Language Documentation

Dozent/in:

Laurentia Schreiber

Angaben:

Seminar, 2 SWS, benoteter Schein, ECTS: 8, Studium Generale, Erweiterungsbereich, Seminar für das Mastermodul 3 "Sprachliche Diversität" im MA "General Linguistics" und das Mastermodul PLing 3 "Language Documentation and Analysis" im Elite MA "Cultural Studies of the Middle East" sowie das Vertiefungsmodul im BA-NF "Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft"

Termine:

Di, 12:15 - 13:45, SP17/02.19
Einzeltermin am 11.12.2020, 9:00 - 17:00, Raum n.V.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

Bitte schreiben Sie sich für diesen Kurs zu Beginn des Semesters im Virtuellen Campus (VC) ein, damit vor dem Hintergrund der Online-Lehre die Kontaktaufnahme durch die Dozentin / den Dozenten möglich ist. Falls Sie sich nicht einschreiben können, wenden Sie sich bitte an admin.aspra@uni-bamberg.de.

We ask that you please enrol into this courses on Virtueller Campus (VC) so that course instructors can get in touch with you ahead of course commencement to organise teaching in online format. Note that if you cannot enrol in Virtueller Campus you are kindly asked to contact admin.aspra@uni-bamberg.de.

• The lecture will be in English.
• FlexNow-Anmeldung ab dem 01.10.

Inhalt:

Course content
This course focuses on one practical option linguists have to provide an answer to language endangerment and the global loss of linguistic diversity (Krauss 1992, i.a.): language documentation, including linguistic fieldwork and grammar writing. In this course, we will learn how to plan and conduct a language documentation project while at the same time discussing methodological, practical, theoretical and ethical issues.

Learning objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will:
i. be able to plan a language documentation project
ii. be prepared to conduct basic linguistic field work
iii. be able to carry out initial stages of the grammar writing process
iv. be able to critically consider theoretical, methodological and ethical aspects in language documentation and maintenance

Some guiding questions:
-Which languages to document?
-For which purpose to document a language? What can be done?
-How to document a language? Which measures can be undertaken?
-Do we have the right to document a language? Whom does a language belong to?

During the course, students will work on their individual small language documentation project, which will be finally submitted as portfolio exam. It is advantageous if participants have a rough idea of a language they want to document when coming to the course.

Course format
The course will be taught in a hybrid format with in-person meetings, individual learning phases, online meetings at MS Teams and a one-day in-person workshop on Fri, 11 Dec 2020 (provided the pandemic situation allows for physical meetings).

Empfohlene Literatur:

Himmelmann, N. 2006. Language documentation: What is it and what is it good for? In: Gippert, J., N. Himmelmann & U. Mosel, Essentials of Language Documentation. Berlin, New York: Mouton De Gruyter. 1-30.
Himmelmann, N. 1998. Documentary and descriptive linguistics. Linguistics 36. 161-195.

Ameka, F., A. Dench & N. Evans. 2006. Catching Language. The standing challenge of grammar writing. Berlin, New York: Mouton De Gruyter.
Bowern, C. 2008. Linguistic fieldwork: A Practical Guide. Houndmills, New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Gippert, J., N. Himmelmann & U. Mosel. 2006. Essentials of Language Documentation. Berlin, New York: Mouton De Gruyter.
Haig, G., N. Nau, S. Schnell & C. Wegener. 2011. Documenting Endangered Languages. Achievements and perspectives. Berlin, New York: Mouton De Gruyter.
Meakins, F., J. Green & M Turpin. 2018. Understanding linguistic fieldwork. Routledge.
Nakayama, T. & K. Rice. 2014. The Art and Practise of Grammar Writing. University of Hawai‘i Press.
Vaux, B. & J. Cooper. 2003. Introduction to linguistic field methods. Munich: Lincom.

Webinar: When languages connect. Interdisciplinary perspectives on multilingualism in a Middle Eastern context [Multilingualism in the Middle East]

Dozentinnen/Dozenten:

Geoffrey Haig, Laurentia Schreiber

Angaben:

Seminar, 3 SWS, ECTS: 8, Studium Generale, Erweiterungsbereich

Termine:

Mo, 18:00 - 19:30, SP17/01.05
Einzeltermin am 4.11.2020, Einzeltermin am 25.11.2020, Einzeltermin am 16.12.2020, Einzeltermin am 13.1.2021, Einzeltermin am 3.2.2021, 14:15 - 15:45, SP17/01.05
Die Montagstermine finden wöchentlich online statt. Die Mittwochstermine sind als Einzeltermine geplant und finden voraussichtlich in Präsenzform statt.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

• The lecture will be in English.
• FlexNow-Anmeldung ab dem 01.10.

Requirements
Students should have sound background knowledge of linguistics. Knowledge of at least one of the main languages of the Middle East is an advantage, but not essential.

Modulanbindungen:

MA General Linguistics: Mastermodul 2 "Language variation & change" (8 ECTS)
MA General Linguistics: Mastermodul 3 "Language diversity" (8 ECTS)
CSME Languages and linguistics of the ME: PLing1 (5 ECTS)
CSME Languages and linguistics of the ME: PLing2 (5 ECTS)
Erweiterungsbereich MA General Linguistics: Mastermodul 7 "Language variation & change"(8 ECTS)
Erweiterungsbereich MA General Linguistics: Mastermodul 8 "Language diversity"(8 ECTS)
BA-NF Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft: Aufbaumodul 1 (6 ECTS)
BA-NF Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft: Erweitertes Aufbaumodul 1, als Seminar (8 ECTS)

Prüfungsleistung:
Portfolio

Inhalt:

Linguistically, the Middle East is politically dominated by a small number of national languages (e.g. Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Turkish), but the region is in fact home to speakers of a much larger range of languages, many of which are seriously under-researched and now heavily endangered. This seminar examines the dynamics of language contact and multilingualism across the region, focussing on four main thematic blocks with contributions by scholars from a number of distinct disciplines:

1. Minority languages in the Middle East: The dynamics of maintenance and loss
2. Language idealogies and power: Nation states and language politics in the Middle East
3. Middle Eastern languages in migration contexts
4. The typology of Middle Eastern language contact: stability and adaptivity in language structure

The course consists of 9 public webinars, given by a range of leading scholars in the field, who will present on different facets of the topic, based on their own research. In addition, we will convene additional teaching sessions (planned for face-to-face) for students from Bamberg and Erlangen wishing to credit the course towards their degree programmes.

Students will be expected to attend the webinars, and to participate in the 4 additional seminars. For each of the four thematic blocks, written assignments will be required.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Background reading
Haig, Geoffrey, and Geoffrey Khan. Introduction. In: Haig, Geoffrey and Geoffrey Khan (eds.) The languages and linguistics of Western Asia. An areal perspective, 1-29. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
(more coming)