160082 VO Introduction to Diachronic Phonology or Morphology (2012W)

Primary goal: Language change will be presented as a multifactorial phenomenon whose variegation is a challenge for descriptive and explanatory linguistic models. Along selected examples the epistemological problems of the assessment of diachronic processes will be discussed, with particular regard to interdisciplinary aspects.
Secondary goals:
Understanding of the basic mechanisms of language change and their status as evidence and explanandum for linguistic theories
Acquisition of basic knowledge of current theories and models of diachronic linguistics
Approaches to a diachronic perspective, which will be deepened in subsequent courses