Languages of the World

Catalog description

In this course, students will explore a wide variety of the world's languages and develop the analytical tools and terminology needed to examine them critically. Our topics will include how languages are classified and historically related, patterns and exceptions across languages (typology and universals), core sound and structural features, and writing systems. We'll take a global perspective, drawing examples from every major region. Along the way, students will encounter features rarely found in English, such as vowel harmony, click sounds, noun incorporation, and ergative-absolutive alignment. We'll also engage with broader themes through reading and discussion, including universal grammar, the links between language and culture, and the ethical dimensions of working with understudied languages.