Admission requirements
Students of the MA linguistics, the MA Linguistics (research), the MA Asian Studies (60 EC and 120 EC) or the MA Asian Studies (research) with (some) knowledge of an Asian language are welcome to attend this course.
Description
In this course, we investigate a number syntactic phenomena in the languages of Asia, especially East Asia, South Asia and South East Asia (we limit our attention to the syntax of these languages, because the sounds – phonology, phonetics – will be the topic of a course in the second semester). In studying the different phenomena, we take a comparative perspective. This means that, if our topic is the noun phrase, we will look at the noun phrase in, say, Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi and try to find out what they have in common and where they differ. Where do we position adjectives? (in front of the noun? behind it? with or without a marker?) How do we form relative clauses? How do we express definiteness? Do we employ a classifier? This way, we will not only learn more about the individual languages, but also about the phenomenon of language more generally. Topics we will look at include classifiers and result denoting sentences.
Course objectives
By the end of the course, the student will have gained a deeper understanding of a number of properties of some of the languages spoken in Asia; they will also have learned more about the phenomeonon of human language more generally. At the same time, the student will have developed further their research skills (finding information, finding and analyzing data, processing existing literature on the topic, formulating hypotheses, linguistic reasoning, etc.), as well as their skills in reporting on their findings, both in writing and orally, for general as well as scholarly audiences. As only few assignments are individual assignments and the seminars aim at discussing material and findings, the student will have gained more experience in dealing and working together with others.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
The deadline(s) in MyTimetable is/are set for administrative purposes only. The actual date(s) will be communicated by the lecturer(s) in Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Attendance is compulsory for all sessions. Students must prepare well and contribute to in-class discussion. If a student cannot attend because of illness or misadventure, they should promptly inform the convener. Extra assignments may be set to make up for missed class time, at the convener’s discretion. Absence without notification may result in lower grades or exclusion from assessment components and a failing grade for the course.
Assessment method
Academic integrity
Students should familiarize themselves with the notion of academic integrity and the ways in which this plays out in their own work. A good place to start is this page. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students may not substantially reuse texts they have previously submitted in this or other courses. Minor overlap with previous work is allowed as long as it is duly noted in citation.For information on plagiarism (in the context of academic writing at large), see clips 4-5-6 in this series of video clips.
Students must submit their assignment(s) to Brightspace through Turnitin, so they can be checked for plagiarism. Submission via email is not accepted.
ChatGPT: What is possible and what is allowed? Dos and Don'ts.
Assessment and weighing
Students will hand in to written assignment (a term paper and a report, both graded); students wil also do/participate in an oral presentation (pass/fail); the instructor expects active participation (not all assignments are graded). The term paper will count for 50% of the final grade, the shorter written assignment for 30 and the active participation for 20%.
Resit
Only if the total weighted average is 5.49 or lower the marked components of the course which resulted in a grade of 5.49 or lower can be redone.
Inspection and feedback
Students are entitled to view their marked examination within a period of 30 days, following publication of the results of a written examination.
Reading list
Readings for the course time will be announced through Brightspace as we go along.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Herta Mohr