Use it to keep track of what we've done and where we're going.
[01] W Aug 22
- Covered: Intro to course [outline]
- Handout - Course information and policies (final exam date now corrected)
- Group discussion - Examples of language change
- Reading: IHL, "How to use this book" and Ch 1, "Introduction"
- Typo in map on p xxix: Language name is Trukese, not "Turkese"
- Prepare: Work out Exercise 4 (p 20) from Ch 1 of IHL and prepare to discuss. (Find the specified text online by doing a web search.)
[02] M Aug 27
- Covered: Linguistic relationships; reasons(?) for language change [outline]
- Reading: IHL Ch 2, "Types of sound change"
- You will not be required to learn some of the very specific technical terms; in class next time it will be made clear what terms you are responsible for knowing
- Prepare: If you need to review basic phonetics terms and symbols, here are some phonetics review links
- FYI: Various interesting links have been added to the Resources page
[03] W Aug 29
- Covered: Phonetics and phonology review [outline]
- Reading:
- Review IHL Ch 2, "Types of sound change"
- Refer to the last page of today's outline for a list of terms to know
- Read IHL Ch 3, "Expressing sound changes"
- Review IHL Ch 2, "Types of sound change"
- Reminder: If you need to review basic phonetics terms and symbols, use the phonetics review links
M Sept 3
-
Holiday -- No class
[04] W Sept 5
- Covered: [outline]
- Common types of sound change
- Sound change as misperception/phonological reanalysis
- Handout - Sound change examples
- Reading: IHL Ch 4, "Phonetic and phonemic change"
- Assignment: Homework assignment #1 [PDF], due M Sept 10
[05] M Sept 10
- Covered: Synchronic phonological analysis (review); phonetic vs. phonemic change [outline]
- Review/prepare:
- Have another look at IHL Ch 4, "Phonetic and phonemic change," and think about some of the issues we raised today -- more examples and discussion next time
- If you would like more practice solving allophone/phoneme problems, here is a set of practice problems you can try
[06] W Sept 12
- Covered: Phonetic vs. phonemic change, cont.
[outline]
- Data set - Phonetic, phonemic, phonological grammar changes
- Data set - Grimm's Law
- Reading: Eckert (2005)
- Reading guide - some questions to consider as you read the article
- Think about: What is the social significance of each sound change/each difference between language varieties?
[07] M Sept 17
- Covered: Discussion of Eckert (2005) [outline]
- Reading: IHL Ch 10, "Morphological change" [Note: We won't discuss sec 10.3 until later in the course]
[08] W Sept 19
- Covered: Basic morphology review; morphological change
[outline]
- Data set - Morphological analysis: Examples
- Assignment: Homework assignment #2 [PDF], due M Sept 24
- Use the reading due today (especially sec 10.1) and today's class outline to help you with terms and concepts
- FYI: A UNC PhD student is researching textbook buying decisions by undergrads
- Link to info on Sakai, and a short survey (entirely voluntary)
[09] M Sept 24
- Covered: Morphological change: Analogy
[outline]
- Data set - Morphological analysis: Examples (posted last time)
- Reading: Sections from IHL Ch 12, "Syntactic change"
- 12.1, Chapter introduction
- 12.2, Typology -- Focus on 12.2.1, "Morphological type," and 12.2.3, "Basic constituent order"
- Prepare: Discussion exercise - Syntactic typology: Basic constituent order
- Questions based on sec 12.2.3; do these preparation for class discussion on Wed
- FYI: [link is fixed now] A UNC PhD student is researching textbook buying decisions by undergrads
- Link to info on Sakai, and a short survey (entirely voluntary)
- FYI #2: An opinion piece from a recent Chapel Hill News - "English, our beautiful and misused language." (Any thoughts?!)
