This is the English-classroom alternative to our German introductions to Old English and Middle English. As such, it is particularly recommended to international students who do not yet sufficiently trust their German for the purposes of scholarly discourse and translation. Of course local Lehramt students will also be able to acquire the historical qualification needed for their state exam.
Synchronic linguistics in the Saussurean tradition has been admirably successful in describing what a language system is like at any given point in time. As soon, however, as we start asking the eminently human question »why?«, only a diachronic approach will satisfy our curiosity (as in fact nobody knew better than de Saussure, who made lasting contributions to Comparative Historical Linguistics himself). Present Day English certainly has its full share of the variation, incongruities and linguistic fossils that provoke a quest for reasons. So we will be digging into the past of the language, a few hundred to 5000 years deep, to unearth explanations for all sorts of weird words, orthographic oddities and erratic inflections.
Requirements: Regular homework and final exam.