Exploring Linguistic Diversity

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2011:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject explores the diversity of the world's languages. It draws on the concepts and methods, that students have acquired in their linguistic studies so far, to tackle a number of fundamental questions in linguistics: How much do languages differ? What descriptive systems and analytic tools do we need if we are to do justice to any human language we are interested in learning and understanding? What universals, if any, lie underneath the astounding differences in how languages are organized? How do linguistic systems evolve, and what forces shape the historical changes from one language state to another? We will study these questions across all linguistic subsystems - phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, discourse - drawing on case studies from languages around the world. Groups of students will adopt a language they do not yet know, tracking it through the semester to see how it relates to the questions we will be studying. Where relevant we will illustrate problems through small fieldwork-type studies of languages spoken in Melbourne's polyglot community.

• develop an understanding of the diversity of the world's languages;
• develope skills for the description, analysis and cross-linguistic comparison of the world's languages;
• develop an appreciation of the key issues in typological research

Two data-oriented problems 50% (due during the semester) and a final case-study essay or project 50% (due end of semester). The final essay may, by arrangement, be undertaken in groups of up to three.

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

• Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
• All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A package of readings will be available.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• be able to decipher and master communicative systems very different from their own native system.
• be able to communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically.
• have highly developed skills in logical analysis and hypothesis-testing.