126-361/461 Historical grammar of German

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Objectives:

Students who complete this subject will:

• have an understanding of the processes that lead to language change;

• have a better understanding of the many 'exceptions' to the grammatical rules of German;

• have a greater understanding of the differences that exist between English and German and how these evolved historically;

• have learnt how to consult etymological dictionaries and to interpret the often cryptic data given;

• have gained an appreciation for, and interest in, etymology and historical grammar.

Content:

There is an historical explanation for every aspect of German grammar. The science of historical linguistics is based on both a hypothesis, namely that all languages in a given language family have derived from a common ancestor, as well as on a proven fact, namely that languages change over time. In this course we will be chiefly dealing with the concept of language change. Such issues as the following will be explained: why does one say 'er haßt' but 'er läßt', 'die Mäuse' but 'die Häuser', 'er stand' but 'er stünde', and why does one hear both 'wegen des Wetters' and 'wegen dem Wetter'? If the explanations of such linguistic matters interest you, then you are interested (possibly without being aware of it) in historical linguistics, the subject matter of this course. The external history of German was dealt with in a course offered in 1995 (Introduction to the History of German, second/third year option). This new course deals with the internal history of the language, i.e. the grammar. Those who attended the previous course should find this course a logical sequel to that one, but it is also intended for those who did not do that course.

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Stencils.