Global Literature

Global Literature

Julie May Kolgjini, Ph.D.

Week 1 (Lesson 1)

Agenda:

Day 1: Course Introduction and Review of Syllabus.

Day 2: Intro to translation, interpretation, linguistic analysis, Albanian authors Williams chapter 1; Bassnett

chapter 1; Eco chapter 1

Week 1 (Lesson 1): Course Description

This course will focus on various aspects of the Albanian language,

beginning with its Indo-European roots to the present. The course will

discuss Albanian literature, with an emphasis on historical documents and

writings (e.g. Buzuku, Bogdani, Koliqi, Camaj, and Kadare), syntax, and

phonology. Translation, interpretation, narration, transcription, electronic

media, and linguistic analysis will

also be discussed.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Course Description (cont’d.)

This course has also been designed to develop and improve students’

proficiency in critical reading,

analytical writing, critical thinking, interpretation, and translation.

Students will read, understand,

interpret, and translate a variety of texts representing different cultural perspectives and/or disciplines. Texts, chosen around a particular theme, are designed to challenge students

professionally and to stimulate

interpretation and translation for a

variety of contexts and purposes.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Course Description (cont’d.)

Through this course, students will gain experience analyzing topics

critically and developing speaking and writing strategies that will be

strengthened throughout their

professional careers. Particular

attention will be given to the writing process, including an emphasis on

teacher-student interaction, self-

assessment, class discussion, formal and informal writing, and revision;

small class size promotes frequent

student-instructor and student-student

interaction.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Selected Texts

Bassnett, Susan. Translation Studies. Revised Edition. New York: Routledge, 1991.

Eco, Umberto. Mouse or Rat?: Translation as

Negotiation. London: Weidenfield and Nicholson, 2003.

Gile, Daniel. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training.

Malmkjaer, Kirsten. Linguistics and the Language of Translation.

Pochhacker, F. Introducing Interpreting Studies.

Williams, Joseph M. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 2000.

Note: Selected texts and reading packet materials

have been chosen from this list of sources. Note

additional readings will be given throughout the

quarter.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Prerequisite(s)

Writing and Literature I or Writing

Seminar

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Goals of the Course

1. Students will be able to read,

comprehend, and expand on the ideas presented using critical thought.

2. Students will study literary texts in order to develop the ability to

interpret and appreciate Albanian

literature as an expression of human experience, a mirror of

social/historical conditions, and as a

way of examining one’s own world.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Goals of the Course (cont’d.)

3. Students will develop knowledge and

appreciation of various literary genres, forms, and linguistic terms in relation to the Albanian language.

4. Students will produce projects which tackle various issues involving the

Albanian language (e.g. how the internet affects the Albanian language,

sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, translation, interpretation, and

comparative analysis).

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Goals of the Course (cont’d.)

5. Students will be able to use a

variety of strategies to approach a task in interpretation and

translation.

6. Students will be able to apply the writing process to different

writing contexts (e.g. formal

professional writing, technical

reports, and e-mail).

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Goals of the Course (cont’d.)

7. Students will use instructional feedback concerning strengths and weaknesses of their writing and

suggested strategies for improvement in their revisions. Students will

participate in guided activities that promote revision skills and

will know how to use feedback gained from these activities to improve

their writing.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Goals of the Course (cont’d.)

8. By the end of the course, students will be able to revise their own writing independently in

substantive ways.

9. Students will be able to select

appropriate strategies that convey thoughtful and developed meanings for the intended purpose and

audience.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Goals of the Course (cont’d.)

10. Students will be able to express meaning with

grammatical clarity and mechanical accuracy in

Albanian, understanding how to consult a writer’s

reference book as needed.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Requirements, Quizzes, Assignments, and Exams

Students are asked to be prepared for each class by reading the

assigned selections and by

completing any assigned projects on time.

Please note that the instructor reserves the right to give

unannounced quizzes on assigned

reading materials.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Requirements, Quizzes, Assignments, and Exams

Students will do one final project (i.e. paper) and

presentation which is due at the end of the quarter. (The instructor reserves the right to replace the final project and presentation with a

midterm and final exam if

necessary.)

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Quizzes

Four quizzes will be given

throughout the quarter. The

purpose of the quizzes is to make

sure that students understand the

concepts that have been discussed

during class discussion and have

done the assigned readings. These

quizzes are worth approximately

20% of the final grade.

Week 1 (Lesson 1): Final Paper

Students will write a final paper based on the topics discussed during the

course of the quarter (e.g.

translation, interpretation, linguistic analysis).

Students will 1.) choose a topic, 2.)

discuss the topic with the instructor, 3.) write an outline, and 4.) develop a well-formed thesis, supporting

evidence, a well-structured argument, and conclusion based on research

conducted over the course of the

quarter.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Final Paper (cont’d.)

The length of the paper should be between 5-7 double-spaced pages (including a separate reference page). All sources need to be

appropriately cited (i.e. both the in-text citations and the reference page). Prior to submitting the final paper, a rough draft is to be

submitted. See the tentative schedule

for more specific details regarding

deadlines.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Final Paper (cont’d.)

The final paper (including the outline, student-teacher

conference regarding the paper,

rough draft, documentation of

sources, and final draft) is

worth approximately 50% of the

final grade.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Formal Presentation

At the end of the quarter each student will give a formal presentation (more details will be given later in the

quarter) of the paper that s/he wrote for the course.

