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Introduction to Linguistics

Code: 100228 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics FB 1
Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture FB 1
Spanish Language and Literature FB 1
English Studies FB 1
English and Catalan Studies FB 1
English and Spanish Studies FB 1
Catalan and Spanish Studies FB 1
English and French Studies FB 1
English and Classics Studies FB 1

Contact

Name:
Anna Gavarro Alguero
Email:
anna.gavarro@uab.cat

Teachers

Sergio Balari Ravera
Joaquim Llisterri Boix
Gemma Repiso Puigdelliura
Elena Ciutescu
Jingtao Zhu
Natalia Jardón Pérez

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites to take the course. Even when offered in Catalan or Spanish, it is advisable to be able to read in English, to have access to the linguistic literature.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The goal of the course is to introduce the student to the scientific study of language.


Competences

    Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Produce written work and oral presentations that are effective and framed in the appropriate register.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture
  • Demonstrate the capacity to work autonomously, engaging in self-analysis and self. Criticism.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    Spanish Language and Literature
  • Act in one's own field of knowledge evaluating inequalities based on sex/gender.
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Typologically identify the main phenomena of the Spanish language and relate them to similar phenomena in other languages.
    English Studies
  • Demonstrate skills to work autonomously and in teams to fulfil the planned objectives.
  • Describe and analyse—synchronically and comparatively—the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of English and its historical development.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge. 
  • Understand and produce written and spoken academic texts in English at an advanced proficient-user level (C1).
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources for the collection and organisation of information.
  • Use written and spoken English for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, the philosophy of language, history, English culture and literature.
    English and Catalan Studies
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    English and Spanish Studies
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    Catalan and Spanish Studies
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    English and French Studies
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    English and Classics Studies
  • Identify the foundations of human language, the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages.
  • Produce effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in distinct languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Accurately drawing up normative texts.
  2. Analyse the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic properties of the current language.
  3. Analyse the main phonetic, phonological morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic properties of the present-day language .
  4. Analyse the structural properties of languages according to the methods of linguistic theory.
  5. Analysing the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic properties of the current language.
  6. Construct an oral and written discourse in the corresponding language that is well-organised and correct.
  7. Construct normatively correct texts.
  8. Construct texts according to the established rules.
  9. Create an organised and correct discourse, spoken and in writing, in the corresponding language.
  10. Describe, identify and compare the basic structures of languages.
  11. Describe, identify and contrast the basic structures of a language.
  12. Describe, identify and contrast the basic structures of languages.
  13. Describe, identify and contrast the basic structures of the languages.
  14. Describing, identifying and contrasting the basic structures of a language.
  15. Develop an organized and correct oral and written speech, in the corresponding language.
  16. Distinguish grammatical gender from natural gender.
  17. Effectively communicate and apply the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
  18. Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
  19. Explain the bases of linguistic communication and interpreting processes.
  20. Explain the foundations and principles of language, as well as the properties and characteristics of natural languages.
  21. Explain the foundations of the communication and linguistic interpretation processes.
  22. Explain the fundamental principles of language, and the properties of natural languages.
  23. Explain the fundamental principles of the processes of linguistic communication and interpretation.
  24. Explain the fundamentals of the processes of linguistic communication and interpretation.
  25. Explain the main foundations and principles of language and the properties and characteristics of natural languages.
  26. Explaining the foundations and principles of language, as well as the properties and characteristics of natural languages.
  27. Explaining the foundations of the communication processes and linguistic interpretation.
  28. Express content and reasoned arguments in (oral and written) formal speeches.
  29. Express contents and arguments in a reasoned way in formal discourses (oral and written).
  30. Express ideas effectively in formal academic texts by adopting argumentative and textual procedures.
  31. Express oneself effectively by applying argumentative and textual procedures in formal and scientific texts.
  32. Express oneself in writing in English, in an academic register and using appropriate terminology, in relation to the study of English linguistics and grammar.
  33. Express oneself orally in English, in an academic register and using appropriate terminology, in relation to the study of English linguistics and grammar.
  34. Express yourself efficiently applying argumentational and textual procedures in formal and scientific texts.
  35. Expressing contents and arguments in a reasoned manner in (oral and written) formal discourses.
  36. Give reasoned expression of content and arguments in formal (written and spoken) discourse.
  37. Identify, describe and analyse the main morphological and syntactic properties of the English language.
  38. Identify main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  39. Identify principal and secondary ideas and express them using correct language.
  40. Identify the basic components of language structures and analyse and compare the phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic structures of languages.
  41. Identify the basic components of the structures of language and analysing and comparing its phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic structures.
  42. Identify the basic components of the structures of languages and analyse and compare the phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic structures of the languages.
  43. Identify the main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  44. Identify the primary and secondary ideas and express them correctly.
  45. Identify the relationships between literature and language, and the language in which it is spoken and written, and express them with linguistic correctness.
  46. Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  47. Identifying the basic components of the structures of the language and analysing and comparing its phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic structures.
  48. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  49. Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
  50. Organise self-directed learning efficiently and productively.
  51. Organise the autonomous part of learning efficiently and profitably.
  52. Organise the autonomous part of the learning process efficiently and profitably.
  53. Organising with efficiency and profitability the autonomous part of the learning process.
  54. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  55. Preparing an oral and written discourse in the corresponding language in a proper and organized way.
  56. Present content and arguments in reasoned formal discourse (oral and written). .
  57. Produce non-extensive specialised texts on general linguistics and English grammar.
  58. Summarise the knowledge acquired about the origin and changes experienced by the different fields of study in the discipline.
  59. Summarise the knowledge acquired about the origin of the various fields within the discipline and the transformations they have undergone.
  60. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in its several fields of study.
  61. Synthesise the knowledge acquired on the origin and transformations undergone by the different fields of study of the discipline.
  62. Understand and apply the knowledge and skills acquired from basic and advanced texts in linguistics and English grammar.
  63. Understand specialised academic texts on general linguistics and English grammar.

