Variety, change and relatedness in language
Advanced linguistics lecture, BBNAN-21800
András Cser
Monday 10:15–11:45, D 403
cser.andras@btk.ppke.hu
What is this course about and how does it work?
How do languages differ from each other and what do they have in common? How do we know if languages are related to each other and what does it actually mean? How do languages change over time and what happens when they come into contact with each other? How did writing develop and what sorts of writing systems are or were there in the world?
The slides will be uploaded to this site.
Grading will be based on an end-term test on the material covered in the classes.
Topics covered:
Variety in the sounds of the world's languages. Slides1, Slides2, Mpi words (tone)
Variety in grammatical systems: morphology. Slides
Variety in grammatical systems: morphology continued; syntax. Slides
Variety in the word stock and meanings. Slides
Which languages are related and how do we know?
Reconstruction and language change: sounds and grammar.
Language change: words.
More on loanwords.
Writing systems and their evolution. Slides1 Slides2 Slides3