| Professor: | Jonathan North Washington | |
| Office: | Pearson 105 | |
| Office phone: | x6134 | |
| Office hours: | W 13:30-15:00 & by appointment | |
| Email/messaging: | jwashin1@swarthno scrapers please...more.edu | |
| Meeting time: | TTh 14:40-15:55 | |
| Physical classroom: | Pearson 005 | |
| Course website: | http://jnw.domains.swarthmore.edu/ling042 | |
| Course Moodle site: | LING042-01-S25 | |
You can call me either Jonathan or Professor Washington, and refer to me using any pronoun. Please let me know how you'd like to be addressed and referred to in this space. Let's try to respect everyone's wishes in this regard—don't hesitate to correct me if I ever get any of it wrong!
In terms of goals for student learning, this course is designed for students to learn to develop language technology for communities lacking in existing resources. Here's the official description:
This course leads students to survey the languages and societies of the diverse peoples who have inhabited the “Silk Road” region—an area of Eurasia spanning the Pacific to the Middle East—focusing on cultural exchange and transformation in the region between the 2nd and 14th centuries as understood from different perspectives within those societies. Rather than view cultures of this region as peripheral or the Silk Road as a mere transit corridor between empires, the goal of the course is to enable students to understand the region as a cultural, economic, and scientific center in its own right whose linguistic and artistic diversity has had an enduring impact in world history and on current events.
The course will provide breadth and depth of understanding for these societies by incorporating a series of case studies. We will introduce students to various types of analysis of original sources, including palæographic analysis of writing systems, linguistic analysis of authentic texts in various languages, and close readings of texts supported by English translations. Approaches the study of linguistic dispersion and exchange will be investigated through analysis of the languages of this region. By interacting with texts and building analytical skills in these areas, students will be able to appreciate and explore the interconnectivity of this region throughout history.
Additionally, students will:
No textbook is required, but you will need to have access to the following resources:
You'll need to be able to access Moodle (moodle.swarthmore.edu). We'll be using it for assignments, readings, and your grades will be available there, so make sure you can access it as soon as possible. If you have any trouble with it, notify me as soon as you can. BiCo students may not have access to Moodle immediately at the beginning of the semester—let me know if this is the case for you, and I will make sure you have access to resources in some other way.
The course website (listed above, and linked to from the Moodle course) contains the schedule for the semester, which will be updated periodically to reflect changes in the schedule. It's recommended to check the website periodically. I will make announcements about any major changes.
I hold regular office hours (listed above), and can be available at other times by appointment—just send me a message letting me know when you might prefer to meet.
If you are having any trouble with class, such as with understanding a concept or completing an assignment, please don't hesitate to ask me for help. I'm here to help you learn, so I encourage you to take advantage of my availability.
But even if you're not having trouble, it never hurts to come to office hours from time to time. We can discuss course content, ideas for the final project, or whatever's on your mind in a more relaxed atmosphere.
I'm also happy to meet online instead of in person.
Show up on time and silence cell phones. Be cautious with food and drink. If you need to step out of the class for any reason (bathroom, emergency phone call, etc.), please do so with minimum disruption (i.e., don't ask for permission).
Please use devices with screens only for relevant classroom activities. In other words, please refrain from any sort of non-class-related activities, including messaging (e-mail, social media, etc.), homework for other courses, or even catching up on course reading. Even the best multitaskers are still not participating fully when they're engaging in unrelated endeavours. If it's too difficult to avoid the temptation of these other distractions, you may try strategies like disabling the computer's internet connection, using a filter for web usage, or similar.
All material covered during course-related activities—including assignments, discussions, and classmates' presentations—should be assumed to be required course content, and will be assumed background for later activities. It is each student's responsibility to attend all classes to learn the material covered.
It is each student's responsibility to attend classes to learn the material covered—but please don't come if you are feeling sick. If you must miss a class, it is courteous to notify your professor ahead of time if at all possible. If you are feeling well enough to pay attention but not to attend in person, you are encouraged to contact me at least 15 minutes before class starts, as I may be able to set up a Zoom link for you to join class that way.
Assignments will generally be due on Moodle before class time. Completion of the assignment is necessary for engaging with the day's topic, so it is essential that assignments be submitted on time.
Any assignments submitted late will be evaluated and feedback will be provided, but only up to half credit will be recorded.
