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Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics

Introductory Modern Hebrew I, II, III
This course introduces students to reading, writing, and speaking modern Hebrew. All four language skills are emphasized: comprehension of written and oral materials; reading of nondiacritical text; writing of directed sentences, paragraphs, and compositions; and speaking. Students learn the Hebrew root pattern system and the seven basic verb conjugations in both the past and present tenses, as well as simple future. At the end of the year, students can conduct short conversations in Hebrew, read materials designed to their level, and write short essays. (Ariela Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.)

Intermediate Modern Hebrew I, II, III
This course is devised for students who had previously taken either modern or biblical Hebrew courses. The main objective is to provide students with the skills necessary to approach modern Hebrew prose, both fiction and nonfiction. To achieve this formidable task, students are provided with a systematic examination of the complete verb structure. Many syntactic structures are introduced, including simple clauses, and coordinate and compound sentences. At this level, students not only write and speak extensively, but are also required to analyze grammatically and contextually all of the materials assigned. (Ariela Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring.)

Advanced Modern Hebrew I, II, III
This course assumes that students have full mastery of the grammatical and lexical content at the intermediate level. However, there is a shift from a reliance on the cognitive approach to an emphasis on the expansion of various grammatical and vocabulary-related subjects. Students are introduced to sophisticated and more complex syntactic constructions, and instructed how to transform simple sentences into more complicated ones. The exercises address the creative effort on the part of the student, and the reading segments are longer and more challenging in both style and content. The language of the texts reflects the literary written medium rather than the more informal spoken style, which often dominates the introductory and intermediate texts. (Ariela Finkelstein. Autumn, Winter, Spring)

K'iche Maya I, II, III
(Rusty Barrett, and Gregorio Tum. Autumn, Winter, Spring.)

Old Church Slavonic
This course is an introduction to the language of the oldest Slavic texts. It begins with a brief historical overview of the relationship of Old Church Slavonic to Common Slavic and the other Slavic languages. This is followed by a short outline of Old Church Slavonic inflectional morphology. The remainder of the course is spent in the reading and grammatical analysis of original texts in Cyrillic or Cyrillic transcription of the original Glagolitic. (Victor Friedman, Winter)

History of Bulgarian
This course is an introduction to the history of Bulgarian. (Daniela Hristova, Spring)

Structure of Albanian
This is a rare opportunity to get a functional grasp of one of the least-studied national languages of Europe. Albanian is of relevance for Indo-Europeanists, Balkanists, Classicists, Islamicists, and any social scientist with an interest in Southeastern Europe. In addition to being the majority language in Albania, it is spoken by compact populations in all neighboring countries, as well as by old enclaves in Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania, and Ukraine, and by more recent ŽmigrŽ groups in Western Europe, North America, and Australia. The course focuses on giving students an understanding of the grammatical structure of Albanian as well as sufficient reading knowledge for the independent development of the ability to pursue research. (Victor Friedman, Spring.)

American Sign Language I, II, III
American Sign Language is the language of the deaf in the United States and much of Canada. It is a full-fledged autonomous language, unrelated to English or other spoken languages. This introductory course teaches the student basic vocabulary and grammatical structure, as well as aspects of deaf culture. (Drucilla Ronchen. Autumn, Winter, Spring.)

Intermediate American Sign Language I, II, III
In this course we continue to increase grammatical structure, receptive and expressive skills, conversational skills, basic linguistic convergence, and knowledge of idioms. Field trip required. (Drucilla Ronchen. Autumn, Winter, Spring.)

Swahili I, II, III
This course is designed to help students acquire communicative competence in Swahili and a basic understanding of its structures. Through a variety of exercises, students develop both oral and writing skills. (Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.)

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