ANTH 3541

This review is for ANTH 3541 Language Change (Historical Linguistics) with Professor Wendte. This class covered language change, starting with "why" and "how" languages change, then moving on to the comparative method which was the bulk of the class, and ending with various applications of the comparative method and other concepts we had learned on specific case studies of language families. Reading for the majority of the class was out of a textbook on language change, but I found it to be one of the better textbooks I've read as the author really gets to the point quickly and concisely and follows it with a plethora of specific linguistic examples, really showing you visually exactly what is being explained. Those examples then find themselves in Wendte's lectures, which usually take a broad overview mirroring the chapter assigned for the class while also involving material from Wendte's own linguistic work and are designed to make sure everyone is clear on what linguistically is going on. For me, this course started off hard as I had very little familiarity with IPA, but over time more and more clicked and eventually, I found myself making much more sense of everything. I found understanding the theoretical background of the comparative method and using it to "solve" a linguistic puzzle very different endeavors, but both were rewarding in their own way.