LING102: Introduction to Linguistics II
An introduction to cross-disciplinary and applied areas in linguistics (e.g. language change, language acquisition, language in society). Pre- or corequisite: LING 101.
Course Website (EClass)
Course description & goals
This course broadly covers various sub-fields in linguistics and provides students an opportunity to understand language from multiple perspectives. Issues covered in this course include how language has changed across time, how linguists study language in society, how language is processed/represented in the mind/brain, how children acquire language, how two languages are stored in bilinguals’ mind/brain, and how apparently non-linguistic cognition is affected by one’s language. This course ultimately aims to connect sub-fields in linguistics to understand language as a dynamic and coherent whole.
Textbook
O’Grady, W., & Archibald, J. (2008). Contemporary Linguistic Analysis (5th Custom Edition for the University of Alberta). Toronto: Pearson.
Exams
The exams will contain multiple-choice, definition, comparison/contrast, and short essay questions. The midterms and the final are not cumulative, except for the short essay questions, which may ask you to describe an issue across different subfields. Students will be given potential essay questions and sample exam questions a week before the exams on eClass.