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2022/2023

Linguistic Typology

Code: 100272 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500245 English Studies OT 3 1
2500245 English Studies OT 4 1
2500248 Spanish Language and Literature OT 3 1
2500248 Spanish Language and Literature OT 4 1
2501801 Catalan and Spanish Studies OT 3 1
2501801 Catalan and Spanish Studies OT 4 1
2501902 English and Catalan Studies OT 3 1
2501902 English and Catalan Studies OT 4 1
2501907 English and Classics Studies OT 3 1
2501907 English and Classics Studies OT 4 1
2501910 English and Spanish Studies OT 3 1
2501910 English and Spanish Studies OT 4 1
2501913 English and French Studies OT 3 1
2501913 English and French Studies OT 4 1
2503998 Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics OT 4 1
2504211 Spanish Language and Literature OT 3 1
2504211 Spanish Language and Literature OT 4 1
2504212 English Studies OT 3 1
2504212 English Studies OT 4 1
2504380 English and Catalan Studies OT 3 1
2504380 English and Catalan Studies OT 4 1
2504386 English and Spanish Studies OT 3 1
2504386 English and Spanish Studies OT 4 1
2504388 Catalan and Spanish Studies OT 3 1
2504388 Catalan and Spanish Studies OT 4 1
2504393 English and French Studies OT 3 1
2504393 English and French Studies OT 4 1
2504394 English and Classics Studies OT 3 1
2504394 English and Classics Studies OT 4 1

Contact

Name:
Joaquim Llisterri Boix
Email:
joaquim.llisterri@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Teachers

Ana Bartra Kaufmann

Prerequisites

It is recommended that the students can read papers in English on subjects related to the contents of the course.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The main goals of the course are: (1) to provide an overview of linguistic typology incorporating the analysis of phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, lexical, and pragmatic phenomena; and (2) to become acquainted with the methods and tools used in linguistic typology.

