The University of the West Indies, Mona

This introductory course will have students examine questions such as “what is language?” “what is human communication?” and “how is language used in society?” A glimpse into sentence structure will give a new perspective on ideas learnt in school about grammar. A study of the relationships between language and society will open students’ eyes to variation in language. Consideration of the utterances of infants will reveal how knowledge and use of language develops in children. The identification of areas of the brain controlling various functions of speech will provide an explanation of some of the ways in which individuals can suffer language deficiencies.