Issues in African linguistics and communication

General data

Course ID:	3600-AF-IALC-OG
Erasmus code / ISCED:	09.3 Kod klasyfikacyjny przedmiotu składa się z trzech do pięciu cyfr, przy czym trzy pierwsze oznaczają klasyfikację dziedziny wg. Listy kodów dziedzin obowiązującej w programie Socrates/Erasmus, czwarta (dotąd na ogół 0) – ewentualne uszczegółowienie informacji o dyscyplinie, piąta – stopień zaawansowania przedmiotu ustalony na podstawie roku studiów, dla którego przedmiot jest przeznaczony. / (unknown)
Course title:	Issues in African linguistics and communication
Name in Polish:	Issues in African linguistics and communication
Organizational unit:	Faculty of Oriental Studies
Course groups:	(in Polish) Przedmioty 4EU+ (z oferty jednostek dydaktycznych) General university courses General university courses General university courses in the humanities
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores):	(not available) Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles: the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS; the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h; 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes; weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS; work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load. view allocation of credits
Language:	English
Type of course:	general courses
Prerequisites (description):	The course is designed to discuss linguistic phenomena that are typologically characteristic of African languages. Selected issues related to language systems are presented in a contrastive approach. The course includes methodological aspects of diachronic linguistics in African studies and specific features of African languages at the level of communication. Participation in the course requires knowledge about basic concepts of linguistic analysis at the sound form, word, and sentence level.
Mode:	Remote learning
Short description:	The course provides knowledge about the multilingualism and structural differentiation of African languages. It presents issues related to Africa a comparative perspective. It focuses on typological features and genetic relationship, as well as language change motivated by interlanguage contacts. The lecture deals with presentation of some specific phenomena, which refer to communicative function of languages.
Full description:	The course is concerned with multilingualism in its structural dimmention and some aspects of language communication in Africa. It includes a variety of phonological systems ((with focus on unique phonemic contrasts and tonality) and some typological patterns of language structures at the level of morphology and syntax, as well as some strategies of coding grammatical relations using lexical means). The course provides basic knowledge about the history of African languages and presents methodological aspects of their reconstruction. It also discusses the question of language contact and language development resulting in the emergence of new languages of one side and language death on the other. Communication issues are presented as the writing systems of African languages (using the Latin and the Arabic script) and some cultural determinants of language structures and discoursive practices (such as culture key-words and the system of greetings).
Bibliography:	Caron, Bernard & Petr Zima 2006. Sprachbund in the West African Sahel . Collection Afrique et langage 11, Louvain: Peeters. Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. 2011. Historical linguistics and the comparative study of African languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Goddard, Cliff (ed.). 2006. Ethnopragmatics: Understanding Discourse in Cultural Context, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Heine, Bernd, Derek Nurse (eds). 2000. African Languages. An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Heine, Bernd & Derek Nurse (eds). 2008. A Linguistic Geography of Africa, Cambridge: University Press. Kachru, B. B. (1997). World Englishes and English-using communities. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 17,66-87. Ong, Walter J. 1982. Orality and literacy. Methuen, London and New York. [Polish edition] Oralność i piśmienność. Słowo poddane technologii. (przekład Józefa Topoli), Lublin: KUL 1992, Pawlak, Nina. 2010. Języki afrykańskie. Warszawa: WUW. Wierzbicka, Anna. 1997. Understanding cultures through their key words: English, Russian, Polish, German, and Japanese. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wierzbicka, Anna. 1999. Język – umysł – kultura (wybór prac). Warszawa: PWN. In addition, during the course, students receive readings that will be discussed in class.
Learning outcomes:	Reference to learning outcomes in the areas of study pertinent to humanities Knowledge K_W04 has extended and deepened knowledge of the structure, communication rules and sociolinguistic situation of the languages of Sub-Saharan Africa K_W08 demonstrates good grasp of the basics of socio-cultural behavior in sub-Saharan Africa in the scope enabling professional intercultural communication. Skills K_U10 can carry out a critical analysis and interpretation of language data in a way which is appropriate to a chosen tradition, theory and research school within the scope of linguistics, employing unique approaches that take into account the knowledge in the field of African studies Social competence K_K03 can actively establish relations and cooperate with representatives of other cultures K_K04 can set appropriate goals and ways to achieve them in the context of academic, professional and social activity
Assessment methods and assessment criteria:	- attendance control - continuous assessment of class activity (participation in the discussion about the content of the home reading) - final assessment (written test)

This course is not currently offered.

Course descriptions are protected by copyright.
Copyright by University of Warsaw.