LET-CIWER803
Language and Thought
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleLET-CIWER803
Credits (ECTS)5
Category-
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Arts; Communication and Information Studies;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
dr. L.J. Speed
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. L.J. Speed
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
dr. L.J. Speed
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
dr. L.J. Speed
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2020
Period
PER 3-PER 4  (25/01/2021 to 31/08/2021)
Starting block
PER 3
Course mode
full-time
RemarksAccessible to exchange students (maximum 35).
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesNo
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
At the end of the course the student will be able to:
1.       Describe and evaluate a broad range of approaches to studying the relationship between language and thinking;
2.       Describe how languages differ from one another;
3.       Describe and critically evaluate whether the language someone speaks affects the way they think;
 
Content
What is the relationship between the language we speak and the way we think? Humans are unique not only for having language, but for using over 6,000 distinct languages. There is pervasive diversity at every level of linguistic structure. For example, some languages only have a dozen contrastive speech sounds (phonemes), others have hundreds, and some do not even have a single speech sound (e.g., sign languages). Similar variation is also seen in semantics and syntax. English has no grammatical gender, German has three gender classes (masculine, feminine, neuter), while some African language have a dozen. Does this linguistic variation mean that people who speak different languages think differently about the world? And what kind of thinking can babies and other animals do without language? This class will examine variation between languages, and explore the consequences language variation has for how people perceive, remember, and reason when making decisions.
Level

Presumed foreknowledge

Test information

Specifics

Assumed previous knowledge
Only for Exchange students. You cannot take this course if your English proficiency level is not at least B2 (TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC or Cambridge). A statement from your home university won't be accepted.

Required materials
Articles
Title:Research articles will be announced

Instructional modes
At-home PER4 gel1
Attendance MandatoryYes

At-home PER4 gel2
Attendance MandatoryYes

Lecture
Attendance MandatoryYes

Tests
Multiple choice exam (at home)
Test weight50
Test typeWritten exam
OpportunitiesBlock PER 4, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5

Remark
Note to exchange students: it is not possible to take the exam at a different time or place.

Take-home assignment
Test weight50
Test typeProject
OpportunitiesBlock PER 3, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5