GERMANIC PHILOLOGY I
Learning goals:
The aim of the course is:
- to provide students with basic knowledges of languages, civilization, culture and history of the different Germanic peoples in Late Antiquity and Middle Ages;
- to analyze the importance and the development of the mutual linguistic and cultural interferences due to the contacts between the Latin Romance world and the Germanic;
- to study in deep the peculiarity and the development of the different linguistic areas, with focus on the origins of the English language and the German language;
- to provide students with basic means for comprehension and for linguistic and philological analysis of a text.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledges and understandigs:
At the end of the foundamental course the students will be able:
• to recognize the peculiar linguistic features of the Germanic languages;
• to understand the phonetic, morphological and lexical structures of the old Germanic languages and their evolution in the modern Germanic languages (English and German);
• to understand the mutual linguistic interferences between Romance languages and Germanic languages in a diachronic perspective;
• to know basic notions on history, law, society and culture of the Germanic peoples, with focus on that peoples and languages from which English and German came from.
• to know the beginnings of medieval literature in the Germanic languages (Gothic, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old Norse);
• to understand the translation process from Latin to Germanic vernacular languages;
• to know the fundamentals of textual criticism.
*FUNDAMENTALS (6 CFU)*
§. Germanic Linguistics. Indo-european linguistic features, linguistic innovations of the Proto-Germanic, distinctive features and development of the Germanic languages from their origins to the proto-modern era. Linguistic interferences and contacts among the Germanic languages during ancient time and Middle Ages. Focus on the History of English and German.
§. History and culture of the Germanic peoples. Germanic peoples from prehistory to nowadays. Historical, epigraphic, literary and linguistic sources; culture, law, religion and mythology of Germanic peoples before and after the contact with the Latin Christian culture.
§. Medieval Germanic Literature and Introduction to the critical edition. Early written witnesses, translations, beginnigs of the Germanic languages literatures (Gothic, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon, Old Norse). The manuscript tradition. Introduction to textual criticism.
§. Germanic Linguistics:
- Indo-European linguistic legacy, innovations, distinctive features and development of the Germanic languages from the beginnings to the Pre-Modern era (First Grimm’s Law, Verner’s Law, strong stress on the first syllable of the word, vowel qualities, umlaut, the change of /z/ > /r/, alternation between fricatives, Second Grimm’s Law, strong and weak verbs, strong and weak nouns, adjectives declension).
- Contacts and linguistic interferences of Germanic languages in ancient times and Middle Ages (loanwords and calques from Latin and Celtic language to old Germanic languages, loanwords from French and Old Norse to Middle English, etc.)
- Detailed study on the beginnings of English and German language (first written witnesses, translations in English and German language, peculiar feature of the initial stage of English and German language)
§. History and culture of the Germanic peoples
- Germanic peoples from Prehistory to nowadays, migrations, Romano-Germanic kingdoms.
- Historical, epigraphic, literary and linguistic sources.
- Social system, social and juridical organization.
- Germanic religion and mythology before and after the contact with the Latin-Christian culture, Christianity.
- Transition from orality to literacy.
§. Medieval Germanic Literature and Introduction to the critical edition.
- Early written witnesses, translations, beginnings of the Germanic vernacular languages literatures (Gothic, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon, Old Norse).
- Texts which are part of the European literary heritage (Beowulf, Hildebrandslied, Nibelungenlied, Heliand, Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Old Icelandic sagas).
- The manuscript tradition of these texts.
- Introduction to textual criticism. The importance of the critical edition, problems and methods.
*FUNDAMENTALS (6 CFU)*
1. Dispensa di Filologia Germanica. Parte I. Linguistica Germanica. Prof. Eleonora Cianci (disponibile in copisteria).
2. Dispensa di Filologia Germanica. Parte II. Storia e Cultura. Prof. Eleonora Cianci (disponibile in copisteria).
3. Marco BATTAGLIA, Medioevo Volgare Germanico. Nuova edizione. Pisa University Press 2016
Lectures (36 hours).
Some additional hours are scheduled for exercises, in-depth analysis, seminars, conferences.
Oral exam.
Marks are from 18 (minimum) to 30 cum laude (maximum)
-Office hours: Tuesday, 10 a. m., (It may vary due to class schedule or other academic commitments, therefore students are invited to check the Department web site and/or the Facebook group for any updates).
-Further information, in-depth analysis or clarifications about the course and its organization can be found at the Facebook group >Filologia germanica UdA<:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/214042215334030/
- An eventual thesis supervision can be discussed with the teacher only after the exam