À propos de ce cours : Everywhere, every day, everybody uses language. There is no human society, no matter how small or how isolated, which does not employ a language that is rich and diverse. This course introduces you to linguistics, featuring interviews with well-known linguists and with speakers of many different languages. Join us to explore the miracles of human language! The Miracles of Human Language introduces you to the many-faceted study of languages, which has amazed humans since the beginning of history. Together with speakers of many other languages around the world, as well as with famous linguists such as Noam Chomsky and Adele Goldberg, you will learn to understand and analyse how your native tongue is at the same time similar and different from many other languages. You will learn the basic concepts of linguistics, get to know some of the key features of big and small languages and get insight into what linguists do. This course gives an introduction into the study of languages, the field of linguistics. With the support of the basic linguistic terminology that is offered in the course, you will soon be able to comment both on variety between languages, as well as on a single language’s internal structure. Anyone who wishes to understand how languages work, and how they can give us insight into the human mind is very welcome to join. The course is useful if you want to get a fairly quick introduction into linguistics, for instance because you are considering studying it further, or because you are interested in a neighbouring discipline such as psychology, computer science or anthropology. Furthermore, the course will help you develop analytical skills. If you are curious to understand how language works and how it gives insight into the human mind, this course is definitely for you!
Les destinataires de ce cours : This course is free, and will remain free for participants. You can purchase a certificate.
Créé par : Universiteit Leiden, Meertens instituut (KNAW)
Enseigné par : Marc van Oostendorp, Prof. Dr
Meertens instituut
| Niveau | Débutant |
| Langue | English, Sous-titres : Romanian, Bulgarian |
| Comment réussir | Réussissez tous les devoirs notés pour terminer le cours. |
| Notes des utilisateurs |
Programme de cours
SEMAINE 1
Introduction to Linguistics
In this first week, we will try to determine what makes language human: why do (almost) all human beings have a language, and what makes human language different from animal communication systems? We will furthermore discuss the many different places where linguists work, and the many different methodologies that they use for conducting their research. You will moreover get to know all the other participants in this MOOC: my students Inge and Marten, as well as the speakers of six different languages. Finally, don't forget to watch our first expert interview: Marten and Inge have talked with Dr. Victoria Nyst of Leiden University, who has enlightened us in the fascinating world of sign languages! For the assignments with the support of Ethnologue, please make sure to study the instructions listed in 'required and optional readings' of this module.
14 vidéos, 7 lectures
- Leyendo: Meet the instructor & his team
- Leyendo: Welcome to Leiden University
- Leyendo: Study tips for studying online
- Leyendo: Being succesful in an international virtual learning community
- Leyendo: Behaving in an academic way
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Introduce yourself
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Language and identity in groups
- Vidéo: Human Language and Animal Communication Systems
- Vidéo: Human Language Versus Other 'Languages'
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: Language Diversity
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Language diversity is a diversity of minds?
- Vidéo: Language Diversity and Ethnologue
- Leyendo: Registration Ethnologue
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: In what ways are unrelated languages similar?
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: What do Linguists do?
- Vidéo: Interview with Dr. Victoria Nyst
- Leyendo: Required and optional readings
- Vidéo: Introduction language informants + introducing Han Hu, Speaker of Mandarin Chinese
- Vidéo: Introducing Roberta D'Alessandro, speaker of Abruzzese
- Vidéo: Introducing Khalid Mourigh, speaker of Tarifit Berber
- Vidéo: Introducing Varun DeCastro-Arrazola, speaker of Basque
- Vidéo: Introducing Beste Sevindik, speaker of Turkish
- Vidéo: Introducing Enoch Aboh, speaker of Gungbe
- Vidéo: Conclusion; language and dialect
Noté: Test your knowledge 1
SEMAINE 2
The study of sound: Phonology and Phonetics
In this module we will delve into what appear to be the smallest building blocks of spoken language: 'sounds'. As we will see however, all is not what it seems, as we will in fact encounter an even smaller building block of language, a true atom. Another interesting thing about this module is that as of this week our 6 informants will all only speak their own language. Naturally, there is also an interview with my very special friend Prof. dr. Claartje Levelt, whom I have announced before.
13 vidéos, 1 lecture
- Vidéo: Production of speech sounds
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: consonants of world languages
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: What was your first word?
- Vidéo: Sounds in systems
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: sounds and language change
- Vidéo: Interview with Prof. dr. Claartje Levelt
- Leyendo: Required and optional readings
- Vidéo: Introduction + Tarifit Berber
- Vidéo: Gungbe
- Vidéo: Turkish
- Vidéo: Abruzzese
- Vidéo: Mandarin Chinese
- Vidéo: Basque
- Vidéo: Conclusion; sounds and gestures
Noté: Test your knowledge 2
SEMAINE 3
The study of words and sentences: Morphology and Syntax
In this module we will discuss words and sentences. All languages have them; but as I will illustrate, they can be organized in very different ways in different languages. I will furthermore demonstrate what cupcakes have in common with words in a sentence. This module's interview is with one of the most cited and re-knowned linguists alive, Prof. Noam Chomsky! Finally, our 6 language informants will provide us with information about the word order in their languages.
