Syllabus for SLAV/LING 075: Languages and Nationalism
Welcome to "Languages
and Nationalism". The purpose of this course is to explore the relationships
between languages and the political identities of the people who speak them. We
will focus on the languages and peoples of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the US.
Logistics
Time
& Place: MWF 1-1:50 in Murphey 104
Instructor: Laura A. Janda (janda@unc.edu;
962-7549; Slavic Dept CB # 3165; office in 312A Dey Hall; mailbox in 425 Dey Hall)
Office Hours: M 10-11 & W 2-3 & by appt.
Textbooks
- The following textbooks have been ordered for this course and you should find
them in the bookstore:
- 1) Barbour, Stephen & Carmichael, Cathie. 2000. Language
and Nationalism in Europe. Oxford/New York:Oxford U Press.
- 2) Mazrui, Ali A & Mazrui, Alamin M. 1998. The Power
of Babel: Language and Governance in the African Experience. Chicago: U Chicago
Press.
- 3) Ramsey, S. Robert. 1987. The Languages of China. Princeton:
Princeton U Press.
- 4) Wolfram, Walt & Thomas, Erik R. 2002. The Development
of African American English. New York: Blackwell Publishers.
- (all other
materials can be accessed from this website)
What we will accomplish
this semester
Yes, we are going to read the assigned books and listen
to lectures, but, more important, I expect you to be active participants and to
create some products of lasting value. Here are some of the things that you will
do:
- Participate in class discussions
- Present your reactions to discussion
Topics
- Present the facts you have gathered on various languages
- Engage
guest speakers in discussion
- Research and present an original final project
- Summarize and critique classmates' projects
- Synthesize
information by writing comparative essay questions on the Midterm and Final
How
to succeed in this course
Here are your keys to success in this course:
- Do a small amount of work every day -- don't try to cram several days'
worth of assignments into one evening
- Keep up with the readings and other
assignments, and print out all the Topics and Worksheets
- Come to class every
day
- When you come to class, be sure to bring at least one piece of paper that
you have prepared for the class -- a Topic that you have printed out and answered,
a Worksheet that you have filled out, Questions for a guest speaker, and/or questions
about a reading
- Work on your Final Project early and often -- you should know
your topic and format before the midterm and work on it consistently after the
midterm
How grades will be assigned
You will receive grades
for Topics, Worksheets, Guest Speaker Summaries (together these three items
will constitute your Journal), a Final Project, Project Write-Ups, Midterm, and
Final Exam. You may work alone or collaborate in teams of up to 5 for all of these
assignments except the Project Write-Ups, Midterm, and Final Exam. If you
collaborate on an assignment, be sure that all members of your team are listed
on your paper or your Final Project.
Topics. There are 11 Topics in
the Assignment Schedule. You need to complete 10 of them -- 7 or 8 prior to the
midterm, and the remainder after the midterm. In order to complete a Topic,
click on the link and print out the questions. We will discuss the Topics in class
and you can include information gleaned from the class discussion in your final
write-up.
Worksheets. There are 10 Worksheets in the Assignment Schedule.
You need to complete 10 of them -- 5 or 6 prior to the midterm, and the remainder
after the midterm. In order to complete the Worksheet, click on the link and print
out the questions. We will discuss the Worksheets in class and you can include
information gleaned from the class discussion in your final write-up.
Guest Speaker Summaries. There are 7 Guest Speakers in the Assignment Schedule.
You need to prepare questions for them and summarize their presentations. You will do this
for 5 Guest Speakers, 2 or 3 prior to the Midterm, and the remainder after the Midterm.
You will gather together
all of your Topics, Worksheets, and Guest Speaker Summaries and compile them as
a Journal. This Journal will be handed in for grading at the Midterm and at the
end of the course and will be yours to keep after the course is over.