The student is responsible for

providing 1) every audience member with a professionally developed

handout and 2) the instructor with a

typed and professionally developed

outline of the presentation/speech

prior to the presentation.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Formal Presentation (cont’d.)

The formal presentation is not to be a memorization exercise in a fancy suit and tie, but rather the sharing and exchanging of intellectual ideas with

colleagues in a professional manner.

The formal presentation is worth

approximately 20% of the final

grade.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Attendance and Participation

Attendance is very important. It is mandatory.

If you miss more than 3 classes, you will not pass the class.

Participation is also included in your final grade. Participation includes attendance, (in)formal summary/responses, class

discussions, informal presentations and sharing of ideas.

Students will write short one page

summaries/responses for some of the reading selections. If it becomes apparent during class that students have not completed the

readings scheduled for discussion in class, a

quiz may be given in place of the discussion.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Grading

Quizzes: 20%

Final Paper (including rough draft): 50%

Final Presentation: 20%

Participation (including attendance):

10%

Grading Policy:

 100-90% A

 89-80% B

 79-70% C

 69-60% D

 59-below F

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Special Accommodations

If you require accommodation

based on disability or medical condition, please meet with me in the privacy of my office

during the first week of class to make sure that you are

appropriately accommodated.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Plagiarism and Cheating

Plagiarism, the unacknowledged use of another person’s words or

work, will be prosecuted according to University

standards. Plagiarism may lead to suspension or dismissal from the University.

Any form of cheating will result in a failing grade for the course.

No exceptions will be made!!!!

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Late Assignments

NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS will be accepted.

ALL LATE ASSIGNMENTS will receive a “zero” (or an F, failing grade).

(Note: If you need an extension because of an emergency or

extenuating circumstances, please

ask the instructor in person and by

e-mail at least one week prior to

the deadline.)

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Tentative Course Schedule

Week 1

Day 1: Course Introduction and Review of Syllabus.

Day 2: Intro to translation, interpretation, linguistic analysis, Albanian authors

Williams chap 1; Bassnett chap 1; Eco chap 1 Week 2

Translation, interpretation, linguistic analysis, (old) Albanian authors

What is grammar?

Williams 2; Bassnett 1; Eco 1; Gile 1;

Malmkjaer 1; Pochhacker 1

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

Day 1 – Student Information

Name: _________________

Please write your responses to the following questions in the space provided. You may respond in either English or Albanian.

1. What would you like to learn in this course?

Why? How do you plan to accomplish this goal?

2. What topics are of interest to you in terms of the Albanian language?

3. Who is your favorite (or one of your favorite) Albanian authors? Why?

4. Do you have any experience with translation and interpretation? If yes, please provide details.

5. Please list below any courses you have taken

in linguistics or the Albanian language.

Week 1 (Lesson 1):

In-class Activities for Day 1

1. Introductions a. name

b. languages studied

c. interpreting and translating

history (where, what , when, why) d. dreams and aspirations

e. something interesting about

yourself

Week 1(Lesson 2)

Agenda:

Day 2: Intro to translation, interpretation, linguistic analysis, Albanian authors

Readings for the week: Williams chapter 1; Bassnett chapter 1;

Eco chapter 1

I. Quotations

The Great Enemy of clear language is insincerity.

-George Orwell

To me, style is just the outside of content, and content the inside of style, like the outside and inside of the human body - both go together, they can’t be separated. -Jean-Luc Godard

In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing. -Oscar Wilde II. Principles and Aims

Q1: What does it mean to write?

A: Two principles:

1. It’s good to write clearly, and 2. anyone can.

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

-First principle - self-evident

-Second principle - “may seem optimistic to

those who hide their ideas not only from the readers, but sometimes even from themselves.”

(p. 4)

-Example of first principle (not very clear):

“Better evaluation of responses to treatment modalities depends on the standardization of an index allowing accurate descriptions of learning disorder behaviors” (p. 4).

-Improved: “We could better evaluate how those with learning disorders respond to treatment if we could standardize an index that

accurately describes how they behave” (p. 4).

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

-Style

Q2: What is style (in writing)?

-“We could say that such writers have a problem with their style, but they have no style, if by style we mean how we choose to arrange words to their best effect: Those writers do not choose how they write, any more than they choose whether to put the before dog rather than after” (p. 4).

-Choice

“Choice is at the heart of clear writing, because to meet the needs of different readers, we have to choose between this word and a more exact one, between this order of words and some other that better helps a reader get from the beginning of a sentence to its end without feeling, as one of teachers said of my writing forty years ago, that she was slogging through a field of wet mud” (p. 4).

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

Q3: How or why can writing “fail”?

“Writing may fail for reasons more serious than its style, of course. We bewilder readers when we cannot organize new and complex ideas in a way that seems to them coherent” (p. 4)

-order, organization, coherence, etc

“That’s my aim: to explain how you can overcome a problem that has afflicted generations of

writers - a style that, instead of revealing ideas, hides them” (p. 4).

“When we read that kind of writing in government regulations, we call it bureaucratese; when we find it in contracts and judicial

pronouncements, legalese; in scholarly articles and books that inflate small ideas into gassy abstractions, academese” (p. 4-5).

