Influential ideas in Linguistics

2024/2025

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

3

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

School of Fundamental and Applied Linguistics

Course type:

Elective course

When:

1 year, 1 module

Instructor

Gladkova, Anna

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course introduces and discusses main ideas in the study of language. It covers several periods in the history of linguistics from the Enlightenment to present days. It explores the birth of linguistics and the shift from diachronic to synchronic studies, Chomskyan linguistics, the relationship between language and thought, structuralism and functionalism in Europe. It also pays attention to the current situation in linguistic studies, in particular the cognitive turn, pragmatics, ethnolinguistics, decolonization and digitization. The course gives an opportunity to critically evaluate different approaches in linguistics and understand links between time, space and culture in this regard.

Learning Objectives

• After successfully completing this course, you will be able to • identify and explain key ways in which theories of language can differ • trace a broad history of modern linguistics, from the seeds present in the 18th century to current theories in the 21st • synthesize material from seminar discussion into cogent reports • Apply critical thinking skills in order to assess the relevance of different types of linguistic phenomena to particular theoretical approaches

Expected Learning Outcomes

• After successfully completing this course, you will be able to • identify and explain key ways in which theories of language can differ • trace a broad history of modern linguistics, from the seeds present in the 18th century to current theories in the 21st • synthesize material from seminar discussion into cogent reports • apply critical thinking skills in order to assess the relevance of different types of linguistic phenomena to particular theoretical approaches
• • trace a broad history of modern linguistics, from the seeds present in the 18th century to current theories in the 21st

Course Contents

• The Birth of Linguistics
• Structuralism
• Language and Thought
• Chomskyan rationalism and innatism
• The cognitive turn

Assessment Elements

• Class participation
• Report
• Essay/Test
  Writing an essay on a given topic in a restricted period of time.

Interim Assessment

• 2024/2025 1st module
  0.2 * Class participation + 0.5 * Essay/Test + 0.3 * Report

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• 9783110292022 - Dabrowska, Ewa; Divjak, Dagmar - Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics - 2015 - De Gruyter - https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1000461 - nlebk - 1000461
• An introduction to language and linguistics, , 2011
• Assunção, C., Fernandes, G., & Kemmler, R. (2016). History of Linguistics 2014 : Selected Papers From the 13th International Conference on the History of the Language Sciences (ICHoLS XIII), Vila Real, Portugal, 25–29 August 2014. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1336735
• Barnes, H. (2017). Linguistics : Past, Present and Future Perspectives. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1530916
• Chomsky, N., & Foucault, M. (2006). The Chomsky-Foucault Debate : On Human Nature. New York: The New Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=516587
• Croft, W., & Cruse, D. A. (2004). Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=148123
• Evans, V., & Green, M. (2006). Cognitive Linguistics : An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=163366
• Fuchs, Z., Gries, S. T., & Brdar, M. (2011). Cognitive Linguistics : Convergence and Expansion. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=401190
• Handbook of cognitive linguistics, , 2015
• Hengeveld, K., & Baker, A. (2012). Linguistics. Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=421931
• James McGilvray. (2014). Chomsky : Language, Mind and Politics: Vol. Second edition. Polity.
• Joseph, J. E. (2002). From Whitney to Chomsky : Essays in the History of American Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=395313
• Language and time : a cognitive linguistics approach, Evans, V., 2013
• Laura A. Janda. (2013). Cognitive Linguistics – The Quantitative Turn : The Essential Reader. De Gruyter Mouton.
• Pullum, G. K. (2018). Linguistics : Why It Matters. Cambridge, UK: Polity. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1910481
• Rowe, B. M., & Levine, D. P. (2018). A Concise Introduction to Linguistics (Vol. Fifth edition). London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1775794
• Systemic functional linguistics : exploring choice, , 2013
• Ten lectures on applied cognitive linguistics, Taylor, J. R., 2018
• The Cambridge dictionary of linguistics, Brown, K., 2013
• Understanding language : a basic course in linguistics, Winkler, E. G., 2012

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• The languages and linguistics of Europe : a comprehensive guide / ed. by Bernd Kortmann . (2011). Berlin [u.a.]: De Gruyter Mouton. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.313154872
• The Oxford handbook of the history of linguistics, , 2013

Authors

• Патракова Ева Павловна
• Gladkova Anna Nikolaevna