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How this course works

Before you start reading this course, we would like to tell you a little bit about how it works.

You have already found out that you can click the next button to continue to the next page. New terminology is printed in bold and all the bold words are links to the glossary. You can use the glossary any time you can’t quite remember what a word means.

All the chapters can be read separately, but they do build on the knowledge gained in the previous chapters, so skipping chapters is not recommended unless you’re already familiar with the basics of linguistics.

We recommend that you try and answer the questions provided before you continue to read on. Answering the questions will ensure that you’ve understood what you’ve read, and that in turn is important to understand the rest of the chapter.

Questions are printed in red, like this.

:: answer ::

Click on the green answer button to find the answer to the question.

Most of the examples are in Dutch, with English translations provided in italics. Often there are two translations; one is a word for word translation of the Dutch sentence, the other a translation into ‘normal’ English.

Deze zin wordt zo vertaald.

This sentence becomes so translated.

‘This sentence will be translated like this’

It is tempting to glance over the examples, but in linguistics it is important that you pay close attention to the example sentences and the way they are structured, because they provide the crucial information. Always read the examples carefully before you continue with the rest of the chapter.

If you find that a Dutch word or sentence is not translated it is because a translation was given earlier, so scrolling up will help you find the translation if you can’t remember it.

Readers who are already familiar with linguistic theory might find that some of the suggested theories contradict what they have learned before, or that they are not as detailed. It is important to bear in mind that this is an introduction to linguistics. Our main objective is to present the different sub-fields of linguistics and to provide readers who are new to linguistics with a different way of thinking about language. We have often sacrificed detail for the sake of clearness, introducing different ideas of how linguistic problems might be tackled, rather than providing the actual answer in full detail (if there is such a thing as the actual answer, since all scientific theories are of course subject to debate).

A lot of readers may never have thought about language from a scientific point of view. Language may seem like a random stream of sounds, or it may seem so natural and normal that it is not even worth thinking about for too long. We would like to open the eyes of our readers to the magic of language, and show that it is possible to find structure in the seemingly random stream of sounds and words. In the next few chapters we will introduce syntax, phonetics, phonology, semantics and pragmatics. Our readers will find that in every field it is possible to analyse the data and find structure. It is this search for structure that is typical of any science, including linguistics.

We hope that this course may be a first step into the world of linguistics. Please enjoy!

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(terminology)



Dutch Linguistics Home Welcome Outline of course Terminology Syntax Sound structure Meaning Glossary References Further reading Feedback form Copyright Close Studypack	How this course works Before you start reading this course, we would like to tell you a little bit about how it works. You have already found out that you can click the next button to continue to the next page. New terminology is printed in bold and all the bold words are links to the glossary. You can use the glossary any time you can’t quite remember what a word means. All the chapters can be read separately, but they do build on the knowledge gained in the previous chapters, so skipping chapters is not recommended unless you’re already familiar with the basics of linguistics. We recommend that you try and answer the questions provided before you continue to read on. Answering the questions will ensure that you’ve understood what you’ve read, and that in turn is important to understand the rest of the chapter. Questions are printed in red, like this. :: answer :: Click on the green answer button to find the answer to the question. Most of the examples are in Dutch, with English translations provided in italics. Often there are two translations; one is a word for word translation of the Dutch sentence, the other a translation into ‘normal’ English. Deze zin wordt zo vertaald. This sentence becomes so translated. ‘This sentence will be translated like this’ It is tempting to glance over the examples, but in linguistics it is important that you pay close attention to the example sentences and the way they are structured, because they provide the crucial information. Always read the examples carefully before you continue with the rest of the chapter. If you find that a Dutch word or sentence is not translated it is because a translation was given earlier, so scrolling up will help you find the translation if you can’t remember it. Readers who are already familiar with linguistic theory might find that some of the suggested theories contradict what they have learned before, or that they are not as detailed. It is important to bear in mind that this is an introduction to linguistics. Our main objective is to present the different sub-fields of linguistics and to provide readers who are new to linguistics with a different way of thinking about language. We have often sacrificed detail for the sake of clearness, introducing different ideas of how linguistic problems might be tackled, rather than providing the actual answer in full detail (if there is such a thing as the actual answer, since all scientific theories are of course subject to debate). A lot of readers may never have thought about language from a scientific point of view. Language may seem like a random stream of sounds, or it may seem so natural and normal that it is not even worth thinking about for too long. We would like to open the eyes of our readers to the magic of language, and show that it is possible to find structure in the seemingly random stream of sounds and words. In the next few chapters we will introduce syntax, phonetics, phonology, semantics and pragmatics. Our readers will find that in every field it is possible to analyse the data and find structure. It is this search for structure that is typical of any science, including linguistics. We hope that this course may be a first step into the world of linguistics. Please enjoy! next (terminology)