Language, Brain and Mind · Linguistics
I learned about language/linguistics' relation to the brain.
neuropsychology — how the brain is involved in our daily use of language and how they evolved to be that way
We will look at the neurological and psychological foundations of the human faculty of language. How did our brains change to allow language to evolve? Where in our brains are the components of language found? Are our minds specialized for learning language or is it part of our general cognitive abilities to learn? How are words and sentences produced and their meanings recognized? The structure of languages around the world varies greatly; does this have psychological effects for their speakers?
I learned all about psycholinguistics - how language works in the mind, different theories of the evolution of language, how language is perceived, how language affects cognition, among others.
I learned an incredible amount of introductory knowledge regarding linguistics.
This course mainly covered psycholinguistics, but it also incoorperated anthropological linguistics and philosophy.
In terms of knowledge, I received a cursory view of many topics in neurolinguistics. While no topic was discussed for more than a few weeks, I felt that I had an adequate introduction and have a general understanding of how the field of neurolinguistics has developed. I also have a greater understanding of the debates going on in the field, which is refreshing to see in a science class. In the spirit of Frontiers of Science, the class really introduced me to the frontiers of neurolingusitcs: where is language located in the brain? How do children learn words? The instructor was very clear in saying that in many cases, we just don't know, which piqued my interest in the field. In terms of skills, the poster and critical report assignments were very practical. They were a nice break from the typical essay-exam structure of my other classes and gave me a chance to practice creating materials that I'll probably be making later in life.
Both evolutionary and current neurolinguistics and also psycholingustics.
Honestly I don't really know if I could put it into words? But I do feel like I learned a lot.
I learned about different branches that exist within the field of linguistics. Additionally, I also gained knowledge regarding the fundaments of language.