WLAN 2350: World Languages

 

Course Topics & Reading Assignments

 

1. Introduction to course and general comments on syllabus and policies for semester.

 

2. General Introduction on Human Language

            Reading: LIR: “Language: An Introduction” by W. F. Bolton [3-15].

            **[61-73  in 6th edition]

 

3. General Introduction on Human Language (cond.)

            Reading: LIR: “Nine Ideas about Language” by Harvey A. Daniels [17-34]. **[43-62  in 6th edition]

 

4. The Origins of Language                              

Reading:  LIR: “Comparative and Historical Linguistics” by Jeanne H. Herndon [599-603]. **[411-415  in 6th edition]

 

5. The Origins of Language (cond.)

Reading:  LIR: “The Indo-European Language” by Paul Thieme [604-613]. **Not in 6th edition.

 

6. The Origins of Language (cond.)

Reading:  LIR: “Relationship of Some Indo-European Languages with Detail of English Dialects” by Jeanne H. Herndon [614-615]. **Not in 6th edition.

 

7. The Child’s Acquisition of Language

Language Acquisition Device Theory

Reading:  LIR: “The Acquisition of Language” by Breyne Arlene Moskowitz [85-111]. **[529-555  in 6th edition]

 

8. The Child’s Acquisition of Language

Language Acquisition Device Theory

Reading:  LIR: “Predestinate Grooves: Is There a Preordained Language ‘Program’?” by Jean Aitchison [117-135]. **[560-579  in 6th edition]

 

9. Second Language Acquisition (SLA):

Myths & Facts, Child versus Adult: Relative SLA Efficiency, “Natural” versus “Cognitive” SLA Styles

Reading:  LIR: “Learning and Using a Second Language” by Jeannine Heny [160-187]. **Not in 6th edition.

 

10. First Quiz

 

Language Families of the World

 

11. Europe & Eurasia - Indo-European Family

Reading:  LIR: “A Brief History of English” by Paul Roberts [616-625].

**[420-430  in 6th edition]

 

12. Europe & Eurasia - Indo-European Family (cond.)

Reading:  KLW: “Indo-European languages” [10-11].

 

13. Europe & Eurasia - Indo-European Family (cond.)

Readings:  KLW: “Germanic languages” & “Romance languages” [12-13] + English [39-43], German [66-68], Dutch [69], Icelandic [74-75], Danish [77], Norwegian [78], Swedish [79], Yiddish [102-103]; + French [48-50], Spanish 54-55], Portuguese [60-61], Italian 62-63], Latin [64-65], Rhaeto-Romanic [73], Romanian [94]

 

14. Europe & Eurasia - Indo-European Family (cond.)

Readings:  KLW: “Celtic languages” [13-14] + Welsh [44], Gaelic [46], Breton [51]

 

15. Europe & Eurasia - Indo-European Family (cond.)

Readings:  KLW: “Slavic languages” & “Baltic languages” [14-15]

+ Russian [110-111], Polish [84], Czech [86], Slovak [87], Slovenian [90], Serbian [91], Croatian [92], Bulgarian [95], Macedonian [96]; + Lithuanian [106], Latvian [107]

 

16. Europe & Eurasia - Indo-European Family (cond.)

Readings:  KLW: “Iranian languages” & “Indic languages” [15-16]

+ Persian [162-163], Pashto [164-165], Kurdish [166-167], Tajik [143], Ossetian [122-123]; +Hindi [172-173], Urdu [174-175], Bengali [186-187], Punjabi [176-177], Marathi [184], Gujarati [183], Oriya [188], Assamese [189]

 

17. Europe & Eurasia - Uralic Family, Altaic Family

Readings:  KLW: “Uralic languages” [16-17]; “Altaic languages” [18-19] + Finnish [81], Hungarian [88-89], Estonian [104-105]; + Turkish [152-153], Azerbaijani [116-117], Uzbek [110-111], Turkmen [138-139], Kazakh [142], Mongolian [202-203], Kalmyk [132], Buryat [147], Sibo [212]

 

18. Europe & Eurasia - Nakh-Daghestanian Family [aka: Caucasian Languages]

Readings:  KLW: “Caucasian languages” [19-20] + Georgian [118-119], Kabardian [124], Chechen [126], Avar [127]

 

