BA Latin and Italian

This course unit introduces students to the typology and classification of the Romance languages and to their lexicon and their principal grammatical structures vis-à-vis the structures of English and other Indo-European and non-Indo-European languages. Particular emphasis is placed on smaller and lesser-studied Romance languages, their relation to a major Romance language, their distinct structural properties, and their sociolinguistic and political status. Students will “adopt” a smaller or lesser-known Romance language (students of Italian will be encouraged to adopt one of the Romance dialects spoken in Italy). They will conduct independent research on this language, investigating, on the one hand, its status in the linguistic community and, on the other hand, one feature of its grammar or a cluster of such features. In addition to traditional academic resources, students will be allowed to use social media to investigate the structures and the status of their adopted language. Students will develop a critical understanding of the principal typological properties of Romance in comparison with other language types and language families. Students will also become familiar with issues in linguistic identity, language documentation and description, and dialectology. 

The principal aims of the course unit are as follows:

• To introduce the students to the Romance languages in a typological perspective.
• To enhance the students’ awareness of the subgroupings which are part of the Romance family.
• To stimulate the students’ interest in the smaller and lesser known Romance languages (with particular emphasis on the dialects of Italy), their structures and their status in the linguistic community.
• To introduce the students to issues in linguistic typology, linguistic identity, language documentation and description, and dialectology.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Know which languages constitute the Romance family, and how they are related in typological, geographical and socio-political terms.
• Know the major typological properties of the Romance language family.
• Discuss the structures and the status of at least one lesser-known Romance language.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Understand the typological issues which arose in the transition from Latin to Romance and how they are resolved in synchrony.
• Describe the socio-political status and the grammatical structures of an under-represented language.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Engage in independent reflection and enquiry.
• Engage in the discussion and critical evaluation of theories in Romance linguistics.
• Use empirical evidence to support synthetic conclusions and interpretations.
• Analyse a body of data and provide a synthesis of the most relevant findings.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Extrapolate patterns from complex data sets.
• Apply skills of analysis and synthesis to practical issues and problems.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Engage in independent reflection and enquiry.
• Analyse linguistic data, and native-speaker judgements, and provide a synthesis of the findings.
• Deliver an oral presentation in a formal setting.
• Write a report on a piece of original research.
• Engage in group discussion (both in the class and online).

Presentation - 40%

Report - 60%

1. Maiden, M. & M. Parry (eds.) 1997. The Dialects of Italy. London: Routledge.
2. Maiden, M., Smith, J. C. & Ledgeway, A. (eds.) 2011, 2013. The Cambridge History of the Romance Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2 vols.
3. Ledgeway, A. & Maiden, M. (eds) 2016. The Oxford Guide to the Romance Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4. Vincent, N. & Harris, M. (eds) 1988. The Romance Languages. London: Routledge.

Further reading will be recommended on Blackboard and in the class.