Final
Project. On the inspiration of a Topic, Worksheet, Guest Speaker, or other
relevant source, you will prepare a Final Project. The Final Project will be presented
in class during the last three weeks of class. The Final Project presentation should
last no more than 10 minutes. PowerPoint is the preferred medium for the Final Project, though other media may be permitted by special request. The Final Project must involve
some research, and there must be a bibliography of sources on final page of your presentation. There should be at least five sources,
and no fewer than three of these should be printed sources (remember that old
technology of ink on paper -- the things you find in libraries?). For
web resources, please be sure to read our UNC
Tutorial on Evaluating Websites. If you want to see some samples of
final projects done by students who took this course previously, view the
Languages and Nationalism Archive. Here is the grading sheet I will use to grade the Final Presentations.
Midterm.You will take a multiple-choice exam on the material covered in the class prior to
the Midterm. For this midterm you will need to bring: your PID, a bubble sheet, and a #2 pencil.
At the Midterm you will also hand in your Journal for Midterm grading.
Final Exam and Project write-ups.You will take a multiple-choice exam and
write up summaries and critiques of 10 of your classmates' final projects at the Final
Exam.
Grades. Here is how grades will be assigned:
| Item | Number of Items | Points
per Item | Total Points |
| Topics | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Worksheets | 10 | 2 | 20 |
|
Guest Speaker Summaries |
5 |
4 |
20 |
| Final Project | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Project write-ups | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Midterm | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Final Exam | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| | | Total: | 100 |
Important note: It is your responsibility to know
about the Honor System at UNC. Go
to this page and be sure you know how to avoid plagiarism and other forms of academic
cheating.
Find a Collaborator for your Final Project!
I will list here the emails that I receive to help you find each other.
From Jeremy Purser (jpurser@email.unc.edu): I'm interested in doing my final project on Korean. I'm interested how the Hangul script was designed with intent for the poor and lesser educated to be able to read and write. Whereas, prior to Hangul, only highly educated Koreans were literate and they used Chinese ideograms.
From Geoffrey Bridges (gbridges@email.unc.edu): I think I'd like to do something pertaining to land and water rights among the Sami, probably focusing on Norway since they're most prevalent there.
Useful Resources -- This site has links to resources that have proved useful for this course.
Don't forget to have fun! See you at the movies!
Please join us Tuesdays at 6:30. Click here to get the schedule! You can receive one point extra credit for each film you attend.
Assignment Schedule
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read Language and Nationalism
in Europe Chapter 1: Nationalism, Language, Europe
(powerpoint)
- Topic (T1) for discussion
-- Nation or Ethnic Group?
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read
Language and Nationalism in Europe Chapter 3: France: 'One state, one nation,
one language?'
- Topic (T2) for discussion -- You
are what you speak
- See this song in Occitan, with a translation into standard French!
Jan 18 : France (powerpoint)-- and --
Are You What You Speak?
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read Language and Nationalism
in Europe Chapter 4: The Iberian Peninsula: Conflicting Linguistic Nationalisms
- Choose one minority language from France and complete the Worksheet
for Minority Languages (W1)
Jan 20 : The Iberian Peninsula (powerpoint)--
and -- Minority Language Presentations
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read Language and Nationalism in Europe Chapter 8: Language and Nationalism
in Italy: Language as a Weak Marker of Identity
Jan 23: Italy (powerpoint)
: Language as a Weak Marker of Identity
- What to prepare
for next time:
- Read Language and Nationalism in Europe Chapter 2: Britain
and Ireland:
The Varying Significance of Language for Nationalism
- Topic (T3)
for discussion -- Factors of Identity
- See this sample of Scots English
- For more on Scots English click here and
here.
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read
Language and Nationalism in Europe Chapter 5: Northern Europe: Languages
as Prime Markers of Ethnic and National Identity
- Choose one minority language
from Iberian Peninsula, Italy, or Britain & Ireland and complete the Worksheet
for Minority Languages (W2)
- Prepare questions for our
guest speaker
Jan 27 : Guest Speaker -- Prof James Noblitt on "The
Dimensions of Variation in the Romance Languages"
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read Language
and Nationalism in Europe Chapter 6: The Low Countries: A Sudy in Sharply
Contrasting Nationalisms
- Topic (T4) for discussion -- The
Indo-European Language Family Tree and the map
of Europe
Jan 30 : Northern Europe (powerpoint),
Belgium (powerpoint) -- and -- the Genetic
Heritages of Languages
- What
to prepare for next time:
- Read Language and Nationalism in Europe Chapter
7: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg: The Total Coincidence of Nations
and Speech Communities?