Competences

    English Studies
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Identifying the linguistic types behind the linguistic diversity and establishing generalisations and universal principles.
  • Recognising and using reasonably the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages, foundations of the linguistic theory and approaches of the study of language and communication as a complex, emerging and dynamic phenomenon.
  • Relating the methods and results of linguistics with those from other sciences and currents of though and interpreting the overlapping of language with other aspects of the human activity.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    Spanish Language and Literature
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Identifying the linguistic types behind the linguistic diversity and establishing generalisations and universal principles.
  • Recognising and using reasonably the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages, foundations of the linguistic theory and approaches of the study of language and communication as a complex, emerging and dynamic phenomenon.
  • Relating the methods and results of linguistics with those from other sciences and currents of though and interpreting the overlapping of language with other aspects of the human activity.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive, and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical structures.
    Catalan and Spanish Studies
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Identifying the linguistic types behind the linguistic diversity and establishing generalisations and universal principles.
  • Recognising and using reasonably the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages, foundations of the linguistic theory and approaches of the study of language and communication as a complex, emerging and dynamic phenomenon.
  • Relating the methods and results of linguistics with those from other sciences and currents of though and interpreting the overlapping of language with other aspects of the human activity.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    English and Catalan Studies
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Identifying the linguistic types behind the linguistic diversity and establishing generalisations and universal principles.
  • Recognising and using reasonably the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages, foundations of the linguistic theory and approaches of the study of language and communication as a complex, emerging and dynamic phenomenon.
  • Relating the methods and results of linguistics with those from other sciences and currents of though and interpreting the overlapping of language with other aspects of the human activity.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    English and Classics Studies
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Identifying the linguistic types behind the linguistic diversity and establishing generalisations and universal principles.
  • Recognising and using reasonably the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages, foundations of the linguistic theory and approaches of the study of language and communication as a complex, emerging and dynamic phenomenon.
  • Relating the methods and results of linguistics with those from other sciences and currents of though and interpreting the overlapping of language with other aspects of the human activity.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    English and Spanish Studies
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Identifying the linguistic types behind the linguistic diversity and establishing generalisations and universal principles.
  • Recognising and using reasonably the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages, foundations of the linguistic theory and approaches of the study of language and communication as a complex, emerging and dynamic phenomenon.
  • Relating the methods and results of linguistics with those from other sciences and currents of though and interpreting the overlapping of language with other aspects of the human activity.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    English and French Studies
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Identifying the linguistic types behind the linguistic diversity and establishing generalisations and universal principles.
  • Recognising and using reasonably the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages, foundations of the linguistic theory and approaches of the study of language and communication as a complex, emerging and dynamic phenomenon.
  • Relating the methods and results of linguistics with those from other sciences and currents of though and interpreting the overlapping of language with other aspects of the human activity.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics
  • Critically apply the different instruments of analysis to different types of linguistic data.
  • Display teamwork skills.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Produce written work and oral presentations that are effective and framed in the appropriate register.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
    Spanish Language and Literature
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams in order to achieve the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Develop arguments applicable to the fields of Hispanic literature, literary theory, Spanish language and linguistics, and evaluate their academic relevance.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Typologically identify the main phenomena of the Spanish language and relate them to similar phenomena in other languages.
    English Studies
  • Critically evaluate linguistic, literary and cultural production in English.
  • Describe and analyse—synchronically and comparatively—the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of English and its historical development.
  • Distinguish and contrast the distinct paradigms and methodologies applied to the study of English.
  • Produce effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in distinct languages (except English).
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
    English and Catalan Studies
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Critically apply the different instruments of analysis to different types of linguistic data.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams with the aim of attaining the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    English and Spanish Studies
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams in order to achieve the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    Catalan and Spanish Studies
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Critically apply different analytical instruments to different types of linguistic data, whether in synchronic or diachronic.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams with the aim of attaining the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    English and French Studies
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams with the aim of attaining the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Identify the foundations of human language and the principles, methods and results of structural analysis of languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    English and Classics Studies
  • Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams in order to achieve the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Identify the foundations of human language, the principles, methods and results of the structural analysis of languages.
  • Produce effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in distinct languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Accurately drawing up normative texts.
  2. Analyse different types of linguistic data.
  3. Analyse various types of linguistic data.
  4. Analysing various types of linguistic data.
  5. Apply findings presented in specialist papers to the analysis of similar or related phenomena.
  6. Applying the results presented in specialised articles to the analysis of similar or related phenomena.
  7. Appropriately use the different available formal and technical resources.
  8. Create an organised and correct discourse, spoken and in writing, in the corresponding language.
  9. Develop an organized and correct oral and written speech, in the corresponding language.
  10. Drawing up brief original works about these topics.
  11. Establish typological generalisations.
  12. Establish typological generalizations.
  13. Establishing typological generalizations.
  14. Identify different theoretical options or ways of approaching the same problems from alternative theoretical frameworks.
  15. Identify different theoretical options or ways of dealing with the same problem from alternative theoretical frameworks.
  16. Identify different theoretical options or ways to address the same problems from alternative theoretical frameworks.
  17. Identify main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  18. Identify principal and secondary ideas and express them using correct language.
  19. Identify the main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  20. Identifying different theoretical options or ways of dealing with the same problem from alternative theoretical frameworks.
  21. Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  22. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  23. Plan, organise and carry out work in a team.
  24. Preparing an oral and written discourse in the corresponding language in a proper and organized way.
  25. Resolving problems independently.
  26. Solve complex linguistic analysis at any level and with the appropriate tools.
  27. Solve complex problems of linguistic analysis at any level and using the appropriate tools.
  28. Solve complex problems of linguistic analysis at any level and with the appropriate instruments.
  29. Solve problems autonomously.
  30. Solve problems of grammatical analysis.
  31. Solving problems autonomously.
  32. Solving problems of grammatical analysis.
  33. Summarise the knowledge acquired about the origin of the various fields within the discipline and the transformations they have undergone.
  34. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in its several fields of study.
  35. Synthesise the knowledge acquired on the origin and transformations undergone by the different fields of study of the discipline.
  36. Use and interpret texts of an interdisciplinary nature on the connections between linguistics and other disciplines.
  37. Use and interpret texts of interdisciplinary nature about the connections between linguistics and other disciplines.
  38. Use basic methods for compiling and processing linguistic data.
  39. Use the appropriate and specific terminology of the literary studies.
  40. Use the different formal and technical resources available appropriately.
  41. Using the basic linguistic methods of data compilation and treatment.
  42. Write brief original texts on these topics.
  43. Write text commentaries from a critical standpoint.

Content

1.- The languages of the world

Number and distribution of the world's languages. Language families. Criteria for the classification of languages: genetic, geographic, sociolinguistic, and typological. Typology of writing systems.

2.- Phonetic typology

The International Phonetic Alphabet.  Segments: vowels sounds and consonant sounds in the world’s languages. Suprasegmentals: use of fundamental frequency; phonetic manifestation of stress; rhythmical typologies.

3.- Phonological typology

Databases for the study of phonological typology. Segmental structure: segment inventories, vowel systems and consonant systems. Suprasegmental structure: duration contrasts, tonal contrasts, and stress contrasts. Syllabic structure.

4.- Morphological typology

The building of words: isolating, inflectional, concatenative and polysinthetic systems. Nominal categories: gender, classifiers. Case and functional markers. Compositional parameter. Tense and aspect. 

5.- Syntactic typology

Nominal categories: categories, order, semantic and discourse value. Adpositions. Verbal categories. The codification of clause participants: transitivity, ergativity, causatives, applicatives, passives, antipassives, anticausatives. Word order phenomena (SVO, SOV, VOS).

6.- Lexical, semantic, and pragmatic typology

Lexical structure. Adverbs. Pronominal systems. Quantifiers. Negation. Modality and speech acts. Interrogatives. Imperatives. Politeness. Informational packaging. Kind terms.

