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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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76 - 100 of 716 Reviews for Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics

By jamie b

Sep 10, 2018

This is course for those who love language and also for those who want to explore the miracle of language . Pro. Ostendrop and his team breaks down the syllabus into a bit size and in very friendly manner . Its like we're sitting in a live class room. In the middle of the module there are interviews from experts such as Noam Chomsky, we all know he's a mammoth figure in linguistic realm. Thanks Coursera and thanks all the teams who are involved in creating this course.

By Anupama R

Jun 25, 2021

Very interesting course and highly recommend to those interested in languages. The first 2 weeks were a little technical and quizzes tough but the later weeks are really interesting. Learnt a whole lot of things I never knew. Hope to pursue studies related to psychology and linguistics.

Really wish we could get the correct answers to quiz questions though - at least at the end of the course. Also, wish they could give a lot more online resources for additional reading.

By Spyros V

Feb 20, 2019

I learned a lot of things, but most importantly I have a conceptual understanding of the different components that create the structure of language. The student will listen to a lot of different languages, will be introduced to various branches of linguistics and will create a solid base on which they can further study the interesting topic of human language. The educator was great and the students (Martin and Inge) are relatable, polite and smiling. Great course.

By UnnoyEd

Aug 28, 2019

Great course! Enjoyed it no end! Clearly so much love was put into the making of this program! It is both interesting and full of new information. Shows different sides of profession, so that people like me, new to the theme, could see what linguists actually do. Especially loved readings, as the articles given weren't overly tough, but presented a ton of information on different themes. Can't even start describing how sad I am that the course it at an end!

By Evan S

Mar 11, 2019

This was an exciting course that uses real people to demonstrate linguistic concepts. It was a great idea to have speakers of less internationally familiar languages such as Gungbe and Berber to demonstrate how it is possible to understand the basics of a language's structure (despite having no prior knowledge of that particular language).The video discussions and interviews were a nice way to break up lectures and provide real-life context to the course.

By Ame

Aug 27, 2019

Thank you so much!!!! I loved it >w<

I had been waiting for this because I enjoy learning about linguistics but I don't knew where to start, definitely this course was a miracle.

All the resources had a high quality and were a great advantage to understand the subject, it was very funny to analyze different languages (especially in the last section), I learned a lot of things about culture, as well.

Hoping all is well, congratulations for this course. <3

By Maria E R G

Jun 17, 2018

The course is well structured, the tutorials through videos are excellent, sometimes it is necessary to search for more information, as it is the case of the lab video (the cochran implants). It is a pity that additional readings are not available through kindle or ibooks as their cost is better than the traditional books. I am going to pay for the certificate, I do not need it, but really the work put into the course rates more than 10.

By Emil N

Jun 20, 2020

A wonderful course. I especially loved the second and the third weeks, fourth too, but less so. I wish this course had more of such deeply linguistic chapters. The fifth and the sixth weeks were fun too, but they lacked the deep linguistic spirit to them, maybe because psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics and sociolinguistics are sort of fusional disciplines that border with other scientific fields. Nevertheless, the course is great!

By Amen Q

Mar 7, 2020

The course syllabus is very balanced and strategically organized in an informative and useful way, both for those who would like to either acquire or refresh their linguistics background. The quizzes and final exam are challenging and fulfilling as they go beyond the theoretical analysis of testing learning. I will definitely recommend this course to interested friends. Congratulations to Leiden University and Prof. Oostendorp!

By Tamy W

Sep 22, 2023

This is a great introduction course to linguistics! I Like the lecture style with content videos and then discussion videos with the students in every module! The lecturers and students in the videos are knowledgable and explain things in a clear manner, giving great examples. The peer assignments help understanding the content as you have apply your knowledge in order to fulfil the assignments. I really liked this course!

By Stefano R

Apr 11, 2020

A course with many interesting aspects: numerous discussions on various topics with the other students; many interviews, also with intellectuals of the caliber of Noam Chomsky; Prof van Oostendorp and his students Inge and Marten are always stimulating and friendly; lots of suggested optional readings. After this course I feel like I'm knowing more on this subject and I'm having the desire to deepen even more my knowledge.

By Manon G

Nov 21, 2020

I am very impressed by the the quantity of information this introduction course covers. Each week has a specific topic and gives the opportunity to learn more as the optional reading and sources are numerous. The videos are enjoyable, the teacher really enthousiastic (which is contagious!). This courses manages to give both theory and "practice" as the student has to observe, deduct and test his/her new skills.

