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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics by Universiteit Leiden

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2,356 ratings

About the Course

Everywhere, every day, everybody uses language. There is no human society, no matter how small or how isolated, which does not employ a language that is rich and diverse. This course introduces you to linguistics, featuring interviews with well-known linguists and with speakers of many different languages. Join us to explore the miracles of human language! The Miracles of Human Language introduces you to the many-faceted study of languages, which has amazed humans since the beginning of history. Together with speakers of many other languages around the world, as well as with famous linguists such as Noam Chomsky and Adele Goldberg, you will learn to understand and analyse how your native tongue is at the same time similar and different from many other languages. You will learn the basic concepts of linguistics, get to know some of the key features of big and small languages and get insight into what linguists do. This course gives an introduction into the study of languages, the field of linguistics. With the support of the basic linguistic terminology that is offered in the course, you will soon be able to comment both on variety between languages, as well as on a single language’s internal structure. Anyone who wishes to understand how languages work, and how they can give us insight into the human mind is very welcome to join. The course is useful if you want to get a fairly quick introduction into linguistics, for instance because you are considering studying it further, or because you are interested in a neighbouring discipline such as psychology, computer science or anthropology. Furthermore, the course will help you develop analytical skills. If you are curious to understand how language works and how it gives insight into the human mind, this course is definitely for you!...

Top reviews

DC

Sep 23, 2017

Extremely informational, well presented, with questions that stimulate reflection. The optional reading material is food for thought. I hope to see more courses from the same professor and University.

NI

Mar 10, 2021

The course was well-organised and very interesting. It covered the different aspects of linguistics wonderfully and prompted me to delve further into specific fields of linguistics such as phonetics.

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101 - 125 of 716 Reviews for Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics

By Elena B

Nov 28, 2018

This course provides a great overview of the different Linguistic's sub-disciplines. I started this class with zero knowledge about Linguistic and I found the classes very engaging. They motivated me to get more information about the topics under discussion. Professor Marc van Oostendorp is an excellent presenter and was able to make the videos interesting. Great Job!!

By Stefanos M

Aug 23, 2020

Very likable staff from whom I learned very interesting and valuable things in very manageable doses. It says that my responses to the writing prompts are submitted, but I cannot find my own responses. Some questions asking us to refer to informants' videos seemed rather ambitious, as I am not so good at listening personally (unless of course I understand the language).

By Daniella C

Nov 26, 2020

This course was very informative, the classes are easy to follow, the information is very clear, and the activities help you analyze and comprehend the knowledge you just received. I took the course for fun, and to refresh what I learned in university and was not a bit disappointed. Would completely recommend if you are getting into linguistics or want to learn more.

By Andrés M

Jan 26, 2017

Excelente para refrescar la memoria respecto a aspectos básicos de la lingüística o para introducirse en este mundo según sea el caso.Un aspecto a resaltar es la diversidad de lenguas con las que se trabajan en este curso, ya que en muchas cátedras de lingüística solo se enfocan en la lengua madre o en comparaciones de esta con una segunda lengua o lengua extranjera.

By Torgom T

Oct 21, 2021

I fully enjoyed the course, it really proves that the human language is the biggest and the greatest discovery in the history of humankind. I was totally amazed discovering so much about the human language, I got to know some topics I had not heard or imagined could exisit in lingusitcs. I recommend everyone who is interested in Linguistics must take the course.

By Howard T

Sep 17, 2021

I thought the course was excellent, and a lot of thought had gone into production of the materials. My only negative thought would be that some of the Required Readings seem to have become inaccessible: various reviews concerning the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and William Labov's lecture. Actually typing apostrophes is a pain as well--may be a Dutch keyboard...

By Shalom C V

Jun 14, 2020

It is a really interesting and revealing course not only for those interested in linguistics, but also for everyone interested in anthropology, sociology and human development. Quizzes are well done, you just have to pay attention, study and think over; although in the final exam I do agree that the right answers are wrongly programmed in the network server.

By 李聿

Jun 26, 2017

Good course. Knew tuns of great things about languages and the course really opened my mind, taught me new ways to see the world. I also learnt many ways of learning through that course. To notice the reasons behind issues. To reach the truth through different methods. Etc. Thank you very much for having this course! The professor and guests were so nice!

By Elie M

Jul 13, 2020

Following this course has been a very pleasant experience and very inspiring. As someone who didn't know much about linguistics, I now have a general idea about the field. The instructor, Marten and Inge, and the interviewees were all very helpful and made things accessible for a linguistics initiate. I consider this course as a door opened. Thank you!

By Aswathi A

Jun 15, 2020

I actually clicked on the course by mistake. I had no interest in what the curse was about. But as i pushed myself to get through the course I found it to be quite interesting. I've wondered what linguists do. I always thought they didnt have much to do. But I've realised that thats not the case at all. The course was quite eye-opening and informative.

