69318 - General Linguistics (D)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the students will be familiar with the history of linguistics as a discipline and with the main theoretical models in modern linguistics. The course will provide the students with the basic notions and procedures for linguistic analysis, as well as with the appropriate terminology for the study and description of the main levels of analysis (phonetics and phonology, morphology and the lexicon, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) from a basically synchronic perspective. At the end of the course, the students will know how to classify the languages of the world genealogically into language families and groups; they will also acquire basic notions in the field of linguistic typology, including the search for language universals. Finally, the students will be acquainted with the different subdisciplines of linguistics and the most recent developments in the field.

Course contents

Since this is an introductory course, it is not required to have prior knowledge on the subject.

The course is designed to provide students with the theoretical and methodological tools to understand and analyze human language in its complexity and in its various manifestations, i.e. languages. At first, human language will be contextualized within the larger set of semiotic phenomena, and the main models of linguistic and non-linguistic communication will be compared. We will then define the concept of 'natural language', within a broader perspective taking into account the world's languages and their variation in time and space, and will focus on the concept of 'linguistic diversity'.

The diversity of languages will be the background during the middle part of the course, where various levels of linguistic analysis will be explained and demonstrated using examples from Italian and other European and non-European languages. We will address phonetics, phonology, morphology, vocabulary, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. In light of the different levels of analysis addressed, we will propose possible typologies and taxonomies with which to organize linguistic diversity, and we will conclude by discussing the concept of linguistic 'universals'.

• The students who attend classes have to study need to prepare the books listed in the course bibliography, along with personal notes and the course slides
• The students who can not attend classes will study the books listed in the course bibliography, withe the volume by Masini and Grandi as an additional reading

Readings/Bibliography

Books

• G. Berruto, M. Cerruti (2017). La linguistica. Un corso introduttivo. Torino: UTET Università. (also previous editions)
• G.F Arcodia, C. Mauri (2016). La diversità linguistica. Roma: Carocci.
• N. Grandi (2014). Fondamenti di tipologia linguistica. Nuova edizione. Roma: Carocci.

Further resources

• The slides will be published every week on the AMS Campus collection, and it is highly recommended to read them - both for those who attend the class and for those who cannot attend.

• Further references on specific topics will be provided during the lessons.

Students who are not attending classes should also read the following book (recommended for all students, but optional for those attending classes):
• Masini, Francesca & Nicola Grandi (2017). Tutto ciò che hai sempre voluto sapere sul linguaggio e sulle lingue [http://www.caissa.it/299-tutto-cio-che-hai-sempre-voluto-sapere-sul-linguaggio-e-sulle-lingue.html] . Bologna: Caissa Italia.

Finally, it is highly recommended (mandatory for students who are not attending classes) to read the slides that will be published every week among the teaching materials of this course, on AMS Campus [https://campus.unibo.it/] .

Teaching methods

The course is mainly based on lectures . The topics will be explained by referring to real use examples in Italian and other languages. The theoretical discussion will be systematically accompanied by empirical data analysis.

Assessment methods

The final exam aims at assessing the theoretical knowledge acquired by the students during the course, as well as their ability to apply this knowledge to concrete cases of linguistic analysis.
The assessment is carried out by means of a written examination, which lasts 2 hours, and is followed by an oral exam. 

In order to be admitted at the oral exam, the student must have achieved a score of 18 or better in the wtitten test.

The questions are of different nature: there are both open and multiple choice questions, which may deal with both theoretical and practical aspects of the program. The latter are exercises where the students should analyze data (from different languages): these are aimed at assessing their ability to apply the acquired theoretical notions to concrete cases.

The questions refer to all the topics mentioned in the program (see description and textbooks sections), both those addressed during the classes and those that are studied autonomously by the students. Topics include: basic notions and concepts of general linguistics, history of linguistics, phonetics and phonology, morphology and the lexicon, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, linguistic typology, etc.

The final grade is given by counting the number of correct answers: each correct answer corresponds to 1 point, incorrect answers to 0 points, partially correct answers are also taken into account. Criteria for assessing the correctness of the answers include: qualitative precision, formal accuracy, clarity of writing.
High grades are therefore given to those students who demonstrate to have a global and harmonious knowledge of the subject and its specific language/terminology, to communicate ideas in a proper and clear way and to have acquired adequate analysis skills. A partial knowledge of the subject and its specific language/terminology, an overall fair but not perfect way of communicating, and less refined analysis skills imply average grades. A limited knowledge of the subject and its specific language/terminology, poor communication and analysis skills imply low grades. Those students who prove to have an inadequate and/or insufficient knowledge of the subject (in both its theoretical and practical parts) and its specific language/terminology will fail the exam.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint slides and other IT and web resourses will be used in order to illustrate the contents and to provide examples and schemas.

Links to further information

https://elearning-cds.unibo.it/course/view.php?id=12209#section-7

Office hours

See the website of Eugenio Goria

See the website of Simone Mattiola