This course unit contributes to the development of the following skills within the two degree programs in which it is included.

Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities

• Communicate and interact critically, clearly, and effectively, adapting discourse to diverse audiences and contexts, while employing tools of argumentation and self-assessment.

• Produce critical analyses and well-founded interpretations of cultural, historical, artistic, and linguistic phenomena, drawing on multicultural and interdisciplinary perspectives.

• Apply concepts, methods, and analytical tools from the Humanities to support action in personal and professional contexts, integrating information from diverse sources with appropriate theoretical and methodological frameworks.

Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Languages

• Communicate effectively in Portuguese and/or a foreign language, both orally and in writing, producing and critically interpreting texts appropriate to different purposes, contexts, and audiences, with linguistic accuracy, clarity, and appropriate discourse.

• Produce and interpret texts in Portuguese and/or a foreign language that are appropriate to their respective genres and communicative situations in academic, workplace, professional, or business contexts.

• Analyze linguistic phenomena by applying concepts and methods from applied and/or theoretical linguistics, recognizing patterns of linguistic variation and their communicative implications in different contexts of use.

• Critically analyze social and cultural phenomena related to language, considering their contexts of use, communicative functions, and social implications.

In this course unit, students are expected to achieve three learning outcomes common to all activities and ten learning outcomes associated with specific activities.

Common Learning Outcomes

1. Appropriately interpret academic texts on topics in Linguistic Studies.

2. In written expository and argumentative texts, characterized by clarity and linguistic accuracy, present concepts, analyses, and solutions to identified problems.

3. Demonstrate a critical-thinking attitude by identifying critical issues, errors, scientific truths, and potential insights in the analysis of communicative situations and linguistic utterances.

Specific Learning Outcomes

1. Define and apply the following basic concepts of Linguistics to analyze communicative situations or linguistic expressions: language/speech (langue/parole), synchrony/diachrony, signified/signifier, syntagm/paradigm (Saussure); competence/performance, descriptive grammar and prescriptive grammar, creativity, grammaticality, acceptability (Chomsky). [Activity 1]

2. Explain, using both their own words and illustrative, creative visual diagrams, the following topics: natural language/human verbal language and its main properties; different types of signs (indices, signs, and symbols); the most relevant properties of the linguistic sign; Linguistics as a science (its object of study, objectives, and approach).

3. Apply methods and tools from Phonetics and Phonology to analyze a language: the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and phonetic transcriptions of Portuguese (broad and narrow); classification of Portuguese speech sounds; identification of minimal pairs and phonemes in Portuguese; distinction between free variants and contextual variants. [Activity 2]

4. Explain, using both their own words and illustrative, creative visual diagrams, the following topics: Phonetics and phone vs. Phonology and phoneme; the speech apparatus and the production of speech sounds; the main characteristics of the Portuguese phonological system; segmental vs. suprasegmental elements. [Activity 2]

5. Apply methods and tools from Morphology and Syntax to analyze linguistic units: analysis of words into morphemes and constituents; identification of word-formation processes; analysis of simple sentences into immediate constituents and their representation in tree diagrams; identification of major syntactic categories, phrase categories, and syntactic functions using diagnostic tests; paraphrasing the different meanings of structurally ambiguous sentences. [Activity 3]

6. Explain, using both their own words and illustrative, creative visual diagrams, the following topics: Morphology and word constituents; different types of morphemes (lexical vs. grammatical; free vs. bound); Syntax and sentence constituents; grammaticality vs. acceptability. [Activity 3]

7. Apply methods and tools from Semantics and Pragmatics to analyze linguistic units or utterances: classification of different types of semantic relations between words and between sentences; semantic (componential) analysis of lexical meaning; distinction between what is said and what is communicated; identification of different types of illocutionary acts; classification of the main types of deixis; identification of the effects of the Cooperative Principle and conversational maxims. [Activity 4]

8. Explain, using both their own words and illustrative, creative visual diagrams, the following topics: the distinction between Semantics and Pragmatics; the concept of meaning and its different types (lexical vs. grammatical; literal vs. non-literal); the distinction among the three branches of Pragmatics (Indexical Pragmatics, Illocutionary Pragmatics, and Conversational Pragmatics); the concepts of locutionary act, illocutionary act, and perlocutionary effect. [Activity 4]

9. Apply linguistic tools to analyze linguistic units or utterances in Portuguese: identification of different types of linguistic variation (diachronic, diatopic, diastratic, diaphasic, and idiolectal) and their corresponding linguistic variables or factors (historical, geographical, social, situational, and individual); classification of phenomena related to different levels of linguistic variation and change (phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, and semantic). [Activity 5]

10. Explain, in their own words, the following concepts: linguistic variation and language change (and their relationship); linguistic variety, variable, and variant; language, standard norm, dialect, regionalism, sociolect, and style (or register); technical language, jargon, and slang; archaism, neologism, and borrowing (loanword). [Activity 5]

Part I – Linguistics and Verbal Language

Activity 1 – Linguistics as a Scientific Discipline

Part II – Levels of Linguistic Analysis

Activity 2 – Phonetics and Phonology

Activity 3 – Morphology and Syntax

Activity 4 – Semantics and Pragmatics

Part III – Language Change and Linguistic Variation

Activity 5 – Linguistic Variation and Language Change

Duarte, I. (2000). Língua portuguesa. Instrumentos de análise. Universidade Aberta.

Mateus, M. H. M., et al. (2003). Gramática da língua portuguesa. Caminho.

Raposo, E. P. et al. (2013-2020). Gramática do Português. Vol. I-III. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.

Silva, P. N. (2010). Manual de Introdução aos Estudos Linguísticos (e-book, private edition, made available in the course section on the Moodle platform).

Note: Other bibliographic references will be recommended in each activity of the course unit.

In this course unit, learning has been designed to provide students with greater flexibility in managing their study time, without losing contact and interaction with teachers and/or tutors and peers. Activities take place mainly online and asynchronously, through Universidade Aberta’s learning platform, combining moments of individual study with opportunities to participate in forums, discussions, assignments, and other practical applications of knowledge.

The student takes an active role in their learning process and is encouraged to reflect, share experiences, solve problems, and develop skills relevant to their academic and professional path. Throughout the course unit, students will have access to a variety of resources and to guidance from the teaching team, which ensures ongoing support and regular feedback.

The methodologies adopted value autonomy, collaboration, inclusion, and flexibility, making it possible to balance education with each student’s personal, family, and professional responsibilities.

To learn more about Universidade Aberta’s teaching model, please visit: https://portal.uab.pt/modelo-de-ensino/

Assessment in this course unit is designed to support student learning throughout the semester, valuing not only the results achieved but also the process of knowledge construction. The assessment activities aim to promote critical reflection, the practical application of course content, active participation, and the development of skills relevant to the student’s academic and professional path.

Assessment includes different instruments, in accordance with what is defined in the Course Unit Plan. Thus, the continuous assessment regime includes three asynchronous assessments (one in week 4, worth a maximum of 4 points; one in week 10, worth a maximum of 2 points; and one consisting of group work and quizzes during weeks 3, 6, 9, and 12, worth a maximum of 2 points), as well as a final synchronous assessment carried out on the WISEFlow platform, worth a maximum of 12 points.

Students may, however, within the appropriate timeframe, choose a single assessment moment, in which case they take a final exam worth a maximum of 20 points.

The planned activities and their weighting are presented at the beginning of the course unit, ensuring transparency and allowing students to organise their learning journey in an informed way.

To learn more about the principles and guidelines for assessment in Universidade Aberta’s teaching model, please visit: https://portal.uab.pt/modelo-de-ensino/