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Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics

Universiteit Leiden

About this Course

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Build your knowledge of Indo-European languages, how they changed through time, and how to reconstruct ancient languages. Every language belongs to a language family; a group of languages that are genetically related to each other. Indo-European is the name of the language family to which English belongs, along with many sub-families such as Germanic languages and Romance languages.
The Indo-European language family is now known to consist of thirteen major branches and a number of now extinct languages of which only fragments have been preserved that may once have formed branches of their own.

You’ll delve into the structure and origins of these branches. Not only will you learn about the oldest languages belonging to the Indo-European language family, but you’ll also learn about linguistic reconstruction, how you can tell whether two languages are related to each other and how language changes.

This course will guide you through the different groups of Indo-European languages. You’ll look at some of the oldest texts from these languages, including Ancient Greek and Sanskrit, and learn about the importance of oral traditions in the history of these texts.

As you progress through each of the branches of the language tree, you’ll begin to piece together the Proto-Indo-European language bit by bit by comparing and contrasting each different language in the tree.

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Intermediate Level

Everybody with a general interest in prehistoric and ancient Europe and Asia as well as comparative linguistics

Approx. 17 hours to complete

English

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What you will learn

Investigate the evolution of words and sounds in Indo-European languages
Explain how Indo-European languages are related to each other
Discuss the interplay between linguistics, archaeology and genetics
Explore the oldest written sources of Indo-European languages

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Intermediate Level

Everybody with a general interest in prehistoric and ancient Europe and Asia as well as comparative linguistics

Approx. 17 hours to complete

English

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Instructor

Instructor rating

4.85/5 (27 Ratings)

Tijmen Pronk

8,244 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

Universiteit Leiden

Leiden University is one of Europe's foremost research universities. This prominent position gives our graduates a leading edge and prepares them for careers both within and outside of academia. Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands, founded in 1575. Our motto is: Praesidium Libertatis (Bastion of Liberty) - Freedom of spirit, thought and expression. Leiden University has a campus in Leiden and The Hague, with 7 faculties, 47 Bachelor Programmes, 79 Master Programmes and nearly 30,000 students.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating95%(1,916 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

1 hour to complete

The Indo-European language family

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 11 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Language Change

During this course, you will not only learn about the oldest languages belonging to the Indo-European language family, but also about linguistic reconstruction. This week starts with an overview of the basic linguistic concepts that you will need to understand when taking this course. If these are new to you, it may be a good idea to print them or write or them down so that you can consult them later on during the course if necessary. After this short introduction to linguistics, you will learn how you can tell whether two languages are related to each other and how language changes.

2 hours to complete

2 videos (Total 20 min), 9 readings, 4 quizzes

2 videos

How to Determine Genetic Relationships between Languages6mLanguage change12m

9 readings

Phonology and phonemes5mPhonetics5mAllophone5mArticulatory assimilation5mCognate5mForm vs Meaning5mLinguistic terminology10mLinguistic symbols10mExplaining the sound change5m

4 practice exercises

Exercise: Genetic Relationships 110mExercise: Genetic Relationships 220mExercise: Sound change 110mExercise: Sound change 210m

Week3

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Greek and Sanskrit

Ancient Greek and Sanskrit are among the most important languages for the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European. We will therefore start our journey through the Indo-European language family with these two languages. This week you will learn about the oldest texts in the Ancient Greek and Sanskrit languages. You will also learn about the importance of oral traditions in the history of these texts. We will take the first steps towards reconstructing Proto-Indo-European by studying the vowels of Greek and Sanskrit. We will end this lesson by introducing the concept of Ablaut.

3 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 46 min), 11 readings, 4 quizzes

8 videos

PIE Vowels4mGreek Cases9mInterview with dr. Lucien van Beek8mDevanāgarī2mStructure of PIE Words2mAblaut3mSanskrit Vowels8mInterview with Prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky about Sanskrit7m

11 readings

Mycenaean10mGreek dialects7mThe Iliad and the Odyssey5mProto-Indo-European vowels3mInterview with dr. Lucien van Beek1mIndic7mOther Vedic texts5mSanskrit timeline3mAblaut2mReconstructing Proto-Indo-European vowels5mInterview with Prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky1m

4 practice exercises

Exercise: Latin cases7mKey points in the interview5mExercise: vowels, diphthongs and resonants20mKey points in the interview5m

Week4

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Iranian and Armenian

You now know about the oldest Ancient Greek and Sanskrit texts. You also understand how to reconstruct Proto-Indo-European vowels by comparing Greek words to Sanskrit words. This week we will take a look at the oldest Iranian languages: Avestan and Old Persian. You will also expand your knowledge of the evolution of Indo-European vowels when we introduce two sound laws that affected Indic and Iranian languages. At the end of this week's lesson, we will introduce another branch of Indo-European: Armenian.

