Topics include the biological basis of human language, and analogous systems in other creatures; relations to cognition, communication, and social organization; sounds, forms and meanings in the world's languages; the reconstruction of linguistic history and the ``family tree'' of languages; dialect variation and language standardization; language and gender; language learning by children and adults; the neurology of language and language disorders; the nature and history of writing systems.
Although intended for a general audience, this course is also recommended as an introduction for students who plan to major in linguistics.
Other readings will be handed out in class, or will be made available
via the course web pages.
More
overview information from the lecture notes for the introductory
session.