Language and Human Experience

My goal in this class is to stoke your curiosity and attune your senses to the wonders of human language. Language is at the center of every human's experience, yet its inner workings usually remain unconscious and taken-for-granted. We will delve into the role of language in human experience by focusing on a few big questions: What might it be like to exist without language? How can we compare human languages to other forms of communication among other species? Why are there many different languages rather than one species-wide language? How do humanity's languages differ and what do they have in common? How does language shape how we see the world? Restricted to first- and second-year students. Offered every semester.