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

-“Intended or not, it feels like a style of pretension and intimidation” (p. 5)

-“When it is the product of carelessness or indifference, it expresses contempt for its intended readers.”

-“When written deliberately, it is an

exclusionary language that a democratic

society cannot tolerate as its standard of ethical civic discourse.”

-“Unfortunately, that style has become so common that it seems to have established itself as an institutional standard,

beguiling many inexperienced writers into imitating it. The problem has a long

history” (p.5).

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

III. The History

-The Past: “It wasn’t until the late 16th century that writers of English finally decided that their language was eloquent enough to replace Latin and French in

intellectually respectable discourse, but their first impulse toward elegance was a style of complex beyond the needs of the readers;” (p.5).

-see Richard Mulcaster exerpt p. 5

-“When the New World was settled, American writers had a chance to establish a new

prose style, not viciously voluble, but lean and direct” (p. 5)

-but it still was not very clear

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

-The Present: “In the best-known essay on English style, ‘Politics and the English Language,’ George Orwell anatomized the inflated language lf the 20th century

politicians , bureaucrats, and other chronic dodgers of responsibility:” (p. 7)

-See Orwell’s excerpt on p. 7 and compare with IMPROVED version of p. 8.

-See also excerpt on p. 9 “Recognition of…”

and compare with “When we recognize…”

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

-“Generations of students have struggled with

prose they could not understand, often blaming themselves, thinking they were not smart enough to grasp ideas seemingly so complex. Some may have been right about that, but more should have blamed the tangled writing they were trying to understand” (p. 9)

-“Some students, sad to say, give up; sadder still, many who learn to read that style

imitate it and then go on to write their own books in the same way, confounding more

students, some students, some of whom master that same tangled style and go on to write yet more books…And thus the style of one generation insinuates itself into that of the next,

sustaining a 400-year old tradition of wretched prose” (p. 9).

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

IV. Some Private Causes of Unclear Writing Q4: What are some causes of unclear writing?

-1-because we don’t know we write unclearly

“The most common reason we write unclearly, however, is that we don’t know we do, much less how to revise prose into something

better. When we read our own writing, we all think it clearly expresses what we mean,

because when we read it, we are only

reminding ourselves of what we had in mind when we wrote it. But beyond that chronic inability to read our prose as others will, there are other private causes of unclear writing” (p. 9-10).

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

IV. Some Private Causes of Unclear Writing Q4: What are some causes of unclear

writing?

-2-Hiding behind language

“Some writers choose complicated language not only to plump up their ideas, but to mask their absence, hoping that complexity will impress those who confuse difficulty with substance. When we don’t know what we’re talking about and don’t want anyone else to know that we don’t, we typically throw up a big screen of big words in

long, complicated sentences” (p. 10) STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

IV. Some Private Causes of Unclear Writing Q4: What are some causes of unclear writing?

-3-Bad memories

-bad experiences with reading and writing -4- Temporary Aphasia

-“Finally, many of us write unclearly not because we choose to, but because we are seized by a kind of literary aphasia, a

dismaying experience that renders us unable to write as well as we thought we could”

(p.10).

STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

IV. On Writing and Rewriting

-This book is mainly about rewriting (drafting).

-Writing (and translating) is recursive (a process of writing drafts).

-“That melancholy judgment has hovered over every sentence I’ve written, because Mencken was

right: No once can teach good writing by rule, especially to those who cannot feel or think or see. But I know that many who do see clearly, feel deeply, and think carefully cannot share their feelings and thoughts and visions. I also know that the more clearly we write, the more clearly we see and feel and think. Rigid rules help no one, but there are some

principles that do. Here they are” (p. 13) STYLE

LESSON 1: Understanding Style (pp. 3-13)

(Week 1- Lesson 2)

Homework:

Readings

Translations Studies

Study for quiz

Week 2

Week 2:

Agenda:

Translation, interpretation, linguistic analysis,

Albanian authors What is grammar?

Williams 2; Bassnett 1; Eco 1; Gile 1; Malmkjaer 1;

Pochhacker ¹

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

I. Grammar

Pose the following questions:

What is grammar?

Do we need grammar? Why or why

not?

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

- Linguistics (see Language Files 1.1-1.5) Linguistics -2 dichotomies (divisions):

1. Competence vs. Performance (Chomsky) Competence vs. Performance (Chomsky) A. Competence (LF p. 6) Competence

-what we think, abstract

-deep structure language (underlying) -ideal, “hidden” knowledge

-extremely difficult (if not impossible for the time being) to measure

-“what you know when you know a language”

(LF p. 6)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

1. Competence vs. Performance (Chomsky) cont’d.

A. Competence cont’d. (LF p. 6)

-competence involves an underlying understanding of (6 elements):

a-phonetics (sounds in a language) and phonology (the sound system of a

language),

b-morphology (how language is

grammatically divided up/parsed into units),

c-syntax (how words are arranged, e.g.