- Topic (T5) for discussion -- Language
vs. dialect
- Please print out this handout and bring it to class
with you next time
- See for fun: parallel samples of
nynorsk & bokmaal, sami language site
- See this movie in our series Jan 31: Sudeten Germans & Czechs: A Challenge for Europe (a documentary about ethnic cleansing), also a documentary on Welsh
Feb 1 : German-Speaking Countries (powerpoint) -- and -- Language
vs dialect -- and Spoken vs. Literary Czech (powerpoint)
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read Language and Nationalism
in Europe Chapter 9: Contrasting Ethnic Nationalisms: Eastern Central Europe
- Topic (T6)
for discussion -- Causes of Linguistic
Distinctions
- Go to the Gender,War, and Nation in 20th Century Europe conference for 1pt extra credit!
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read Language and Nationalism in
Europe Chapter 10: 'A people exists and that people has its language': Language
and Nationalism in the Balkans
Feb 6 : The Balkans
- What to prepare
for next time:
- Read Language and Nationalism in Europe Chapter 11:
Greece and European Turkey: From Religious to Linguistic Identity
- Choose one minority language from Scandinavia, Belgium, the Netherlands, or
the German-Speaking Countries and complete the Worksheet
for Minority Languages (W3)
- See this movie in our series Feb 7: No Man's Land
Feb 8 : Greece and European Turkey (powerpoint) -- and -- Minority Language Presentations
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read Language
and Nationalism in Europe Chapter 12: Coming to Terms with the Past: Language
and Nationalism in Russia and its Neighbors
- Read Language and Nationalism in Europe Chapter 13: Conclusions:
Language and National Identity in Europe
Feb 10 :The Former
USSR (powerpoint) --
and Conclusions on Europe (powerpoint)
- What to prepare for
next time:
- Read Charles
Kurzman's article on Uzbekistan
- Choose one minority language from Eastern Europe, The Balkans, Russia, Greece or
Turkey and complete the Worksheet
for Minority Languages (W4)
- Prepare questions for our guest speaker
Feb 13 : Guest Speaker -- Prof Charles Kurzman on Uzbekistan
- What to prepare for next time:
- Topic (T7) for discussion
-- What's in an Alphabet?
- Familiarize yourself with
the following resources, which you will need in order to fill out your Worksheets
for Africa:
Language Map of Africa and
Article on African Language Families
Map of African Language Families
- Read The Power of Babel: Language and Governance in the African
Experience. Introduction: Africa's Linguistic Legacy -- and -- 1: Language and
Race in the Black Perspective
- Power of Babel Intro, Power of Babel Ch1
- See also this BBC survey on the status of African languages
Feb 15 : What's in an Alphabet? -- and -- Linguistic Landscape of Africa -- and -- Language and Race
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Power of Babel: Language and Governance in the African
Experience. 3: Linguistic Eurocentrism & African Counter-Penetration -- and
-- 4: Language & the Quest for Liberation
- Article on the languages of the Belgian Congo
- Listen to these different tones from Asante Twi, a New Kwa language in Ghana: goodness, father, fan,
palm branch, father's day
- Listen to these clicks from Southern Khoisan, a language in Botswana: get stuck (a bilabial click),
die (a dental click), be seated (an alveolar click),
shoot you (a palatal click), not to be (a lateral click)
- Prepare
questions for our guest speaker
- Power of Babel Ch3
- Power of Babel Ch4
Feb 17 : Guest speaker -- Prof Sinamenye
A. Mutima
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Power of
Babel: Language and Governance in the African Experience. 5: Language in a
Multicultural Context -- and -- 6: Language Planning & Gender Planning
- Topic (T8) for discussion -- Languages
in Contact, Wiki articles on pidgins & creoles,
- Power of Babel Ch5
- See also this Letter from a UNC student in Mali, contributed by Jonathan
