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Linguistics course schedule (graduate).
| LIN380K | Phonology I | |
| LIN380S | Sociolinguistics | |
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LIN381L | Syntax II |
| LIN381S | Semantics II | |
| LIN382 | Historical Linguistics | |
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LIN383.7 | History of German Language |
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LIN384 | Qur'an: A Linguistic Analysis |
| LIN384 | Structure of Mayan Languages | |
| LIN385 | Field Methods in Linguistic Investigation | |
| LIN386M | Mathematical and Computational Linguistics | |
| LIN391 | Sanskrit of the Vedas | |
| LIN391.2 | Studies in English Grammar | |
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LIN392 | Introduction to Language Acquisition |
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LIN392 | Lab Methods in Phonetics and Phonology |
| LIN393 | Book of Job: Text & Language | |
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LIN393 | Indefinites |
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LIN393 | Linguistics of Signed Languages |
| LIN393.4 | Neurolinguistics | |
| LIN393.5 | Translation: Theory, History, Practice | |
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LIN393S | Complex Predicates |
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LIN393S | Aspect: Description and Theory |
| LIN395 | Conference Course | |
| LIN396 | Language and Culture in Arabic-speaking Communities | |
| LIN396.2 | Intro to Graduate Linguistic Anthropology |
This course provides an intensive introduction to generative phonology for graduate students in linguistics. The course will be conducted at an advanced level, and is not appropriate for students without the appropriate background in phonetics and/or phonology. Primary importance will be placed on the description and analysis of phonological phenomena occurring in natural languages. Our initial approach will be to gain experience in the identification and theory-neutral characterization of phonological patterns occurring in languages. As we progress, we will develop analyses of these phenomena using tools made available by current phonological theory, in this case, in the framework of Optimality Theory, a theory in which surface phonology is held to be the result of constraints that enforce stated relationships between inputs (underlying representations) and outputs (surface forms). Early in the semester we will cover the basics of phonological description and theory: segment inventories, phonological features, natural classes, and distributional patterns. The topics to be covered later in the semester are those relevant to prosodic phonology: syllables and syllable structure, word stress patterns, reduplication other phenomena generally included under the rubric of "prosodic morphology".
TBA
TBA
Kager (1999) "Optimality Theory", Cambridge U. press.
Back to graduate course index
This is an introductory course to the field of sociolinguistics for graduate students in Linguistics and related fields (e.g., Anthropology, Education). Prior background in Linguistics is assumed. This course surveys the kinds of issues with which sociolinguistics deal, the theories and methods which they have developed, and some of their major findings about the nature of sociolinguistic variation and change. Primary emphasis is on work within the area of ìsocially linguisticî linguistics (Hymes 1973), which brings social considerations to bear on problems of description and analysis common to phonology, syntax, historical linguistics and other ìcoreî areas of linguistics. However, we will also survey albeit more briefly, work in the sociology of language (what Hymes refers to as ìthe social as well as the linguisticî) and the ethnography of speaking (what Hymes refers to as ìsocially constituted linguistics).
Graduate or undergraduate courses in syntax and (e.g., Ling380L (syntax), Ling380K (phonology), Ling391 (English Grammar, English phonology)), or consent from the instructor.
Coupland, Nikolas, and Adam Jaworski. 1997. Sociolinguistics: A Reader.
New York: St. Martinís Press. (required)
McKay, Sandra Lee, and Nancy Hornberger (eds.). 1996. Sociolinguistics and Language
Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (optional)
A course reader. (required)
This is a continuation of Lin380L. The topics covered will include:
Time permitting additional topics can be covered depending upon the interest of the participants.
Syntax I (Lin380L) or instructor's permission
(i) class participation, (ii) class presentations, (iii) critical reviews of assigned papers, (iv) a squib (short paper)
None
This advanced course on semantics builds on LIN 380M. It covers some important aspects of the semantics of English not discussed in LIN 380M, including the semantics of tense morphemes, temporal adverbials, modal verbs, and propositional attitude verbs. If there is time, we will also talk about the semantics of questions and question embedding verbs.
LIN 380M
TBA
In the first few weeks of the semester, the lectures will be based
on the last three or four chapters of Heim, Irene & Angelika Kratzer, "Semantics
in Generative Grammar", Blackwell, London, 1998. The subsequent lectures will
partly refer to MIT lecture notes by Kai von Fintel and Irene Heim, which will be
made available. Additional required and optional reading (papers, book chapters)
will be made available as well.
General Outline of Course:
LIN 480K (no substitutes without permission of the instructor). The basics of Optimality Theory will be assumed.
TBA
Campbell, Lyle. Historical Linguistics - An Introduction
What are you really saying, when you're speaking German? Why do you say it that way?
This class provides an up-to-date review of the linguistic, cultural and social evolution of the German language, within the framework of the Germanic language-family. The course is conducted as a participatory seminar.
We will trace the development of German from Indo-European and Germanic times to the present, from a variety of linguistic, dialectal and sociocultural perspectives, and introducing a broad range of methodological approaches. Sample texts from Old High and Middle High German, as well as linguistic counterparts such as Old English and Norse, are used as a launching-point for discussions of central characteristics of emerging German/Germanic culture and poetics. This offers a basis for comparative readings from individual regional German dialects (including Swiss, Bavarian, and Plattdeutsch), and related or derived languages such as Yiddish, Dutch and Frisian. The formation of the German standard language is considered in the context of Luther, and the dynamics of the ensuing sociolinguistic tension between centrifugal dialect-loyalty and centripetal forces of standardization, from 1600 to the present.
Discussions are complemented by studies of misinterpretation and bias in female-male discourse, the social roles of dialect as a divider/unifier, Gastarbeiterdeutsch, effects of TV and the media on language, artificial intelligence, language acquisition, lexical borrowings and the impact of powerful neighbor-languages such as English, and experiments in phonetic recording and acoustics. We will also consider features of literary language versus folk language, nativist beside ìpurificationistî trends, and individualizing social dialects such as evolving slang, current Jugendsprachen, and Nazisprache and postwar norms. German-based pidgins and creoles and Sign Languages are investigated in relation to the characteristics, origins and development of communication systems. Labov's pathbreaking work in sociolinguistics, alongside recent research on convergence, help rethink the nature and motivation of language change (semantic, morphological, phonological, syntactic) and language contact ó dialectal convergence, loans, creolization.
This class undertakes a wide-ranging overview of language evolution and sociolinguistics, in the context of the emergence of German and Germanic. All investigations are conducted in a challenging atmosphere of open debate, designed to encourage participants to scrutinize the basis of something fundamental we take for granted: the way we talk, and the reasons why. The goal is to enlarge participants' appreciation and understanding not only of the language, its historical and dialectal development, and the rich ways Germanic-speakers express meaning, but also of the tacit social preconceptions and prejudices implicit in each of the communicative choices and responses Germanic-speakers make daily as individuals.
Questions? Email: m.southern@mail.utexas.edu
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Grades for the course are distributed as follows:
50 % seminar participation, short written assignments;
50 % 1 research project, 1 final paper.
Evaluation is mainly based on oral participation in activities, discussions, as well as a short individual research project and a final paper. Identical levels of linguistic expertise among the whole group are not expected. This means participation in discussions counts as much towards a grade as written assignments, the research project, and the final paper.
Books (at the Co-op)
Course Packet
The main thrust of the course will be to analyze the language of the Qur'an in terms of its syntactic and morphological structures as well as its phonological and phonetic features. Following a review of the basic structures of Arabic and of a study of the history and collection of the Qur'anic text as well as of its various readings (Qira'at), the course will analyze some of the shorter (Makki) Surahs (e.g. the Hamim) and some of the longer (Madani) Surahs (e.g. Surat Maryam) and a Surah of the narrative genre (e.g. Surat Yusuf). In addition to this verse by verse analysis, the course will examine syntactic structures such as the conditional sentences, the deverbal (mushtaqqat al-ficl) constructions (e.g. the participles, the qualificative (al-sifa al-mushabbahah)), the Hal, the various accusatives (such as the accusative of purpose), concord, etc., in Qur'anic usage.
This course is for more advanced students of Arabic. All activities will be conducted exclusively in Arabic. A minimum of Intermediate High proficiency in Reading Comprehension in Modern Standard Arabic is expected, but students with prior training in the Qur'an are encouraged to register. Other prerequisites are graduate standing and the consent of the instructor.
Regular homework assignments, two tests, and one term paper
Homework: 50%
Tests: 30%
Term paper: 20%
Use will be made of books on Icrab al-Qur'an and of Mughni al-Labib.
