Understanding language: an introduction to linguistics

Teacher(s)

Degand Elisabeth; Hambye Philippe;

Language

French

Main themes

The aim of this course is to familiarise students with the scientific approach to language and to highlight the types of question that can be answered by this approach, through an understanding of how human language works (its particularities, constraints, etc.). In particular, the course will address the following themes:

• The specificity of human language compared to other communication systems;
• The different levels of linguistic analysis (phonetics and phonology, morphology and lexicon, syntax);
• The origins of language and language diversity.
• The characteristics of a scientific approach to languages
• The rationale and specific features of different linguistic theories...

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Distinguish between a scientific approach to language and a normative or prescriptive approach;
2	Identify the types of questions and problems to which language sciences provide answers;
3	Define and understand the specific features of language in relation to other forms of communication;
4	Master the precise and formal metalanguage that linguists use to describe language and explain how it works internally (units, structures) and externally (in relation to the historical, geographical, social, etc. roots of natural languages), and apply it to different languages in order to grasp their particular features;
5	Analyse and interpret simple linguistic problems at the different levels of organisation studied;
6	Explain why competing theories view identical phenomena differently and how they differ from one another.
This learning unit contributes to the development and command of the following skills and learning outcomes of the ELAL programmes) : 1.4, 1.6, 2.6

Content

The course will successively address the following topics:
- A scientific approach to language
- The different forms of language (natural languages and other communication systems)
- From the faculty of language to the diversity of languages
- From “sounds” to phonological units
- From “words” to morphological and lexical units
- From “words” to sentences and statements: syntax
- Lexical semantics
- Pragmatics, or how we interpret language in use

Teaching methods

Lectures (face-to-face) and questions / answers sessions (using Wooclap).
Individual training by students using the website "Parole&Langue": https://sites.uclouvain.be/paroleetlangue/web/
Tutoring: 4 tutoring sessions (participation optional, only upon registration) to prepare for the exam.

Evaluation methods

Formative evaluation during the quadrimester (mock test).
Written exam during the January, June and September session (multiple choice questions).
Scores below 50% will not be rounded up to the next unit for the final score (e.g. a score of 19.5/40 will not be rounded up to 10/20).

Online resources

The various course materials (course slideshows, exercises, etc.) are available on the course website on the Moodle platform.

Faculty or entity

> ELAL