LING 068. Structure of Kyrgyz

Kyrgyz is a Turkic language which is spoken throughout the Tien-Shan mountains and surrounding areas of Central Asia and has been influenced by Mongolian, Persian, Arabic, and Russian.

Students will examine all main areas of Kyrgyz grammar, with a focus on the major phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures of the language. Some of the topics we’ll look at in depth include vowel harmony, sonority effects across syllable boundaries, morphological and syntactic strategies for using one part of speech as another, and intricate systems for marking tense, aspect, mood, voice, and evidentiality. We’ll also talk about historical and contemporary social and cultural topics of relevance to Kyrgyz, including the postcolonial context in Central Asia.

Assignments and class activities will involve hands-on exploration of primary and secondary printed and digital materials and interaction with Kyrgyz speakers, with the aim of building students’ skills in linguistic analysis and reasoning, as well as their understanding of the range of perspectives involved in linguistic study of a language and the community it’s used in. There will also be opportunities to explore other modern and historical Turkic languages.
Prerequisite: Any two of LING 001, LING 045, LING 050, LING 052, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for ESCH, ASIA.
Fall 2024. Washington.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/linguistics

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