The Renaissance: Language and Literature
Week 8/9: The Renaissance
1. Introduction
- Development of new concepts and techniques: flowering of arts and sciences.
- Many literary, scientific, and religious texts in Latin.
- Latin still the language of scholarship and scholarly literature.
- Thomas More’s Utopia written entirely in Latin.
- Around 13,000 new loanwords entered the language in the 16th century: 7,000 were from Latin.
2. The Problem of the Vernaculars
In the sixteenth century, the modern languages faced three great problems:
- Recognition in the
Phonetics and Phonology: Sounds, Articulation, and Spelling
Phoneme: The smallest linguistic unit without meaning. It’s what speakers intend to produce when speaking. Phonemes are chosen from a set that characterizes the opposition between elements, giving different meanings in the context used.
Sound: The realization of phonemes. Each phoneme can have multiple sound variations depending on the context. Sounds of spoken language form the basic sequence of the phonic chain. All sounds are transcribed phonetically through the International Phonetic Alphabet
Read MoreComares Palace in Alhambra: Architecture & History
The Palace of Comares
Stilted arches and interior angrelado. Variegated yeserÃas. Medallions brought into prominence. The doors are surrounded by ceramics. At the top, we have the timber roof, which is a frieze on roll corbels.
Following a narrow corridor with recesses, you find the Patio of the Myrtles or Comares. As a whole, it dates from the time of Yusuf I and was made before the year 1354. It is built on the palace that his father, Ismail I, had built before, which this one would later demolish.
Read MorePhonetics and Phonology: Key Concepts Explained
Phonetics and Phonology Concepts
Homorganic Nasal Assimilation
In English, if the nasal and oral stop belong to the same syllable, or if the nasal is in a stressed syllable, the oral stop influences the preceding nasal consonant. As a result, the nasal assimilates to the Place of Articulation (PoA) of the following consonant, and the two contiguous sounds end up having the same PoA (homorganic).
Close Vowels
A close vowel is produced with a very limited degree of mouth opening. Example: high vowels
Read MoreApplied Linguistics, Bilingualism & Working Memory
I. What is Applied Linguistics?
Applied Linguistics is an interdisciplinary field that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to real-life, language-related problems.
II. Four Disciplines of Applied Linguistics
- Psycholinguistics: The study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend, and produce language.
- Forensic Linguistics: The application of linguistic knowledge and methods to the forensic context of law and crime investigation.
- Contrastive
Mastering Language Skills: A Comprehensive Approach
Communicative Skills and Linguistic Components
On the one hand, communicative skills are speaking, listening, reading, and writing. On the other hand, the linguistic components are grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary.
Why Can’t We Separate Language Skills?
Specifically, why are reading and writing inseparable? Reading and writing are closely related in two particular ways:
- Reading is a source of input and a model for written language. Some authors believe that reading is the best way to master writing.