Introduction to Linguistics
What is language? Do animals use language, or is it unique to humans? Can we study language like we study chemistry?
Why do so many linguists work for Amazon and Google? What do we need to know about the formal structure of language and the nature of communication to train Large Language Models?
When and why is it illegal to say certain things to other people?
This course is a high level introduction to linguistics, the formal study of language, where you will find out how to answer these questions. You will get to know the different areas that we can study when we study language (such as language sounds, how to form sentences, and how to interpret utterances in a given context), and choose from a number of focus areas according to your interests (including language and law, computational linguistics and AI, animal communication, and language learning).
This course is presented online asynchronously, meaning that there is no set meeting time for the class. You will work through one module per week on your own time.