SVO),

d-semantics (meanings), (LF p.11)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

1. Competence vs. Performance (Chomsky) cont’d.

A. Competence cont’d. (LF p. 6)

-competence involves an underlying understanding of (cont’d.):

e-pragmatics (language usage – how context influences meaning), and

f-speech styles (how the language people use changes depending on the context, e.g. job interview, hanging out with friends, when with family members; our dialect changes depending on our

context - “Everyone speaks a dialect, and dialects can vary in subtle or

striking ways” LF p.11)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

Week 2 (Lesson 2)

1. Competence vs. Performance (Chomsky)

A. Competence cont’d. (LF p. 6)

-a person’s linguistic competence allows him/her to produce

grammatical utterances.

-grammar = phonetics, phonology,

morphology, syntax, semantics,

and pragmatics

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

1. Competence vs. Performance (Chomsky) Competence vs. Performance (Chomsky)

B. Performance (LF p. 6) Performance

-concrete, real, observable, measurable, what we hear/see

-surface structure language

-According to Chomsky, a person’s linguistic performance allows us to obtain a minor glimpse of a person’s underlying

linguistic competence.

-Linguistic performance involves flaws in

speech, grammatical mistakes, hesitations, filled pauses (e.g. um, uh, ur)

-“but that does not mean that the not

competence underlying that speech is

flawed” (LF p. 6).

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p.

12)

A. Prescriptive Prescriptive

-rules, regulations, rigid

-how people “should” use language (i.e. in speech and in writing)

-“Prescriptive rules tell you how to speak and write, according to someone’s idea of what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Of course nothing is inherently good or bad about any use of language; prescriptive rules serve only to mold your spoken and

written English to some norm” (LF p.

12).

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

A. Prescriptive cont’d.

-e.g. English (LF p. 12) English

1. Never end a sentence with a preposition.

NO: Where do you come from? from

YES: From where do you come? From

-Comment for 1: see next slide

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

A. Prescriptive cont’d. -e.g. English (LF p.12)

-Comment for 1: “Speakers of English have been freely ending sentences with

prepositions since the beginning of the Middle English period (about 1100). There are even some instances of this

construction in Old English. Speakers who attempt to avoid this often sound stilted and stuffy. The fact that ending

sentences with prepositions is perfectly natural in English did not stop John

Dryden from forbidding it because he

found it to be non-Latin. His rule has

been in use ever since” (LF p. 13).

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

A. Prescriptive -e.g. English (LF p. 12)

2. Never split an infinitive

NO: … to boldy go where no one to boldy go has gone before

YES: … to go boldy where no one to go boldy has gone before

-Comment for 2: see next slide

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

A. Prescriptive -e.g. English (LF p. 12)

-Comment for 2: “Since the early Middle English period, English has had a two-word infinitive

composed of to plus an uninflected verb (e.g., to win). English speakers have always been able to split this two-word infinitive by inserting words (usually adverbs) between the to and the verb

(e.g., to quickly hide). There have been periods in English literary history when splitting

infinitives was very fashionable. However,

eighteenth-century grammarians noticed that Latin infinitives were never split. Of course, it was impossible to split a Latin infinitive because it was a single word (e.g. describere ‘to write

down’).

But that fact did not prevent the early grammarians

from formulating another prescriptive rule of

English grammar” (LF p. 13).

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12) B. Descriptive Descriptive

-reflects how people actually use language – how they apply linguistic rules (i.e. how they actually use language in speech and in writing)

-e.g. English (LF p. 12)

1. Adjectives precede the nouns they modify, 2. To form the plural of a noun, add –s,

3. The vowel sound in the word suit is produced with rounded lips. (i.e. a high back

rounded vowel)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

B. Descriptive cont’d.

-more organic

-most linguists are interested in how people actually use language

-“Descriptive grammar, then, is created by linguists as a model of speakers’

linguistic competence” (LF p. 12).

-people’s linguistic mistakes lead to new new forms

forms (hypercorrections hypercorrections and analogies analogies) -e.g. clum became climbed (walk, walk-ed:

climb-climb-ed) (i.e., a hypercorrection based on analogy)

-issue: simple past (Note: clum is no

longer used; rather, climbed is)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

B. Descriptive cont’d.

-people’s linguistic mistakes lead to new forms (hypercorrections and analogies)

-e.g. Is ngjarje becoming ngjamje? (T çarje- G çamje:

T ngjarje – G ngjamje)

-issue: rhotacism (n/m > r/V_V) and nasal

consonants (ranë/rërë ‘sand’; ranishte/rërishte

‘sandy shore’)

-Q: Are you able to think of other hypercorrections?

-rërore/ranore ‘sandy’, zërim/zanim ‘sound

manipulation (DJ)’; zëror/zanor (zanore ‘vowel’)

‘voiced, vocal’- issue: rhotacism -Q: What causes hypercorrections?

-A: linguistic confusion, too many linguistic

varieties or dialects to deal with?

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

B. Descriptive cont’d.

“It is somewhat surprising that rules that do not reflect actual language use should survive.

There are several reasons, however, for the continued existence of prescriptive rules.

First, they provide a standard form of a language that is accepted by most speakers of that

language; adherence to prescriptive rules allows a speaker to be understood by the

greatest possible number of individuals [given that they, too, have learned these rules].

This is especially important for a language such as German, which has dialects so

different from one another that their speakers

cannot always understand each other.

