Introduction to historical-comparative methods in linguistics

Aims

Aims

This module will introduce some key concepts of classical and formal historical linguistics. It will address long-standing questions about the transmission of languages through time, and students will learn about and apply old and new techniques to probe into the past of our species, building on their existing skills in language and linguistics.

By the end of the module, students will have gained basic understanding of:

• the idea of linguistic kinship and the origin of Indo-European languages;
• the scientific methods to make discoveries on the prehistory of languages and peoples;
• the concepts of reconstruction and historical explanation in modern linguistics;
• family trees in biology and linguistics;
• what is true and false regarding popular debates on ‘long-range’ issues such as: ‘is Japanese related to Turkish?’ or ‘when was proto-Indo-European spoken?’;
• some exciting new tools that current linguistic theory (and biostatistics) might provide for digging ever deeper into the past of human languages.

Special exemplification of the classical comparative method will be provided on proto-Indo-European morpho-phonology during the seminar sessions, and the students will eventually be able to reapply the procedures to other linguistic domains, possibly including aspects of their native languages.

Note that a Research Extension module can be taken alongside this module, for students who wish to write a dissertation.

This module will be capped at 35.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites

Students should have successfully completed:

• L09C Introduction to phonetics & phonology
• L11C Introduction to syntax

Plus AT LEAST ONE of:

• L02C History of English I
• L09I Intermediate phonetics & phonology

Programme

Programme

Contact hours

Three hours per week.

Teaching programme

TBA.

Teaching materials

• Clackson, J. (2010). Indo-European Linguistics, ch. 1-2. OUP.
• Diamond, J. (2005). Guns, Germs and Steel. Epilogue.
• Longobardi, G. (2003). Methods in parametric linguistics and cognitive history. Linguistic Variation Yearbook.
• Lindeman, F. (1988). Introduction to Laryngeal Theory, pp.19-35.
• Popper, K. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery, short excerpts.
• Trask, R.L. (1996). Historical Linguistics, ch. 12-13. Routledge.

Suggestions for reading before the module starts

• Pedersen, Holger. (1959) The discovery of language: Linguistic science in the nineteenth century. Translated by John Webster Spargo. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
• Cavalli Sforza, Luca, and Francesco Cavalli Sforza. (1995) The great human diasporas: The history of diversity and evolution. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Pedersen (1959) and the first six chapters of Cavalli Sforza & Cavalli Sforza (1995) are enjoyable preliminary readings for students who have not yet attended any course in historical linguistics or comparative anthropology, respectively.

Assessment and feedback

Assessment and feedback

Formative work and feedback

Comments on formative work provided throughout teaching period.

Summative assessment and feedback

• Exercise
  • Due in week 7 of Spring Term 
  • Weight: 40%
• Extended data analysis
  • Due: Summer Term, Week 6
  • Weight: 60%
  • Length: 1500 words

Written feedback on summative work within four term weeks or six calendar weeks of submission, whichever is shorter.

Skills

Transferable skills developed in this module

All modules provide an opportunity to work on general oral/written communication skills (in class and in assessments) and general self management (organising your studies), alongside the specific skills in language or linguistics that the module teaches.

In addition, this module will allow you to particularly develop skills in: 

• the observation and conceptualisation of data from the history of your own language that you can find in everyday life; the evaluation of similarities between different languages and their attribution to different sources: universal properties of language, common historical origin (e.g. as for English and German), or secondary contact (e.g. the influence of Norman French on English after the Conquest)
• evaluating on your own the many (and often questionable) statements about distant historical language relationships found in popular literature, improving on your ability to develop a critical and rational attitude toward scientific press releases
• understanding how formal and mathematical models can be successfully used in the social sciences and contribute to our understanding of human language and history.

Follow this link to hear how past students use transferable skills from their degree in their current jobs.