Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics

You are now familiar with the oldest texts in the Greek and Indo-Iranian languages and are able to reconstruct Proto-Indo-European vowels and diphthongs. You understand a number of Indo-Iranian sound laws: Bruggmann's law, Grassmann's law and the palatalization of velars. This week you will learn about three additional branches of Indo-European: Baltic, Slavic and Italic. We will introduce you to the oldest texts in these languages. You will also learn how to reconstruct some Proto-Indo-European consonants: the so-called palatovelars. Finally, we will explain the concept of relative chronology in historical linguistics. Each lesson, you are also learning new linguistic terms. If you come across a technical term of which you don't remember the meaning, you can always consult the overview of linguistic terminology that can be found at the end of lesson 2.

So far, you have learned about six branches of Indo-European, including Baltic, Slavic and Italic. You know what satem- and centum-languages are and are able to reconstruct Proto-Indo-European palatovelar consonants. This week is about the Celtic and Germanic languages. You will learn about the oldest texts in various Celtic and Germanic languages. You will also learn that these are centum languages. We will introduce a new set of Proto-Indo-European consonants: the so-called labiovelars. Finally, we will explain how the Proto-Indo-European consonants evolved in the Germanic languages.

Last week we discussed the Celtic and Germanic languages and the way their consonants evolved. You now know what Grimm's and Verner's laws are and you are able to reconstruct Proto-Indo-European labiovelar consonants. This week you will learn about the most recent addition to the Proto-Indo-European language family: Anatolian and Tocharian. As usual, we will tell you about the oldest texts in these languages. You will also find out what their place in the Indo-European language family is and how you can set up a language family tree. Finally, you will learn about perhaps the most difficult part of the Proto-Indo-European sound system: the so-called laryngeals.

You now know which old sources are used when Indo-European languages are compared to each other. You also know which sounds are reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European and you have the skills to do this yourself. This is the final week of the course. You will learn about Indo-European society and culture: who were the people who spoke Proto-Indo-European? How did they live? What is know about their religion and about the oral texts that they used?