Methodology

The teaching methodology used combines sessions devoted to the presentation of the content of the syllabus with sessions focused on the discussion of the assigned readings and exercises, oral presentations in class, and practical sessions using online resources developed for the study of linguistic typology.

The detailed calendar with the content of the different sessions will be specified on the day of the presentation of the course. It will also be published in the Moodle classroom, together with a detailed description of the exercises, the teaching materials used during the semester and any information necessary for the proper follow-up of the course.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Discussion of assigned readings and exercises 15 0.6 11, 37, 36, 22, 21, 19, 18, 17, 16, 14, 15, 20, 30, 32, 34, 33, 35
Lectures on the contents of the course 35 1.4 4, 3, 12, 13, 11, 16, 14, 15, 20, 30, 32, 34, 33, 35
Type: Supervised      
Exercises and oral presentations 10 0.4 4, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 13, 11, 40, 7, 37, 36, 22, 21, 19, 18, 17, 16, 14, 15, 20, 23, 27, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 33, 35, 39, 41, 38
Work with databases, tools, and other resources for linguistic typology 10 0.4 40, 7, 39, 41, 38
Type: Autonomous      
Reading of complementary materials 22 0.88 37, 36, 22, 21, 19, 18, 17, 16, 14, 15, 20, 34, 33, 35
Study of the course contents 40 1.6 37, 36, 22, 21, 19, 18, 17, 16, 14, 15, 20, 34, 33, 35

Assessment

The final grade is obtained from five learning evidences: 

(Ev1) Written test on the contents of units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the syllabus: 30 % of the final grade.

(Ev2) Written test on the contents of assigned readings: 20 % of the final grade.

(Ev3) Exercises on units 2 and 3 of the syllabus: 20 % of the final grade.

(Ev4) Exercises on units 4, 5 and 6 of the syllabus: 20 % of the final grade.

(Ev5) Oral presentation in class: 10 % of the final grade.

The information about the assigned readings and the oral presentations in class will be provided at the beginning of the term.

The minimal grade to pass the course is 5 (/10). If a learning evidence is not submitted, the grade is 0 (zero). Students who have submitted learning evidences with a weight of less than 30% of the total grade of the course are considered ‘non-assessable’.

At the time of each assessment activity, information will be provided on the procedure and the date for reviewing the grades.

In order to sit the reassessment exam, it is necessary to have obtained a mark between 3.5 and 4.9 (/ 10) and to have delivered a set of learning evidences whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of the 2/3 of the total grading of the course.

The reassessment will consist of a written test on the content of units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the syllabus as well as on the contents of assigned readings; exercises on units 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the syllabus and oral presentations in class are excluded from the reassessment. The final mark for students who have attended the reassessment exam will be a maximum of 5 (/10).

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a 0 (zero) for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a 0 (zero) as the final grade for this subject.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Ev1 - Written test on the contents of units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the syllabus 30% 1.5 0.06 4, 2, 3, 1, 13, 12, 11, 40, 7, 16, 14, 20, 15, 10, 43, 42, 30, 32, 34, 33, 35
Ev2 - Written test on the contents of assigned readings 20% 1.5 0.06 1, 24, 9, 8, 11, 37, 36, 22, 21, 19, 18, 17, 16, 14, 20, 15, 10, 43, 42, 34, 33, 35
Ev3 - Exercises on units 2 and 3 of the syllabus 20% 5 0.2 4, 2, 3, 6, 5, 1, 13, 12, 11, 40, 7, 14, 15, 20, 10, 42, 27, 26, 28, 32, 30, 31, 29, 25, 39, 41, 38
Ev4 - Exercises on units 4, 5, and 6 of the syllabus 20% 5 0.2 4, 2, 3, 6, 5, 1, 13, 12, 11, 40, 7, 14, 15, 20, 10, 42, 27, 26, 28, 32, 30, 31, 29, 25, 41, 39, 38
Ev5 - Oral presentations in class 10% 5 0.2 2, 4, 3, 6, 5, 1, 24, 9, 8, 13, 12, 11, 40, 7, 37, 36, 22, 21, 19, 18, 17, 16, 14, 20, 15, 23, 10, 34, 33, 35, 41, 39, 38

Bibliography

Aikhenvald, A. Y., & Dixon, R. M. W. (Eds.). (2017). The Cambridge handbook of linguistic typology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316135716

Croft, W. (2003). Typology and universals (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511840579

Dryer, M. S., & Haspelmath, M. (Eds.). (2013). The world atlas of language structures online. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. https://wals.info

Moravcsik, E. A. (2013). Introducing language typology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511978876

Song, J. J. (Ed.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of linguistic typology. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199281251.001.0001

Song, J. J. (2018). Linguistic typology. Oxford University Press.

Velupillai, V. (2012). An introduction to linguistic typology. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/z.176

More specific reading lists will be provided during the semester.

Software

No specific software is needed for this course.