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

B. Descriptive cont’d.

Second, a set of standard rules is necessary for students learning

English (or any other language) as a second language. Imagine the

chaos if there were no guidelines

for learning English (or Spanish,

or German, or Russian, etc.). Thus

they serve a very useful purpose

for language teachers and learners

as well.

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

B. Descriptive cont’d.

Finally, and most important, there are social reasons for their existence.

Nonstandard dialects are still frowned

upon by many groups and can inhibit one’s progress in society. The existence of

prescriptive rules allows a speaker of a nonstandard dialect to learn the rules of the standard dialect and employ them in appropriate social circumstances.

Therefore, prescriptive rules are used as

an aid to social mobility.

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

2. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive (LF 1.5 p. 12)

B. Descriptive cont’d.

This does NOT mean, however, that these

JUDGMENTS are LINGUISTICALLY VALID. The idea that ONE DIALECT of a language is INTRINSICALLY BETTER than another is

simply FALSE; from a linguistic point of view ALL DIALECTS are EQUALLY GOOD and

EQUALLY VALID. TO LOOK DOWN ON NONSTANDARD DIALECTS IS TO EXERCISE A FORM OF SOCIAL AND LINGUISTIC PREJUDICE” (LF p. 14).

-READ THIS ONE MORE TIME!!!

-READ THIS ONE MORE TIME!!!

-See questions on LF p. 14

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

II. Albanian Language Issues and

Comments (based on writing samples from Week 1)

A. ue~ua diphthongs (Topalli 2005) (in participle forms (pjesore),

e.g. infinitive= paskajore) Gheg Tosk

-ue -ua

(me) mësue (për të) mësuar

‘to study’ ‘in order to study’

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

II. Albanian Language Issues and Comments cont’d.

-ue~ua (Topalli 2005)

-on > õn > õ (long nasalized o) >

ō (denasalization)> óu (diphthongization)>

úo (metathasis and stress displacement) >

ue/ua (Topalli 2005: 104-106)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

-ue~ua Phases:

1-on > õn (regressive nasalization)

2-õn > õ (long nasalized o; compensatory lengthening)

V C (segments, i.e., sounds V=Vowel; C=Consonant)

X X (timing units)

=

o n (regressive spreading of nasalization from C onto V; the nasal C, i.e. n, delinks, i.e. deletes, and the V occupies both timing

units and thus becomes long, i.e. vowel

lengthening => compensatory lengthening)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

-ue~ua Phases cont’d.:

3-õ (long nasalized o) > ō (denasalization)

4-ō > óu (diphthongization)

5-óu > úo (metathesis and stress displacement) (Buzuku, Budi)

6-úo > G ue (Bogdani)/ T ua

(Variboba)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

B. m/n-r (rhotacism = rhotacizmi) Gheg Tosk

i ditun(ë) i ditur(ë) (adjective = mbiemër/mbiemën)

i mençun(ë) i mençur(ë) (adjective = mbiemër/mbiemën)

çamje çarje (noun = emër/emën)

rule:

n  r /V__ V (n or m become r when m intervocalic, i.e. when between

vowels)

Note: This rule occurred after Buzuku and

before linguistic contact with Slavic and Italian.---See next slide for more examples.

(Topalli 2005: 104-106)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

Q: What are other examples of rhotacism (rhotacizmi)?

e.g. venë/verë;

an(ë)mik/ar(ë)mik;

za-zani/zë- zëri; emën/emër;

dimën/dimër; Shqip(ë)ni/Shqipëri;

gjarpën/gjarpër; breshën/breshër;

gja-gjana/gjë- gjëra

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

C. Nasalization (hundorëzim) GhegTosk

me bã(n) për të bërë (të bësh/bëni) zã-zãni zë-zëri

ãshtështë

dre (nasalized e) drë (SW Albania, e.g. Vlorë) fle (nasalized e) flë (SW Albania, e.g. Vlorë) zemër (nasalized e) zëmër (SW Albania, e.g. Vlorë)

pej (nasalized e) pënj an/m > ãn/m > ã > ë

en/m > en/m (nasalized e) > e (nasalized e) > ë

(Topalli 2005: 42-47; 102-103)

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

D. Infinitive (paskajore) Gheg Tosk

1. me qenë (infinitive) të jem (subj=mënyra

‘to be’ lidhore)

të jesh ‘(that) I, you, were’

të jetë të jemi të jeni të jenë

2. për të qenë (infinitive) për të qenë (infinitive)

‘in order to be’ ‘in order to be’

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

D. Infinitive (paskajore)

Gheg Tosk

1. me pasë të kem (Subj=Mënyra

‘to have’ lidhore)

të kesh ‘(that) I, you, have’

të ketë të kemi të keni të kenë

2. për të pasë për të pasur(ë)

‘in order to have’ ‘in order to have’

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

D. Infinitive (paskajore) Gheg Tosk

1. me bã(n) (infinitive) të bëj (Subj Mood=

‘to do’ Mënyra lidhore) të bësh ‘(that) I, you, do’

të bëjë të bëmi të bëni të bënë

2. për të bã(n) (infinitive) për të bërë (infinitive)

‘in order to do’ ‘in order to do’

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

E. Gerund (përcjellore)

Gheg Tosk

tue qenë duke qenë

‘(while) being’ (Buzuku) ‘(while)

being’

Week 2 (Lesson 3):

Intro to Linguistics

(Break?)

