of acquired knowledge in describing and analysing linguistic phenomena;
(c) active participation in discussions (in class and on-line).
5,0– excellent knowledge, skills, social skills;
4,5 –very good knowledge, skills, social skills;
4,0 – good knowledge, skills, social skills;
3.5 – acceptable knowledge, skills, social skills with gaps;
3.0 – acceptable knowledge, skills, social skills with numerous gaps;
2.0 – unacceptable knowledge, skills, social skills
Assessment criteria
As our lectures are most certainly not enough for you to feel comfortable with the subject matter of the course, the final grade will depend on your off-class performance connected with the contents of the lectures and reading material. It will consist of the following components:
(a) post-lecture Moodle quizzes on the content of the lecture;
(b) post-lecture Moodle written assignments on a topic based on the lecture content and reading material assigned.
Post-lecture quizzes: 50%
Written assignments: 50%
The mode of the final examination is written. The final examination will be of an open-book kind and will consist of six tasks and will last 90 minutes. It will cover both the lecture and reading material. The tasks will test your knowledge by applying it to specific linguistic issues and problems. As such, while the theoretical part of every task obviously has to comply with the knowledge presented during the course, most tasks will be open-ended, i.e., there will be more than one possible answers, and, depending on how you support your answers with linguistic knowledge, even answers leading to incorrect conclusions may be accepted.
General grading criteria:
(a) factual and theoretical knowledge;
(b) application of acquired knowledge in describing and analysing linguistic phenomena;
(c) active participation in discussions (in class and on-line).
5,0– excellent knowledge, skills, social skills;
4,5 –very good knowledge, skills, social skills;
4,0 – good knowledge, skills, social skills;
3.5 – acceptable knowledge, skills, social skills with gaps;
3.0 – acceptable knowledge, skills, social skills with numerous gaps;
2.0 – unacceptable knowledge, skills, social skills
Practical placement
not applicable
Bibliography
David Crystal (ed.). 2010. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: CUP.
David Crystal (ed.). 2003. The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language. Cambridge: CUP.
John Lyons. 1981. Language and linguistics. Cambridge: CUP.
Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman. 2006. An introduction to language. Wadsworth Publishing: Independence, KY.
George Yule. 1996. The study of language. Cambridge: CUP.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: