Syllabus

Russian V: The History of the Russian Language: From Birch Bark Letters to Twitter

Code
GRY28P
Points
7.5 Credits
Level
First Cycle
School
School of Language, Literatures and Learning
Subject field
Russian (RYA)
Group of Subjects
Russian
Disciplinary Domain
Humanities, 100%
This course can be included in the following main field(s) of study
Russian1
Progression indicator within (each) main field of study
1G2F
Approved
Approved, 20 March 2019.
This syllabus is valid from 20 March 2019.
Download as pdf To course page

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the course, students shall be able to:

  • discuss the Russian language in terms of its emergence and the most important periods in its development
  • analyse the phonological system and grammatical structure of ancient Russian in relation to modern Russian
  • discuss the phonetical, grammatical and syntactic properties of modern Russian from a historical perspective
  • discuss how other languages influenced Russian at different periods in its development
  • analyse lexical, grammatical and syntactic changes that have characterised the development of Russian in recent decades.

Course Content

The course provides knowledge of the emergence of Russian in relation to other Slavic and Indo-European languages. The course discusses language conditions in medieval Russia (so-called diglossia between Church Slavonic and Russian) and the basic features of ancient Russian in comparison with modern Russian. Students familiarise themselves with key periods in literary Russian language development in relation to political, social and cultural backgrounds. During the course, source texts from different historical periods are read and analysed. In the work with topical texts (including Internet genres), attention is given to changes in the language that have occurred in recent decades, and the main trends in contemporary Russian language development.

Assessment

Continuous assessment of active participation in seminars and a final paper.

Forms of Study

Russian is the language of instruction. Swedish and/or English are used as support languages. Teaching consists of obligatory seminars where students shall participate actively.

Grades

The Swedish grades U–VG.

To achieve the grade of VG for the whole course, students must achieve VG in module 1.

Reporting of grades:
Module 1: Seminars - 5 cr
Module 2: Paper - 2.5 cr

Prerequisites

  • 120 credits in Russian, including the course Russian IV: Grammar and Written Language Proficiency, 10 credits on First cycle. No knowledge of Swedish is required

Other Information

Replaces RY2018.