The Roots of English

Dozent/in:

Gabriele Knappe

Termine:

Di, 14:15 - 15:45, U5/02.22
Einzeltermin am 18.7.2023, 16:15 - 17:45, U9/01.11

Inhalt:

Description:
Why is English like that? Why is knight spelled with a kn and a gh? Why does English have so many synonyms, like start, begin, commence or clever, intelligent, astute and bright? How come that we hardly have any, in fact only eight, inflectional endings in English today? And how are German and English related, as they obviously are --- just compare, for instance, goose and Gans, house and Haus, knight and Knecht, light and Licht?
This lecture addresses all these questions, and more. Students will be given an overview of the development of the English language from its earliest attestations in the late 7th century (Old English) until today in the context of the textual transmission and sociohistorical changes. Selected passages from different periods will be introduced. Special areas of interest are the development of the vocabulary, sounds and spelling, morphology and syntax.
This lecture is particularly designed for students of BA "Anglistik/Amerikanistik", Aufbaumodul (2 ECTS). Students from other BA programmes can earn 2 or 4 ECTS points for their Studium Generale (pass/fail), and visiting students can earn 2 or 4 ungraded (pass/fail ) or graded ECTS points. Everybody else who is interested is of course welcome, too, and may attend the lecture as a guest without ECTS points.
Note that students of Lehramt Gymnasium and of B.A. Medieval Studies in their Basismodul must attend the Uebung "Englische Sprachgeschichte", not this lecture.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Suggestions for background reading:

Norbert Schmitt and Richard Marsden. 2006. Why Is English like That? Historical Answers to Hard ELT Questions. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press.
Albert C. Baugh & Thomas Cable. 2013. A History of the English Language. Sixth ed. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Introduction to English Linguistics

Dozent/in:

Manfred Krug

Termine:

Di, 12:00 - 14:00, U5/00.24

Inhalt:

This course is designed to introduce beginning students to the central terms and topics in current (English) linguistics. While the focus will be on present-day English, many modern irregularities (such as the differences between spelling and pronunciation or irregular verbs) can be explained in historical terms. We will therefore occasionally digress into the history of the English language in order to better understand the present. Topics to be dealt with include phonetics, phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and sociolinguistics. One class will also be devoted to the major contrasts between English and German. In order to equip students with the basic analytical skills that are essential for future linguists and teachers alike, part of the course especially the accompanying tutorials and workshops will be practical in nature. We will therefore analyse authentic modern English texts from a linguistic point of view.