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

4.7
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2,423 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.

SS

Nov 29, 2021

I've taken a number of online courses on linguistics now, and this one was by and far the best. The material covered is indepth and engaging, and the professor's enthusiam makes the videos a delight.

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251 - 275 of 739 Reviews for Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics

By Tatyana M

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May 14, 2018

love this course - it's really great! Working with native speakers of different languages was difficult but fascinating. Interview with Noam Chomsky totally defeat me. I'm impressed.

By Tammy C

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Nov 30, 2020

I have no previous experience in Linguistics but really enjoyed the course. The course materials gave me great insight and some ideas of what I would like to pursue next. Thank you!

By Naomi

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Dec 2, 2016

Loved this course! The professor was informative and engaging, and Inge and Martin made the class interesting and fun. I also enjoyed the interviews with other experts in the field.

By Lachlan A

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Jan 11, 2021

Very engaging and interesting course that helped me achieve a basic understanding of linguistics. Definitely recommend to those who have an interest in languages and how they work.

By Nguyen Q L

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Aug 1, 2020

Thank you for letting me learning this wonderful course! Such a great pleasure for me to have this opportunity learning with everyone! Best wishes for you and never stop learning!

By Allyson D d L

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Aug 14, 2023

Amazing course! Introductory but it was a very nice introduction and the most interisting was the presence of native speakers of languages very distinct and uncommon. I loved it.

By Karen M

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Aug 2, 2020

It is a great, complet and very well conducted course. It allowed me to re-think the way i used to understand the language. Great academic team, very fluent ad very fun to learn

By Marta R R

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Aug 29, 2019

Great course! I have learned a lot about linguistics in a very interactive and dynamic way. I totally recommend it to everyone that is a little bit interested in this discipline.

By Ben W

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Aug 17, 2020

Very enjoyable, very informative! I'm very happy I was able to take this class, I feel like it very thoroughly outlined the basics of many different types/fields of linguistics.

By Diane J

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Jul 19, 2020

This course was challenging but very interesting with a good mix of learning modalities. The three presenters plus the subject expert interviewees added interest to the course.

By Alexander S

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Jul 12, 2018

A great introductory course!Of special value for me were the language informants. Through them understanding the diversity of languages was a lot more interesting and practical.

By Rebeca M

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Aug 29, 2020

This is a great linguistics course! It is introductory but through the suggested readings and discussions one can really deepen into the language analysis. Totally recommended!

By Nikita K

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Aug 14, 2016

I really liked it ! It was a challenge for me personally ! Getting the questions wrong on quizes really discouraged me but then I would keep going and not give up ! Awesome !!!

By Timothy H

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Nov 4, 2018

This is a challenging course, but if you are truly interested in linguistics this is an excellent choice. Certainly the best one available in a MOOC. Thank you for the effort.

By Darren H

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Nov 3, 2020

Fantastic! The course was really fun and interesting. I found Professor van Oostendorp's presentation to be informative, enthusiastic, animated and amiable. I've had a blast!

By Patricia Z

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Dec 19, 2018

It was my first experience with an online course and it was excellent! The materias were very interesting and difficult but not impossible. I'm very grateful for everything!

By antonio b

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Aug 25, 2019

A very beautiful seminar. It should be a little bit more longer and have some reference to a leading book in order to deepen some of the topic. Is there a follow up course?

By Nikki S

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Oct 9, 2016

I very much enjoyed this course. All of the videos were informative as well as engaging. The material was compelling and I think I may like to learn more in the future!

By Erika K

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Apr 17, 2020

The course was as exciting as challenging. The lectures are short but full of information. The interviews were really interesting. I loved it. I totally recommend it.

By Katarina M

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Nov 30, 2018

Brilliant course! Content was engaging and varied, lectures were interesting, assigments were just the right level of difficulty Many thanks to everyone involved! :)

By Mariana C

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Oct 14, 2021

Excellent course! Thank you very much Professor Marc van Oostendorp and team! I've learned a lot despite some difficulties I had with English (Intermediate level).

By Michelle R B

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Aug 6, 2021

the order of the course with intro, lesson, discussions ... interviews. was great! very knowledgable teaching. it's the perfect intro to this fascinating field.

By Yuossef a

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Jul 2, 2020

A lot of nice talk is said about this training

Organizing ideas and their sequences, linguistic diversity and creative ideas, advocating for growth and development

By Jose A D G

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Jan 20, 2021

O curso muito bom em oferecer uma visão panorâmica dos principais tópicos da linguística contemporânea. Mas poderia ter uma duração maior, aproveitar-se-ia melhor

By Sherry Y

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Nov 5, 2020

This course helped me to understand linguistics in a very detailed way. The course was very interesting and lively. Especially the interview session was amazing.