LINGUISTICS

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Course code:

LT0102

Academic Year of enrolment:

2021

Year of supply:

2022/2023

Type of Course:

Characterising

Degree:

Course of 1st Cycle Degree in HUMANITIES

Disciplinary Sector:

HISTORICAL AND GENERAL LINGUISTICS

Location:

CHIETI

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

CICONTE FRANCESCO MARIA

Cycle:

Second semester

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

162

Prerequisites:

It would be desirable to have a very good command of Italian and its varieties, as well as of one of the Italo-Romance dialects.

Although not necessary, it may be useful to have some knowledge of (one or more) foreign languages, or of (one or more) ancient languages.

Objectives

The course aims to provide the students with a wide picture of the unique and crucial complexity of language, resorting to multi-disciplinary epistemological hints as well as references to the key achievements in the recent history linguistic theory.

Building upon guided analyses, the course aims to challenge the students towards critical and autonomous thinking, accompanied by an acquired ability for the description and analysis of the linguistic phenomena, ultimately achieving a set of skills to formalize and advance hypotheses.

The main learning outcomes include:

1. Understand the concepts and the technical terminology of linguistic theory.

2. Grasp the universal mechanisms of language, thus drawing a cross-linguistic paradigm of language development.

3. Grasp the universal mechanisms of language change through time, thus drawing a cross-linguistic paradigm of language development.

4. Acquire the scientific methods, both deductive and inductive, linguistic analysis.

5. Elaborate the relevant formal generalizations of the linguistic phenomena.

6. Familiarize with the deep structures of language and its universals.

7. Appreciate the common heritage that languages share as well as the variety that differentiates them.

8. Develop skills in analysing written and spoken texts.

9. Manage a variety of learning sources and tools, including digital texts, linguistic corpora and dataset, etc.

Contents

ATTENTION

The course merges in one teaching two complementary modules of the linguistic discipline: (i) General Linguistics + (ii) Historical Linguistics.
Students must attend and follow all the lectures.

However, the programme merged in one teaching will be designed in two paths: that of General Linguistics and that of Historical Linguistics.
The teacher will define and distinguish clearly the contents of both paths, indicating to the students (i) the specific aspects of the path in General Linguistics, (ii) the specific aspects of the path in Historical Linguistics, and (iii) the common aspects to both paths.
According to their study plan, students can choose which path to follow and, consequently, which aspects and didactic material to prepare for the exam.

The course offers the main basic notions of linguistic theory, whose different approaches, principles, and methods will be examined and compared. Language study will be carried out according to the canonical level of linguistic analysis:

1. Phonetics and Phonology.
2. Morphology.
3. Syntax.
4. Semantics.
5. Pragmatics.

These levels will thus be observed in their correlation, which computes the realization of clause structures in discourse.
The data upon which the observations and generalizations will be made are drawn from a wide range of linguistic phenomena, which are attested in European and extra-European languages, whether ancient or modern, both at synchronic and diachronic level.

The course will then move on to the historical-diachronic analysis, examining the main mechanisms of language change over time, with focus on the Indo-European family and its subsequent linguistics ramifications.

Extended Syllabus

▪ Theoretical grounding of the discipline: between formalism and functionalism.

▪ Phonetics and phonology: language sounds.

▪ Morphology: the internal structure of words.

▪ Syntax: the organization of words in structures.

▪ Semantics: logical argument structure.

▪ Pragmatics: context and information structure.

▪ Typological macrovariation and linguistic microvariation.

▪ Linguistic classification: Family-tree Model, Wave Theory, Glottochronolgy, Dialectology and Linguistic Geography, Sociolinguistics and language change.

▪ Language change over time: the main diachronic (historical) mechanisms of language evolution.

Recommended Bibliography

The material is entirely offered by the course-convenor in the form of notes, PowerPoint presentations, PDF, etc.
This material is enough for an adequate preparation for the final exam.

To integrate the course’s material, it is recommended to read at least one of the three manuals in Italian and the volume in English.
Even though it is highly recommended, the reading of the suggested texts will not be part of the exam.

GENERAL LINGUISTICS

Berruto, G. e Cerruti, M. (2017). La Linguistica. Un corso Introduttivo. Torino: UTET.

Graffi, G. e Scalise, S. (2002). Le lingue e il linguaggio. Introduzione alla linguistica. Bologna: Il Mulino.

Casadei, F., Lorenzetti, L., Schirru, G., Thornton, A. M. e Basile, G. (2010). Linguistica generale. Roma: Carocci.

HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS

Campanile, E., De Felice, E., Gusmani, R., Lazzeroni, R. e Silvestri, D. (2017). Linguistica storica. Roma: Carocci.

Magni, E. (2014). Linguistica storica. Bologna: Pátron Editore.

Fanciullo, F. (2013), Introduzione alla linguistica storica. Bologna: il Mulino.

Luraghi, S. (2006). Introduzione alla linguistica storica. Milano: Feltrinelli.

Campbell, L. (2004). Historical linguistics: An introduction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Trask, R. L. (1996). Historical Linguistics. London: Routledge.

Bynon, T. (1977). Historical Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Teaching Methods

Frontal lessons, with frequent group- and individual-exercises.
Dynamic PowerPoint presentations.

Students are also invited to actively participate in the discussion of the topics of the course, both during the lesson and in the deferred debates (forums and chats of both platforms).

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

Oral exam aimed at verifying the ability to apply the class contents to selected cases of linguistic analysis.
The interview will be assessed according to the following criteria:

(i) congruence of the response;
(ii) organization of the discourse;
(iii) ability for critical reasoning;
(iv) appropriate use of the technical-specialist terms of the discipline;
(v) argumentative originality.

At the end of the task, students can decide whether to accept the grade or repeat the exam.
Grades from 0 to 30.
Grades are assigned according to the following scale:

1-17 = not pass
18-21 = pass
22-24 = average
25-27 = good
28-29 = very good
30-30 and distinction = excellent.

Contacts/More Information

Attendance to the course is highly recommended.

Students who cannot attend are kindly asked to take an appointment with the lecturer to discuss alternative learning methods.
The programme is the same for both attending and non-attending students.

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

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