15-WM102-OG-11
This course is a general introduction to North American Indian languages. The languages are fascinating in their complexity, diversity and the ways they differ from the more familiar languages of Europe. They challenge basic assumptions that we have about language such as what makes a word and how to distinguish between nouns and verbs. Following an overview of the genetic and typological classifications of the native languages of the United States, Canada, Greenland and Mexico, we’ll look at their sound systems, morphology, syntax and lexicon. For example, we’ll examine consonant inventories in terms of the diversity in the number and type of consonants. With regard to word structure, we’ll look at the ways in which the languages express lexical and grammatical meanings in often complex (polysynthetic) words. Finally, we’ll consider the present status of the languages, including the effects of climate change in the Arctic and the implications of the ongoing loss of the languages across the continent. For those interested in finding out more about the languages, we’ll also look at the challenges involved in doing fieldwork in Mexico.
- Teacher: Marcin Kilarski