Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
15.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Sabel Joachim;
Language
Deutsch
Prerequisites
Introduction to German linguistics (syntax and morphology).
Main themes
Study of German, French and other non indoeuropean languages (syntax and morphology) : grammatical functions, agreement, question formation, case, word order correlations.
Sociolinguistic aspects (language contact, pidgin and creole language), and the evolution of language (human vs. animal communication).
Sociolinguistic aspects (language contact, pidgin and creole language), and the evolution of language (human vs. animal communication).
Aims
At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to : | |
| 1 |
At the end of the cours, the students should: have developed a knowledge of the methodology of contrastive and typological linguistics, especially in comparing German, French, with different non indoeuropean languages, understand the importance of linguistic research for other scientific disciplines, have acquired the competence in linguistic argumentation, be able to present competently one of the topics of this course. |
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
In this course we will study three central aspects of language:
1. Similarities and typological differences in grammar. We analyse the degree in which grammars of human languages differ or show similarities. These similarities and differences will be discussed with respect to phenomena such as case marking, question formation, agreement, word order, grammatical functions, and the distribution of pronouns, in languages such as German, French, and "exotic" languages.
2. We discuss the relationship between languages in terms of " language families " and explain how the different language families have evolved. The following topics will be discussed: The spread over of languages in the world (i.e. the development of language families), the different types of language families (in Europe, in Eurasia, in South- and South-East-Asia, in Africa, in the Middle Orient, in the Pacific, in Australia and in America). In connection with the question of how the different language families have evolved we turn to another " biological " aspect of language and we try to answer the following question:
3. When and how has the human language faculty evolved in the course of the evolution ?
The course requires the student's active participation in discussions, in reading scientific texts. Furthermore, every student has to give a short presentation on "contrastive and typological linguistics" at the end of the course.
1. Similarities and typological differences in grammar. We analyse the degree in which grammars of human languages differ or show similarities. These similarities and differences will be discussed with respect to phenomena such as case marking, question formation, agreement, word order, grammatical functions, and the distribution of pronouns, in languages such as German, French, and "exotic" languages.
2. We discuss the relationship between languages in terms of " language families " and explain how the different language families have evolved. The following topics will be discussed: The spread over of languages in the world (i.e. the development of language families), the different types of language families (in Europe, in Eurasia, in South- and South-East-Asia, in Africa, in the Middle Orient, in the Pacific, in Australia and in America). In connection with the question of how the different language families have evolved we turn to another " biological " aspect of language and we try to answer the following question:
3. When and how has the human language faculty evolved in the course of the evolution ?
The course requires the student's active participation in discussions, in reading scientific texts. Furthermore, every student has to give a short presentation on "contrastive and typological linguistics" at the end of the course.
Evaluation methods
Presentation of one of the topics of the course and a written exam.
Other information
Support. 1. Syllabus, 2. scientific articles/chapters in books, 3. a written guideline for " how to present a linguistic work ", 4. the students get aid with the workout of their presentations (content, structuring, ...).
Faculty or entity
LMOD
Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)
Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Translation
Master [60] in Modern Languages and Literatures : General
Master [120] in Modern Languages and Literatures : German, Dutch and English
Master [60] in Modern Languages and Literatures : German, Dutch and English
Master [120] in Linguistics
Master [120] in Modern Languages and Literatures : General