LIN1040

Describing and analysing language and communication

Joanne Winter

6 points - Distance education - Second semester - Clayton - Prohibited combination: LIN1040 and LIN1010 or LIN1040 and LIN1020

Objectives On successfully completing the subject students should have an understanding of the key concepts from phonetic, phonological, syntactic and semantic approaches to language analysis and be able to discuss some theoretical issues associated with the identification, description and characterisation of language constituents. In addition, students should be able to demonstrate the application of procedures, methods and skills presented in the subject to analyse speech sounds, sound patterns, sentence structure and their constituents, lexical meaning, and historical approaches to language change etc from a range of language data sets. The presentation of these forms should be presented in a coherent argument and reflect the appropriate and conventional formalism utilised in the linguistic analysis of language and communication.

Synopsis This subject is complementary to LIN1030 and forms the second part of a first-year sequence in the study of linguistics. LIN1030 and LIN1040 may be studied in any order. This subject provides students with an introduction to theoretical and descriptive frameworks adopted in the analysis of language. The theoretical and descriptive frameworks presented in this subject focus on the description of speech sounds and their organisation in linguistic systems; words and sentences and their constituents, sentence structures and the analysis of word, sentence and utterance meaning. In addition, the subject explores the application of the analytic and descriptive tools to understanding historical processes and language change over time.

Assessment Four short assignments (850 words each): 60% Exam (1 hour): 40%

Prescribed texts

Describing and analysing language and communication: Study guide Monash University Department of Linguistics
Finegan E, Blair D and Collins P Language: Its structure and use 2nd edn, Harcourt Brace, 1997

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