Course: Language Change

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Course title Language Change
Course code DAS/LANGC
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Lesson
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 6
Language of instruction Czech, English
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Course availability The course is available to visiting students
Lecturer(s)
  • Kratochvíl František, M.A., Ph.D.
Course content
1. Introduction & Types of Language Change: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 1 2. Sound change types: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 2+3 3. Tone change: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 4 4. Comparative method: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 5+9 5. Subgrouping: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 6+8 6. Grammatical change: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 10 7. Syntactic change: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 12 8. Semantic and lexical change, borrowing: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 11 9. Causes of language change, grammaticalisation: Raidt (1989) 10. Language change in progress, language evolution, complexity: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 13 & Hauser and Fitch 2003 11. Problems with traditional assumptions: Nichols (1995) 12. Language contact and cultural reconstruction: Crowley and Bowern (2010). Chapter 14+15 Učebnice CROWLEY, Terry, and Claire BOWERN. An Introduction to Historical Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2010. Doporučená četba HAUSER, Marc D. and W. Tecumseh FITCH. 2003. What are the Uniquely Human Components of the Language Faculty? In M. H. Christiansen and S. Kirby (Eds.) Language Evolution. 158-191. NICHOLS, J. Diachronically stable structural features. Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science. Series IV, Current Issues in Linguistic Theory. (124), 1995, 337-355. RAIDT, Edith H. The Role of Women in Linguistic Change. In H. Aertsen, and Robert J. Jeffers (eds.). International Conference on Historical Linguistics: Historical linguistics 1989: papers from the 9th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Rutgers University, 14-18 August 1989. Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science, v. 106. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins. 1993. Doplňující literatura CAMPBELL, Lyle. Historical linguistics. An introduction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 2000. CAMPBELL, Lyle and Mauricio J. MIXCO. A Glossary of Historical Linguistics. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press. 2007. HARRIS, Alice C. and Lyle CAMPBELL. Historical syntax in crosslinguistic perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1995. HEINE, Bernd and Tania KUTEVA. World Lexicon of Grammaticalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2002. HOCK, Hans Heinrich and Brian D. JOSEPH. Language History, Language Change and Language Relationship: An Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics. [2nd revised edition] Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 2009. JOSEPH, Brian D. and Richard D. JANDA. (eds.). The handbook of historical linguistics. Malden: Blackwell. 2003. LEHMANN, Winfred P. Historical linguistics: an introduction. London: Routledge. 1992. LEHMANN, Winfred P. Workbook for historical linguistics. Summer Institute of Linguistics publications in linguistics and related fields, no. 71. Arlington, Texas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and the University of Texas at Arlington. 1984. TRASK, R. L. The dictionary of historical and comparative linguistics. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn. 2000. Tools and databases: LIST, Johann Mattis & CYSOUW, Michael & GREENHILL, Simon & FORKEL, Robert (eds.) 2018. Concepticon. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. (Available online at http://concepticon.clld.org, Accessed on 2018-05-28.) LIST, Johann Mattis. 2018. EDICTOR, an interactive tool for creating, maintaining, and publishing etymological data which is stored in simple TSV format interface. http://edictor.digling.org/

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook), Demonstration
  • Homework for Teaching - 78 hours per semester
  • Semestral Work - 39 hours per semester
  • Attendace - 39 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
This course introduces concepts and methodologies in the study of language change. Traditionally the study of language change is divided between historical linguistics (sometimes called diachronic linguistics) and comparative linguistics. Both subfields study focus on different dimensions of language change. In the diachronic dimension we seek answers to how and why languages change over time. In the synchronic dimension we classify languages into families and study situations, which lead to language change. In both subfields tools have been developed to describe the patterns of change occurring in phonology, morphology, syntax or lexicon. There are also tools for language reconstruction (internal reconstruction, proto-forms) and competing models of language change (wave theory, family tree theory). The course will cover both descriptive and theoretical components. A fair amount of time will be spent on mastering the descriptive tools to enable you to independently analyse patterns of language change. At the same time, a number of theoretical issues related to grammaticalisation and language evolution will be discussed to introduce current debates in the field.

Prerequisites
unspecified

Assessment methods and criteria
Analyssis of the Student's Portfolio, Seminar Work

i. class attendance ii. required readings and assignments iii. final paper demonstrating familiarity with literature and analytical skills
Recommended literature
  • CROWLEY, Terry, and Claire BOWERN. (2010). An Introduction to Historical Linguistics. Oxford.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Chinese Studies (2012) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Chinese Studies (2023_24) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Chinese Studies (2015) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Japanese Philology (2016) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Japanese Philology (2019_24) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Chinese Studies (2015) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Indonesian Studies for Tourism (2017) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Korean for Business (2015) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -