Introduction to Linguistics
In this course, we look at the five major pillars of analytic linguistics. These five pillars tell us about the general properties of language and help us talk about the similarities and differences in languages.
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In this course, we look at the five major pillars of analytic linguistics. These five pillars tell us about the general properties of language and help us talk about the similarities and differences in languages.
In this course, we look at the five major pillars of analytic linguistics. These five pillars tell us about the general properties of language and help us talk about the similarities and differences in languages.
The primary focus of the course will be teaching you the tools in our language toolbox using English. However, we will also look at different languages, such as Japanese, Marshalese, Khmer, Tagalog, and a few others.
The course primarily consists of videos, but I've included a couple practice exams that you can use to demonstrate your mastery of the course.
Even if you're not interested in demonstrating mastery, the content provided is incredibly interesting for those who wish to learn languages in the future. The tools you learn here will help you understand that not all languages have the same sets of rules and features, and that you can use that knowledge to help you learn other languages even faster. We discuss how you make sounds, how you put sounds together, word orders, conjugation, and more.
What's inside
Learning objectives
- Understand the fundamentals of language
- Understand sentence structure and word order of various languages.
- Classify words into nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, quantifiers, and adverbs.
- Draw syntactic trees for simple sentences.
- Understand the difference between entailment, implicature, presupposition, and contradiction.
- Understand gricean maxims and when they are utilized or broken in conversation.
- Identify the thematic role of words in a sentence.
- Understand what affixes do and how they can change the meaning of words.
- Identify morphological processes in languages across the world.
- Understand the properties of vowels and consonants.
- Read and write the international phonetic alphabet.
- Understand how sounds interact with each other.
- Use the features of sounds to create rules about how sounds change in different environments.
- Attain the toolbox required to learn languages a little bit easier.
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- Understand the fundamentals of language
- Understand sentence structure and word order of various languages.
- Classify words into nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, quantifiers, and adverbs.
- Draw syntactic trees for simple sentences.
- Understand the difference between entailment, implicature, presupposition, and contradiction.
- Understand gricean maxims and when they are utilized or broken in conversation.
- Identify the thematic role of words in a sentence.
- Understand what affixes do and how they can change the meaning of words.
- Identify morphological processes in languages across the world.
- Understand the properties of vowels and consonants.
- Read and write the international phonetic alphabet.
- Understand how sounds interact with each other.
- Use the features of sounds to create rules about how sounds change in different environments.
- Attain the toolbox required to learn languages a little bit easier.
- Show more
- Show less
Syllabus
Learn about the structure and content of this course.
The syllabus is attached.
We go over the general idea of each section in the entire course.
Read more
Syllabus
The syllabus is attached.
We go over the general idea of each section in the entire course.
We look at word order in languages, what grammar is, and how we use rules to generate sentences.
We look at nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and more, as well as what constituency is.
We look at how we put trees together to make sentences, as well as adjuncts, complements, and specifiers.
We look at semantic notions, such as ambiguity, entailment, paraphrase, and contradiction.
We look at the four maxims of speech, as well as implicature and presupposition.
All words have thematic roles, so we learn to identify them.
We distinguish between free and bound morphemes, and then have a discussion about affixes.
We discuss the differences between derivational and inflectional morphemes, then take a look at other morphological processes.
We look at different processes that govern word creation.
We look at what phonemes are, show allophonic variation, and then discuss minimal pairs and complementary distribution.
We look at syllable structure and the sonority hierarchy.
We discuss phonological features.
We look at phonological rules and how we derive them.
The exam 1 is attached in the resource section.
The solutions to exam 1 are attached in the resource section.
The exam 2 is attached in the resource section.
The solutions to exam 2 are attached in the resource section.
Good to know
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Activities
Read 'The Sound Patterns of English'
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Explore the detailed analysis of English sound patterns provided in this book to deepen your understanding of the principles governing sound systems.
View
Vowels and Consonants
on Amazon
Show steps
-
Read and take notes on the chapters
-
Complete the exercises and practice activities
Review Course Materials
Show steps
Refresh your understanding of the course concepts by reviewing notes, assignments, and practice questions to prepare for upcoming assessments.
