Lecture (LEC)

• Above class meets with another section of GER-G 835 and LING-L 760.
• Historical Phonology

Topic: Historical phonology

This seminar will explore several well-known sound changes (primarily in Germanic), such as Grimm's Law, Verner's Law, West Germanic Gemination, the Old High German Consonant Shift, and Umlaut in Old High German. A number of linguists have applied formal models of phonology to those changes, e.g. feature geometry, syllable and moraic theory, prosodic templates, and optimality theory. The seminar will critically examine that literature and attempt to clarify some of the controversial questions discussed therein. The course presupposes some background in phonology (e.g., G548). Each student will lead the discussion of an article or book chapter, write a research paper, and present the paper at the end of the semester. The paper topic need not be restricted to Germanic. The course does not assume knowledge of German. All readings are in English.

Lecture (LEC)

• Above class meets with another section of GER-G 835 and LING-L 760.
• Obtain online authorization for above class from Department

Topic: Historical phonology

This seminar will explore several well-known sound changes (primarily in Germanic), such as Grimm's Law, Verner's Law, West Germanic Gemination, the Old High German Consonant Shift, and Umlaut in Old High German. A number of linguists have applied formal models of phonology to those changes, e.g. feature geometry, syllable and moraic theory, prosodic templates, and optimality theory. The seminar will critically examine that literature and attempt to clarify some of the controversial questions discussed therein. The course presupposes some background in phonology (e.g., G548). Each student will lead the discussion of an article or book chapter, write a research paper, and present the paper at the end of the semester. The paper topic need not be restricted to Germanic. The course does not assume knowledge of German. All readings are in English.