Feb 20 : Language, Race, and Gender in Africa -- and -- Languages in Contact
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Power of
Babel: Language and Governance in the African Experience. 7: Language Policy
& the Foundations of Democracy -- and -- 8: Language Policy & the Rule of Law
in 'Anglophone' Africa
- Choose one Afro-ethnic language and complete the Worksheet
for African Languages (W5)
- Prepare questions for our guest speaker
- See this movie in our series Feb 21: Before The Rain
Feb 22 : Guest speaker -- Prof Roberta Ann Dunbar
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Power
of Babel: Language and Governance in the African Experience. 9: Dominant Languages
in a Plural Society -- and 10: A Tale of Two Englishes
- Choose one Afro-Islamic
language and complete the Worksheet for
African Languages (W6)
- Go over the Midterm Study Guide (note: this is from last year, so
some details may be different) and bring in
your answers and questions
- Try out the sample midterm questions
- NEW! Visit Worlds of Difference, a radio documentary project on endangered languages
Feb 24 : Dominant Languages, Two Englishes
-- and -- Minority Language Presentations
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Power of Babel:
Language and Governance in the African Experience. 11: Roots of Kiswahili
-- and -- 12: The Secularization of an Afro-Islamic Language
- Choose one Afro-Western language and complete
the Worksheet for African Languages (W7)
Feb 27 : Afro-Western language -- and -- Wrap-up on Africa -- and prep for midterm
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Power of Babel: Language and Governance in the African Experience.
13: The Linguistic Balance Sheet
Mar 1 : Midterm
- Be sure to hand in your journals at the Midterm!
- Be sure to write the title, names of collaborators, medium, and
brief description of your final project and hand it in with your midterm.
- Be sure to bring a bubble sheet, your PID, and a #2 pencil to the midterm.
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Languages of China. 1:
A Language for All of China, 2: China, North and South, and 3: The Spread
of Northern Influence
- See Condensed History of China
- Topic (T9) for
discussion -- Language Death
- Go to this lecture and receive 1 point extra credit for writing a summary:
CREATING DIVERSITY CAPITAL
Transnational Migrants in Montreal, Washington, and Kyiv
Lecture by Blair Ruble
3.30-5PM
THURSDAY MARCH 2
569 HAMILTON HALL
Mar 3: Class Cancelled
-
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Languages of China. 8: Chinese Writing Today
- Topic (T10) for discussion -- Language Revival
- See this movie in our series March 7: American Tongues
Mar 8 : Guest speaker -- Prof Nadia Yaqub on Arabic and its varieties
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Languages of China. 9: The Chinese and Their Neighbors
- Choose one minority language from North China complete the Worksheet
for Minority Languages (W8)
- What to prepare for next time:
- Choose one minority language from South China
and complete the Worksheet
for Minority Languages (W9)
Mar 20 : -- Guest lecture on Korean by Dr. Hyug Ahn PLEASE PRINT OUT this handout and bring it with you to class today!
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Development of African American English. 1. Introduction
Mar 22 : Minority Language Presentations -- Wrap-up on China -- and -- Intro to AAE (Wolfram&Thomas Ch1 powerpoint)
- What to prepare for next
time:
- Read The Development of African American
English. 2. Issues in the Development of African American English
- Prepare questions for our guest speaker
Mar 24 : Guest Speaker
-- Prof Connie Eble on the Influence of the Louisiana Purchase on American Speech
Map of Louisiana Purchase
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Development of African American
English. 3. Defining the Enclave Dialect Community
- Topic (T11) for discussion -- Language Planning
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Development of African American English.
