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How Language Works

Beschreibung

In the 'How Language Works' course, linguistic phenomena are explained to participants in a clear and accessible way. Participants learn to use language more consciously and to more deeply understand language used by other speakers. They can then apply this knowledge to situations in their daily lives, for example to better prevent linguistic misunderstandings when interacting with other language users.

The course covers all the main subdisciplines of linguistics from sound production and orthography to word formation, sentence structure and text composition. Additionally, it examines language as a central means of communication, the differences between language systems and how misunderstandings can arise from cultural differences.

Course Structure

  • Chapter 1 Introduction
  • Chapter 2 Sounds and Letters of the Alphabet
  • Chapter 3 Changing and Making Words
  • Chapter 4 Meaning
  • Chapter 5 Messages
  • Chapter 6 Sentences
  • Chapter 7 Texts

Zielgruppe(n)

Erasmus Students and Internationals

Lernziele

Upon completion of the course, learners will

  • develop a deeper understanding of their own language use in all its facets and more consciously engage in communication with other speakers.
  • practice a reflective and conscious approach to linguistic phenomena such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, basic sentence components, speech acts, etc.
  • acquire basic knowledge about what language entails at all its levels:
    • phonetics/phonology/orthography,
    • morphology,
    • syntax,
    • semantics,
    • pragmatics,
    • text grammar.