Semitic Comparative Linguistics

Teacher(s)

den Heijer Johannes;

Language

French

Prerequisites

Knowledge of one or several Semitic languages is indispensable.

Main themes

An introduction to historical and comparative linguistics, as applied to the Semitic languages.
The course deals with the following themes:
1. A description of the Semitic languages and their specific characteristics;
2. The comparison of these languages at the level of phonology, morphology and syntax, in order to present their fundamental common characteristics.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	At the end of this course, the student will be familiar with the objectives and methods of linguistic comparison. Through the study of forms that are attested in each language, he will be able to state the historical position of each of them in the Semitic domain, and thus to obtain a better understanding of the phenomena of transformation.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Content

The aim of the comparative study of Semitic languages is to try to obtain the earliest characteristics (morphological and phonological) of Semitic. After a global exposé on the Semitic languages (geographical distribution, chronological limits, a brief outline of texts) the two first parts are taken up with phonology and morphology, whereas the third part provides an introduction to the problem of comparative syntax (essentially syntax of verbs).

Teaching methods

Lectures.

Evaluation methods

Oral exam at the end of the year.

Other information

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Bibliography

J.-C. Haelewyck, Grammaire comparée des langues sémitiques. Eléments de phonétique, de morphologie et de syntaxe, Bruxelles, Safran, 2006.

Faculty or entity

GLOR