HNRS: Figurative Language
Fall 2020 Courses
Intensive study of selected topics; may emphasize interdisciplinary themes.
Notes:
All languages are equal in theory; they all have systematic rules of sound and grammar and can be used to convey complex, precise, and novel meanings. However, in practice, languages are necessarily intertwined with the politics of power and social difference. The importance of language rights to basic human rights cannot be overstated. Whether through conquest, colonization, immigration, enslavement, or the simple fact of ignoring ethnic distinctions, linguistic minorities have always existed, as have language conflicts and the infringement of minorities’ rights to use their languages without prejudice. This course will explore language rights and relate them to human rights in general, surveying language conflicts worldwide between those trying to secure and those trying to deny language rights. An understanding of linguistic conflict and competition requires a basic understanding of linguistics, the study of phonology (sound systems), morphology (word building systems), lexica (inventories of words and word parts), sentence grammars, and sociocultural conventions and ideologies of use. By using linguistics to understand the systematicity and value of language, we can identify how popular ideas about language, such as characterizations of particular languages as ‘broken’, ‘illogical’, ‘ugly’, or ‘inauthentic’, are often not merely misinformed but also misleading; they are a reflection of ideological interests rather than scientifically based claims. Accordingly, the course will present a non-technical introduction to analytical tools of linguistics, so as to provide a deeper understanding of language structure and the mechanics of linguistic conflict. By also examining specific cases of language conflict, it will illustrate a range of policy decisions in the areas of education, government, and media.