Translation exercise

Homework: see my comments on

your translations from Week 1

Week 3:

Agenda:

Translation, interpretation,

linguistic analysis, Albanian authors

What is phonology?

Quiz/Test #1 on terms

Think about topics for final projects (discuss ideas and outlines)

Williams 3; Bassnett 1; Eco 1; Gile

2; Malmkjaer 2; Pochhacker 1

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

I. PHONOLOGY

Q: What is phonology?

-“Phonology…investigates the

organization of speech sounds in a particular language. While we

might find the same sounds in two or more languages, no two

languages organize their sound

inventories in the same way” (LF

p. 88).

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

Phonology cont’d.

-IPA (International Phonetic

Alphabet) (See also Beci 2004: 16. Fonetika e shqipes standarde. Prishtinë: Libri Shkollor. See also Topalli 2005)

-Examples:

1. English - English contains the following consonants in its

segmental inventory:

Table 1: English consonantal

inventory (based on Stemberger

1999) – see notes for the chart

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

-see notes for the chart

Note: The first line in each box contains the phoneme; the second line in each box

contains the letter from the alphabet.

A language’s phonemic inventory is not the same as its “alphabet” (i.e., phonemic inventory ≠ alphabet).

Also note that the voiceless phonemes (i.e., phonemic sounds) precede the voiced ones (e.g., /p, b/). Further, when referring to a phoneme, the sound appears in

slanted vertical brackets: /p/. See also

Language Files p. 42.

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

Note:

<> = orthographic symbol (i.e. alphabet)

// = phonological symbol (deep structure)

[] = phonetic symbol

(surface structure)

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

Albanian - Albanian contains the following consonants in its segmental inventory:

Table 2: Albanian consonantal inventory (based on Byron 1976: 94)

-see notes for this chart

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

Note that in Table 2 the phonemic

representation of the consonant is listed above the grapheme, which appears in italics. The inventory above consists of twenty-nine

consonants, which includes the

voiceless and voiced palatal stops /c/

and /ɟ/, as well as the voiceless and voiced palato-alveolar affricates /ʧ/

and /ʤ/ (taken from Kolgjini 2004:

82). See also Beci 2004: 50, 118.

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

Place of articulation = vendi i nyjëtimit -Bilabial = dybuzore (<p, b>) or /p, b/

-Labiodental = buzore dhambore/buzore dhëmbore

<f, v> /f, v/

-Dental = dhambore/dhëmbore

<t, d, n> /t, d, n/

-Alveolar =alveolare <s, z> /s, z/

-Palatal-alveolar = qiellzore-alveolare

<sh, zh> /š, ž/

-Palatal = qiellzore (grykore)<q, gj, nj> /c, ɟ, ɲ/

-Velar = velare (grykore) <k, g, ng> /k, g, ŋ/

-Glottal = glotale (grykore) <h> /h/

-Labiovelar= buzore velare <w> /w/ (English)

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

Manner of articulation = mënyra e nyjëtimit Oral stop = mbylltore <p, b, t, d, q, gj, k,

g> /p, b, t, d, c, ɟ, k, g/

nasal stop = hundore <m, n, nj> /m, n, ɲ / Fricative = shtegore/fërkimore <f, v, th,

dh, s, z, sh, zh, h> / f, v, θ, ð, s, z, š, ž, h /

Affricate = afrikate

<c, x, ç, xh> /ʦ, ʣ, ʧ, ʤ/

Glide = gjysmë-zanore <r, j> /ɹ, j/

lateral = anësore <ll, l> /l, ʎ/

Trill = dridhëse <rr> /r/

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

II. PHONETICS

Q: What is phonetics?

-“Phonetics is the study of speech sounds. This field, an experimental science, can be

subdivided into three areas: the study of the production (articulatory phonetics), the

perception (auditory phonetics), and the physical properties (acoustic phonetics) of speech sounds. Descriptions of the world’s speech sounds are based on precise

measurements of their physical or acoustic

properties as well as on the movements of the

various articulators” (LF p. 34).

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

II. PHONETICS cont’d.

Q: What is phonetics?

-Articulation (LF p. 38 – Figure 1):

A. States of the glottis (LF p. 38-39 – Figure 2; see also Beci 2004: 26-27) – for consonants and vowels

1. voiced (e zashme/e zëshme) = “sounds made with the vocal folds vibrating”

(e.g., [z])

2. voiceless (e pazashme/e pazëshme) =

“sounds made without such vibration”

(e.g., [s])

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

B. Place of articulation (LF p. 40 – Figure 3;Beci 2004:25)

–mainly for consonants

= “where in the vocal tract a constriction is made” (LF p. 39)

-bilabial ([p, b])

-labiodental ([f, v])

-interdental (<th> <dh> [θ, ð]) -alveolar ([t, d; s, z])

-palatal ([j, c, ɟ])

-alveo-palatal ([š, ž; ʧ ʤ]) -velar ([k, g])

-glottal (“the space between the vocal cords”

LF 40)

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

C. Manner of articulation (LF p. 40 – Figure 4) – mainly for consonants (LF p. 41-42)

-stops (a.k.a. plosives, occlusives) ([p, b])

=“made by obstructing the airstream completely in the oral cavity”

