Old Church Slavonic Language

elective courses

Knowledge of a selected Slavonic language and its grammar is required (on a minimum level defined by the program of studies); knowledge of Russian and other Indo-European languages will be of use.

Classroom

The aim of the course is to introduce Old Church Slavonic grammar in relation to the Old Slavonic and other Slavonic and Indo-European languages, as well as to help develop skills in reconstruction of words and grammatical structures in their Old Slavonic forms.

Topics of discussion during meetings (in variable proportions according to the students' needs):

- repetition (in order to equalize the competence of all participants) and development of information basis concerning the division of Indo-European and Slavonic languages; the "satem" and "kentum" group; Balto-Slavic relations; general characteristics of the OCS language; the causes for the emergence of Slavonic alphabets (the Glagolitic and Russian alphabet). The mission of Saint Cyril and Methodius; the OCS canon.

- origin and development of Old Slavonic and OCS vowels. The open syllable rule and its characteristics (metatheses, diphtong monophtongization, nasals). The correlation of place of articulation, palatalization. The development of consonant and vowel system in OCS. The decline of OCS - national variants.

- morphology: affixes, the Indo-European and Old Slavonic root. The declension in OCS (the substantive, the adjective, the pronoun, the numeral).

- the verb: conjugation in Old Slavonic and in OCS; Slavonic verb roots; the aspect; the mode; tense structure; the infinitive and the supinum; participles.

- indeclinabilia (the adverb; the preposition and its patterns; conjunctions).

- significant particularities in OCS syntax.

The gradual introduction of grammar and vocabulary will be progressively accompanied by reading and analysis of source texts.

Compulsory reading:

- Cz. Bartula, Podstawowe wiadomości z gramatyki staro-cerkiewno-słowiańskiej, Warszawa 2000 (lub wyd. późniejsze)

- Gramatyka języka staro-cerkiewno-słowiańskiego, wybór H. Karaś, Warszawa (WPol. UW) 1994

- L. Leciejewicz (red.), Mały słownik kultury dawnych Słowian, Warszawa 1972

Facultative reading:

- all Polish editions of studies in Old Church Slavonic

- H. Dalewska-Greń, Języki słowiańskie, Warszawa 1997

- R. Aitzetmüller, 1978, Altbulgarische Grammatik als Einführung in die slavische Sprachwissenschaft, Freiburg 1978

- L. Moszyński, Wstęp do filologii słowiańskiej, Warszawa 1984 (wyd. I) lub 2006 (wyd. II rozsz.)

- S. Stojanov, M. Janakiev, Starobâlgarski ezik. Tekstove i rečnik, Sofija 1978

- R. Večerka, Staroslověnština, Praha 1984

- L. Bednarczuk (red.), Języki indoeuropejskie, t. II, Warszawa 1986

- T. Lehr-Spławiński, W. Kuraszkiewicz, F. Sławski, Przegląd i charakterystyka języków słowiańskich, Warszawa 1954

Having finished the course, the students will gain the following skills:

- reading, spelling and transcribing of original OCS texts;

- distinguishing and reconstructing the most ancient phonetic and morphologic phenomena which differentiate the Slavonic languages, in given Slavonic words and texts (in both oral and written form);

- comparing (via OCS grammar) and explain the relation of elements of grammar in the language selected as major and in Polish to characteristics of Old Church Slavonic.

The final grade will consist in:

- attendance and continuous assessment of in-class participation - 20% of the final grade; the students are entitled to two absences per semester without justification;

- assessment of written assignments (evaluation of: translation skills in OCS, phonetic transcription skills, morphological analysis of given words, reconstruction of Old Slavonic word forms) - 30% of the final grade;

- final written test - 50% of the final grade.

[none]