Unit name | Advances in Historical Linguistics |
---|---|
Unit code | GERM32052 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Langer |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of German |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will focus on recent development in historical linguistics research. Particular attention will be paid to the field of historical sociolinguistics and its application to the history of German and English.
In this course we will journey through the complete history of German to identify and discuss landmark trends and mo(ve)ments which shaped the course of the language. Primarily focussing on sociolinguistic developments, students will gain a detailed understanding of the processes of speaker- and society-induced language change, e.g. the importance of particular individuals like Charlemagne or Luther or historical processes such as the rise of the German nation in the seventeenth-century.
Successful students will:
Two seminar hours per week across one teaching block (22 contact hours).
2 essays 3000 words each 50%/50%
To be purchased and read before the semester:
Ernst, Peter. 2005. Deutsche Sprachgeschichte. UTB.
Horan, Geraldine et al. (eds.). 2009. Landmarks in the History of German. Oxford: Peter Lang.