Course Description
Special topics and current issues in historical linguistics.
Athena Title
SEM HISTORICAL LING
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This is an advanced and specialized seminar on various matters related to the historical approaches to the study of language. At the end of the course, students will be familiar with the basic theories and methodologies of comparative and comparative/historical linguistics, with the most recent theories and developments within the specific area of the seminar topic, be able to do advanced recon- structions of prehistoric languages, and be able to perform original research projects related to the specific focus of the seminar.
Topical Outline
Topics will vary widely from instructor to instructor and from semester to semester. Specific topics will depend on the instructor's particular background and interests and/or students' interests. Examples of possible topics include studies within the Indo-European language families; studies in Germanic, Italic, Hellenic, Balto- Slavic, etc. language families; Indo-European and its relationships to other world language families; reconstructive methodologies; theories of historical language analysis.