What is Linguistics? How We Use Linguistics in Our Daily Lives

Catalog description

Have you ever wondered what linguistics is? Here is an opportunity to find out. This course introduces a wide range of topics about how language is structured and interwoven in our daily lives. We will pursue questions including the following: What does it mean to “know” a language? How do new words come into the language? Can the structure and meaning of language change? Why is English spelling so complicated? What does it mean to say that something is “right” or “wrong”? How do computers understand and produce human language? What are the pitfalls of translation? How is our identity expressed through language?