KHAZAR UNIVERSITY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
DEPARTMENT
COURSE SYLLABUS
HISTORY OF LINGUISTICS
SPRING - 2013
Course Information
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Title: History of linguistics
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Number (code):
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Credit hours: 3
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Semester/term : Spring, 2013
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Prerequisites: Introduction to linguistics
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Meeting time (days and hours):

Location of classroom:
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Instructor Information
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Full name:Sevindge Gafarova
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Title: MA
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Office location(optional): English Language and Literature Department
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Office phone number(optional)
99 440 417-91-32
Email address:sevainyaz@rambler.ru
Course description:
Linguistics, the study of language, has a long, complicated history, drawing on science, philosophy,
and literary theory. Unlike comparative literature or neuroscience focused on the technical basis of
language, linguistics focuses less on the principles of grammar and more on the philosophical basis
of language. Though linguistics could be traced back to the ancient Greek and Roman study of
rhetoric, it is often distinguished as a range of movements in the late 19th century through
contemporary research. We begin our survey of human understanding of language over the past
three thousand years with an overview of Ancient Indian, Chinese and Greek thought on language
and its role in society. We will then travel through the ages, focusing mainly on European and
American linguistic thought, and ending up with a review of current developments in linguistics.
Course objectives:
This course seeks to provide a three-dimensional view the history of linguistic enquiry. It is hoped
that upon the completion of this course the mature students will be able to formulate their own
understanding (approach to) the study of language.
Learning outcomes:
At the end of the course the students will gain an in-depth understanding of the history of linguistic
theory; these insights will help them to formulate their own informed opinion of what human
language and its role in society are.
Attendance Policy:
For every two unexcused absences, one (1) point will be deducted from the grade point average.
Thus, if a student has an average of 87/ B + with eight (8) absences, the resulting grade becomes 83/
B. Free participation is discouraged.
Tardiness:
Students must arrive at class on time and remain for the entire period unless they are suddenly ill or
have notified the instructor before the class that they will need to leave early. Frequent tardiness
will not be acceptable.
Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism and cheating are crimes and will be severely penalized, including, the expulsion of a
student from the university.
Materials and handouts: All the lectures, power point presentations and supplementary materials
will be provided.
Evaluation of student’s will be on the following basis:
Midterm exam- 30%
Final exam- 30%
Presentations – 20
Participation and attendance – 10%
Activity -10
Total – 100%
Weekly Schedule
Topics
Resource materials
R. H. Robbins, pp. 1-8
Internet materials
3
A Short Review of the Scope of Modern
Linguistics:
Non-Western Linguistic Traditions
Pānini: Astadhyāyī (literally 'eight
books'), a grammar of Sanskrit (btw. 600
B.C. - 300 B.C.)
Tolkāppiyam: early grammar of Tamil
(~ the 2nd century B.C.)
Bhartrhari: Vākyapadīya (5th-7th
Century A.D.)
Ancient Greeks - The Sophists:
Protagoras, Gorgias, etc.
Ancient Greeks - Plato’s Cratylus
Aristotle
4
The romans
pp.46-65
5
The Middle Ages
pp.66-93
6
The Renaissance
pp.94-132
7
18th century Europe
pp.133-36
1
2
8
pp. 9-44
Internet resources, research materials
Midterm Exam
pp. 194-197
The 19th century Phylology
9
Internet resources, research materilas
10
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857 – 1913)
11
The 20th Century - American
Structuralism
Roman Jakobson, Leonard Bloomfield
Franz Boas, Edward Sapir, Whorf
pp. 198-240
12
13
14
15
16
The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis & Its
Implications
The 20th Century – Formalism
Noam Chomsky
George Lakoff John Searle
Linguistic Meaning
Semantic Theories vs. Foundational
Theories
Dialectical Semantics
pp. 198-240
pp.198-240
pp.198-240
Presentations
Revision
17
FINAL Examination
Recommended Literature:
R. H. Robbins “A short history of linguistics”, Longman
Vivien Law “The history of Linguistics in Europe from Plato to 1600”
Routledge Studies in the History of Linguistics Series Editor: Talbot Taylor
Internet resources