Основы современного языкознания

Бакалавриат 2025/2026

Статус: Курс по выбору (Иностранные языки и межкультурная коммуникация)

Кто читает: Школа иностранных языков

Когда читается: 1-й курс, 2-4 модуль

Охват аудитории: для своего кампуса

Преподаватели: Лукошус Оксана Геннадьевна

Язык: английский

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Abstract

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of contemporary theoretical linguistics. The course examines such issues as the linguistic sign and its properties, structure of language, connection between language and thinking, between language and speech, the origin of language, types of linguistic units, the history of writing and the main types of writing, diversity of world languages, classification of languages. As part of the course the basic levels of language are considered, as a result of which students acquire a holistic vision of language as a system, skills in analyzing linguistic facts, and experience in contrasting dissimilar languages. Particular attention is paid to modern linguistic trends, such as linguistic pragmatics, cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, and discourse analysis.

Learning Objectives

to familiarize students with with the object, aims, and methods of general and special linguistics to prepare them for further in-depth study of language-related issues;
to provide insight into key problems of general linguistics: the linguistic sign and its nature; structure and system of language; connection between language and thinking; language and speech; origin and functions of language; history of writing; interaction of languages and the main patterns of their development; principles of language classification;
to give an idea of the patterns of language use in society;
to give a basic idea of modern research in areas such as linguistic pragmatics, cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, and discourse theory.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Students can apply the knowledge to the description of languages, the nature of sign.
Students can analyze language units and their speech realizations, see their common and specific properties as well as discuss the correlation of language and speech, language and worldview, language and culture.
Students can explain the difference between articulatory and acoustic phonetics, can specify the features of vowels and consonants.
Students can describe phonemes and their speech realisations, classify phonemes of a language, describe accent and intonation patterns of a language and other suprasegmentals.
Students can provide a concise description of some of the varied morphological phenomena found among the world’s languages.
Students can identify and explain the properties of word as the main language unit, types of word groupings.
Students can explain basic information on the meaning and its types, the three main approaches to the meaning, “inner form” of the word.
Students can single out parts of speech and explain their features and grammatical categories as well as explain the sentence structure and the types of sentences and clauses.
Students can comment on the history of writing and explain the difference between different writing systems.
Students can discuss the genealogical and typological classification of languages.
Students can explain four key pragmatic concepts: indexicality, presupposition, speech acts, and implicature and illustrate how speaker’s meaning is dependent on the context of use.
Students can specify such terms as “cognition”, “categorization”, “concept”, “script”, “scenario”, “frame”, “language picture of the world” and comment on the conceptual structure of the language.
Students can differentiate main text corpora in Russian and English, discuss their structure and methods of data analysis.
Students can differentiate text and discourse, apply criteria for text units identification, apply the main approaches to discourse analysis, as well as specify the structural parameters of discourse.
Students can discuss particularities of language functioning in the society, types of linguistic situations, social typology of languages.

Course Contents

Intoduction to Linguistics
Phonetics and Phonology
Morphology
Word as a Basic Unit of Languages
Syntax
Writing Systems
Language Typology
Pragmatics
Cognitive Linguistics
Corpus Linguistics
Discourse Analysis
Language and Society

