WiSe 20/21: Ü-Language Change I
Kirsten Middeke
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In this seminar, we will study the different ways in which languages have changed in the past, continue to change in the present and will continue to change in the future. We consider the internal structure of language and look how our anatomy conditions the way sound inventories restructure, how morphological change related to linguistic typology and how metaphor and other cognitive processes are involved in the emergence of new grammatical constructions. We will also consider the external histories of languages and discuss linguistic areas, language contact scenarios and their effects, the effects of social variables like gender and age and societal developments such as migration, literacization, globalization or the digital revolution, and look at the effects (or not) of language planning. We will learn to view constant change as a vital feature of human language and consider the implications of this appreciation for all areas of language use.
The course will be taught online. There will be weekly live-chats, preparatory reading assignments and other homework tasks, as well as a forum/blog to host further asynchronic discussion of the content.
close14 Class schedule
Regular appointments