The successful participant will

- have acquired command of the basic theoretical concepts of syntax, morphology, and phonology;

- understand how these concepts apply to bodies of data from natural languages (mainly English and Dutch);

- be able to analyse small given data sets;

- be able to write a research plan; a methodology section (within a research paper); a research proposal

 

This course introduces students to the scientific study of language. It provides an introduction to core concepts in the areas of syntax, morphology, phonology and phonetics, aiming at a sophisticated understanding of native speakers' unconscious knowledge of the structure of English words and sentences, and a basic understanding of the way in which this knowledge is acquired.  Students are familiarised with linguistic methods of data analysis, including the analysis of speech and corpus data, and acquire research writing skills. Students learn to write a research plan (200 words), a methodology section (500 words), and a research proposal (700 words). On the basis of a practical research project.