The grammar of Mayan languages from a descriptive and comparative perspective. Data from a number of Mayan languages are presented and analyzed. Topics include sound systems, word classes and formation, syntax, patterns of discourse, sociolinguistic parameters, and language politics. Other topics, such as specific connections between linguistic and cultural themes, may be treated depending on student interest.
Graduate standing
Several short analytical summaries (25%); an analysis of data on some topic chosen by the student (in consultation with the instructor), a presentation of that analysis in class, and a final written version of the analysis (75%). Topics may be theoretical, descriptive, or anthropological.
TBA
This course shows you how to document a language by interacting with a person who speaks it natively.
Linguistic documentation is an ever more urgent necessity. It is estimated that as much as 80% of the world's 6500 or so languages will be extinct by the year 2100. Most of these are poorly documented or else undocumented.
This work is crucial for linguistics. At present our theories still perform poorly, or else are vague or silent, when asked to make predictions about new languages. They are likely to do better once informed by more of the human languages that have actually evolved over history.
This work is also important for a wider spectrum of people. The maintenance of an ancestral language is a heartfelt issue in many communities under pressure (of one kind or another) to abandon it. While linguists cannot "save" endangered languages-only individual speakers and communities can do that-our experience as educators, documenters, archivists, lexicographers, grammarians, and sociolinguists help. The preservation of worldwide linguistic diversity is often linked to the preservation of cultural and intellectual diversity because language and speaking are emblems of cultural identity, and because culturally significant linguistic practices (including verbal art) often depend on lexical and grammatical details of the original language.
We will learn about documentation by documenting as much as we can of one particular language through consultation with a native speaker-consultant. I will find someone whose language is little studied and beyond my own personal experience. Our consultant will be available for in-class and small-group consultation each week. Our work will be aimed toward the production of a (very!) preliminary lexicon, grammar, and set of texts, which we will present to our consultant at the end of the class.
LIN 385 has as its companion course LIN 392 Tools for Linguistic Description, offered in alternate years. The courses can be taken in either order.
Consent of the instructor.
Assignments (80%), Class Participation (20%)
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This course is an introduction to formal language theory and its relevance for theoretical and computational linguistics. In addition to providing an introduction to regular grammars/FSA, CFL/PDA's, and unrestricted grammars/TM's, this course will discuss why we as linguists should care about these formal devices and some things that we can do with them. In particular, we will discuss the use of Finite State systems for morphological analysis, the question of the context free-ness of natural language, and the question of the formal complexity of natural language.
Graduate standing in Linguistics (Please talk to the instructor before registering)
"Introduction to the theory of computation" - Michael Sipser
This seminar aims to provide a comparative introduction to the language of Vedic India, within the linguistic and cultural setting of the Indo-Iranian and Indo-European language-family. Through selected textual readings from the rich literary traditions of the four Vedic Sam)hitas, principally the Rºg Veda (the oldest surviving record in any Indic language, orally transmitted for most of its history, and still the most fundamental sacred book of Hinduism), we will concentrate on tracing the linguistic, socio-cultural and literary evolution of the Indic language-area from its beginnings. We will be using the panorama of the Indo-European languages as a springboard for addressing wider issues of language change. The comparative poetic, cultural, ethnohistorical, social and religious traditions that underlie and connect the various branches of Indic and Indo-Iranian will be explored in depth. Connections with later South Asian successor-languages (through Classical Sanskrit and Pa@li into Middle Indic and the modern Indo-Aryan languages) and with Iranian, especially the religious language of the Zoroastrian Avesta, will be particularly emphasized, on the cultural, poetic, mythological, and linguistic levels.
NO MASTERY OF PARTICULAR INDIC LANGUAGES IS PRESUMED OR REQUIRED.
The emergence of dialects, standard languages and koinés will be examined comparatively and in the light of broader cultural, religious, mythopoeic and social implications. Semantic, morphological and syntactic changes will be analyzed in detail, as well as sound change, analogical effects, and the results of language contact ñ lexical borrowing, convergence, creolization. Taking the literary and poetic texts as documentary starting-points, internal reconstruction will serve to illuminate the comparative method and case-studies in comparative reconstruction. Considerations of language acquisition and development will be set against the broader questions of language diversity, change, social function, gender roles, and cultural and linguistic divides.
