The course of lectures corresponds to the standard program of the course “Introduction to Linguistics”. It contains basic information about the language, its functions, and the history of its study. The course presents a distinct scientific and branch structure of linguistics. The main attention is paid to the problems of internal linguistics - synchronic, diachronic and comparative. The course is accompanied by a “Concise Dictionary of Linguistic Terms”. For bachelors and students, as well as for those interested in issues of linguistics.