Comparative Linguistics
Code
722131041
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Linguística
Credits
10
Teacher in charge
Ana Maria Lavadinho Madeira
Weekly hours
3 letivas + 1 tutorial
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
a. To gain an understanding of differences and similarities among languages;
b. To become familiar with the theoretical and methodological tools necessary for the analysis of phenomena from different languages from a comparative perspective;
c. To be able to comparatively describe aspects of the grammars of the languages used in one´s translation practice at different levels: lexical, phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic.
d. To develop autonomous research skills, making it possible to apply concepts and instruments pertaining to the description and analysis of language in the resolution of translation problems.
Prerequisites
Not applicable
Subject matter
1. Phonetic and phonological features
2. Lexical and morphosyntactic aspects
3. Comparative analysis of some syntactic constructions
4. Syntactic and semantic phenomena
The description will focus particularly on Portuguese and the languages in which the students specialise.
Bibliography
1) Aarts, B. and A. McMahon (eds) (2008). The Handbook of English Linguistics. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.
2) Bosque, I. and V. Demonte (1999). Gramática Descriptiva de la Lengua Española. Madrid: Espasa.
3) Cinque, G. and R.S. Kayne (eds) (2008). The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4) Harbert, W. (2006). The Germanic Languages (Cambridge Language Surveys). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5) Hualde, J. I., A. Olarrea and E. O´Rourke (orgs) (2012). The Handbook of Hispanic Linguistics. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.
6) Huddersfield, R. and G. Pullum (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7) Jones, M. A. (1996). Foundations of French Syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
8) Raposo, E. et al (eds) (2013). Gramática do Português. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
Teaching method
The seminars are theoretical (60%) and practical (40%), with a strong interactive component. The practical component includes the description and analysis of linguistic data, problem solving and the presentation and discussion of texts and of students´ assignments.
Evaluation method
Assessment will focus on the following areas: 1) three short assignments (30%); and 2) presentation of a research paper (70%) (written paper 60% and oral presentation and discussion of the paper 10%).