Linguistics

The course aims to provide students with the tools for the synchronic and diachronic analysis of ancient and modern languages, also with reference to the history of linguistic thought within which the various theoretical and methodological achievements of the discipline are placed.

Knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

- present the main orientations in the history of linguistic thought and linguistic science in Western cultures
- recognize the properties of historical-natural languages with particular reference to the functional dimension and the historical dimension
- recognize and analyze specific synchronic and diachronic facts relating to ancient and modern languages
- interpret the relationship that unites the general reflection on language and the empirical investigation of individual linguistic facts
- exemplify the specific technical terminology of the discipline with reference to the areas and sectors examined
- identify a series of essential bibliographic tools

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, students will be able to:

- distinguish the phonetic data from the graphic one, particularly in the case of the analysis of ancient linguistic forms
- distinguish the observation and description of empirical data from their interpretation
- apply rules and categories elaborated by general linguistic reflection
- use the appropriate metalinguistic terminology in the description of phenomena
- apply the historical-comparative method in the comparison of forms of ancient Indo-European languages and in the etymological investigation