| Professor: | Jonathan North Washington | |
| Office: | Pearson 105 | |
| Office phone: | x6134 | |
| Office hours: | T 13:30-15:00 F 10:30-11:30 (Clothier 16) & by appointment also available by messaging on Google Chat | |
| Email/messaging: | jwashin1@swarthno scrapers please...more.edu | |
| Meeting time: | W 1:15pm-4:00pm | |
| Classroom: | Pearson 115 | |
| Course website: | http://jnw.domains.swarthmore.edu/ling068 | |
| Course Moodle site: | S23 - LING068.01 | |
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!
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.
Students who complete this course will have gained the following (knowledge goals):
Additionally, they will have gained the following (skills goals):
Furthermore, it's my hope that you'll gain an appreciation for the value of exploring an unfamiliar language in depth: that the more you work with a language, the more you find interesting and unexpected things.
There are no required textbooks for the course; however, there are a number of resources that you should know about. The following resources are on reserve in the library:
You'll need to be able to access Moodle (moodle.swarthmore.edu) as well. Additional resources will be available—including required materials for the course, updated course information, and assignments—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.
N.B. 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 and this syllabus. I'll mostly put updates and new materials on Moodle this semester, so will be sure to make announcements about any major changes to the website.
In addition, you will need to be able to perform the following tasks with your device:
Please let me know if any of this is a problem.
Show up on time and silence cell phones. Food and drinks are generally not allowed in lab, per the policies for the room. However, I don't mind as long as you don't damage the equipment or disturb your classmates. 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).
Due to the nature of the course, we will be using computers in many classes. This brings about the potential for a number of distractions, so please use the computer 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 assigned readings, quizzes, and labs—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. If you must miss a class (e.g., for an athletic or religious reason), it is courteous to notify your professor ahead of time if at all possible, but it will be your responsibility to learn about missed material. (That said, let me know if you're having trouble making something up, and we'll figure something out.) With so few class meetings dedicated to each topic and the cumulative nature of the topics, missing one day can be a very big deal—so I really recommend trying not to miss class. Also see COVID considerations below.
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.
I am available if you need additional support, as are many resources across campus which I can direct you to. Please let me know if you think I might be able to help.
Assignments will generally be due on Moodle by the end of the day on Monday. This gives me enough time to read them before class on Wednesday, and to allow for any discussion on Moodle. Completion of the assignment is necessary for engaging with the week'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.
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 write up your own assignments. However, you may (and are encouraged to) discuss assignments with one another. Just be sure to cite others' ideas when you use them, and always write the name of anyone you worked with.
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). So please just be honest. And if you have any questions about what's considered acceptable, ask me first.
Please remember that COVID continues to present an accute risk to our community, and different people are vulnerable at different levels.
Please don't come to class if you have symptoms that could be COVID-19, even if you think it probably isn't. If you let me know a little bit ahead of time, and are feeling up to it, you can join class by Zoom or I can make an audio recording of class for you to review later.
Likewise, if I have such symptoms, I will not come to class. I will try to let you know ahead of time, and arrange for an alternative that day, such as holding class on Zoom.
Since College policy is fairly lax regarding COVID-19, and some of us are still in situations where we are trying to avoid it, we will establish safety agreements as a group. The following criteria will be discussed, and the syllabus will be updated with what is agreed upon:
We may revise these and other COVID-related class practices as needed and as appropriate throughout the semester. College policy may change, for example, and we can adjust accordingly. My priority in all this is our collective and individual health and safety.
There's a form on 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 engagement with the concepts 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 doing your best at solving the problem(s) presented, and completion of the assignment. It doesn't have to be perfect to earn a good grade, but it should be done thoughtfully and with care.
The final grade in this course is broken down into the following components. Each component is expounded upon following the table.
| Weekly assignments: | 50% |
| Engagement: | 10% |
| Reading presentations: | 10% |
| Final project proposal: | 5% |
| Final project presentation: | 10% |
| Final project write-up: | 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.
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 questions, making relevant comments, helping classmates with 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 have read any assigned readings before class.
Each student will present two readings, selected by the student from available options, over the course of the semester. The presentations will generally be conducted during class time. One reading will be on a linguistic topic and one on a "peripheral" topic, including socio-cultural or historical issues.
Each presentation should begin by summarising the main point or points of the paper, 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. For example, if an article about a social issue is out of date, you might look up new statistics or whether a particular situation the article discusses has changed. You may also consult Kyrgyz speakers about opinions or grammaticality judgements when possible and appropriate, or find a video online to demonstrate some culturally specific activity. You should use some visual aid for your presentation, such as slides, graphs, pictures, etc.
The paper or project will go into depth on an issue of linguistic, social, cultural, or historical relevance to Kyrgyz and/or its speakers. Other types of projects (e.g., artistic or engineering projects) relevant to the course material are also possible with approval.
The final project proposal consists of two parts: (1) a short (~1 page) list outlining several possible topics for the final project, due around the middle of the semester for discussion with me to help limit the topic, and (2) a short (1-2 page) formal proposal, due about a month before the final paper is due, outlining the topic/question of your paper, your preliminary thoughts on it, some sources you're already engaging with, and your plan going forward. These assignments are designed to ensure that you are making progress on your project long before it's due. More information on these steps will be made available later.
Short presentations (~15 minutes) of work in progress for the final project will be presented during the final exam period for the class. More information will be made available later.
A final paper or project will be due during finals period, [hopefully] after the presentations [depending on timing]. More information will be made available later.
If you believe you need accommodations for a disability or a chronic medical condition, please contact Student Disability Services via email at studentdisabilityservices@swarthmore.edu to arrange an appointment to discuss your needs. As appropriate, the office will issue students with documented disabilities or medical conditions a formal Accommodations Letter. Since accommodations require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. For details about the accommodations process, visit the Student Disability Services website (https://www.swarthmore.edu/office-academic-success/welcome-to-student-disability-services). 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.
| week | date | topic | due (on Monday) | readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 Jan | Course outline Sound system | ||
| 2 | 25 Jan | Sound system Writing systems Morphology and phonology | ||
| 3 | 1 Feb | More morphology and phonology Pronouns and copulas | ||
| 4 | 08 Feb | Nominal morphology | Bernard Comrie (1997) - Turkic languages and linguistic typology | |
| 5 | 15 Feb | More nouns Adjectives Reduplication | Bonnie Krejci & Lelia Glass (2015) - The Kazakh Noun/Adjective Distinction | |
| 6 | 22 Feb | The lexicon, dictionaries | ||
| 7 | 1 Mar | Tense/aspect system | ||
| 08 Mar | Spring break! | |||
| 8 | 15 Mar | Evidentiality | Christopher Straughn (2011) - Evidentiality in Uzbek and Kazakh (additional resource) | |
| 9 | 22 Mar | TBA | discussion of movie | |
| 10 | 29 Mar | Voice | Final project proposal (Fri.) | |
| 11 | 05 Apr | Non-finite verb forms | Lars Johanson (1995) - On Turkic converb clauses Washington et al. (2022) - Non-finite verb forms in Turkic exhibit syncretism, not multifunctionality | |
| 12 | 12 Apr | Quotatives "Modal nominals" Ideophones | Jendraschek (2001) - Semantic and structural properties of Turkish ideophones | |
| 13 | 19 Apr | Kyrgyz and other Turkic languages | Jonathan Washington (2013) - Turkic-Turkic convergence in Altay varieties | |
| 14 | 26 Apr | The history of Turkic | ||
| 4 May | (9:00-12:00) Final project presentations! | |||
| TBD |