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2,234 ratings

Marc van Oostendorp

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Offered By

Universiteit Leiden

Meertens instituut (KNAW)

Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics

Universiteit Leiden

About this Course

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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!

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Beginner Level

Approx. 23 hours to complete

English

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Skills you will gain

Essay Writing
History
English Language
Chinese Language

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 23 hours to complete

English

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Instructor

Instructor rating

4.84/5 (468 Ratings)

Marc van Oostendorp

Offered by

Universiteit Leiden

Leiden University is one of Europe's foremost research universities. This prominent position gives our graduates a leading edge and prepares them for careers both within and outside of academia. Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands, founded in 1575. Our motto is: Praesidium Libertatis (Bastion of Liberty) - Freedom of spirit, thought and expression. Leiden University has a campus in Leiden and The Hague, with 7 faculties, 47 Bachelor Programmes, 79 Master Programmes and nearly 30,000 students.

Meertens instituut (KNAW)

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(61,704 ratings)

Week

Week 1

4 hours to complete

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.

4 hours to complete

15 videos (Total 76 min), 6 readings, 1 quiz

15 videos

Welcome to the Miracles of Human Language!3m

How to succeed in your online class?2m

Human Language and Animal Communication Systems6m

Human Language Versus Other 'Languages'9m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: Language Diversity9m

Language Diversity and Ethnologue8m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: What do Linguists do?13m

Interview with Dr. Victoria Nyst10m

Introduction language informants + introducing Han Hu, Speaker of Mandarin Chinese4m

Introducing Roberta D'Alessandro, speaker of Abruzzese48s

Introducing Khalid Mourigh, speaker of Tarifit Berber51s

Introducing Varun DeCastro-Arrazola, speaker of Basque1m

Introducing Beste Sevindik, speaker of Turkish1m

Introducing Enoch Aboh, speaker of Gungbe1m

Conclusion; language and dialect2m

6 readings

Meet the instructor & his team5m

Leiden University: Facts & Figures10m

Community Guidelines 5m

What is your learning path?5m

Registration Ethnologue10m

Required and optional readings30m

1 practice exercise

Test your knowledge 130m

Week

Week 2

2 hours to complete

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.

2 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 62 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

13 videos

Distinguishing consonants6m

Production of speech sounds7m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: consonants of world languages8m

Sounds in systems7m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: sounds and language change11m

Interview with Prof. dr. Claartje Levelt7m

Introduction + Tarifit Berber4m

Gungbe1m

Turkish1m

Abruzzese1m

Mandarin Chinese1m

Basque1m

Conclusion; sounds and gestures1m

1 reading

Required and optional readings30m

1 practice exercise

Test your knowledge 230m

Week

Week 3

5 hours to complete

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.

5 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 86 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

14 videos

Words and sentences3m

Morphology9m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: world of words11m

Syntax and word order (a)8m

Syntax and word order (b)5m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: world of word order8m

Interview with Prof. Noam Chomsky28m

Introduction + Basque3m

Tarifit Berber2m

Gungbe1m

Turkish58s

Abruzzese1m

Mandarin Chinese55s

Conclusion; structure beyond sentences1m

1 reading

Required and optional readings1h

1 practice exercise

Test your knowledge 330m

Week

Week 4

3 hours to complete

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.

3 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 66 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

13 videos

Layers of meaning5m

Semantics7m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: color and snow10m

Pragmatics11m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: changing the world with sentences9m

Interview with Barend Beekhuizen MA11m

Introduction + Abruzzese1m

Tarifit Berber1m

Turkish1m

Basque52s

Mandarin Chinese2m

Gungbe1m

Conclusion; untranslatable words?1m

2 readings

Required and optional readings1h

Quiz readings10m

1 practice exercise

Test your knowledge 430m

Week

Week 5

3 hours to complete

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.

3 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 74 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

Week

Week 6

5 hours to complete

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.

5 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 85 min), 1 reading, 3 quizzes

13 videos

Language change and variation8m

Social stratification11m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: social variables11m

Politeness10m

Discussion with Marten and Inge: examples of Face13m

Interview with Prof. Adele Goldberg14m

Introduction + Gungbe2m

Tarifit Berber58s

Turkish1m

Abruzzese1m

Mandarin Chinese3m

Basque1m

Conclusion; how personal are politeness strategies?2m

1 reading

Required and optional readings1h

2 practice exercises

Test your knowledge 630m

Final exam30m

Reviews

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TOP REVIEWS FROM MIRACLES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE: AN INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

by TCNov 29, 2020

I have no previous experience in Linguistics but really enjoyed the course. The course materials gave me great insight and some ideas of what I would like to pursue next. Thank you!

by LBMar 27, 2017

I found this course to be not only educational but extremely interesting. It provides a great overview of the field of linguistics and does so in an engaging manner. I highly recommend it!

by NIMar 10, 2021

The course was well-organised and very interesting. It covered the different aspects of linguistics wonderfully and prompted me to delve further into specific fields of linguistics such as phonetics.

by SRAug 12, 2017

Good introduction to linguistics led by a charming Professor with great enthusiasm for his subject. It was certainly enough to convince me that the study of linguistics is not for me

View all reviews

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Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics

Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics

About this Course

Skills you will gain