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Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics
  • Level Professional
  • Duration 18 hours
  • Course by Universiteit Leiden
  • Offered by

About

Build your knowledge of Indo-European languages, how they changed through time, and how to reconstruct ancient languages. Every language belongs to a language family; a group of languages that are genetically related to each other. Indo-European is the name of the language family to which English belongs, along with many sub-families such as Germanic languages and Romance languages. The Indo-European language family is now known to consist of thirteen major branches and a number of now extinct languages of which only fragments have been preserved that may once have formed branches of their own. You’ll delve into the structure and origins of these branches. Not only will you learn about the oldest languages belonging to the Indo-European language family, but you’ll also learn about linguistic reconstruction, how you can tell whether two languages are related to each other and how language changes. This course will guide you through the different groups of Indo-European languages. You’ll look at some of the oldest texts from these languages, including Ancient Greek and Sanskrit, and learn about the importance of oral traditions in the history of these texts. As you progress through each of the branches of the language tree, you’ll begin to piece together the Proto-Indo-European language bit by bit by comparing and contrasting each different language in the tree.

Modules

An Introduction

    • 2 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Plugin
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2 Videos

  • Introduction
  • How to succeed in your online class

2 Readings

  • Meet the team
  • Important tips in handling this platform

The Indo-European Language Family

    • 1 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Plugin
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Test your knowledge
  • Dating Indo-European languages

1 Discussions

  • Discussion

1 Videos

  • The Indo-European Language Family

2 Readings

  • The discovery of the Indo-European Language Family
  • Who were the Indo-Europeans?

Basic linguistic concepts

    • 8 Readings
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8 Readings

  • Phonology and phonemes
  • Phonetics
  • Allophone
  • Articulatory assimilation
  • Cognate
  • Form vs Meaning
  • Linguistic terminology
  • Linguistic symbols

Genetically related languages

    • 2 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 4 Assignment
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4 Assignment

  • Exercise: Genetic Relationships 1
  • Exercise: Genetic Relationships 2
  • Exercise: Sound change 1
  • Exercise: Sound change 2

2 Videos

  • How to Determine Genetic Relationships between Languages
  • Language change

1 Readings

  • Explaining the sound change

Greek

    • 3 Videos
    • 5 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Plugin
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Exercise: Latin cases
  • Key points in the interview

1 Discussions

  • Discussion

3 Videos

  • PIE Vowels
  • Greek Cases
  • Interview with dr. Lucien van Beek

5 Readings

  • Mycenaean
  • Greek dialects
  • The Iliad and the Odyssey
  • Proto-Indo-European vowels
  • Interview with dr. Lucien van Beek

Indic

    • 5 Videos
    • 6 Readings
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Exercise: vowels, diphthongs and resonants
  • Key points in the interview

5 Videos

  • Devanāgarī
  • Structure of PIE Words
  • Ablaut
  • Sanskrit Vowels
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky about Sanskrit

6 Readings

  • Indic
  • Other Vedic texts
  • Sanskrit timeline
  • Ablaut
  • Reconstructing Proto-Indo-European vowels
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky

Iranian

    • 3 Videos
    • 4 Readings
    • 3 Assignment
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3 Assignment

  • Exercise: deviant perfect forms
  • Test your knowledge
  • Key points in the interview

3 Videos

  • Interview with Prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky about Iranian
  • Indo-Iranian and Indo-European
  • Grassmann's law

4 Readings

  • The Iranian language family
  • Avestan
  • Old Persian
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky about Iranian

Armenian

    • 1 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Key points in the interview
  • Exercise: Ablaut

1 Discussions

  • Discussion

1 Videos

  • Interview with prof. Birgit Olsen

2 Readings

  • Armenian
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Birgit Olsen

Balto-Slavic

    • 2 Videos
    • 5 Readings
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Exercise: the palatovelars
  • Key points in the interview

2 Videos

  • Palatovelars (Balto-Slavic)
  • Interview dr. Tijmen Pronk

5 Readings

  • The Balto-Slavic languages
  • Baltic
  • Slavic
  • Old Russian
  • Balto-Slavic and the palatovelars

