Offered
Clayton First semester 2008 (Day)
Clayton First semester 2008 (Off-campus)
Synopsis
Human beings spend much of their time playing the language game - small wonder Linguistics, the scientific investigation of language, is such a fast growing and important field of study. In this unit we examine aspects of this fascinating game in a systematic way. They include: the nature of the game (e.g. human versus animal communication, the structure of language); the players (e.g. language acquisition, language and thought); the game plan (e.g. strategies for interacting, politeness); variation in the game (e.g. social/regional varieties, jargon, slang); myths about the game (e.g. some languages are better/harder/more beautiful) and the changing game.
Objectives
On successfully completing this subject students should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of what linguistics is and what linguists do.
- Identify and describe the nature of human language.
- Discuss and analyse different varieties of language and language use.
- Identify and analyse the ways in which language changes.
- Observe and be sensitive to issues arising in linguistic interaction.
- Explain the major processes of language acquisition.
- Critically evaluate attitudes to language.
Assessment
Three Short answer exercises (2500 words total): 50%
Class-participation/on-line discussion: 10%
Exam (2 hours, 2000 word equivalent): 40%
Contact hours
3 hours (2 x 1 hour lectures and 1 x 1 hour tutorial) per week