Questions? Email: m.southern@mail.utexas.edu
Graduate standing, OR permission of the instructor. Also: an interest in language; willingness to surprise yourself.
Grades for the course will be distributed as follows:
50 % seminar participation, reading & translating, 2 short quizzes;
50 % 1 short research project, 1 final paper.
The evaluation of your performance is mainly based on your oral participation in activities, discussions, as well as a short individual research project and a final paper. Identical levels of linguistic expertise among the whole group are not expected. This means participation in discussions counts as much towards a grade as the research project and final paper.
The COURSE-PACKET contains selections from the following, inter alia:
Pt. 1: Macdonell, Arthur. A Vedic Reader. Madras: Oxford UP, 1965.
Pt. 2: Macdonell, Arthur. A Vedic Grammar for Students. Delhi: Oxford UP,
1971;
plus selections from the following:
Aufrecht, Theodor. The Hymns of the Rig-Veda (Roman transcription). 1968 (1877).
Jamison, Stephanie. The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded Sun. Myth and ritual in
ancient India. Cornell UP, 1991.
Jamison, Stephanie. Sacrificed Wife / Sacrificerís Wife. Women, ritual, and hospitality
in ancient India (1-2). Oxford UP, 1995.
Watkins, Calvert. Indo-European Roots. Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
Puhvel, Jaan. Comparative Mythology. Johns Hopkins UP, 1989.
Macdonell, Arthur. Vedic Mythology. Varanasi: Indological Book House, 1963.
Gonda, Jan. A Concise Elementary Grammar of the Sanskrit Language. U. of Ala.
Press, 1966.
Burrow, Thomas. 1965. The Sanskrit Language. Faber.
Lockwood, W. B. A Panorama of Indo-European Languages. Hutchinson.
We will survey the syntax of English, and some issues in the semantic interpretation of English, with the two goals of (i) understanding the structure of English syntax and (ii) acquiring the basic tools of syntactic analysis, which can be applied to any language.
Graduate standing required.
Regular homework assignments, two mid-term exams, and a final exam.
C. L. Baker, English Syntax.
This course is an introduction to the linguistic and psychological issues involved in the study of how children acquire a first language. Among the topics to be considered are Chomskyís discussion of the problem of language acquisition, the biological basis of language acquisition, infant speech perception, the relationship between language acquisition and the linguistic input to the child, research methods in language acquisition, the acquisition of American Sign Language, and the childís representation of grammatical categories.
Graduate standing.
Course requirements will include two research assignments involving the collection and analysis of data, several short "critical commentaries" on the assigned papers, and a final exam.
A packet of readings which will include many key papers in the field. Optional text: Erika Hoff. Language Development.
This class is an introduction to the use of instrumental measurements and experimental methods to provide evidence bearing on issues in linguistics. Such quantitative data is useful for two reasons. First, it is objective, and overcomes the biases that often cloud observers' transcriptions. Second, it is fine-grained, and so can provide a much more detailed information than is available in categorical transcriptions.
Such data has become important in several subfields of linguistics.
Phonetics. Experimental methods and use of instrumental acoustic measurements
have been central to this field since the development of the spectrograph.
Phonology. The relatively new approach of Laboratory Phonology, as exemplified
in the work of Pierrehumbert, Keating, and Ladd, uses experimental methods to address
issues of phonological representation.
Sociolinguistics. Since the 1970's, Labov and others have championed the use
of acoustic measurements to provide fine-grained objective data to address issues
of language variation and sound change in progress.
Historical Linguistics. Ohala and others have used experiments to simulate
the perceptual effects that form the basis of incipent sound changes.
Language Acquisition. Recent work by Macken and Barton and others has shown
that acoustic data can provide insight into the process of acquiring speech.
We will read work using instrumental data in all these fields, and learn how to understand and critique arguments based on such data.
To get a taste of how such work goes, each student will pursue a project of their own. The project can lie in any area of linguistics, as long as it crucially uses acoustic measurement data. We will over the course of the term go through step by step how such a project can be pursued:
There will be weekly assignments on these various steps, and each student will produce an oral presentation and a short paper presenting the results of their pilot study.
LIN 381M or consent of the instructor.
TBA
Readings will be made available for photocopying in the Hill Library.
