General linguistics

Timetable

Module aim (aims)

This lecture introduces the basic notions, schools of thought, areas of research in linguistics. It raises the students’ awareness and understanding of such topics as language structure; features of language; language in relation to cognition, culture, and reality; levels of analysis in linguistics; language variation; language acquisition; language evolution.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Syllabus

Topics to be covered:

1. INTRODUCTION: Linguistics, language, communication

2. SEMIOTICS: Sign theory

3. MORPHOLOGY: Building blocks of grammar

4. LEXICOLOGY: Words & lexical relations

5. SEMANTICS: Patterns of meaning

6. PRAGMATICS: Language in context

7. FORMAL & FUNCTIONAL SYNTAX: How words combine into larger units (formation of sentences)

8. SOCIOLINGUISTICS: Language, society, and variation

9.  DISCOURSE ANALYSIS: Language in action (text and conversation)

10. PSYCHOLINGUISTICS: Language acquisition

11. LANGUAGE EVOLUTION & LANGUAGE FAMILIES: Relations btw. languages and some theories on language evolution

12. LANGUAGE & CULTURE: Language, cognition, culture, and reality

Evaluation:

The students can choose one of the following evaluation methods:

(a) final test

(b) successful completion of a small project on a selected topic (from a list provided by the teacher). This task will involve some qualitative data analysis for English and writing up a short report. 

Reading list

Selected references (not obligatory reading) 

Aitchison, Jean. 2008 (3rd edition). The articulate mammal. Cambridge: Routledge.

Aitchison, J. 2010. Aitchison's Linguistics: A practical introduction to contemporary linguistics. Hachette UK.

Aronoff, Mark & Janie Rees-Miller (eds.) 2000. The handbook of linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell.

Crystal, David. 1995. The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language. Cambridge: CUP.

Crystal, David. 1997. The Cambridge encyclopedia of language. Cambridge: CUP.

McGregor, W. B. 2024. Linguistics: An introduction. Bloomsbury Academic.

O’Grady, William, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff & Janie Rees-Miller. 2017. Contemporary linguistics. An introduction. Boston: Bedford.

Trask, R.L. 1995. Language. The basics. London: Routledge.

Yule, G. 2006. The study of language. Cambridge: CUP.