This course examines the question of what constitutes knowledge of language and how such knowledge arises in the individual. This question defines the fields of linguistics and language acquisition as they have developed over the last fifty years. The rationale behind addressing this question is to introduce the students to the foundational issues and theoretical underpinnings recruited in both fields to investigate the epistemology of linguistic knowledge, an investigation that cannot be carried out without a consideration of a list of ancillary questions. A non-exhaustive sample of such questions is the following: What do we know when we know a language? Are linguistic expressions learned or acquired? Is there an age factor in language acquisition/learning (i.e. is there a critical period in language acquisition/learning)? What are the similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition?
Compétences professionnelles développées : C1, C2, C11.