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Unit of study_
LNGS1001: Structure of Language
2025 unit information
This unit explores the fundamental properties of human language, with examples from languages spoken in every part of the world. We look at the sounds of human language: how the speech organs make them, and how different they can be across languages. We gain a detailed understanding of English consonants and vowels, and we learn how to transcribe them phonetically. We investigate the ways in which sounds can convey meanings, through the formation of words and sentences in English and many other languages. We see how and why English is different from Japanese, Swahili, German, or even Irish.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Arts and Social Sciences
| Study level | Undergraduate |
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| Academic unit | Linguistics |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. demonstrate foundational knowledge and skills in the discipline of linguistics, including key terms, basic facts and key methods of analysis
- LO2. display an understanding of basic aspects of linguistic structure, and the relations among them: articulatory phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and discourse structure
- LO3. demonstrate the ability to complete basic phonetic transcription using the International Phonetic Alphabet
- LO4. demonstrate an understanding of first principles for the structural analysis of languages, including methods for identifying key units of structure (phonemes and allophones, morphemes and allomorphs, phrases, and texts), based on evidence and argumentation
- LO5. demonstrate an understanding of first principles about methods of research on language in social contexts, including quantitative and qualitative methods, ethical considerations, and principles for communicating results.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
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