Language change

Abstract

This course is an introduction to the study of how languages change over time. We will begin with a survey of the typical patterns of change in the various modules of language—syntax, phonetics, the lexicon, etc. This knowledge will then be applied to the problem of using descendant languages to reconstruct ancestral languages and historical relationships among them. Finally, we will consider the physiological, psychological, and social factors which promote and direct language change. The only prerequisite for LING 202 is LING 101, Introduction to Linguistics.