Department of German - Paper Ge 7


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Home How to find and contact us Staff Profiles Research Undergraduate Courses Postgraduate Courses Other Courses Resources Online Resources Staff-Student Liaison News & Events Societies CamTools	Paper Ge 7 Introduction to the History of the German Language MML Part IB Course description Teaching Set texts Examination Specimen paper Preliminary reading list Course adviser Course Description This paper introduces students to the broad outlines of the historical development of the German language from the earliest times until the modern period. We will look at some of the key sound changes which make German different from English, Dutch and other related languages, and at the grammatical developments which give the modern language its distinctive features. The context for the development of the language is, of course, its history and culture, and we will examine the impact of important events, from Christianization to the Reformation, from courtly poetry to the invention of printing, in terms of their impact on the development of German. Students will learn to read short texts in the main historical forms of the language - Old High German, Middle High German and Early New High German. Back to top Teaching The teaching for this paper will be delivered via four modules, each lasting four weeks, running through the Michaelmas and Lent terms. An introductory module (consisting of four lectures) will give an overview of the periodization and the major continuities and changes in the German language since its first attestation. Each of the subsequent three modules will be devoted to the three canonical periods of the history of the language (Old, Middle, and Early New High German). In addition to four lectures, they will contain two additional seminar hours, in which students will translate and comment on set texts. The paper will be delivered by twenty-two contact hours in total. It is expected that students will receive two supervisions per module, plus two revision supervisions in the Easter term, making a total of ten supervisions. Set Texts Old High German Strasburg Oaths; Lorscher Bienensegen; Ludwigslied in: Wilhem Braune, Althochdeutsches Lesebuch, Tübingen, Niemeyer 1994, pp. 56, 89-90 and 136-138 Middle High German Hartmann von Aue: Iwein, ll. 1-802, in: M. O'C. Walshe, A Middle High German Reader, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1974, pp. 67-89 Early New High German Martin Luther: 'Vorrede auff das Newe Testament; Luke 15', in: Das Neue Testament in der deutschen Übersetzung von Martin Luther nach dem Bibeldruck von 1545 mit sämtlichen Holzschnitten, Stuttgart: Reclam1989, pp. 5-9, 202-4 Examination The examination will be divided into three sections, and students are required to answer one question from each. Section A will contain three brief extracts from the set texts; candidates will be asked to translate two and comment on a third. Section B will contain a range of questions of a broad social and cultural-historical nature across the major periods. Section C is devoted to topics in the historical development of German morphology, phonology and syntax. A specimen examination paper can be seen here. Preliminary Reading List General Keller, R.E. 1978. The German Language. London: Faber and Faber König, Werner. 1978. dtv-Atlas zur deutschen Sprache. Munich: dtv Lockwood, W.B. 1965. An Informal History of the German Language. London: Deutsch Robinson, Orrin W. 1994. Old English and its closest relatives. London: Routledge Schmidt, Wilhelm. 1993 (6th ed.). Geschichte der deutschen Sprache, Stuttgart and Leipzig: Hirzel Stedje, Astrid. 1989. Deutsche Sprache gestern und heute. Munich: Fink Wells, C.J. 1985. German. A linguistic history to 1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press Young, Christopher and Thomas Gloning. 2004. A History of the German Language through Texts. London: Routledge Old High German Meinecke, E and J. Schwerdt: Einführung in das Altlhochdeutsche. Paderborn 2001 Sonderegger, S.: Altlhochdeutsche Sprache und Literatur. Berlin 2003 Middle High German Hennings, T.: Einführung in das Mittelhochdeutsch. Berlin 2003 Weddige, H.: Mittelhochdeutsch. Eine Einführung. Munich 2003 Early New High German Bennewitz, I.: U. Müller (eds): Von der Handschrift zum Buchdruck: Spätmittelalter - Reformation - Humanismus. Reinbek 1991 Ehrismann, O., I. Hardt: Der Weg zur Hochsprache. Mittelhochdeutsch / Frühneuhochdeutsch. Hohengehren 2007 Gerhard, P.: Einführung ins Frühneuhochdeutsche. Sprachgeschichte, Grammatik, Texte. Heidelberg 1980 Back to top Course adviser Students who wish to discuss any aspect of the course may approach their Directors of Studies or supervisors. They may also consult the German Department's undergraduate course adviser for this paper who is Dr Sheila Watts (Newnham College, network tel: 35816; e-mail: sw271@cam.ac.uk). Back to top Links to all German papers and comparative papers with a substantial German element Paper Ge 1: Structures and varieties of German Paper Ge 2: Introduction to German history and thought since 1750 Paper Ge 3: Introduction to German literary texts Paper Ge 4: The making of German culture, 1 Paper Ge 5: Modern German culture (1), 1750 - 1890 Paper Ge 6: Modern German culture (2), 1890 to the present day Paper Ge 7: Introduction to the history of the German language Paper Ge 8: German literature, thought and history from 1700 to 1815 (including Goethe's works to 1815) Paper Ge 9: German literature, thought and history from 1815 to 1914 Paper Ge 10: German literature, thought and history since 1910 Paper Ge 11: Aspects of the history of the German language Paper Ge 12: History and identity in Germany, 1750 to the present Paper Ge 13: Aspects of German-speaking Europe since 1945 Paper Ge 14: The making of German culture, 2 Paper Ge 15: Modern German cultures of performance Paper CS 2: The Germanic Languages [Paper suspended after Tripos 2008] Paper CS 5: The Body Paper CS 6: Modern European Film
Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages University of Cambridge Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 9DA Tel: 01223-335037 Fax: 01223-335062 Email: mml-german@lists.cam.ac.uk Last updated on 17 September 2009 at 17:03