Welcome to the course! (3:07)
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0:04 - 0:06Hi, I'm Marc van Oostendorp.
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0:06 - 0:08This is Leiden University.
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0:08 - 0:11Welcome to this course on
the miracles of human language. -
0:11 - 0:15This is our studio where we prepared
a course full of surprises, -
0:15 - 0:18full of miracles of human language.
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0:21 - 0:24This course is all about diversity.
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0:24 - 0:26Well, it's all about diversity,
and it's also about similarity. -
0:26 - 0:30And that's because there are about
6,000 languages in the world. -
0:30 - 0:33And they're diverse,
they're all different, -
0:33 - 0:35but they are also similar in some way.
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0:36 - 0:37How is that possible?
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0:37 - 0:41That's one thing, an important thing that
we're going to explore in this course. -
0:42 - 0:44And we're going to explore
this in five modules. -
0:45 - 0:49In the first module, we talk about
questions like what makes language -
0:49 - 0:51so typically human,
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0:52 - 0:55or differentiates it from,
from animal languages, for instance. -
0:55 - 0:58And we're going to see how
linguists go about their work. -
0:59 - 1:02There are different kinds of linguists and
we're going to meet them. -
1:04 - 1:07In the second module,
we talk about sounds of language. -
1:08 - 1:10How do we produce sounds?
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1:10 - 1:11How do we distinguish sounds?
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1:11 - 1:14How do we organize sounds in our minds?
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1:15 - 1:18In the third module,
we talk about words and sentences. -
1:20 - 1:24How are languages different in
the way in which they create words? -
1:24 - 1:28How are they different in the way in
which they organize words into sentences? -
1:30 - 1:33In the fourth module
we talk about meaning. -
1:33 - 1:38How do we give meaning to words and
sentences in human language? -
1:38 - 1:40And how do languages differ in that?
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1:42 - 1:47And in the fifth module, we talk
about language in its social context. -
1:47 - 1:52We talk about how language is actually
used in, let's say, everyday life. -
1:53 - 1:55Since this course is all about diversity,
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1:55 - 1:57there's also diversity
within every module. -
1:57 - 1:59It's not just me explaining things to you.
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1:59 - 2:02We also have discussions with students
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2:02 - 2:05and we've interviews with experts,
with linguists from the Netherlands -
2:05 - 2:08and other countries about linguistics,
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2:08 - 2:09about their job.
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2:10 - 2:14But most of all,
we have speakers of different languages. -
2:14 - 2:17We have found six speakers of
six very different languages. -
2:17 - 2:20And they will give examples of
how they speak of words and -
2:20 - 2:23sentences in their language.
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2:23 - 2:26And it will be up to you
to analyze those examples. -
2:27 - 2:30And if you're in an advanced track
or if you just like that kind of thing -
2:30 - 2:34we also invite you to submit
your own language, -
2:34 - 2:37to make videos in which you give
those same words and sentences -
2:37 - 2:39in your own language.
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2:39 - 2:41And then,
other students can analyze those. -
2:44 - 2:46We also invite you to participate.
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2:46 - 2:48We have an online forum
on our course page -
2:48 - 2:50and if you like that kind of thing,
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2:50 - 2:54we also have a Facebook group in
which you can discuss these things. -
2:56 - 3:00But in any case, we hope to see you
very soon in the first module of -
3:00 - 3:04our course on the miracles
of human language.
- Title:
- Welcome to the course! (3:07)
- Description:
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From "Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics" by Marc van Oostendorp, Leiden University. See the course description https://www.coursera.org/course/humanlanguage :
"Everywhere, every day, everybody uses language. There is no human society, no matter how small or how isolated, which does not employ a language that is rich and diverse. This course introduces you to linguistics, featuring interviews with well-known linguists and with speakers of many different languages. Join us to explore the miracles of human language! (...)"
Week 0 - Welcome to the course!
- Video Language:
- English
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for https:/.../download.mp4?lecture_id=83 | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for https:/.../download.mp4?lecture_id=83 | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for https:/.../download.mp4?lecture_id=83 |