Ling 801 -- Historical Phonology

Administrative details

Autumn 2008, Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30-11:18, Jennings 0164
Call No. 12824-0
05 credit hours
Instructor: Mary Beckman, 21 Oxley Hall, mbeckman at ling.osu.edu

Description

This course is an introduction to the methods, conventions, and literature of comparative-historical linguistics with primary attention to the comparison and reconstruction of phonological systems. It is designed to introduce students to historical linguistics on an advanced level. The question of causation of phonological change is considered carefully, both in relationship to the methodologies employed in historical phonological analysis, and in relationship to the models of synchronic phonologies in the community (sociophonetics) and in the individual (psycholinguistics of the mental lexicon) that have been assumed in developing different methodologies.

Intended learning outcomes

A student taking this course should:
  • Master fundamental concepts in historical phonology.
  • Excercise (or acquire) basic skills in phonological reconstruction using the comparative method.
  • Begin to develop a "world view" about the nature of phonological change and its relationship to phonological variation.
  • Develop an appreciation of the relationship between models of phonological change and issues of concern in the student's area of specialization.
  • Get experience in applying these methodologies and ideas within a narrower topic of interest to the student.

    Texts

    Readings which we will post as pdf files to the carmen page.

    Topics

    Topics will include the following:
  • The comparative method reviewed
  • Models of family resemblances
  • The nature and causes of sound change
  • Problem phenomena, such as apparent mergers undone
  • Diffusion of change through the speech community
  • Diffusion of change through the lexicon

    Expectations

    Students enrolled in the course are expected (1) to do the reconstruction exercises that we will be covering as part of our review of the comparative method, (2) to facilitate discussion of the papers at least twice, (3) to actively participate in discussions even when not the facilitator, (4) to develop an annotated bibliography of readings relevant to the term project and to choose a paper for discussion by the class from the bibliography, and (5) to engage in a group or solo project in some area of historical phonology or on some issue that relates historical phonology to other areas of interest. Advanced students should have the goal of producing something that is of workshop or conference quality or that could be used as the working draft of a grant proposal to apply for funding to do a larger project. Students auditing the course are expected to actively participate in the discussions. No final project is expected of auditors, though they are welcome to present some relevant work of their own during the discussions.

    Paper discussions

    What we don't want is a 2-hour ppt presentation of the paper under discussion. These almost inevitably lead to very one-sided presentations with little discussion.

    What we do want is a dynamic discussion of the papers that helps you each develop your own world view as well as your understanding of the background for your project.

    OSU has a website for each class at http://carmen.osu.edu. You'll need to log on using your OSU username and password. Then go to Ling 801 under Autumn 2008. Click on "Discussions" in the menubar.

    There is a papers discussion forum to help your participation in the discussion of the papers that we read each week and to help the facilitator focus on the most relevant issues. By 1:00 p.m. on the day before the reading is to be discussed, everyone is required to post a question (or multiple questions) to the discussion list. Class participants should feel free to also write initial opinions, thoughts, etc., in the discussion list. In particular, questions of the type "I didn't understand X." or "Claim X seems to assume Y. Is Y valid?" or "How does claim X follow from the assumptions the author(s) make(s)?" are particularly welcome. Please remember that historical phonology is one of the oldest subdisciplines of linguistics, and assumptions that were made about language at different times can differ wildly in ways that aren't necessarily obvious from the terms that people use.

    The facilitator(s) for the following day should read over the questions posted and select some subset of them for discussion.

    A typical class period when will run as follows:

  • Presentation by facilitator of first paper (15-20 minutes)
  • Discussion of the paper (45-30 minutes)
  • Presentation by facilitator of second paper (15-20 minutes)
  • Discussion of the second paper (45-30 minutes) The presentation by the facilitator should cover the basic points made by the papers, main ideas, and (if it is a research paper) the particular findings. Use of powerpoint or handouts should be kept to a minimum; what we are looking for is that the facilitators discuss the papers and summarize, not walk through them page by page. The presentation can be interrupted by questions from the floor. The facilitator then opens the discussion with some of questions that were raised on the discussion forum or in the presentation. The facilitator is responsible for conducting the flow of the conversation and making sure that as many viewpoints are heard as possible.

    Reconstruction exercises

    Coursework in the first part of the quarter includes several small reconstruction exercises, to review the comparative method (or to get experience in applying it, for those who have not taken Ling 611 or a comparable course). We will discuss these exercises together in class in conjunction with some of the earlier readings on the comparative method.

    Term project

    Coursework in the second part includes the development of term projects: each student (or group of students) chooses a more specific question of personal (or group) interest, develops an annotated bibliography of relevant readings, and designs a study that could be done to address the chosen question. The study can involve any of the methodologies that we are covering. For example, it could be a reconstruction of some aspect of an older form of some language group using a corpus of cognate forms. It could be an experiment in the lab that examines the potential perceptual basis of some very common sound change. It could be a phonetic study in real time of a sound change in progress using a corpus of archived recordings. It could be sociophonetic study in apparent time of a sound change in progress that involves gathering primary data in the field. In this part of the course, then, there will be a succession of progress reports on the term project. Starting in the fourth week, you will be posting things to the project discussion forum on the class carmen site. (This is a forum for exchanging ideas about projects and relevant readings and for asking questions and seeking advice from other class participants.) The schedule of formal requirements will be:
  • Project topic: By October 21, meet with the instructor and/or send an e-mail to the instructor giving a short (no more than a sentence or two) description of the general topic that you (or you and your group) want to work on for your project. Be prepared to submit this description to the project discussion forum by 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, to invite comments and feedback from the rest of the class.
  • Project bibliography: Prepare a list of readings that are relevant for the project, and make an annotated bibliography as you work through the readings. Starting on October 28, post additions to your list of papers and relevant discussion/annotation each week by 1:00 on Tuesday. By November 18, choose a reading that you (or your group) want the whole class to read from your bibliography, and give the instructor a pdf file to post on the carmen site. Schedule a class time to facilitate discussion of that reading during the quarter. (n.b. This is the final deadline for scheduling this. If you have a paper that you want the class to read with you before then, don't hesitate to ask to schedule this earlier.)
  • Initial research design: By November 19, on the basis of your background literature review as well as of discussion with the class, devise a study that would address the topic that you have chosen. Post a short (no more than 200 words) abstract to the discussion forum. (n.b. Don't forget that you can prepare for this by posting descriptions of the initial research design at any point, and inviting suggestions and feedback from others in the class.)
  • Abstract: By November 30, turn in an extended (2 page) abstract that describes your project design in more detail, and any pilot results, for judgment by a review committee of your peers. (Be prepared to act as a peer reviewer for two abstracts.)
  • Oral report: Be prepared to make an oral report in class on December 1 or December 2. Presentations should be no more than 15 minutes for individuals, 30 minutes for groups.
  • Final report: Final versions of the extended abstract should be submitted by 1:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8.

    Academic misconduct

    Please note that I am required by my contract with the university to report suspected cases of academic misconduct to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. One very common form of misconduct is plagiarism. Remember that any time you use the ideas or the statements of someone else, you must explicitly acknowledge the source in a citation (if there is a publication) or in an acknowledgments section. This includes material that you found on the Web. The university provides thoughtful guidelines for how to responsibly conduct research use the Web as a source at http://liblearn.osu.edu/tutor/les7/.