By Iaroslav R

Nov 7, 2016

This was amazing! Every week there was something interesting and fun to learn and I couldn't stop wondering about that. Thanks to professor Marc van Oostendorp, Martin, Inga and other informants and contributors who made this course so highly informative and well-structured. You gave me a good foundation to continue learning. Please make more courses!

By Shekhar K

Aug 10, 2020

Dr. Oostendorp goes through many fields and disciplines in linguistics and even introduced me to many new fields, like sociolinguistics. The interviews in every module also opened my eyes to what is currently happening in this field. This course also introduced to me to fascinating new languages that I want to look into more like Berber and Basque.

By Pati G

Apr 18, 2022

Muy bueno. Las bases que te da son muy importantes para tener idea de qué tratan los estudios de lingüística antes de decidirte por una carrera, y en general, si uno quiere saber más del lenguaje, de los idiomas, de cómo se organizan y de fonología y fonética, del lenguaje en el contexto social, entre otros. Muchas gracias, me ha servido mucho.

By Ivana

Apr 17, 2021

I enjoyed this course a lot. Very interesting topic. In this course I learned quite a few new things related to languages. I loved especially the way how prof. van Oostendorp presents the topics. I could feel he loves what he does, his enthusiasm is contagious. The exams after each week were not easy, but in this way I learned. Great course!!!

By Ritu M

Jun 13, 2020

I thoroughly enjoyed taking this course. It is very well structured delivered in an easy to understand format and at the perfect pace. It opened up a whole new world of the 'Science of Languages' to me. Look forward to diving deeper into this subject. Heartfelt thanks to Professor Dr Oostendorp, Martin and Inge, the experts, and the informants!

By Antonia

Apr 30, 2020

I really enjoyed this course! Although I didn't know anything about linguistics before the course, I was able to keep up with the tasks and videos. Everything was explained very well and with examples which helped a lot.

The topics of the course were very intriguing as well, especially from week 4 on. I can only recommend taking the course.

By Heber H B M

May 26, 2019

¡Buenas tardes! Tomé el curso a manera de repaso de temas que tuve en la universidad en la materia de lingüística y terminó sorprendiéndome con temas que no había tratado antes. Me parece un curso excelente que te ofrece una visión general de las distintas ramas de la lingüística, con videos, ejemplos y ejercicios de reflexión y lectura.

By Daria S

Nov 6, 2016

The course is itself a miracle. The topic has been presented in a very interesting way thanks to the Professor, his motivating way of teaching and his discussions with students. It was a challenge for me, it demanded a lot of own studying but I feel I have learned a lot about the topic and also got a motivation to learn more. Thank you.

By Катерина Б

Oct 26, 2023

Even though I have a bachelor degree in Linguistics, it was an amazingly interesting course! Somehow it included the information I never came across during my studies, and I am deeply grateful to all the wonderfull people who created this course! There were mistakes or bugs sometimes, but I enjoyed it immensely, thank you very much!

By Chiun H Y

Nov 14, 2020

Highly recommend for those who like to learn languages as their hobby but also want to know how languages work, in a scientific but playful way. All the videos, discussion, quizes are very helpful and inspiring. Although it's a short course, it gave me lots of insights and encouraged me to explore more about linguistics on my own.

By Cecilia C L R

Nov 12, 2017

A wonderful course for those of us who love language and question ourselves about its acquisition, the disciplines that study it and the many factors that can modify it. Professor Marc van Oostendorp explains everything in a clear and simple way and makes one get involved in the course and wants to deepen the study of Linguistics.

By Ishtar J D J

Mar 15, 2021

I loved this course! I was loston what I liked and this made me realize of how much I love linguistics. If I lived anywhere close Europe I would definetely go study the full Linguistic degree at Leiden University. I learned great things, enjoyed every quiz and assignment, just the best thing you could study if you love languages.

By Eve M

Mar 2, 2018

This course is challenging, which is good. I was familiar with some of the material as my educational background is in psychology, but I learned a lot here and want to consolidate what I've learned. I didn't have time to do the peer graded assignments, but I might even retake the course to do so. The video lectures are great.

By SHEHR B Z

Oct 28, 2021

Hi, as an introductory course to linguistics I found it quite interesting, informative and beneficial for my future endeavors in this field. All the videos, reading material, visit to lab, interviews were really superb. I appreciate the effort done by all the people involved especially Prof Marc, Marten and Igne. Thanks a lot

By Erin S

Jun 27, 2017

A really excellent intro to linguistics! I found the lectures straightforward and engaging. The assigned readings were really high quality, and they included a nice variety of styles and formats. The quizzes were difficult (maybe sometimes unnecessarily so) but I think this makes enrollees really pay attention to the content.