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. In this course, students will examine all main areas of Kyrgyz grammar, with a focus on the major phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures of the language. Examples include pervasive vowel harmony, productive 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 on verbs -- all present in Kyrgyz. Historical and contemporary social and cultural contexts will also be discussed. Assignments will consist of hands-on exploration of data, use 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.
Prerequisite: Any two of LING 001 , LING 045, LING 050, LING 052, or permission of the instructor.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2020. Washington.
Catalog chapter: Linguistics
Department website: Linguistics

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