On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

*use introductory linguistic terms and concepts appropriately where/when necessary,

*explain the biological basis of the language in the human brain

*describe the underlying universal principles and mechanisms allowing human communication and the physiological underpinnings of language (situate language in the brain), as well as the language development in an individual,

*explain the difference between human and sign languages, human and animal communication; artificial and natural languages

*explain what it means for a word to have a meaning and how words are semantically related

*examine the features of various texts using pragmatic and discourse analysis criteria

*build a working knowledge of lexical and phrasal semantics,

*be familiar with the basics of pragmatics; be able to explain how linguistic and situational context influences the meaning of utterances.

*explain how factors such as context and sociolinguistic characteristics of the interlocutors and background knowledge affect our perception and interpretation of various linguistic expressions.