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Module

SEL1008 : The Nature of Language

  • Offered for Year: 2020/21
  • Module Leader(s): Dr Joel Wallenberg
  • Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Semester 1 Credit Value: 20
ECTS Credits: 10.0

Aims

1. Investigate the nature of language
2. Come to an understanding of the various areas within the field of linguistics
3. Learn how the study of linguistics relates to other sciences, particularly neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and computation

Outline Of Syllabus

Topics will be drawn from the following:
1. How to think about language scientifically
2. Computation, mind, and language
3. Thinking about Language : Chomsky
4. Acquisition and Evidence
5. Writing a Language/Linguistics Essay
6. Language Change
7. Language and Populations (Creoles and Viruses)
8. Sociolinguistics, Variation and Memory
9. Animal Communication
10. Meaning and Communication
11. What it's all for: language in broader scientific perspective

Seminars will involve group discussion of issues raised in lectures, and there will be occasional additional sessions with the whole class to catch up on questions raised in the seminars and standard lectures.

Teaching Methods

Module leaders are revising this content in light of the Covid 19 restrictions.
Revised and approved detail information will be available by 17 August.

Assessment Methods

Module leaders are revising this content in light of the Covid 19 restrictions.
Revised and approved detail information will be available by 17 August.

Reading Lists

Timetable