Any excuse for missing any course-related activities will need to be handled by your class dean. Please see the Medical Excuse Policy (http://www.swarthmore.edu/student-health/medical-excuse-policy), and remember to contact your class dean as soon as you can so that they can work with you.
Using words or ideas from another source without attribution constitutes plagiarism, and misrepresenting another student's work as your own (or allowing another student to misrepresent your work as their own) is cheating. Please see the student handbook for the College's policies on academic misconduct (http://www.swarthmore.edu/student-handbook/academic-policies#academic_misconduct). Suspected cases of academic misconduct will be pursued to the full extent of College policy, including referral to the College Judicial Committee.
You are always expected to do your own work on assignments. You may (and are encouraged to) ask one another for and provide one another with assistance on assignments. If you are providing assistance, you must not provide the solution—you may only provide guidance that will help the other student(s) find the solution on their own. If the work in this course were a real-world FOSS project, providing the solution would be okay (and perhaps even encouraged), but the requirement that each student be evaluated on their own work is incompatible with this model (at least on the surface).
You are always expected to write up your own assignments. However, you may (and are encouraged to) discuss assignments with one another, unless otherwise specified. Just be sure to cite others' ideas when you use them, and always write the name of anyone you worked with. You are also permitted to use the internet as a resource, unless otherwise specified—as long as you avoid resources that present answers or solutions outright, including large language models.
That said, please always cite any sources you use or other students you worked with on both homeworks and presentations. In the end, you must always do your own work—this means that you must state things in your own words and show that you understand any ideas that you got from another source (while acknowledging the other source).
In short, submitting work that is not your own or providing a classmate with a solution outright will be considered academic misconduct and will be addressed as such (see above-mentioned policies). If you have any questions about what's considered acceptable, ask me first.
There's a form accessible via Moodle for anonymous feedback on the course. I encourage everyone to periodically consider what's going well and what they would like to see changed about the course and let me know via the form.
There's also a link to a feedback form for anonymous comments to the department.
We may also have a midterm evaluation, which would give you an opportunity to share feedback about the course that could affect how I teach the second half of the semester.
Most of your assignments will be graded with a fine-grained measure of completion and correctness based on normal letters grades and grade points (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, and F = 0.0), with the standard modifiers + (one-third of a grade point higher) and - (one-third of a grade point lower). In addition, intermediate grades using parentheses or a slash may be used, giving the following correspondence between letter grade and grade points:
| A+ | 4.33 |
| A(+) | 4.17 |
| A | 4.00 |
| A(-) | 3.83 |
| A- | 3.67 |
| A/B | 3.50 |
| B+ | 3.33 |
| B(+) | 3.17 |
| B | 3.00 |
| B(-) | 2.83 |
| B- | 2.67 |
| B/C | 2.50 |
| C+ | 2.33 |
| C(+) | 2.17 |
| C | 2.00 |
| C(-) | 1.83 |
| C- | 1.67 |
| C/D | 1.50 |
| D+ | 1.33 |
| D(+) | 1.17 |
| D | 1.00 |
| D(-) | 0.83 |
| D- | 0.67 |
| D/F | 0.50 |
What you will be graded on for each assignment varies in specifics, but generally it will include mastery of the relevant linguistic generalisations and interaction with the language and existing resources, mastery of the computational formalism(s), evaluation of what you did, organisation and cleanliness of your code, documentation (both on the wiki and e.g. in your README), and completion of the assignment.
The grade in this course is broken down into the following components. Each component is expounded upon following the table.
| Homeworks: | 60% |
| Reading presentations: | 15% |
| Final project: | 10% |
| Engagement: | 15% |
Each week an assignment will be due that may involve solving problems and/or responding to a reading for the week. These are due submitted to Moodle at the end of the day two days before the class they are assigned for. See above for late policy.
Each student will present readings on three topics, selected by the student from available options, over the course of the semester. The presentations will generally be conducted during class time, and should last approximately 15 minutes. One reading will be on a linguistic topic and two on cultural and historical context.
Each presentation should begin by summarising the main point or points of the read materials, and then go into the supporting details. You may also consult other sources to support your presentation, but don't forget to mention you got information that wasn't in the primary reading. You should use some visual aid for your presentation, such as slides, graphs, pictures, etc.
The final paper or project will go into depth on an issue of linguistic, social, cultural, or historical relevance to the Silk Road. There will be a presentation during finals period as well.