=the velum is raised (so as to obstruct airflow through the nasal cavity)

-fricatives ([f, v; s, z; š, ž])

=“made by forming a nearly complete

stoppage of the airstream”; turbulent

airflow

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

C. Manner of articulation (LF p. 40 – Figure 4)

-affricates (stop + fric) ([ʦ ʣ; ʧ ʤ])

=“made by briefly stopping the airstream completely [like for a stop,]and then

releasing the articulators slightly so that friction is produced [like for a fricative]”

-nasal (a.k.a. nasal stops) ([m, n, ɲ, ŋ])

=“the velum is lowered” so as to prevent

airflow through the oral cavity; “then

the airstream can escape out through the

nasal cavity”

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

C. Manner of articulation (LF p. 40 – Figure 4)

-liquids ([l, ʎ, ([r])])

=“when a liquid is produced, there is an

obstruction formed by the articulators, but it is not narrow enough to stop the airflow or to cause friction. The [l] in leaf is produced by resting the tongue on the alveolar ridge with the airstream escaping around the sides of the tongue. Thus it is called a lateral.”

-glides ([j, w, ([ɹ])])

=“glides are made with only a slight closure of

the articulators. In fact, if the vocal tract

were any more open, the result would be a vowel

sound.”

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

D. Four phonetic aspects of vowels (LF p. 43 – Figure 1; Beci

2004: 36-37)

1. tongue height: high, mid, low 2. tongue advancement: front,

central, back

3. lip rounding: rounded, unrounded

4. tenseness: lax, tense

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

E. Diphthongs (LP p. 45 –

Figure 2; Beci 2004: 38.)

=“two-part vowel sounds

consisting of a vowel and a glide in the same syllable”

(LF p.45)

-e.g. [aj], [aw], [oj]

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

G. Are you able to think of any interesting phonetic (or phonemic) variations?

-e.g. 1. karri[g]e vs. karri[k]e ‘chair’

(voiced velar stop vs. voiceless velar stop) 2. fri[g]a vs. fri[k]a ‘fear’

(voiced velar stop vs. voiceless velar stop) 3. [g]uzhinë vs. [k]uzhinë ‘kitchen’

(voiced velar stop vs. voiceless velar stop) 4. gjy[ɟ/ʤ]i vs. gjy[c/ʧ]i ‘the court’

(voiced pal stop/pal-alv affric vs. voicless pal

stop/pal-alv affric)

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

G. Are you able to think of any interesting phonetic (or phonemic) variations?

-Note: minimal pairs (çift minimal) = two words with different meanings which differ in terms of only one sound.

-e.g.:

1. ar[i] ‘gold’, ar[a] ‘field’ (also:

ar[í] ‘bear’)

2. [c]aj ‘cry’ (1sgPres), [ʧ]aj ‘tea’

3. dja[ʎ] ‘boy’, dja[l] ‘devil’

F. For exercises – see LF pp. 49-51.

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

(BREAK??)

Translation exercise

Week 3: Phonetics and Phonology

Announcements:

1. Guest Speaker???

2. Quiz 1 – Tue of Week 4 (Study: class notes from Week 2 and today’s translation exercise)

3. Start to think about a topic for your research papers.

Suggested topics: translations, transcriptions of narratives, interpretations, language usage in

literature

vs. scientific articles vs. newspaper articles vs.

electronic media, spoken vs. written forms,

dialectology, interesting linguistic forms in speech (e.g. po pra, bre/de), lexical variation

(gjalpë/tlyn)

Week 4:

Agenda:

Translation, interpretation,

linguistic analysis, Albanian authors

What is a language? Dialect? Variety?

Think about topics for final projects (submit ideas and outlines)

Williams 4; Bassnett 2; Eco 2; Gile

3; Malmkjaer 3; Pochhacker 2

Week 4:

I. Language?

Q: What is language?

-“Language fills every part of our lives; it gives words to our

thoughts, voice to our ideas and

expression to our feelings. It is a rich and varied human ability – one we can use without even a thought, that children seem to acquire

automatically, and that linguists

have discovered to be complex yet

describable” (LF p. 1).

Week 4:

I. Language cont’d.

-language involves (includes):

-thoughts and ideas

-grammar (e.g., syntax, morphology, phonology, phonetics)

-speech (phonology and phonetics, speech errors, filled pauses)

-standard and nonstandard forms

-slang, idiolects, dialects, subdialects, varieties, and variation

-prescription and description -competence and performance

-codification of spoken words/speech (i.e.

written form)

Week 4:

I. Language cont’d.

-Written vs. Spoken Language (LF pp. 6-7)

-“It is a very widely held misconception that writing is more perfect than speech. To many people, writing somehow seems more correct and more stable, whereas speech

can be careless, corrupted (they believe), and susceptible to change. Some people

even go so far as to identify language with writing and to regard speech as a secondary form of language used

imperfectly to approximate the ideals of

the written language” (LF p. 6).

Week 4:

I. Language cont’d.

-Written vs. Spoken Language (LF pp. 6-7) cont’d.

-“One of the basic assumptions of modern linguistics, however, is that speech is

primary and writing is secondary. The most immediate manifestation of language is

speech and not writing. Writing is simply the representation of speech in another physical medium. Spoken language encodes thought into a physically transmittable form, while writing, in turn, encodes spoken language into a physically

preservable form…When linguists study

language, they take the spoken language as

their best source of data and their object

of description” (LF p. 6).

