LINGUIST 308 : Language Change

Arts

2020 Semester One (1203) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Introduces long-term historical trends, types of language change, language families and comparative reconstruction.

Course Overview

This course will familiarise you with the complex and systematic nature of language change.  In our daily existence, our use of language is largely unconscious, we just do it. But imperceptibly, to most of us, our language changes. Constant change is a truism of all languages.  Any change brings unfamiliarity over time and differences aggregate to a point where we may look at an earlier form of our language and we struggle to decode it.  Luckily, in 2020 we now have two centuries of historical language study that have taught linguists how to glean how our ancestors used the language and how changes may have occurred.  Language change seems to be in some way principled, so we can reconstruct earlier forms of it/them with a great deal of confidence.  In this course you will become familiar with the techniques of historical linguistic analysis and its application across language families. In 2020, will apply our historical techniques to the Germanic, Slavonic and Polynesian language families.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: LINGUIST 200, 201 Restriction: LINGUIST 202

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand the divergence of a language as a communication system shaped by cognitive, biological, cultural, and social change (Capability 1.1, 2.3, 3.1, 4.2, 5.2 and 6.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Assignments 20% Individual Coursework
Presentation 15% Individual Coursework
Quizzes 20% Individual Coursework
Test 20% Individual Test
Test 20% Individual Test
Tutorials 5% Individual Coursework

Next offered

2022

Learning Resources

For 2020, there will be no specified text

Recommended

R.L. Trask (1996) et al.  Historical Linguistics


Workload Expectations

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks.

Other Information

The paper is an isolate in our program in as much as there  is no precursor historical paper. Students who intend to enrol in this course will normally have a grasp of the IPA, a grounding in  morphology and syntax  and familiarity with the notion of semantic change. Motivated students  who wish to enrol in this paper without some or any of these areas formally under their belts  should contact the lecturer/convenor to discuss enrolment. 

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page (https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894), which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 20/12/2019 09:39 a.m.