This course will concentrate on the Book of Job and the Song of Songs. From linguistics and philological points of view, the Book of "Job" (Iyyov in Hebrew) is a most interesting challenge for students of Biblical Hebrew and comparative Semitics, on any academic level. From a literary perspective, Job is one of the greatest books of the "Wisdom Literature." In terms of structure, itís story contained within a framework of prologue - epilogue, and a long series of heated dialogue between Job and his friends. The story culminates with the dramatic appearance of God in a storm - and a divine solution in Job's favor. The various debates contained within the story, center around the age-old problems of human suffering, justification for punishment, the question of divine justice, and the like.
The Scroll of Song of Songs (or "Song of Solomon" ó Shir ha-Shirim in Hebrew) is unique in Biblical literature and is a classic in World Literature. It is a dramatic love story, sometimes sounding quite erotic. The Hebrew Sages were led to interpret it allegorically, as an expression of the loving relationship between God and His people. It is attributed to the great lover, King Solomon, but the language often exhibits characteristics of later authorship as well.
The Book of Job and the Song of Songs will be read in class in the original Hebrew, along with linguistics, philological and literary analyses (to include selections from traditional Hebrew commentaries.)
Graduate standing. Interested graduate students who are deficient in Hebrew may obtain individual help from the professor Bar-Adon to make up the gap. Qualified graduating seniors may reserve this course for graduate credit.
Grades will be based on demonstrated performance involving readings in Hebrew text of Job, class discussion, oral reports on articles/books of the student's choosing, and a term paper.
The Hebrew Bible, or Hebrew English Bible
Indefinite noun phrases like a dog, dogs, some dogs, any dog, or a certain dog are interesting for a variety of reasons. First, there is the phenomenon of non-local anaphora. Unlike quantificational noun phrases like every dog or most dogs, indefinites may enter in anaphoric relationships with singular pronouns outside their c-command domain. Second, there is the phenomenon of non-local scope. Unlike the scope of quantifiers, the scope of indefinites seems to sometimes escape from syntactic islands. Third, there are interesting effects of definiteness on syntactic distribution. Indefinites are acceptable in a variety of contexts where definite noun phrases and quantificational noun phrases are excluded. Finally, different kinds of indefinites differ in interesting ways from each other.
In this seminar we will look at each of these aspects of indefinite meaning. We will start out by reviewing some classic contributions on the problem of non-local anaphora (Kamp, Heim), as well as some classic work on the other three topics listed above (Fodor & Sag, Milsark, Ladusaw, Carlson, Karttunen). Weíll then move on to examine more recent contributions on these topics. There is quite a bit of recent semantic literature on indefinites in languages other than English (e.g. Greek, Swedish, German, Salish, Hungarian, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese), which students will be encouraged to consult in their search for possible term paper topics.
LIN 380M and LIN 381S, or instructor's permission.
Active class participation, class presentation, term paper.
TBA
One of the most important findings of the last 25 years of research on human languages is that the sign languages of the Deaf are natural languages with their own grammars. Moreover, the grammars of these sign languages are independent of whatever spoken language is used in the same community. The existence of sign languages provides an important testing ground for many claims about the nature of human languages: by comparing the structure of signed and spoken languages, we can gain insights into how languages are shaped by the particular transmission modality in which they are used. To what extent are spoken languages structured the way they are because they are spoken and heard? To what extent are signed languages the way they are because they are signed and seen? And, lastly, to what extent are all languages - signed or spoken - structured similarly because they all draw on the same linguistic and cognitive capacities?
Among the issues that we will discuss are: 1) How have sign languages been viewed over the last 200 years? 2) How have sign languages developed? Interestingly, sign languages may show some similarities to creole languages. 3) Non-signers are often impressed by the pictorial quality (i.e., the iconicity) of many signs in American Sign Language (ASL). Does iconicity have an important impact on the grammatical structure of sign languages? 4) How are the grammars of ASL and other sign languages structured? Do the structures of signed and spoken languages differ in interesting ways? 5) How are sign languages acquired by deaf children who are being raised in signing households? 6) How do sign languages vary when used in different situations within the signing community? 7) What are the auxiliary sign languages (e.g., Plains Indian Sign Language, various Australian aboriginal sign languages) like that are used in many hearing communities around the world?
TBA
Several short reaction papers, two midterm exams, and a final.
Klima & Bellugi. 1979. The Signs of Language.
