3 credits

The course will address: (1) Processes of language change (phonetic,
phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic), and issues in
interpreting change; (2)Major sound laws, such as Grimm's law,
Grassmann's law, and the great English vowel shift; (3) methods of
historical reconstruction, primarily the Comparative Method and
Internal Reconstruction, (4) the nature and principles of phylogenetic
classification and subgrouping, and (5) Effects of language content on
language change. Out of class work will include problem solving and
brief written assignments. The course grade will be determined
primarily by performance on the final exam.