2015/2016

2015/2016

DM270

L-LIN/01 (GLOTTOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS)

DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES

HUMANITIES

PERCORSO COMUNE

1°

(21/09/2015 - 23/12/2015)

6

36 lesson hours

ITALIAN

ORAL TEST

CRISTOFARO SONIA (titolare) - 6 ECTS

There are no prerequisites.

The course aims to provide the basic theoretical notions and methodology for studying language in
a scientific way an overview of the grammatical structures attested in the world's
languages and the diversity of these structures

The course aims to introduce students to the scientific study of
language. In particular, it will be shown that the grammatical
organization of human languages and its evolution over time reflect a
number of general mechanisms that are presumably valid for all
languages. These mechanisms can ultimately be related to the
organization of the human mind, how human beings perceive reality, and
the circumstances in which language is used. The course will investigate different domains
pertaining to the grammatical organization of human languages, with
particlar regard to the relations between words within the sentence
(syntax), the internal structure of words (morphology), the
production and function of sounds (phonetics and phonology), the organization of meaning (semantics), and the relationship between grammatical structures and the contexts in which they are used (pragmatics).

Lectures

Classroom materials will be presented providing a detailed description
of all course topics and relevant references (these materials will
also be made available on the web). References will include a number
of standard textbooks covering exam topics, as well as several
reference works that can optionally be used for in-depth study of
specific topics. Classroom materials can be used as a basic reference,
and should be combined with selected parts of one or more of the textbooks indicated in
the reference list. Students are welcome to chose any of the latter,
through the following are particularly recommended

Lyons, John
1968 Introduction to theoretical linguistics. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Anttila, Raimo
1989 An introduction to historical and comparative
linguistics. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 2 ed.

McMahon?, April S.
1994 Understanding language change. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press

Student assessment is made through assignments during classes.

Student assessment is made through assignments during classes.