WiSe 19/20: PS-History of English II: Historical Linguistics
Ferdinand von Mengden
Kommentar
For studying the history of a language, a mere description of its development, i.e., treating history as a story, is not sufficient. If we wish to understand why and under which circumstances English developed the way it did, we will have to understand how languages change and which factors influence language in which way.
As we will see, the mechanisms underlying the historical development of English do not only vary considerably with respect to the different levels of linguistic description – phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics – but individual processes can also conflict with each other and / or mutually reinforce each other. A closer look at all historical periods of English will reveal how subtle digressions from an established grammatical system, in the long run, cause completely new structures to emerge.
We will focus on individual processes and problems in the description and analysis of the language’s history. The participants of this seminar will thus provide an introduction into the methods and aims of Historical Linguistics as a central branch of linguistics.
Since there will be no accompanying lecture on the History of English in this winter term, I strongly recommend that students read an introductory overview of the history of English, for example,
Albert C. Baugh & Thomas Cable. 2013. A History of the English Language. Sixth edition. London: Routledge.
Requirements are a short term paper, an oral presentation in class and regular and active participation. The seminar starts in the first week of term. Students who are interested in the class but cannot come in the first week, are kindly asked to notify me via email before the start of the lecture period.
Schließen16 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung