7302.10 - Morphology

7302.10

Morphology

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Students will gain understanding about a) the constitution of words b) how one works with morphological patterns in a disciplined way, gains knowledge of the origins of words and how one can explain variations and exceptions c) technical terminology, i.e. they will learn Faroese and international terminology on issues and concerns in morphology

The course spans over 8 weeks with two 2-hour lessons every week. During the course, students will work on words, morphemes and meaning. Morphological patterns and semantic groups are the primary topics in the course. However, in order to give students a proper foundation, phonetics, Old Norse, and Faroese linguistic diversity will also be considered. Morphological paradigms, as well as linguistic changes and exceptions within them, will be studied according to word class, concord, number and definiteness. Students will also learn to understand and distinguish between strong and week conjugations, as well as definite and indefinite forms. Students will study phonetics in order to better understand phenomena as mutations, shortened endings and differences in geographical dialects. Meaning, both on the word and morpheme level is also part of the course. Among the technical terms students will learn are verschaerfung (sharpening), diphthongs, assimilation, ablaut (gradation), umlaut (mutation), prefix and suffix. The Faroese language will be the focus of the course, but examples from other languages will be used, if this will further the students’ understanding. In the treatment of each subject, students will be shown how theory and method are a natural part of disciplined linguistic work and publication.

Four hour written exam, no books or study tools allowed. Internal examiners will be used. Grades will be awarded according to the current grading scale.