[10] W Sept 26
- Covered: Syntactic change: Typology
[outline]
- Data set - Syntactic typology: Basic constituent order (posted last time)
- Data set - Morphological type
- Reading: IHL Ch 12, sec 12.3 ("Grammaticalization") and 12.4 ("Mechanisms of grammatical change")
- Prepare: Discussion exercise - Syntactic change: Basic examples
[11] M Oct 1
- Covered: Syntactic change: Grammaticalization
[outline]
- Data set - Syntactic change: Basic examples (posted last time)
- Assignment: Homework assignment #3 [PDF], due W Oct 3
[12] W Oct 3
- Covered: Morphological and syntactic change: Discussion
[outline]
- Data set - Syntactic change: Basic examples (posted W Sept 26)
- Data set - English negation
- Upcoming: MIDTERM EXAM is on W Oct 10
- Study guide
- Examples for practice:
- Sound change and morphological change
- Syntactic change (from Campbell 1999, Historical Linguistics: An Introduction)
- FYI #1: Some students have asked for more background on LING 101 syntax
- I have posted my syntax lecture slides from the last time I taught 101 [Sakai > Resources > LING 101 syntax slides]
- You can always visit the Reserves desk in the Undergraduate Library and have a look at the LING 101 textbook, Contemporary Linguistics (it's on permanent reserve as a reference textbook)
- FYI #2: I have added a section to the Resources page labeled "Linguistics background information and resources"; this includes:
- Links to phonetic-symbol resources (including how to type IPA characters)
- Links to glossaries of linguistics terms, for help with unfamiliar terminology
[13] M Oct 8
- Covered: Review for exam
- Prepare: MIDTERM EXAM is on W Oct 10
[14] W Oct 10
- MIDTERM EXAM
- Optional reading: IHL Ch 11, "Semantic and lexical change"
- We will cover some material from this chapter on Mon
- Reading the chapter is optional, but this is a topic that many people find particularly fun
[15] M Oct 15
- Covered: Lexical and semantic change; introduction to reconstruction
[outline]
- Data set - Semantic and lexical change: Examples
- Reading: IHL Ch 5, "The comparative method (1)"
- Prepare: Work through exercises 8, 9, 11 at the end of Ch 5 in IHL in preparation for class discussion
- In ex 9, what sound do you think is meant by the [c] transcription? Why?
[16] W Oct 17
- Covered: Comparative reconstruction; the Comparative Method
[outline]
- Data set - Exercise 8 at the end of Ch 5 in IHL
- Reading: Review IHL Ch 5, "The comparative method (1)"
- Assignment: Homework assignment #4 [PDF], due M Oct 22
- Begun in student groups in class
[17] M Oct 22
- Covered: Comparative reconstruction, cont.
[see outline from last class]
- Discussion of HW #4
- Discussion of ex 9, 11 from Ch 5
- Reading: IHL Ch 6, "Determining relatedness"
- Prepare: Work through exercise 5 (Proto-Gazelle Peninsula) at the end of Ch 6 in IHL in preparation for class discussion
- Everyone should be able to come up with a list of all of the sound changes that have affected each of the descendant languages
- Do your best to apply the new concepts from the reading to propose a subgrouping for these languages
[18] W Oct 24
- Covered: Language relationships — Subgrouping
[outline]
- Discussion of ex 5 from Ch 6
- Assignment: Homework assignment #5 [PDF], due W Oct 31
- You are strongly encouraged to work in groups
[19] M Oct 29
- Covered:
- Reading: IHL Ch 7, "Internal reconstruction"
- Assignment: Homework assignment #5 [PDF], due W Oct 31
- You are strongly encouraged to work in groups
[20] W Oct 31
- Covered: Internal reconstruction
[outline]
- Data set - Internal reconstruction: Examples
- Reading: Several short IHL sections dealing with reconstruction of morphology and syntax
- IHL Ch 10, sec 10.3 on "Doing morphological reconstruction"
- IHL Ch 12, sec 12.3.2 on "Grammaticalization and reconstruction"
- Prepare: Data set for discussion in Monday's class (see how much you can figure out before class)
- Internal reconstruction/phonology: IHL Ch 7, ex 1, southern Paamese
- FYI (optional reading): A short overview of some of the issues and approaches in comparative reconstruction of syntax, for those who are interested
- Thomason, Sarah G. 2006. Syntactic reconstruction. In Keith Brown (ed.), Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 2nd edn., vol. 10, 397-401. Oxford: Elsevier. [pre-print version]
