Linguistics is concerned with the study of language, what are its building blocks and how they are arranged; how language evolves through time; how it is acquired and how it is used. Because language pervades most aspects of human behaviour, Linguistics inevitably overlaps (or interfaces) with a broad range of subject areas in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences. The linguistic modules in Stage 1 of the BA programme are introductory in nature and they are intended to cover as many core and interface areas as possible with the aim of providing a good overview of the subject. Core areas provide the background knowledge necessary for a proper examination of the issues that arise at the interface levels. Modules in the core areas deal with the properties and distribution of sounds and with the structure and meaning of words and sentences, in addition to the classification of world languages. Besides providing an insight into how language works and interacts with other cognitive and social functions, and providing training in techniques of language analysis, linguistics programmes are particularly suited to the development of a range of key skills such as pattern recognition, problem-solving, data collection, critical evaluation, argumentation and presentation.