19. South & Southeast Asia - Sino-Tibetan Family

Readings:  KLW: “Sino-Tibetan languages” [22] + Chinese [204-207], Yi [210-211], Naxi [213], Burmese [218-219], Tibetan [199]

 

20. South & Southeast Asia - Dravidian Family

Readings:  KLW: “Dravidian languages” & “Munda languages” [20-21] + Telugu [192], Kannada [193], Tamil [194-195]

 

21. South & Southeast Asia - Tai-Kadai Family  -  Independent languages

Readings:  KLW: “Mon-Khmer languages” [22-23] + Khmer [225], Vietnamese [226-227]; + Japanese [214-215], Korean [216-217]

 

22. Second Quiz

 

23. Africa & the Middle East

Afro-Asiatic Family

Readings:  KLW: “Niger-Congo languages” [26-27] +  Swahili [302-303], Kikuyu [310-311], Luba [312], Lingala [313], Kongo [314], Ganda [315], Ruanda [316], Rundi [317], Nyanja [318], Bemba [319], Shona [320-321], Zulu [324], Xhosa [325], Sotho [326], Tswana [327], Swazi [328]; +Malinke [290], Wolof [291], Yoruba [292], Ibo [293], Mende [294], Kpelle [295], Akan [296], Fon [297], Ewe [298]

 

24. Afro-Asiatic Family (cond.)

Readings:  KLW: “Afro-Asiatic languages” [27-29] + Arabic [154-155], Hebrew [156-157], Amharic [304-305], Maltese [168], Somali [308], Oromo [306], Coptic [158-159], Hausa [288]

 

25. Nilo-Saharan Family

Readings:  KLW: “Chari-Nile languages” [29-30]; “Khoisan languages” [30] + Hottentot [329], Bushman [330]

 

26. Pacific

Austronesian Languages, Melanesian Languages

Reading:  KLW: “Austronesian languages” [23-24]; “Papuan languages” [24] + Malay [222-223], Indonesian [228-229], Sundanese [231], Tagalog [238-239], Maori [242], Chamorro [243], Marshallese [244], Fijian [245], Samoan [246], Tahitian [247], Tongan [248], Malagasy [331]

 

27. Australia

Aboriginal Languages

Readings:  KLW: “Australian languages” [25]; “Paleo-Asiatic languages” [25-26] + Aranda [236]; Chukchi [150]

 

28. The Americas                                                        

South America

Aztec-Tanoan, Hokan-Siouan, Mayan, Oto-Manguean, Penutian, Totomac

Readings:  KLW: “American Indian languages” [30-32] + Quechua [284], Guarani [283], Aymara [286]

 

29. North America

Eskimo-Aleut, Algic, Mosan, Na-Dene, Hokan-Siouan, Penutian, Aztec-Tanoan

Readings: KLW: (“A I l” cond.) + Cree [256], Ojibwa [257], Navajo [259], Cherokee [260-261], Sioux [262], Blackfoot [263], Crow [264], Seneca [265], Mohawk [266-267], Choctaw [268-269], Chickasaw [270], Fox [271], Creek [272-273], Osage [274], Delaware [275], Papago [276], Nahuatl [277], Maya [278-279], Zapotec [280], Mixtec [281];

“Eskimo-Aleut languages” [26] + Eskimo [252-253], Aleut [254]

 

30. Third Quiz

 

31. Pidgins & Creoles                                      

Readings: LIR: “Pidgins and Creoles” by David Crystal [563-569]  **[321-327  in 6th edition]; KLW: “Pidgin and creole languages” [32-33] + Tok Pisin [235], Papiamento [282]

 

32. Artificial Languages

            Reading: KLW: “Artificial Languages” [32] + Esperanto [334-335]

 

33. Writing Systems of the World

Alphabets, Syllabaries, Pictographies

            Reading:  LIR: “Languages and Writing” by John P. Hughes [664-681].

            **[705-722  in 6th edition]                                         

 

34. Non-Verbal Human Communication

Body & Sign Language, Symbolic Language

Reading:  LIR: “Sign Language” by George Yule [647-654].

**Different article with same title in 6th edition.

 

35. Non-Verbal Human Communication (cond.)

            Reading:  LIR: “Nonverbal Communication” by George A. Miller [655-662]. 

            **[96-104  in 6th edition]

 

Comprehensive Final Exam:

Monday, April 28, 2003, at 11:00 AM.