Show steps
-
Organize and review your notes
-
Complete practice problems and quizzes
Classify Words
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Practice classifying different types of words, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, to strengthen your understanding of sentence structure.
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Nouns
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-
Review the parts of speech
-
Identify different types of words in example sentences
-
Complete exercises and quizzes to test your knowledge
Five other activities
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Show all eight activities
Analyze Language Samples
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Gain practical experience in analyzing real-world language samples to consolidate your understanding of sentence structure, word usage, and other linguistic features.
Browse courses on
Language Analysis
Show steps
-
Collect various language samples, such as texts, transcripts, or recordings
-
Identify and analyze linguistic patterns
-
Draw conclusions and insights based on your analysis
Learn about Affixes
Show steps
Explore different affixes and their impact on word meaning to enhance your understanding of morphological processes.
Browse courses on
Morphology
Show steps
-
Research different types of affixes
-
Learn how affixes can change the meaning of words
-
Practice identifying and using affixes in context
Write a Short Story
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Apply your knowledge of sentence structure and word choice to create a short story, showcasing your understanding of language principles.
Browse courses on
Creative Writing
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Brainstorm story ideas
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Develop a plot outline
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Write a rough draft
-
Edit and revise your story
Present a Lesson on Phonology
Show steps
Enhance your understanding and teaching skills by developing and delivering a lesson on a phonological topic, reinforcing the concepts covered in class.
Show steps
-
Choose a specific phonological topic
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Research and gather relevant information
-
Design an engaging and interactive lesson plan
-
Deliver your lesson to an audience
Build a Phonetic Alphabet
Show steps
Create your own phonetic alphabet by researching and learning about different sound systems to enhance your understanding of sound patterns.
Browse courses on
phonetics
Show steps
-
Research different phonetic alphabets
-
Design your own phonetic symbols
-
Test your phonetic alphabet on different words
Read 'The Sound Patterns of English'
Show steps
Explore the detailed analysis of English sound patterns provided in this book to deepen your understanding of the principles governing sound systems.
View
Vowels and Consonants
on Amazon
Show steps
- Read and take notes on the chapters
- Complete the exercises and practice activities
Review Course Materials
Show steps
Refresh your understanding of the course concepts by reviewing notes, assignments, and practice questions to prepare for upcoming assessments.
Show steps
- Organize and review your notes
- Complete practice problems and quizzes
Classify Words
Show steps
Practice classifying different types of words, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, to strengthen your understanding of sentence structure.
Browse courses on
Nouns
Show steps
- Review the parts of speech
- Identify different types of words in example sentences
- Complete exercises and quizzes to test your knowledge
Analyze Language Samples
Show steps
Gain practical experience in analyzing real-world language samples to consolidate your understanding of sentence structure, word usage, and other linguistic features.
Browse courses on
Language Analysis
Show steps
- Collect various language samples, such as texts, transcripts, or recordings
- Identify and analyze linguistic patterns
- Draw conclusions and insights based on your analysis
Learn about Affixes
Show steps
Explore different affixes and their impact on word meaning to enhance your understanding of morphological processes.
Browse courses on
Morphology
Show steps
- Research different types of affixes
- Learn how affixes can change the meaning of words
- Practice identifying and using affixes in context
Write a Short Story
Show steps
Apply your knowledge of sentence structure and word choice to create a short story, showcasing your understanding of language principles.
Browse courses on
Creative Writing
Show steps
- Brainstorm story ideas
- Develop a plot outline
- Write a rough draft
- Edit and revise your story
Present a Lesson on Phonology
Show steps
Enhance your understanding and teaching skills by developing and delivering a lesson on a phonological topic, reinforcing the concepts covered in class.
Show steps
- Choose a specific phonological topic
- Research and gather relevant information
- Design an engaging and interactive lesson plan
- Deliver your lesson to an audience
Build a Phonetic Alphabet
Show steps
Create your own phonetic alphabet by researching and learning about different sound systems to enhance your understanding of sound patterns.
Browse courses on
phonetics
Show steps
- Research different phonetic alphabets
- Design your own phonetic symbols
- Test your phonetic alphabet on different words
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