E-mail: Kuzmack AT uchicago.edu
Office hours will be held in the Linguistics Department lounge, Classics 312.
Course title: Writing Systems: Linguistic Issues
Course description: In this course, we will review a wide variety of writing systems from around the world, including alphabets, syllabaries, and logographic (morphographic) systems. Among the systems that will be covered are the Latin alphabet, the Hebrew alphabet, Japanese hiragana and katakana, the syllabaries developed in the 19th century for certain native languages of North America, the Mayan system of writing, and Chinese characters. We will then use this background to explore several linguistic issues which involve systems of writing.
First, what issues do deaf people face where written language is concerned? What issues are involved in writing American Sign Language? Since American Sign Language is not a version of English translated into signs, and since sign languages function differently from spoken languages, these are not trivial questions. To people who grow up deaf, written English is a foreign language; not only the words, but the structure of the language is different. We will look at several systems for writing sign languages that have been proposed, and at how they try to represent these languages.
Second, may the knowledge of a writing system influence the awareness of individual phonemes, rather than entire syllables? Do people literate only in a morphographic system differ in their phonological awareness from people literate in an alphabetic system of writing? We will explore these questions, looking at systems of orthography with different degrees of phonetic transparency, to see exactly what impact literacy in different writing systems, or literacy in no writing system at all, has on phonological awareness.
Third, we will examine the sociopolitical implications of choosing a writing system and creating a standardized orthography. Choosing one writing system over another is often a political act, indicating affiliation with or a distinction from another group. Even when the choice of writing system is uncontroversial, the standardization of orthography is an issue, because it leads to certain pronunciations, and thus the people who use them, being given preference over others.
No prerequisites.
Readings: Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach by Henry Rogers is our primary textbook, and is available at the Seminary Co-op Bookstore.
In addition to the primary textbook, there will be articles and selections from other books, which I will either place on e-reserve or e-mail to you. I hope to avoid your having to buy photocopies.
Course requirements:
To earn a grade in this course, a student will have to meet the following requirements:
Participation: 10%
Homework and quizzes: 15%
Responses to readings: 25%
Term paper: 50%
Your participation grade will be based on your participation in class discussions, and on your attendance. Please notify me in advance of any necessary absences. Unexcused absences will lower your participation grade.
Responses to readings: Students are asked to write five responses to assigned readings, 1-2 pages each, discussing points of interest, or providing a critique.
Homework will be accepted late for partial credit, but responses to assigned readings must be turned in at the class when that particular reading assignment will be discussed. Whenever font issues do not interfere, assignments should be typed. You do not need to install any fonts on your computer for homework assignments, but if additional fonts will be used in your term paper, I strongly advise installing them.
Term paper: The term paper may be on any subject related to the topic of this course, and should be 8-10 (double-spaced) pages long, not counting the Works Cited section. Where unusual fonts are not required, you should use Times New Roman, 12 pt. Margins should be 1 inch on each side.
A short summary of your paper topic is due by the beginning of the 7th week: Monday, February 13th. An annotated bibliography, listing the sources you plan to use in your paper with a brief summary of each, is due at the beginning of the 8th week: Monday, February 20th. The annotated bibliography should also indicate which, if any, of the sources you plan to use are not yet in your possession. Naturally, you may add or remove sources later, as you discover others or refine your paper topic.
The final paper is due on the Monday of finals week: March 13th. If your paper is complete before then, I encourage you to turn it in early. Extensions may be requested, but expect only one or two extra days.
Citing sources: For this class, I would like you to use the citation style used by the journal Language. I recommend using RefWorks; it makes it easy to look up and conform to a particular style of citation, and it has Language listed.
Schedule:
This schedule provides a general outline only. The exact amount of time spent on each topic is subject to change.
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Ideographs and pictographs, Alphabets
Week 3: Alphabets, cont.
Monday, January 16th: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. No class.
Week 4: Syllabaries
Week 5: Morphographic systems
Week 6: “Featural” systems
Friday, February 10th: College break. No class.
Week 7: Written language, deafness, and sign language
Monday, February 13th: Summary of paper topic due.
Week 8: Written language and the perception of speech sounds
Monday, February 20th: Annotated bibliography due.
Week 9: Standardizing orthography: social and political issues
Week 10: Presentations of term papers
Friday, March 10th: Reading Day. No class.
Monday, March 13th: Term paper due.