Assessment Elements

Class Participation (Module 2, 3)
Active participation and engagement will be required in this course. All students are expected to have read the assigned material PRIOR to the class meetings. Class participation may be assessed in oral OR written forms (quizzes). It is up to the instructor to decide whether to give a quiz or not; students will not be warned about the form of class participation in advance, so they should be ready beforehand.
Test 1
Test 1 on Phonetics and Phonology. The test may include a short response, an MCQ or any other type of test.
Test 2
Test 2 on Morphology and Word Formation. Semaciology and Lexicology. The test may include a short response, an MCQ or any other type of test.
Test 3
Test 3 on Syntax. The test may include a short response, an MCQ or any other type of test.
Terminology Quiz 1
Terminology Quiz checks the knowledge of the basic terms studied at the seminars preceding the quiz. The list of the terms to be checked is provided by the Seminar Professor. The quiz might include different types of tasks, e.g. match the definitions to the correct terms, provide the definition of the terms to follow, etc.
Terminology Quiz 2
Terminology Quiz checks the knowledge of the basic terms studied at the seminars preceding the quiz. The list of the terms to be checked is provided by the Seminar Professor. The quiz might include different types of tasks, e.g. match the definitions to the correct terms, provide the definition of the terms to follow, etc.
Presentation
The presentation takes place at a seminar and involves a pre-prepared oral individual or pair report summarizing, analyzing and synthesizing additional information on the proposed topic. In the case of pair work, students receive the same grade for the presentation. The time limit for the presentation is 5 minutes.
Class Participation (Module 4)
Active participation and engagement will be required in this course. All students are expected to have read the assigned material PRIOR to the class meetings. Class participation may be assessed in oral OR written forms (quizzes). It is up to the instructor to decide whether to give a quiz or not; students will not be warned about the form of class participation in advance, so they should be ready beforehand.
Terminology Quiz 1
Terminology Quiz checks the knowledge of the basic terms studied at the seminars preceding the quiz. The list of the terms to be checked is provided by the Seminar Professor. The quiz might include different types of tasks, e.g. match the definitions to the correct terms, provide the definition of the terms to follow, etc.
Terminology Quiz 2
Terminology Quiz checks the knowledge of the basic terms studied at the seminars preceding the quiz. The list of the terms to be checked is provided by the Seminar Professor. The quiz might include different types of tasks, e.g. match the definitions to the correct terms, provide the definition of the terms to follow, etc.
Project
The project is a completed study of the linguistic portrait of an individual family (student's or any other family), family member or other representative - a native speaker of a natural language (Russian, English, Buryat, Latvian or any other, at the student’s choice). The purpose of this project is to illustrate how linguistic phenomena at different levels (phonetic, morphological, grammatical, lexical, syntactic, sociocultural, etc.) manifest themselves in the language and speech of an individual native speaker. A native speaker can be either students themselves or a member of their family, or a well-known person. Project title: “Linguistic portrait of my family” or “ Linguistic portrait of Ariana Grande / Kurt Cobain / Vladimir Putin, etc.” The project is carried out individually or in groups (3-4 students). In case of a group project each student’s contribution must be stated. Project structure: 1. Introduction. Research questions. Brief description of a native speaker (gender / age / region of residence). The place of the language in question in the genealogical classification (language family, group, subgroup (if any). 2. Main part. A brief overview of a native speaker's language and speech features from the perspective of language levels. Phonetics: pronunciation, stress: its place and nature, phonetic changes in the flow of speech. Grammar: grammatical categories of the main parts of speech (noun, adjective, pronoun, verb); features of a speech syntactic organization. Morphological typology. Vocabulary of a specific native speaker. Dialects and national variants. Discourse. Pragmatics. 3. Conclusion. A general conclusion about the sociolinguistic nature of speech organization, how it is determined by the region of residence / gender / age / profession / culture, etc. Project format: only in groups of 3-4 students (no more), interactive, video lasting 8 minutes sharp (e.g., video interview / mini-film / mini-story, etc.). PPT with illustrative examples is required. The image of a student commenting on the linguistic phenomenon is a must.
Exam
The exam is held orally. The examination card includes 2 theoretical issues, 4 points each, and a practical task, 2 points. Preparation Time - 20 minutes. The final list of examination topics is defined by the instructor a month prior to the examination date.

Interim Assessment

2025/2026 3rd module
0.25 * Class Participation (Module 2, 3) + 0.25 * Presentation + 0.1 * Terminology Quiz 1 + 0.1 * Terminology Quiz 2 + 0.1 * Test 1 + 0.1 * Test 2 + 0.1 * Test 3
2025/2026 4th module
0.25 * Class Participation (Module 4) + 0.4 * Exam + 0.25 * Project + 0.05 * Terminology Quiz 1 + 0.05 * Terminology Quiz 2

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

A concise introduction to linguistics, Rowe, B. M., 2018
Evans, V., & Green, M. (2015). Cognitive Linguistics : An Introduction. New York, NY: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1920444
Handford, M., & Gee, J. P. (2012). The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=444001
McEnery, T., & Hardie, A. (2012). Corpus Linguistics : Method, Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=408835
The Oxford Handbook of Language and Society. (2017). Oxford University Press.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Baker, P. (2009). Contemporary Corpus Linguistics. London: Continuum. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=344364
Baker, P., Hardie, A., & McEnery, T. (2006). A Glossary of Corpus Linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=169612
I-Language : an introduction to linguistics as cognitive science, Isac, D., 2013
Johnstone, B. (2017). Discourse Analysis (Vol. Third edition). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1647576
Renkema, J., & Schubert, C. (2018). Introduction to Discourse Studies : New Edition (Vol. New edition). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1929660
Schiffrin, D., Hamilton, H. E., & Tannen, D. (2015). The Handbook of Discourse Analysis (Vol. Second edition). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=985110

Authors

Bogolepova Svetlana Viktorovna
LUKOSHUS OKSANA GENNADIEVNA

Course Syllabus