Content

1. Introduction. The diversity and universality of language. Biological aspects of language. Language acquisition. Universal grammar and particular grammar. Grammar and acceptability.


2. The structure of language

    2.1 Morphology and syntax. The units of morphological analysis. Morphological typology. Grammatical categories. Argument structure, word order, case and agreement. Syntactic structure as a hierarchical structure; constituency tests. The functional structure of the sentence. Long distance relations: movement.

    2.2. Semantics and pragmatics. The meaning of words and the meaning of sentences. The principle of compositionality. Reference and truth conditions. Information structure: Interpretation of utterances in context.

    2.3. Phonetics and phonology. Phonetic transcription and the International Phonetic Alphabet.  The units of phonological analysis. Phonological features. The syllable. Phonological processes. Suprasegmental processes.

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master lectures and problem discussion 36 1.44 2, 13, 19, 25, 42, 58
Type: Supervised      
Problem resolution 28 1.12 2, 13, 19, 25, 42, 58
Type: Autonomous      
Search for information and study 60 2.4 8, 9, 36, 34, 44, 51

The course will be based on problem resolution.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Written exam 40% 2 0.08 3, 2, 5, 4, 62, 63, 7, 1, 8, 13, 12, 10, 14, 16, 9, 6, 45, 55, 27, 23, 24, 19, 26, 20, 22, 25, 35, 56, 29, 36, 18, 30, 34, 31, 33, 32, 37, 42, 40, 47, 39, 44, 38, 48, 49, 53, 52, 50, 51, 54, 57, 61, 59, 58, 60
Written exercise (1) 30% 12 0.48 3, 2, 5, 4, 62, 63, 8, 1, 7, 14, 13, 12, 10, 55, 27, 19, 23, 24, 26, 25, 22, 20, 36, 56, 29, 35, 31, 30, 18, 34, 33, 32, 37, 42, 47, 40, 48, 50, 52, 51, 57, 61, 60, 58, 59
Written or oral exercise (2) 30% 12 0.48 2, 5, 3, 4, 62, 63, 1, 7, 8, 11, 13, 12, 10, 14, 16, 55, 45, 9, 6, 15, 27, 19, 21, 23, 24, 20, 26, 25, 22, 35, 28, 29, 36, 56, 31, 34, 17, 30, 18, 33, 32, 37, 47, 40, 41, 42, 48, 44, 39, 43, 46, 38, 49, 53, 51, 52, 50, 54, 57, 60, 59, 61, 58

The evaluation will be continuous and the final mark will be determined by the evaluation of two exercises elaborated at home, to be delivered as established by the lecturer, and the results of a written exam, taken in the classroom at the end of the course. The final exam covers all the materials of the course, including those in the exercises. In accordance with the Bologna Process, the two exercises and the final exam have to differ in character. The final exam will be carried without notes nor with access to the portable. The date of the exam will be discussed in class at the beginning of the course and recorded in the Campus Virtual.

The minimum score to pass the course is a 5. Students will be informed as to the date and procedure of exam and written work revisions. In accordance with the requirements of the Comissió de Docència of March 13th, 2015, only students with a mark between 3.5 and 4.9 can opt to reevaluation, and the final mark cannot exceed a 5. The reevaluation will consist in a written exercise covering the material of the course.

The use of AI is not contemplated in the production of any of the written exercises. In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero. Any written work involving plagirism will get a zero. Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.

Students will find details on the exercises and any other information necessary to follow the course in the Campus Virtual. 

This course doesn't allows single assessment grading.


Bibliography

Akmajian, A., Farmer, A. K., Bickmore, L., Demers, R. A. & Harnish, R. M. (2017). Linguistics: An introduction to language and communication. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.

Akmajian, A., Demers, R. A. & Harnish, R. M. (1984). Lingüística: una introducción al lenguaje y a la comunicación (V. Demonte & M. Mora, Trad.). Madrid: Alianza.

Brown, Keith (ed.) (2006) Encyclopaedia of Language and Linguistics. Amsterdam: Elsevier. (Available online at the UAB: https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1eqfv2p/alma991010400377406709)

Fasold, R. W. & Connor-Linton, J. (Ed.). (2014). An introduction to language and linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107707511

Finegan, E. (2015). Language: Its structure and use. Cengage Learning.

*Fromkin, V. (Ed.). (2000). Linguistics: An introduction to linguistic theory. Oxford: Blackwell.

Hayes, Bruce (2011) Introductory Phonology. Malden, Mass./Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Jackendoff, Ray (1994) Patterns in the Mind. Language and Human Nature. New York: Basic Books.

Larson, Richard (2010) Grammar as Science. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.

O’Grady, W., Archibald, J., Aronoff, M. & Rees-Miller, J. (Ed.). (2017). Contemporary linguistics: An introduction (7a ed.). Bedford/St. Martin’s, Macmillan Learning.

O’Grady, W., Archibald, J. & Katamba, F. (Ed.). (2011). Contemporary linguistics: An introduction (2a ed.). Harlow: Pearson Longman.

Sandoval, J. B. & Denham, K. K. (2021). Thinking like a linguist: An introduction to the science of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316874967

Yule, G. (2008). El lenguaje. Madrid: Akal.

Yule, G. (2020). The study of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108582889

 


Software

https://filcat.uab.cat/einaling/


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 4 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 5 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 6 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 3 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 4 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 5 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 6 Catalan second semester morning-mixed