This course introduces key concepts and approaches to the study of language and linguistics. It provides an overview, with basic terminology, of the major subfields of linguistics, investigating the nature, history, and structure of language and how language relates to the mind, society, and education. It provides the basis of investigation in subsequent courses in the Computational Linguistics program. Students are encouraged to reflect on their own language experience and apply the theories covered in the course to their own linguistic context.

CILO-1: Distinguish the subfields of linguistics (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics). CILO-2: Describe and analyze: phonological data, morphological data, syntactic data, and semantic data. CILO-3: Recognize the organizing principles of language by conducting linguistic analyses. CILO-4: Identify the structural and cultural features of language. CILO-5: Describe differences in sounds, words, sentences, and discourse across languages. CILO-6: Describe language change and language variation. CILO-7: Describe aspects of the relationship between language and society.