Aims

To offer the history student a sufficient knowledge of Dutch (Middle and Modern) to allow him or her to consult, indeed make the most of, the historical sources in their original version. At the end of the course, the student should have a grasp of the historical variations of the Dutch language and be able to read historical texts with the help of dictionaries and grammars.

Main themes

To begin with, the course gives an overview of the historical development of Dutch and of the main linguistic changes the language has undergone. The concepts of horizontal and vertical variants are illustrated with fragments of historical texts. A lexical and grammatical explanation, accompanied by a critical commentary of some representative historical texts, illustrate the historical approach to ancient texts.

Content and teaching methods

Thematic contents : themes that may interest young adults wanting to explore the culture of the Netherlands and Flanders in the largest sense. Te acquisition of a basic communicative vocabulary will be the primary goal of this course. Much attention will be paid to the comprehension of texts dealing with subjects of general cultural interest.

- 30 hours of lecturing during which (1) basic articles and (2) audio-visual materials will be presented and analysed
- 30 hours of accompanying exercises in small groups (listening comprehension, accompanying texts) on the topics dealt with in the lectures. These exercises will also consist of speaking practice in connection with the topics of the lectures.

Other credits in programs