Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Students will be introduced to the fundamental principles of linguistic analysis by examining the main components of language, including the patterning of sounds (phonetics and phonology), the structure of words and sentences (morphology and syntax), the ways linguistic structure and context give rise to meaning (semantics and pragmatics), and how social practices shape and are shaped by language use (sociolinguistics). Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Students will be introduced to the fundamental principles of linguistic analysis by examining the main components of language, including the patterning of sounds, the structure of words and sentences, the ways linguistic structure and context give rise to meaning, and how social practices shape and are shaped by language use. Our emphasis will be on the structural properties found in each of the grammatical components of language: phonetics (the sounds of language), phonology (sound structure), morphology (word structure), syntax (phrase and sentence structure), semantics and pragmatics (literal and contextual meaning), and sociolinguistics (language use in society).