[21] M Nov 5
- Covered: Reconstruction of morphology and syntax [outline]
- Reading: IHL Ch 8, "Computational and statistical methods"
- Prepare: Exercises from Ch 8 to prepare for class discussion
- Strongly recommended: Exercise 1 (note that this question is trying to refer to "Dataset 10")
- Optional, for if you want to explore a software tool: Try Exercise 2
[22] W Nov 7
- Covered:
- Syntactic comparative reconstruction example - case in Kartvelian (see link in outline from last time)
- Lexicostatistics [outline]
- Reading: Review IHL Ch 8, sec 8.4 "...methods from biology"
- Assignment: Homework assignment #6 [PDF], due M Nov 12
- Link to Oxford English Dictionary Online; may be useful for question (2a)
[23] M Nov 12
- Covered: Computational methods from the biological sciences
[outline]
- Optional background reading: Forster, Peter, and Alfred Toth. 2003. Toward a phylogenetic chronology of ancient Gaulish, Celtic, and Indo-European. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100(15): 9079-9084. [available online through UNC Library]
- Another paper using computational methods to draw (controversial) conclusions about IE subgrouping has been taken more seriously by linguists; find it here (Gray & Atkinson 2003), with many Language Log commentaries linked from here
- Reading: IHL Ch 9, "The Comparative Method (2)"
- FYI: New link on Resources page for "Reliable sources on language classification" (from Language Log archives)
[24] W Nov 14
- Covered: Indo-European and the history of the Comparative Method
[outline]
- Data handout - Grimm's Law and "exceptions"
- Data handout - Sound change in Northern Paamese
- Reading: Review sections 9.4-9.5 in IHL Ch 9, "The Comparative Method (2)"
- Prepare: Have a look at the exercise at the end of IHL Ch 9 (Old Arabic/Cypriot Arabic) and see what you can make of it; we'll discuss on Monday
[25] M Nov 19
- Covered: Dialect continuua and the 'wave model' of language change
[outline]
- Data handout - Examples: Isoglosses, dialects, and dialect chains
- Lexical isoglosses in the US - Fizzy soft drinks map
- Phonological isoglosses in the US - "The organization of dialect diversity in North America" (ANAE web site)
- Reading: Labov (2007) [available at Project MUSE via a UNC connection]
Labov, William. 2007. Transmission and diffusion. Language 83(2): 344-387.- Reading guide and discussion questions
- Optional supplementary resource: The Atlas of North American English [e-book available through a UNC connection]
- Publicly available web site for ANAE
W Nov 21
-
Thanksgiving -- No class
[26] M Nov 26
- Covered: Labov (2007), "Transmission and diffusion", sec 1-3
[outline]
- What is the proposed difference between transmission and diffusion, and why?
- The NYC 'short-a' discussion
- Reading: We will discuss sec 4-6 of Labov (2007) next time [available at Project MUSE via a UNC connection]
Labov, William. 2007. Transmission and diffusion. Language 83(2): 344-387.- Focus on: What does the discussion of the Northern Cities Shift contribute to the argument about transmission vs. diffusion?
[27] W Nov 28
- Covered: Labov (2007), "Transmission and diffusion", sec 4-6 [outline]
- Assignment: Homework assignment #7 [PDF], due M Dec 3
- Reading: Campbell (1999), Ch 14, "Philology: The role of written records"
- Available on Sakai (Resources > Readings)
- Upcoming: Information about the final exam will be available on Mon; we will have a review and discussion section on Wed
- FYI: There will be time set aside for filling out the course evaluation at the end of Monday's class; if you like, you may bring your laptop for this
[28] M Dec 3
- Covered: Evidence from written records
[outline]
- Data handout - Poetic evidence and 'silent e'
- Data handout - Prescriptivist discussion of Latin spelling
- Prepare: On Wednesday, we will wrap up the course and review for the final exam
- Study guide
- If you have review topics you would like to see covered in class discussion, please e-mail them to me by 1pm on Wed (even earlier is helpful)
- Announcement: Final exam for this course will be held in Dey 307 (on Tues Dec 11, 4:00 pm, as announced)
[29] W Dec 5
- Covered: Course wrap-up and review for final exam
- Reminder: Final exam for this course will be held in Dey 307 (on Tues Dec 11, 4:00 pm, as announced)