Teaching linguistics through language construction: A case study

Abstract

For many students, introductory courses in linguistics prove somewhat disappointing. They often enroll in such courses because of a love of language – what some have called the “magic of language” – and instead are faced with the (perceived) dull and dry scientific study of language. There is, as a result, a need to explore more effective ways of “teaching linguistics to non-linguists.” In this article, a case study of one pedagogical approach to accomplish this will be presented: the use of language construction as a means of introducing students to basic linguistic knowledge and understanding. We begin with an overview of the nature and history of interlinguistics (the study of planned languages), and then turn to recent examples of the creation of constructed languages (conlangs) in popular culture before discussing the use of language construction activities to introduce students to the study of linguistics.