Groce. 1988. Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language.
and a packet of readings
Neurolinguistics is a survey-type course that explores subject areas related to the neurobiological representation of language in the brain. It begins with a complete review of basic neuroanatomy. Topics then include: cortical areas involved in language (brain stimulation studies); subcortical areas involved in language; a description of recent work on aphasia emphasizing what can be learned about language representation from empirical study of aphasic language vis-a-vis area of lesion; hemispheric specialization for language. The last topic includes anatomical differences of left and right hemispheres, split-brain subjects, bilingual speakers, and bilingual aphasics.
Graduate standing.
TBA
Outside reading list and note packet.
This seminar concentrates on various historical, theoretical, and practical aspects of translation. Among the topics to be covered:
Graduate standing.
Assigned and optional readings, class discussion, oral reports, and a term paper.
A list of required and optional texts will be provided in class.
Complex predicates are predicates that are composed of more than one grammatical element (either morphemes or words), each of which contributes part of the syntactic and semantic information ordinarily associated with a single head. Constructions commonly treated under this rubrik include certain causative, resultative, serial verb, and light verb constructions. For example, the complement pattern for a [faire + V] French causative like (1) resembles that of a single French verb. Similarly, the Yoruba serial verb construction in (2) can be shown to have the properties of a single non-coordinate clause.
1. a. Jean a fait partir Pierre. 'Jean made Pierre leave.'
b. Jean a fait manger la pomme à Pierre. 'Jean made Pierre eat the apple.'
2. Bóla sè eran tà.
Bola cook meat sell
'Bola cooked some meat and sold it.'
Complex predicates, which often seem to tread the line between the syntax and the lexicon, have important implications for the theory of grammar. In this course we investigate complex predicates from a variety of theoretical perspectives, including LFG, HPSG, and GB/MP.
TBA
TBA
ALSINA, ALEX, BRESNAN, JOAN and SELLS, PETER (eds.) 1997. Complex Predicates. Stanford: CSLI Publications.
ANDREWS, AVERY D. and MANNING, CHRISTOPHER D. 1999. Complex Predicates
and Information Spreading in LFG. Stanford: CSLI Publications.
Articles on reserve.
Aspect is the semantic domain of temporal point of view in language. Aspect comprises 'viewpoints' such as perfective and imperfective; and categories of situation such as states and events. Viewpoints are conveyed by morphemes; situation types are covert linguistic categories in the sense of Whorf. All languages appear to have some aspectual categories; they differ in interesting ways.
The analysis of aspect involves questions about linguistic categories and the division of labor between semantics and pragmatics. Aspectual categories form closed systems which have special properties. Some questions we will try to answer: What is the semantic value of the aspectual viewpoints of a given language? How should we account for the contrastive value of a viewpoint and its pattern of use? How should we analyze sentences that do not have a viewpoint morpheme? What are the principles of coercion, or aspectual shifts? How does aspect interact with tense?
The seminar will cover descriptive and theoretical material. One goal is to develop a working knowledge of the variations that occur in aspectual systems across languages. Another goal will be to understand theoretical approaches to aspect. We will work with the two-component theory of aspect which I have developed in recent publications, and will also look at some other approaches.
Syntax 1 and Semantics 1, or permission of the instructor.
Discussion notes, student class presentations, a final paper.
Readings will include important articles and book chapters and my own book, The Parameter of Aspect.
Individual instruction. Prerequisites: Graduate standing. Consent of instructor must be obtained. Requirements: You must have the prior written consent of the instructor before you register for or add this course. Graduate Conference Course Agreement forms are available in Calhoun 508. Please see Kathy Ross, Graduate Coordinator, for information.
This course seeks to examine a range of issues related to questions of language and culture in Arabic-speaking communities. (I have chosen the notion of ëArabic-speaking communitiesí so that, should we choose, we can examine Arabic-speaking immigrant communities around the world as well as communities (and even societies) in which Arabic is used for a limited set of functions, often religious.)
