239967 Chibchan Languages (S) (SoSe 2013)

This is a panoramic course featuring Chibchan, the most widespread language family of Lower Central America (it extends from Northeastern Honduras, through the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, most of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and West of Venezuela.) The first part of the course provides the participants with encyclopedic information about Chibchan, including historical and sociolinguistic aspect; the course then offers a detailed structural description of the most significant structural features of the family. Finally, relevant topics of Chibchan linguistics, such as information structure and the rise of agreement in some members of the family complement the presentation. The course offers a good opportunity for both linguists and students interested in aboriginal cultures of Latin America not only in terms of the contents but especially because the Chibchan languages and peoples are not so well-known in mainstream linguistics.