KE
5.0Reviewed Mar 23, 2020
This course was fascinating, and the professor and his students were very personable. You can tell that they love the subject they're teaching, and that makes the material even more palatable.
Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics
Everywhere, every day, everybody uses language. There is no human society, no matter how small or how isolated, which does not employ a language that is rich and diverse. This course introduces you to linguistics, featuring interviews with well-known linguists and with speakers of many different languages. Join us to explore the miracles of human language! The Miracles of Human Language introduces you to the many-faceted study of languages, which has amazed humans since the beginning of history. Together with speakers of many other languages around the world, as well as with famous linguists such as Noam Chomsky and Adele Goldberg, you will learn to understand and analyse how your native tongue is at the same time similar and different from many other languages. You will learn the basic concepts of linguistics, get to know some of the key features of big and small languages and get insight into what linguists do. This course gives an introduction into the study of languages, the field of linguistics. With the support of the basic linguistic terminology that is offered in the course, you will soon be able to comment both on variety between languages, as well as on a single language’s internal structure. Anyone who wishes to understand how languages work, and how they can give us insight into the human mind is very welcome to join. The course is useful if you want to get a fairly quick introduction into linguistics, for instance because you are considering studying it further, or because you are interested in a neighbouring discipline such as psychology, computer science or anthropology. Furthermore, the course will help you develop analytical skills. If you are curious to understand how language works and how it gives insight into the human mind, this course is definitely for you!
Status: Language Competency
Status: Language Interpretation, Translation, and Studies
BeginnerCourse23 hours
Featured reviews
SS
5.0Reviewed Nov 29, 2021
I've taken a number of online courses on linguistics now, and this one was by and far the best. The material covered is indepth and engaging, and the professor's enthusiam makes the videos a delight.
SF
5.0Reviewed Oct 7, 2017
I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in Linguistics and languages, especially beginners. I enjoyed it and learned very much and I feel ready to continue my studies in this field.
DD
5.0Reviewed Aug 13, 2020
A great introductory course with solid theoretical knowledge and practical exercises to implement the acquired information. I would recommend this course to any language enthusiast! Dank je wel!
LR
5.0Reviewed Mar 27, 2017
I found this course to be not only educational but extremely interesting. It provides a great overview of the field of linguistics and does so in an engaging manner. I highly recommend it!
TC
5.0Reviewed Nov 29, 2020
I have no previous experience in Linguistics but really enjoyed the course. The course materials gave me great insight and some ideas of what I would like to pursue next. Thank you!
JC
5.0Reviewed Mar 27, 2019
I found this course extremely challenging. Which I love. I now have a whole know respect for the learners of languages, and the people who study linguistics. I am glad I took part in this program.
NI
5.0Reviewed Mar 10, 2021
The course was well-organised and very interesting. It covered the different aspects of linguistics wonderfully and prompted me to delve further into specific fields of linguistics such as phonetics.
MC
4.0Reviewed Aug 5, 2024
Very interesting course, I found the content easy to follow. Some of the questions felt a little abstract in relation to the content, but perhaps that was user error in trying to complete quickly!
BB
5.0Reviewed Aug 22, 2017
I loved this course. The professor does a fabulous job explaining the material and bringing in others to show the material's relevance. It was very interesting and I want to learn more!
ZK
5.0Reviewed Sep 17, 2024
Simply put, it is one of the most important course one should take to improve his/her knowledge about subtleties of language and the nuanced ways in which human communication is exercised.
ST
4.0Reviewed Oct 31, 2023
Course content was great, however many of the links to readings and the free subscription to Ethnologue - which are needed to be able to work on the end of week quizzes, are now expired.