The course has two major goals. First, it should function as a ìuserís guide to Arabic,î familiarizing students with a host of topics one is often expected to know about, especially if one is a non-native speaker of Arabic. These include a bit about the history of Arabic and its spread, the relationships among regional and confessional dialects of spoken Arabic, and the complex relationships of these spoken varieties to Modern Standard Arabic. Second, the course seeks to provide students with the tools to begin examining issues that are salient within Arabic-speaking communities, especially those in the Arab world. Subjects to be discussed range from the micro-level of language choice or language use in daily life to the macro-level of national language policies within the domains of government and education. At both of these levelsóand at many levels in between, language is implicated in relationships of power, domination, and resistance across social classes, between the sexes, and among other social groups within Arabic-speaking communities. Please note that the course is taught in English and that one of its goals is NOT improving studentsí ability to speak or write Arabic (though improved comprehension of spoken Arabic may be an interesting by-product as you learn some things about various dialects).
By examining the work of scholars from a range of disciplinesólinguistics, sociolinguistics, anthropology, folklore, political science, and gender studies, we will consider topics like the following:
LANGUAGE CHOICE IN ARABIC-SPEAKING COMMUNITIES. Issues here include diglossiaóthe relationship between the fusha and the dialect(s); the rapid development since the mid 1950's of so-called "middle varieties" of Arabic; the use of languages other than Arabic, including indigenous languages (e.g., Berber, Coptic) and the languages of former colonial powers (e.g., French, English) in the Arab world; Arabic as a minority language; and the mixing of these languages and varieties (i.e., diglossic shifting and code-switching). What are the consequences of the fact that access to these languages and varieties is unequally distributed throughout every Arabic speech community?
LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN ARABIC-SPEAKING COMMUNITIES. Significant for this topic are beliefs held by speakers of Arabic about Arabic, both the fusha and the dialects, as well as other languages. An important part of any treatment of language attitudes in Arabic-speaking communities is an examination of the symbolic meanings associated with the use of various codesóe.g., how can a speaker's or writer's choice of the fusha, the dialect, or a foreign language convey far more than simply what is said or written? How can code choice be such an important part of the creation and perpetuation of individual and group identity?
LANGUAGE USE AS REFLECTOR AND CREATOR OF ARAB CULTURE. Topics of interest here are legion and include the nature and linguistic encoding of politeness, the Qur'an as spoken and written word, genres of verbal art, and the role of tropes (e.g., repetition of sounds and phonological or syntactic structures) in Arabic rhetoric.
ARABIC AND THE NATION STATE. How have arguments about Arabic and its proper role within a polity helped constitute particular nation states? In the formerly colonized parts of the Arab world, for example, there has been (and to some extent continues to be) great debate about the process of Arabization, its goals, and its significance. Current debates about globalization and the growing influence of English represent a new chapter in these discussions. Not surprisingly, these debates have always become politicized in complex ways. Is Arabization linked with Islamicization of the state in some essential way?
A serious interest in the subject. Some knowledge of any variety of
Arabic, spoken or written (This prerequisite can be waived in some cases.) A course
in linguistics, sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics, or cultural anthropology
would be useful, but it is by no means required. Every effort will be made to accommodate
students who are not familiar with linguistic terminology or even the basics of linguistic
analysis.
If you are interested in taking this course or plan to sign up for it, please email
me: kwalters@mail.utexas.edu. Iíd like
to get some idea of your interests and learn a bit about your knowledge of Arabic
so that as I plan the course, I can seek to accommodate your needs.
Oral presentation(s) (25%), leading class discussion on one or more of the readings (25%), and written assignments, including a paper (50%).
Depending on the backgrounds and interests of the students, weíll read part or all of the following books:
There will also be a packet that will include texts, again depending on interests
and make-up of the class, by Boussofara Omar, Eid, Haeri, Parkinson, Rouchdie, and
Walters. Students who read Arabic, French and/or German or other languages with ease
may be asked to use their skills and discuss articles in these languages. Students
are welcomed to suggest readings or subjects they wish to have included.
This is the anthropology graduate core course in linguistic anthropology. It consists of lectures and class discussions introducing the major subareas of linguistic anthropology (the study of language in relation to culture and society). Topics to be dealt with include: types of linguistic structure, the description and analysis of unwritten languages, the analysis of discourse, semantics, social organization and language use, the acquisition of communicative competence, speech play and verbal art, the ethnography of speaking, language change and language history, language and speech in contemporary society.
Graduate standing required. Contact the instructor for permission to register for this course.
Each student will write two papers (maximum length each: 10 pages) from a choice of three possibilities:
O'Grady, M. Dubrovolsky, M. Aronoff, CONTEMPORARY LINGUISTICS
A reading packet
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