The course covers a selection of important topics in theoretical linguistics and its applications. In the sections focusing on the theoretical aspects of language, we consider sounds, how they are made (phonetics and phonology); we consider words, how they are constructed from smaller elements (morphology); and we consider sentences (syntax) and word and sentence meaning (semantics); finally, we consider the ways in which context contributes to meaning (pragmatics). Placing the study of language in a broader context, we consider language production, comprehension and acquisition (psycholinguistics), and the relations between language and society (sociolinguistics).