ANTH 310 - Historical Linguistics

An introduction to language change: Why are languages the way they are, and how did they get that way? How do neighboring languages influence each other? What can we reconstruct about language, culture, and society in the past using linguistic evidence? Drawing from a wide range of languages, we explore change throughout the linguistic system: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and lexicon. Topics include sound change, tonogenesis, the linguistic comparative method, grammatical change, semantic change, language contact, creolistics, language classification, language shift, and language endangerment. We examine both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches to historical linguistics. Offered regularly. 4 credits.