Italic

    • 2 Videos
    • 7 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Exercise: Relative chronology
  • Key points in the interview

1 Discussions

  • Discussion

2 Videos

  • Consonants and Relative Chronology
  • Interview with Prof.dr. Weiss

7 Readings

  • The Italic languages
  • Oscan
  • Umbrian
  • Latin
  • Italic timeline
  • Consonants and relative chronology - overview
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Michael Weiss

Celtic

    • 3 Videos
    • 7 Readings
    • 5 Assignment
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5 Assignment

  • Exercise 1: Italo-Celtic labiovelars
  • Exercise 2: Labiovelars in Greek and Mycenaean
  • Exercise 3: Unexpected reflexes of the labiovelars
  • Exercise 4: Proto-Indo-European labiovelars
  • Key points in the interview

3 Videos

  • Italo-Celtic and the labiovelars
  • Labiovelars in Greek
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Ranko Matasović

7 Readings

  • Celtic languages
  • Continental Celtic
  • Irish
  • Welsh
  • Celtic timeline
  • Italo-Celtic and the labiovelars - overview
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Ranko Matasović

Germanic

    • 3 Videos
    • 9 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Key points in the interview

3 Videos

  • Proto-Indo-European consonants and Grimm's law
  • Explaining the exercises
  • Interview with prof. Guus Kroonen

9 Readings

  • The Germanic languages
  • Runes
  • North Germanic
  • East Germanic
  • West Germanic
  • Germanic timeline
  • Grimm's Law - overview
  • Exercise: Grimm's Law
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Guus Kroonen

Anatolian

    • 3 Videos
    • 6 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 3 Assignment
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3 Assignment

  • Exercise: Laryngeals 1
  • Exercise: Laryngeals 2
  • Key points in the interview

1 Discussions

  • Discussion

3 Videos

  • Anatolian: the laryngeals
  • Explaining the exercise
  • Interview with dr. Willemijn Waal and dr. Alwin Kloekhorst

6 Readings

  • Anatolian languages
  • Hittite
  • Luwian
  • Hittite and Luwian timeline
  • Anatolian: the laryngeals - overview
  • Interview with dr. Willemijn Waal and dr. Alwin Kloekhorst

Tocharian

    • 2 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • The Indo-European family tree
  • Key points in the interview

1 Discussions

  • Discussion

2 Videos

  • The Indo-European language tree
  • Interview with dr. Michaël Peyrot

2 Readings

  • Tocharian
  • Interview with dr. Michaël Peyrot

Other indo-European Languages

    • 1 Readings
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1 Readings

  • Other branches of Indo-European

Who were the Indo-Europeans

    • 3 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
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1 Discussions

  • Discussion

3 Videos

  • Who were the Indo-Europeans?
  • Interview with dr. Quentin Bourgeois
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Brigitte Pakendorf

2 Readings

  • Interview with dr. Quentin Bourgeois
  • Interview with Prof. dr. Brigitte Pakendorf

Reconstruction Proto-Indo-European

    • 1 Videos
    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Exercise: Reconstruction

1 Videos

  • Laryngeals continued

2 Readings

  • Reconstructing Proto-Indo-European
  • Laryngeals continued - overview

Dichtersprache and Indo-European religion

    • 1 Videos
    • 5 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Exercise: Greek meter

1 Discussions

  • Discussion

1 Videos

  • Greek Poetic Meter

5 Readings

  • Epic traditions
  • Shared topics in poetry
  • Proto-Indo-European religion
  • Long vowels in Greek
  • Indo-European culture

Conclusion

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Final quiz

2 Readings

  • Congratulations
  • Additional materials

Auto Summary

Explore the fascinating world of Indo-European languages with "Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics." This professional-level course, led by Coursera, delves into the structure, origins, and evolution of the Indo-European language family. Spanning 13 major branches, you'll examine ancient texts, learn linguistic reconstruction, and understand how languages change over time. Ideal for language enthusiasts and professionals, the course offers a comprehensive 1080-minute learning experience. Available through a Starter subscription, it’s perfect for those eager to uncover the mysteries of ancient languages and their connections.

Tijmen Pronk
Instructor

Tijmen Pronk