4.The Social History of Mainland Hyde County
- Complete the Worksheet
for Minority Languages (W10) for African American English
- See this film in our series Mar 28: Voices of North Carolina
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Development of African American
English. 9. The Individual and Group in Earlier African American English
- Prepare questions for our guest
speaker
- Print out Prof Terry's HANDOUT and bring it with you to class
Mar 31: Guest speaker -- Prof Mike Terry on Aspect in African American English
- What to prepare for next time:
- Read The Development of African American English. 10. Beyond Hyde County: The
Past and Present Development of AAVE
- Prepare any questions you have on Final
Projects and for wrapping up discussion of AAE
- See Walt Wolfram in person! Get extra credit points! Go to his lecture on Saturday April 1
- What to prepare for next time:
- See this film in our series Apr 4: Hyde Talk and Mountain Talk
Apr 5 NOTE: See THIS LINK for all the powerpoint final presentations
- Presentations:
- “How Nazi Propaganda Altered the German Language” Presenter: Nancy Kerr
- “National Socialism: Language and Heritage” Presenter: Jonathan Edwards
- “Min kao min vs. min kao han Language Policy in Chinese Society” Presenter: William Gerichten
- “Haitian Creole vs. French in Haiti” Presenter: Asherel Blount
Apr 7
- Presentations:
- “Discrimination against Russian Speakers in the Post-Soviet Baltic States” Presenters: Rebecca Pardue, Danielle Wiley, Mae Dunne, Larissa Zhurakovskaya
- “The Lumbee Language and a Struggle for Identity” Presenter: Patrick Watkins
Apr 10
- Presentations:
- “Land and Water Rights among Norway’s Sami People” Presenters: Geoffrey Bridges and Colin Simpson
- Language Questionnaire – Dagmar Divjak
Apr 12: This is the LAST DAY TO HAND IN YOUR JOURNAL! BE SURE TO BRING IT!
- Presentations:
- “The Linguistic and Nationalistic Effects of Forced Migrations in the Post-Soviet Republics” Presenter: Levi Turner
- “Irish and its Effects on the Dialects of the Appalachian Mountains” Presenter: Ashley Coffey
- “English and French in Canada, eh? Are They Truly Equal? Presenter: Clare Patricia Merlin
- “Singapore: A Multi-monolingual Society” Presenter: Joey Horne
Apr 17
- Presentations:
- “Nationalism in Taiwan” Presenters: Carolyn Yang, Kellin McKinney, Stephanie Wallace
- “The History of Language and Nationalism in India” Presenters: Hasan Abdullah, Caroline Gartshore
Apr 19
- Presentations:
- “Ethnic and National Identity among the Quechua People of Peru” Presenter: Kathryn Daly
- “Nationalism in Chechnya” Presenter: Cally Harris
- “Pidgins, Creoles, and the Situation of Papiamento” Presenter: Karen Feagin
- “Before the Rain Continued: A Further Study of Macedonia and the Albanian Minority” Presenter: David Brown
Apr 21
- Presentations:
- “Whose Language is It Anyway? The Struggle of Afrikaans and Identity in South Africa” Presenters: Courtney Godwin, Carrington Skinner
- “Lithuania in Contrast with the Other Baltic States” Presenters: Graham Todd, Adrian Raley
Apr 24
- Presentations:
- “Kurdish Linguistic Policies” Presenters: Kaitlin Horst, Rachel Nye
- “How colonialism has led to multilingualism in Africa” Presenters: Jay Patel, Dara Fickes, David Apple
Apr 26
- Presentations:
- “Development of the Korean Writing System: King Sejong’s Hangul” Presenters: Jeremy Purser, JiYoon Seo
- “Differences in Swiss Identity in the German and French Speaking parts of the Country” Presenter: Daniel Andres
- “Old Country vs. New World: How Language Differences Act as Barriers in the United States” Presenter: Brooke Gottlieb
- “French in the EU and Cantonese in Hong Kong” Presenter: Victoria Melvin
Apr 28: Review session
The FINAL EXAM is on Monday, May 1 at 12:00 noon in Murphey 104
- Be there or be SQUARE!
- Be sure to bring a bubble sheet, your PID, and a #2 pencil to the final.
- And be sure to bring along the list of projects.
This website was last updated on: January 2, 2006