Indo-European Comparative Linguistics

Aim of instruction

The aim of the course is for students to acquire comprehensive knowledge ot the methods, results, and current research trends of comparative Indo-European linguistics.

a) Knowledge

Students will acquire comprehensive knowledge of languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and the grammatical system of the Proto-Indo-European parent language. They will gain in-depth knowledge of the methodology of historical-comparative linguistics, the functioning of sound laws, the role of analogy, and the theoretical foundations of linguistic reconstruction. They will learn about the most important achievements, debates, and research trends in Indo-European linguistics, with a special focus on Indo-Iranian languages.

b) Skills

Students will be able to recognize and explain correspondences between Indo-European languages. They will learn methods for reconstructing the Proto-Indo-European parent language. They will gain practice in etymological research and critical evaluation of linguistic data. They will be able to interpret Indo-Aryan linguistic phenomena from an Indo-European perspective.

c) Attitudes

Students will develop a critical and methodologically conscious approach to historical linguistic research. They will be open to newer theoretical approaches while preserving the values of the traditional comparative method.

d) Autonomy and responsibility

Students will be able to independently identify and solve Indo-European linguistic problems in their own field of research. They will be able to conduct independent etymological research, evaluate academic debates, and represent their own well-founded scientific opinions in the field of Indo-European linguistics.

Topics

The history of Indo-European linguistics; an overview of the Indo-European language family; phonology, morphology and syntax of Proto-Indo-European; lexicon and etymology; the Proto-Indo-European foundations of Indo-Aryan languages; linguistic paleontology, the age of the Proto-Indo-European parent language, and the question of the Proto-Indo-European homeland.

System of evaluation

Written/oral exam

Literature

Clackson, James (2007). Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hock, Hans Henrich (1991). Principles of Historical Linguistics. 2nd ed. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Fortson, Benjamin W. (2010). Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley–Blackwell.

Fox, Anthony (1995). Linguistic Reconstruction: An Introduction to Theory and Method. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Meier-Brügger, Michael–Fritz, Mathias (2021). Indogermanische Sprachwissenschaft. 10. Aufl. Berlin: De Gruyter.