ASIA 162
Languages of East Asia Spring 2024
Division I
Cross-listed GBST 162 / ANTH 162 / CHIN 162

Class Details

A survey of the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages in their linguistic and cultural context. Working with various types of multimedia including audio, video, animation, and texts, we’ll take up the phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon of these three major East Asian languages, including also their history and writing systems as well as how they function in the societies where they are spoken. Though the emphasis of the course is on linguistic description and analysis, there will also be an applied component, as part of which we’ll learn several dozen common expressions in each language. Some of the questions to be discussed are: What are the similarities and differences among these three languages? How are and how aren’t they related? How did the modern standard form of each develop and what is its relationship to any non-standard languages or dialects? How do these three languages reflect sociolinguistic phenomena such as gender, class, and politeness? How do the writing systems of these languages function and what is the role of Chinese characters in them? What has been the influence of Classical Chinese on Modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean? How have these languages changed due to influence from English and other languages? How are they used in Asian American speech communities? And what are the prospects for their future development, including the influence of computers and digital communications? While this course is not intended as a comprehensive introduction to linguistics, it does introduce many basic terms and concepts from that discipline.
The Class: Format: seminar; combination of lecture, discussion, and language practice
Limit: 20
Expected: 15
Class#: 3285
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: three quizzes, two 2- to 3-page papers, an oral presentation, and an 8- to 10-page term paper
Prerequisites: none (lectures, class discussions, and readings in English; no prior background in linguistics or any Asian language required)
Enrollment Preferences: open to all with preference to first-year students and sophomores as well as majors/concentrators in CHIN, JAPN, EALC, ANTH, ASIA and GBST
Distributions: Division I
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
GBST 162 Division II ANTH 162 Division II CHIN 162 Division I ASIA 162 Division I
Attributes: Linguistics

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