By Antonio A d P

Mar 12, 2023

I learned quite a lot about linguistics, I would say, including the required reading material, almost to a first or second year university student. I'm very happy with the content in this course and I enjoyed it a lot, thanks to Professor Marc van Oostendorp for his amazing job as presenter, and to Martin and Inge for such a joyful contribution to discussions and interviews. I had such an amazing time, thanks!

By Brendan T

Oct 1, 2019

Great course with lots of interesting content for anyone interested in linguistics. My only complaint is that some of the questions (especially the ones in the videos) are a bit poorly worded and can be confusing. Overall though, well worth the time spent, and a big thanks to Dr. Oostendorp, Marten, Inge, the language informants and everyone at Universiteit Leiden & Meertens instituut that made this possible.

By Isabel F

Nov 21, 2017

This was my first course on Coursera and I really enjoyed it very much. I had studies linguistics in the past and wanted to revisit the subject. In my opinion this course is a great introduction to the many varied fields linguistics has to offer. The numerous discussion prompts and quizzes made me think a bit, which I enjoyed. I would definitely recommend the course as a refresher or introductory overview.

By Renee K

Oct 1, 2020

I took this course out of curiosity and the lecturers presented were very interesting to hear and I would like to thank the lecturers for presenting such great work, Also the informants for taking their time to present us with the unique languages that they may speak.

I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in how language works and how we're able to speak out and construct words out.

By Bersain J C

Aug 4, 2020

Excelente curso introductorio, hay mucho material para aprender y muchos recursos que te otorga la plataforma, me ha encantado la forma de enseñara y las actividades de este curso, no es un curso sencillo pero ciertamente terminarlo deja una sensación de autorrealización. Realmente lo recomiendo para aquellos que estén interesados en dar sus primeros pasos en esta bella materia de estudio. Saludos.

By Mega T

Nov 7, 2020

This course gave me a deeper comprehension on morphology, syntax, and semantics. I learned all that in university, but at that time my purpose was to graduate, not to understand what was given by lecturers. So, if you're interested in language or linguistics, this is the right course for you. You don't even have to have a linguistic background beforehand, because all modules are explained clearly.

By Μαρία Ο

Nov 26, 2023

The content of the course was very informative and interesting. The professor explains everything in a direct way and by giving examples, which makes it easier for learners to assimilate it, even if they don't have a linguistics background. I found particularly interesting the fact that we were given the opportunity to explore other languages and learn something about the way they function.

By Ameer A

Sep 29, 2018

This course is really useful and it helped me increase my information about linguistics!

i would really thank the professor Marc Van Oostendrop for his kindness and for his simple style to facilitate the materials of this course. I wish I get other free courses as this great one!

Best regards to all who participated in this course!

See you in new other courses from Coursera!

Ameer Alziyara

By Oleh H

May 29, 2020

This was my first online course. Along with it I took other two - so I have some comparison basis. I must say that this course has set such a high standard for online courses, that I doubt that it will be very fast that any other will exceed it. My sincere garatitude to Professor and his students, as well as to the language informants and technical staff for the great work. Thank you

By Nadiia К

Aug 7, 2023

I really enjoyed taking this course! Most information was curious and fascinating, making you google a lot of things merely out of your own interest.

Can’t forget to say a few words about professor Marc van Oostendorp! When your instructor is so positive and passionate about the subject, you have no choice but to keep going through the lectures. Big thanks to everyone in the team!

By 周少英

Sep 26, 2017

It is an interesting and educative course. Every week we are delving into the different elements of language, such as sounds, words and so on. I really like the way the course organised, including interviews, videoes of different languages, etc. I am so excited to see Chomsky in the interview, which is quite instructive . Overall, it is good course and it is worthy of studying.

By Ethan C

Mar 15, 2021

best course I've taken. Outstanding instructor and helpers, wonderfully designed and developed course. I even applied to the university itself I felt so strongly about it. Definitely wish it was longer/there was a second one. Loved the videos, the way everything was broken down was fantastic. Can't say enough good about this course and its people who worked on it. Thank you.

By pravesh s

Dec 3, 2018

This course is the best course if you are even remotely interested in Linguistics. It starts with very basic concepts and actually reaches quite deep. The resources, interviews, explanations have been well thought out and designed with the beginner in mind. In fact, it is probably the best course I have done on Coursera across any subject. Thanks Prof. Marc, Martin & Inge !