Week 4:

I. Language cont’d.

-Writing (LF p. 6):

1. is a “later historical development than spoken language”

-6,000 years ago – Sumerians in Sumer (i.e., modern-day Iraq)

-1st codification of language (characters) 2. “does not exist everywhere that spoken

language exists”

3. “must be taught, whereas spoken language is acquired automatically”

-thus, is associated with education and educated speech

-standard vs. nonstandard

-“correct” usage

Week 4:

II. Language Variation and Dialects

Q: What is language variation (and dialects)?

=“systematic differences within languages”

(LF p. 368)

-“Internal variation refers to the property of languages having different ways of expressing the same meaning. This is a property inherent to all human languages and to all speakers of a language. Thus, no two speakers of a language speak

exactly the same way; nor does any

individual speaker speak the same way all

the time” (LF p. 368).

Week 4:

-“When a group of speakers of a particular language differs noticeably in its

speech from another group[,] we say that they are speaking different dialects”

(LF p. 368).

-“…[A] dialect is any variety of a language spoken by a group of people that is

characterized by systematic differences from other varieties of the same

language in terms of structural or

lexical features. In this sense, every

person speaks a dialect of his or her

native language” (LF p. 368).

Week 4:

-“The term dialect is also misused by laypeople[, i.e., non-

experts,] to refer strictly to differences in pronunciation.

Such a mistake is easy to

understand since differences in pronunciation are usually

accompanied by variation in other areas of the grammar as well and thus correspond to dialectal

differences” (LF p. 368).

Week 4:

-accent = “systematic phonological variation” (LF p. 368).

-idiolect = “The form of language spoken by one person” (LF p. 368).

-mutual intelligibility

-“used to distinguish dialects from languages” (LF p. 368).

-“If speakers of one language variety can understand speakers of another language variety and vice versa, we say that these varieties are mutually intelligible” (LF p.

368).

-“…Your variety of speech and theirs are mutually intelligible but differ

systematically, and are therefore dialects of

the same language” (LF p. 368).

Week 4:

-dialect continuum

-“This is a situation where, in a large

number of contiguous[, i.e., neighboring,]

dialects, each dialect is closely related to the next, but the dialects at either end of the continuum (scale) are mutually

UNintelligible” (LF p. 369).

-speech community

-“a group of people speaking the same dialect” (LF p. 369)

-extralinguistic factors: region, socioeconomic status, ethnicity

-sometimes define a speech community

Week 4:

-“pure” dialect

-“i.e., purely regional, purely ethnic, etc” (LF p. 369).

= rare

-assumes: communicative isolation -“results when a group of speakers forms a coherent speech community relatively isolated from speakers outside that community” (LF p. 369).

-because of: social and geographic

mobility, mass media

Week 4:

-Standard Vs. Nonstandard Varieties (LF p. 374-378):

-“The popular notion persists that every language consists of one

‘correct’ dialect from which all other ‘inferior’ or ‘substandard’

dialects emerge. This

misconception has arisen from

social stereotypes and biases. It is not a linguistic fact” ^{(LF p.}

374).

Week 4:

-Standard Vs. Nonstandard Varieties (LF p. 374- 378) cont’d:

-“It is important to realize that a

person’s use of any particular dialect is not a reflection of his or her

intelligence or judgment.

Linguistically speaking, no one dialect or language is better, more correct, or more logical than any other. Rather,

every language variety is a rule-

governed system and an effective means

of communication” (LF p. 374).

Week 4:

-Standard Vs. Nonstandard Varieties (LF p. 374- 378) cont’d:

-Standard Dialects (LF p. 374).

-“The notion of standard dialect is really a complex one and in many ways an idealization.

Descriptively speaking, the standard dialect is the variety used by political leaders, the media, and speakers from higher socioeconomic classes. It is also the variety taught in

schools and to nonnative speakers in language classes. Every language has at least one

standard dialect, which serves as the primary

means of communication across dialects” (LF

p. 374).

Week 4:

-Standard Vs. Nonstandard Varieties (LF p.

374-378) cont’d:

-Standard Dialect and Prestige (LF p. 374).

-“In actuality, there is no one standard dialect but instead many different varieties of what people consider to be the standard. What ties these notions together is prestige. Socially speaking, the standard dialect is the dialect of prestige and power. However, the prestige of any speech variety is wholly dependent

upon the prestige of the speakers who use it”

(LF p. 374).

-E.g. US – prestige and standard dialect –

power, wealth, and education

Week 4:

-Standard Vs. Nonstandard Varieties (LF p.

374-378) cont’d:

-Standard Dialect and Prestige (LF p. 374).

-“It is the speech of this group, therefore, that becomes the

standard, but there is nothing about the variety itself that makes it prestigious” (LF p.

374).

Week 4:

-Standard Vs. Nonstandard Varieties (LF p. 374- 378) cont’d:

-Standard Dialect and Prestige ^{(LF 374).}

-“…prescriptive standard, the standard by which we make

judgments of ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’

This…proves that such judgments

are not linguistically founded but are instead governed by societal opinion, and most often by

societal evaluation of speakers”

(LF p. 375).