I do not grade on attendance, but you will be graded on engagement in the class, and this requires attendance. Beyond simply showing up and participating, you're encouraged to contribute to discussions by asking questions, answering prompts, making relevant comments, working with classmates on in-class activities, etc. You will not be ridiculed for asking even simple questions—I want to make sure everyone grasps the concepts, and many are not as straightforward as they may first seem (or as I think they are).
You are also expected to come to class prepared for discussion; this includes having completed readings and assignments due by class.
You are encouraged to engage in relevant discussion electronically as well—e.g., via Moodle and in issues posted on GitHub. The course will also have an IRC channel, which you're encouraged to be logged into when you can. This is a good way to get support from your classmates (and your professor!) outside of class. Just be sure not to share solutions to assignments!
Included in engagement is participation in any guest speaker presentations.
If you believe you need accommodations for a disability or a chronic medical condition, please visit the Student Disability Services website for details about the accommodations process. Since accommodations require early planning and are not retroactive, contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. You are also welcome to contact me privately to discuss your academic needs. However, all disability-related accommodations must be arranged, in advance, through Student Disability Services.
Success in this course depends heavily on your personal health and wellbeing. Recognize that stress is an expected part of the college experience, and it often can be compounded by unexpected setbacks or life changes outside the classroom. Your other instructors and I strongly encourage you to reframe challenges as an unavoidable pathway to success. Reflect on your role in taking care of yourself throughout the term, before the demands of exams and rojects reach their peak. Please feel free to reach out to me about any difficulty you may be having that may impact your performance in this course as soon as it occurs and before it becomes unmanageable. In addition to your academic advisor, I strongly encourage you to contact the many other support services on campus that stand ready to assist you.
The Writing Center (Trotter 120) is available to you as an additional out-of-class resource for developing any aspect of your writing—from brainstorming a topic, organizing a draft, to polishing a final submission. Writing Associates hold conferences in-person or through Zoom and will offer you a thoughtful reading of your document, from any discipline, and talk with you about next steps. Speaking Associates can also help you prepare to give a presentation or lead seminar discussion. The Center is open Sunday through Thursday evenings, with afternoon hours on Monday through Wednesday, starting the third week of classes. To set up your WCOnline account and schedule an appointment, follow this link: bit.ly/swatwritingcenter. (Step-by-step instructions here: How to Schedule a Writing Conference.) You can also drop in during open hours. Want to know who is working when? See the Writing Center Schedule. Questions? Check the Writing Center Policies or email writing@swarthmore.edu.
| week | date | topic | to read (by class) / due (on Friday) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Jan | Introduction to course, region | |
| 23 Jan | What is the Silk Road? Setting the stage: the Indo-European expansion Language change, sound changes | ||
| 2 | 28 Jan | Linguistic reconstruction, the comparative method | |
| 30 Jan | The Scythians Ancient Indo-European/Chinese interaction | ||
| 3 | 4 Feb | Aramaic as a Language of Wider Communication Autosegmental models of templatic morphology | |
| 6 Feb | |||
| 4 | 11 Feb | ||
| 13 Feb | Chang'an and the Tang dynasty 'frontier' | ||
| 5 | 18 Feb | Eastern Middle Iranian Languages Language decipherment | |
| 20 Feb | The Ancient Sogdian Letters The Merchant's Tale | ||
| 6 | 25 Feb | Khotanese Saka | |
| 27 Feb | |||
| 7 | 4 Mar | Turkic languages | |
| 6 Mar | Isogloss mapping Convergence and divergence | ||
| 11 Mar | Spring break! | ||
| 13 Mar | Spring break! | ||
| 8 | 18 Mar | The Princess's Tale Indigenous historical accounts | |
| 20 Mar | Grammaticalisation and paradigm levelling | ||
| 9 | 25 Mar | The Tokharians | |
| 27 Mar | |||
| 10 | 1 Apr | The Pilgrim's Tale | |
| 3 Apr | |||
| 11 | 8 Apr | The Tibetans Tonogenesis | |
| 10 Apr | The Nun's Tale | ||
| 12 | 15 Apr | The Mongols Linguistic convergence | |
| 17 Apr | More on writing systems | ||
| 13 | 22 Apr | Language relatedness | |
| 24 Apr | A new route through the grasslands | ||
| 14 | 29 Apr | Legacies of the Silk Road Today | |
| 1 May | TBD | ||
| 15 | TBA |