An overview of the study of language and linguistics intended to provide students with a clear understanding of human language and with the conceptual foundations of linguistics. The course will expose students to several major areas within linguistics: language acquisition, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. It will introduce the major tenets and principles of linguistics without surveying the areas treated in the other graduate courses in the department. It is a prerequisite for all other courses in the MA program.