2017/2018

2018/2019

DM270

L-LIN/01 (GLOTTOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS)

DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES

THEORETICAL AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS; LINGUISTICS AND MODERN LANGUAGES

PERCORSO COMUNE

2°

1st semester (24/09/2018 - 09/01/2019)

6

36 lesson hours

English

ORAL TEST

ROMA ELISA (titolare) - 6 ECTS

Students are expected to have basic knowledge of general linguistics (phonology, morphology, syntax) and of comparative Indo-European linguistics. THEY ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO READ THE LECTURE NOTES IN ITALIAN.

The course grants the basics for the study of ancient, medieval and modern Celtic languages. Some internal and external comparison between Celtic languages will be done in a historical vein reading and analysing some brief texts in ancient and medieval Celtic languages, so that students will be able to distinguish main branches and languages. Old Irish structures will be dealt with in more detail. Particular attention will be paid to the linguistic features of the Insular Celtic languages which make them unparallelled among Indo-European languages.

Introduction to Ancient and Modern Celtic languages
In the first part of the course the genetic relationships between all attested Celtic languages, both ancient and modern, still spoken and extinct, will be dealt with, dwelling on extant documents and historical phases. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between Continental and Insular Celtic languages. A few Continental Celtic texts will be read.
A basic description of the morphophonology and morphosyntax of Old Irish will then allow to read and translate some specimens of Old and Middle Irish texts (Glosses, Poems, Homilies, Proverbs, Tales).
This year's course will focus on some of the St. Gall Glosses on Priscian, relying on the online edition by Bauer, Hofman & Moran (2017). Part of the translation will be done by students both as classwork and as homework, using the Dictionary of the Irish Language online (http://edil.qub.ac.uk/).
If time permits, a brief portion of a Middle Welsh prose text will also be commented upon.

36 lecture hours (including translation exercises).

1) Lecture Notes "Le lingue celtiche". The Notes will be provided at the beginning of the course on the website Kiro, http://elearning4.unipv.it/umanistici/, and will contain texts portions from the sources listed below:
W. Stokes & J. Strachan, Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus. II vols., Cambridge 1901-03 [repr. Dublin, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies].
G. Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics. Oxford University Press 1956 [paperback reprint, Dublin, Four Courts Press 1998].
W. Stokes, Félire Óengusso Céli Dé. The Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee. London, Henry Bradshaw Society 1905 [repr. Dublin, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1984].
T. Charles-Edwards & F. Kelly, Bechbretha. An Old Irish Law-tract on bee-keeping. Dublin, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1983.
K. Meyer, The Triads of Ireland, London, Hodges Figgis 1906 (online edition, CELT 2008, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T103006/index.html).
R. Thurneysen, Scéla Mucce Meic Dathó. Dublin, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1935 (online edition CELT 2001, 2010, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G301016/index.html).
C. O'Rahilly, Táin Bó Cúailnge from the Book of Leinster. Dublin, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1967.
Táin Bó Froích, Old Irish text, with Introduction, Translation, Commentary and Glossary critically edited by Wolfgang Meid. Innsbruck, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft 2015.
I. Williams, Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi, Cardiff, Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru 1930 (online edition, Titus 2005, http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/celt/mcymr/pkm/pkm.htm).

2) B. Bauer, R. Hofman & P. Moran, St Gall Priscian Glosses, version 2.0 (2017) (www.stgallpriscian.ie)

3) Reference grammars and grammar sketches
R. Thurneysen, A Grammar of Old Irish. Translated from the German by D. A. Binchy and O. Bergin. Dublin, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1946.
D. Stifter, Sengoídelc. Old Irish for Beginners. Syracuse University Press 2006.
J. Strachan & O. Bergin, Old-Irish paradigms and selections from the Old Irish glosses. Dublin, Royal Irish Academy 1949.
D. Willis, "Old and Middle Welsh", in M. J. Ball/ N. Müller (eds.), The Celtic Languages. London, Routledge 2009: 117-160.

Students who cannot attend lessons should translate some text portions on their own and are therefore requested to contact the lecturer (also by e-mail).

Written task and oral examination. The written task consists in glossing a few Old Irish sentences according to the Leipzig Glossing rules. It must be handed over to the teacher at least one week before the oral examination. In the oral examination, candidates should be able to discuss at least one descriptive-theoretical topic and to translate and analyse from a linguistic point of view some brief text portions chosen among the ones dealt with during the lessons. The glossing task will preferably be accomplished in English. Oral examinations may be in Italian or English according to the student's wish.

Students will have the opportunity to attend optional tutorials (10 hours).