14 vidéos, 1 lecture
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Words, sentences and translation
- Vidéo: Morphology
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: On the nature of affixes
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: world of words
- Vidéo: Syntax and word order (a)
- Vidéo: Syntax and word order (b)
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: world of word order
- Vidéo: Interview with Prof. Noam Chomsky
- Leyendo: Required and optional readings
- Vidéo: Introduction + Basque
- Vidéo: Tarifit Berber
- Vidéo: Gungbe
- Vidéo: Turkish
- Vidéo: Abruzzese
- Vidéo: Mandarin Chinese
- Vidéo: Conclusion; structure beyond sentences
Noté: Test your knowledge 3
Noté: World of word order
SEMAINE 4
The study of meaning: Pragmatics and Semantics
This module deals with a topic which many of you find very interesting: meaning. How do we determine what a word means? To what extent does our language influence our thinking? How can we change the world with language? As usual, we also have an additional interview with an expert of the current module's theme: in this module Barend Beekhuizen talks to Inge and Marten about his work as a Leiden PhD student in computational linguistics.
13 vidéos, 2 lectures
- Vidéo: Semantics
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: color and snow
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Having no fixed description, how do we recognize objects?
- Vidéo: Pragmatics
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: changing the world with sentences
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Unintentionally broken promises and Grice
- Vidéo: Interview with Barend Beekhuizen MA
- Leyendo: Required and optional readings
- Vidéo: Introduction + Abruzzese
- Vidéo: Tarifit Berber
- Vidéo: Turkish
- Vidéo: Basque
- Vidéo: Mandarin Chinese
- Vidéo: Gungbe
- Vidéo: Conclusion; untranslatable words?
- Leyendo: Quiz readings
Noté: Test your knowledge 4
SEMAINE 5
Language in the Brain
This module features all of the well-known parts of the current MOOC. Informants tell us about speech errors in their native tongue, I discuss everyday mistakes with my students Marten and Inge, and we have an interview with Prof. Niels Schiller of Leiden University. He discusses with us his own research among others. We moreover go on a little outing, to see linguists in their natural habitat! Furthermore, thanks to our friends at 'Babel, -The Language Magazine' we have some interesting reading for you. For example, linguist Jörg Schwyter tells us all about how he had to deal with aphasia, and how that has influenced him as a multilingual speaker.
11 vidéos, 2 lectures
- Vidéo: Aphasia
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: everyday mistakes and the Foreign Accent Syndrome
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Everyday mistakes: blending
- Vidéo: Reading in the brain
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: Reading and writing with Aphasia
- Vidéo: Visiting the lab
- Vidéo: Interview with Prof. Dr. Niels Schiller
- Leyendo: Required and optional readings
- Leyendo: Crowdfunding credits
- Vidéo: Introduction + Turkish
- Vidéo: Tarifit Berber
- Vidéo: Abruzzese
- Vidéo: Basque
- Vidéo: Conclusion; dyslexia
Noté: Test your knowledge 5
SEMAINE 6
Language in the Society
In the previous modules we have dissected the structure of languages, but now we will study language in its real context: how does language change? How do people use language to be polite? Our informants are demonstrating their acting skills, and furthermore we have an interview with Prof. Adele Goldberg! She presents us with an alternative view of language, compared to the one as previously discussed by Prof. Chomsky in the third module.
13 vidéos, 1 lecture
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: More on (the nature of) linguistic change
- Cuadro de aviso de la discusión: The case of linguistic variation and Esperanto
- Vidéo: Social stratification
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: social variables
- Vidéo: Politeness
- Vidéo: Discussion with Marten and Inge: examples of Face
- Vidéo: Interview with Prof. Adele Goldberg
- Leyendo: Required and optional readings
- Vidéo: Introduction + Gungbe
- Vidéo: Tarifit Berber
- Vidéo: Turkish
- Vidéo: Abruzzese
- Vidéo: Mandarin Chinese
- Vidéo: Basque
- Vidéo: Conclusion; how personal are politeness strategies?
Noté: Test your knowledge 6
Noté: Final exam
Noté: Face and Politeness
FAQ
Comment cela fonctionne
Trabajo del curso
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Créateurs
Universiteit Leiden
Leiden University is one of Europe's foremost research universities. This prominent position gives our graduates a leading edge in applying for academic posts and for functions outside academia.
Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands. It was founded in February 1575, as a gift from William of Orange to the citizens of Leiden after they had withstood a long siege by the Spanish. Our motto is: Praesidium Libertatis — Bastion of Liberty.
Meertens instituut (KNAW)
Notation et examens
This is course for those who love language and also for those who want to explore the miracle of language . Pro. Ostendrop and his team breaks down the syllabus into a bit size and in very friendly manner . Its like we're sitting in a live class room. In the middle of the module there are interviews from experts such as Noam Chomsky, we all know he's a mammoth figure in linguistic realm. Thanks Coursera and thanks all the teams who are involved in creating this course.
This course is so fun and informative, and I was actually sad when it ended. Oostendorp is a fantastic professor and I highly recommend his course.
One of the best courses I've ever taken. Thank you!
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BP
Dr. Van Oostendorp and Leiden University have created a course of outstanding quality. It far exceeded my expectations and has provided an excellent introduction to the subject of Linguistics.