LING 203 Languages of the World (W 6-9)

 

Prof. Frawley (Dept. of Linguistics 46 E Delaware Ave)
Phone: 831-6806
Send email to Frawley
Office Hours: By Appointment
 
Relevant websites:
Course: http://www.udel.edu/billf/ling203.html
Department

This course will introduce you to the world's languages, emphasizing their origin, development, structure, and socio-cultural contexts. You should come out of this class knowing what the languages of the world are, where they are spoken, who speaks them, and how they are alike and different.

Texts

V. Clark, P. Eschholz, and A. Rosa, eds. Language: Readings on Language and Culture (NY: St. Martin's, 1998, hereafter CER)

A. Lyovin. An Introduction to the Languages of the World (Oxford: Oxford U., 1997, hereafter L).

A. Wierzbicka. Understanding Cultures through their Key Words. (Oxford: Oxford U.,1997, hereafter W).

Requirements

NOTE: All students must use email and the web.

 

Language Project: You will each be assigned a language to investigate throughout the course. You will have to (1) collect at least three articles on the language from the nontechnical press (newspapers, magazines, etc., not technical language journals), (2) write a short paper (5-8 pgs.) on some aspect of the social, cultural, or political context of the language, (3) orally summarize your paper in a brief, final report to the class. Oral summaries will happen at the last class meeting; papers and articles will be due the day of the scheduled final.

Course Outline

  • 2/10 Basics of Language (CER: Bolton and Daniels); Structural Components of Language: Phonology, Morphology
  • 2/17 Structural Components of Language: Phonology & Morphology (cont.), Syntax, Semantics (CER: Callary, OSU, Gleason, F.Heny)
  • 2/24 Social and Cultural Factors (CER: Roberts Shuy, Crystal)
  • 3/3 Classifying the World's Languages (L: 1) Indicate by now which language you will report on
  • 3/10 European Languages (L: 3)
  • 3/17 European Languages (cont.)
  • 3/24 Mid-Term; Asian Languages (L: 4)
  • 3/31 Spring Break
  • 4/7 Asian Languages (cont.); African Languages (L: 5)
  • 4/14 African Languages (cont.);Oceanic Languages (L: 6)
  • 4/21 Amerindian Languages (L: 7)
  • 4/28 Amerindian Languages (cont.)
  • 5/5 Pidgins and Creoles (L: 8)
  • 5/12 Language, Vocabulary, and Culture (W)
  • 5/19 Final reports on language

    • Final exam and paper due day of scheduled final.

    Languages: Chechen, Cherokee, Hopi, Navajo, Guarani, Garifuna (or any Amerindian language), Eskimo, Tibetan, Tamil, Kurdish, Maori, Albanian, Lapp, Welsh, Warlpiri (or any Australian language), Ainu, Breton, Basque, Haitian Creole, Malagasy

    Some Internet Resources:

    Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas

    Linguistic Society of America CHECK BOTH RESOURCES AND FIELDS OF LINGUISTICS

    Ethnologue


    Maps:

    Europe and Language Families

    Asia and Language Families

    Africa and Language Families

    North America and Central America: MAP ONLY

    South America: MAP ONLY