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 21 min), 6 readings, 5 quizzes

4 videos

Interview with Prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky about Iranian7mIndo-Iranian and Indo-European5mGrassmann's law1mInterview with prof. Birgit Olsen 7m

6 readings

The Iranian language family5mAvestan5mOld Persian5mInterview with Prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky about Iranian1mArmenian7mInterview with Prof. dr. Birgit Olsen1m

5 practice exercises

Exercise: deviant perfect forms15mTest your knowledge5mKey points in the interview5mKey points in the interview5mExercise: Ablaut25m

Week5

Week 5

2 hours to complete

Balto-Slavic and Italic

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.

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 30 min), 12 readings, 4 quizzes

4 videos

Palatovelars (Balto-Slavic)3mInterview dr. Tijmen Pronk9mConsonants and Relative Chronology6mInterview with Prof.dr. Weiss10m

12 readings

The Balto-Slavic languages5mBaltic10mSlavic10mOld Russian7mBalto-Slavic and the palatovelars5mThe Italic languages2mOscan5mUmbrian5mLatin5mItalic timeline2mConsonants and relative chronology - overview2mInterview with Prof. dr. Michael Weiss1m

4 practice exercises

Exercise: the palatovelars15mKey points in the interview5mExercise: Relative chronology10mKey points in the interview5m

Week6

Week 6

2 hours to complete

Celtic and Germanic

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.

2 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 38 min), 16 readings, 6 quizzes

6 videos

Italo-Celtic and the labiovelars5mLabiovelars in Greek3mInterview with Prof. dr. Ranko Matasović8mProto-Indo-European consonants and Grimm's law9mExplaining the exercises4mInterview with prof. Guus Kroonen7m

16 readings

Celtic languages3mContinental Celtic3mIrish7mWelsh3mCeltic timeline2mItalo-Celtic and the labiovelars - overview4mInterview with Prof. dr. Ranko Matasović1mThe Germanic languages3mRunes7mNorth Germanic3mEast Germanic5mWest Germanic8mGermanic timeline2mGrimm's Law - overview4mExercise: Grimm's Law10mInterview with Prof. dr. Guus Kroonen1m

6 practice exercises

Exercise 1: Italo-Celtic labiovelars6mExercise 2: Labiovelars in Greek and Mycenaean10mExercise 3: Unexpected reflexes of the labiovelars10mExercise 4: Proto-Indo-European labiovelars8mKey points in the interview5mKey points in the interview5m

Week7

Week 7

3 hours to complete

Anatolian and Tocharian

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.

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 40 min), 9 readings, 5 quizzes

5 videos

Anatolian: the laryngeals8mExplaining the exercise7mInterview with dr. Willemijn Waal and dr. Alwin Kloekhorst9mThe Indo-European language tree6mInterview with dr. Michaël Peyrot7m

9 readings

Anatolian languages3mHittite10mLuwian7mHittite and Luwian timeline2mAnatolian: the laryngeals - overview5mInterview with dr. Willemijn Waal and dr. Alwin Kloekhorst2mTocharian10mInterview with dr. Michaël Peyrot1mOther branches of Indo-European7m

5 practice exercises

Exercise: Laryngeals 120mExercise: Laryngeals 220mKey points in the interview5mThe Indo-European family tree10mKey points in the interview5m

Week8

Week 8

3 hours to complete

Indo-European culture and society

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?

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 41 min), 11 readings, 3 quizzes

5 videos

Who were the Indo-Europeans?10mInterview with dr. Quentin Bourgeois7mInterview with Prof. dr. Brigitte Pakendorf8mLaryngeals continued9mGreek Poetic Meter4m

11 readings

Interview with dr. Quentin Bourgeois1mInterview with Prof. dr. Brigitte Pakendorf1mReconstructing Proto-Indo-European1mLaryngeals continued - overview4mEpic traditions7mShared topics in poetry10mProto-Indo-European religion10mLong vowels in Greek4mIndo-European culture2mCongratulations2mAdditional materials5m

3 practice exercises

Exercise: Reconstruction16mExercise: Greek meter15mFinal quiz30m

Reviews

4.5

16 reviews

5 stars
76.74%
4 stars
16.27%
3 stars
4.65%
1 star
2.32%

TOP REVIEWS FROM INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE INDO-EUROPEAN LINGUISTICS

by LBFeb 12, 2023

The course was well done and very engaging. There was a wealth of information, the presenters were great, and overall I found the topic fascinating.

by ARNov 1, 2022

Incredible. A first-class introduction to historical linguistics for Indo-European languages.

by AKOct 1, 2022

Wanted to know something about how Proto-Indo-European language was reconstructed for quite sometime already. And the course was just 100% hit! Thanks!

by GENov 5, 2022

Very interesting course, with important information for general culture of a language teacher.

View all reviews

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Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics

Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics

About this Course

What you will learn