Ateneo - UPO

Introduction to general Linguistics

R. Simone, Nuovi fondamenti di linguistica. Seconda edizione, Milano, McGraw-Hiill, 2024 (ALL). T. De Mauro, Linguistica elementare, Roma - Bari, Laterza, rist. 2020 (ONLY: Appendice II, Indicazioni per le trascrizioni). Per i non frequentanti aggiungere: S. Luraghi - A. M. Thornton, Linguistica generale: esercitazioni e autoverifica. II edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2024 (ALL).

The first objective of the course is to provide the student with the main linguistic notions necessary to correctly analyze the language in general and the languages taught in the CdS in particular, both in examplesprovided in class and during the final test. A second, more advanced objective is to enable the student to independently apply the notions and methodologies learned to linguistic reasoning on theoretical and empirical data connected to the main modern European languages. A third objective is to prepare students for linguistics teaching and to be able to re-propose the main notions with the appropriate metalanguage.

In order to successfully complete the course and pass the written exam, students must have a strong, genuine interest in the history and the structural and functional organization of languages, and a solid foundation in the Italian language and grammar is essential.

Lectures and online learning (DIR); however, the material available in DIR is intended solely as a supplement and does NOT in any way replace the texts listed in the course bibliography. Throughout the course, in order to develop each student’s independent capacity for linguistic reasoning, students will be asked to actively participate by analyzing linguistic data in different languages and completing exercises—either individually or in groups—aimed at learning: (a) phonetic transcription techniques; (b) principles of morphological segmentation; (c) syntactic analysis using tree diagrams.

For students who want to consolidate their knowledge of Italian grammar it is recommended to use: P. Trifone - M. Palermo, Grammatica italiana di base, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2020, IV ed.; L. Sirianni, Italiano. Grammatica, sintassi, dubbi, Milano, Garzanti, 2012; useful: S. Luraghi - A. M. Thornton,Linguistica generale: esercitazioni e autoverifica. II edizione, Roma,Carocci, 2024.. Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage:https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/servicesstudents- physical-or-learning disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, must refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the modalities of examination at least 15 days before; some of these must be approved by docent.

The exam will be written, will last 60 minutes, and will consist of both exercises and multiple-choice or open-ended questions designed to assess students’ mastery of theoretical knowledge and their practical ability to analyze and evaluate data in the various languages and linguistic domains covered during the course and in the textbook; Each correct and complete answer will be awarded a specific, non-fractional score indicated in the question itself, and the exam will be considered passed if a total score of at least 18/30 is achieved; all lower scores will be recorded as “insufficiente.” Honors will be awarded based on the accuracy and appropriate metalinguistic elaboration of the answers. Please note that, pursuant to Article 35 of the University’s Academic Regulations, students may take an exam no more than three times in the same academic year.

The course provides an introduction to linguistic disciplines and the concepts of language, signs, structure, function, and linguistic history. It will explore the levels of analysis in semiotics, phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, morphological and syntactic typology, and pragmatics. Examples will be drawn from various European and non-European languages, particularly Italian, English, French, Spanish, and German. Syllabus: presentation of the course and the discipline. Symbols. Languages and linguistics. Codes and languages; semiotics of verbal codes; properties of languages. Phonetics: general concepts, the articulatory apparatus; IPA transcription; writing and orality. Phonology: phonemes, syllabic structure, phonological transcription. Morphology: morpheme, allomorph, morpheme boundaries, division into morphemes. Syntax: the concept of the syntagma, types of utterances, construction of syntactic trees. Fundamentals of grammar, grammatical categories and functions. Thematic structure and information structure. Text and textuality. Lexicon: semantic fields, taxonomies, frames, scripts. Semantics and pragmatics. The languages of the world: genetic, areal, and typological classification. Educational applications of linguistics. This syllabus is valid until February 2028, after which all students must agree on a new program with the instructor.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Understand the theoretical bases of the discipline, divided into its various levels (semiotics, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, textuality, typology,pragmatics). • ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Know how to recognize and analyze the linguistic phenomena and characteristics presented theoretically in linguistic statements proposed in different languages; be able to correctly perform phonetictranscriptions in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) of words, syntagms and statements also belonging to unknown languages, and morphological and syntactic-syntagmatic analyses of Italian and other language words and phrases; know how to recognize the morphological and syntactic typology of a given language, even if unknown. • JUDGMENT ABILITY:Know how to recognize which linguistic phenomena operate in the proposed examples and propose your own. Know how to approach a linguistic analysis in an autonomous and reasoned way. COMMUNICATIONS KILLS: Know how to adequately express one's knowledge of the discipline using the appropriate metalanguage and with fluent and correct use of the Italian language.• LEARNING SKILLS: Know how to consciously and autonomously deepen the study of general linguistics, tackling the critical reading of the technical manuals indicated in the program. Know how to teach the basic notions of general linguistic and its metalanguage.