Bosnian Croatian Serbian Intermediate I
(2012/13 Fall Term,
Mondays and Wednesdays, 15:30-16:20)
Instructor: Sanja Kajinic,
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Before and after the class, and by appointment
Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian are three standard languages drawing on ‘a very similar linguistic material’ (Browne and Alt, 2004) that used to comprise Serbo-Croatian language. BCS are mutually intelligible South Slavic languages, and although students might chose to focus on one, the course will aim to equally valorize the standards and to enable the students to comprehend all three and communicate throughout the region where BCS are spoken.
Learning outcomes
The goal of the BCS Intermediate I course in the fall semester, and its successive course in the winter semester, is to improve students’ reading skills, as well as to enhance their vocabulary and grammatical competences. On Mondays, we will read excerpts from prose works in Bosnian Croatian and Serbian--both literary and specialized—focusing on different reading tactics, vocabulary enrichment, and cultural contextualization. Wednesdays will be devoted to grammatical explanations and exercise, problem-solving tasks and drills. In order to continue with the reading and vocabulary-learning focus of the course, grammar activities will be accompanied with vocabulary-focused work on song lyrics, and short texts of cultural interest. Besides strengthening students’ reading skills, this course will also strongly focus on translation skills. The main learning outcomes expected as the result of this course are the development of students’ reading skills with special emphasis on scanning, skimming and intensive reading abilities, with parallel encouragement of students’ engaging in extensive reading in their spare time. The desired outcome is for students to cultivate their capability to understand texts without necessarily having to each time reach for a dictionary.
Week 1 (17 and 19/9/2012)
Monday: Introduction to the course; First text – Literature: excerpt from a classic literary work.
Wednesday: Grammar work + drills; 5 minutes of Culture; 3 minutes of Coolinarka.
Week 2 (24 and 26/9/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. Excerpt from a historical source text.
Friday: Grammar work + translation; Vocabulary through music: song lyrics.
Week 3 (1 and 3/10/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. Excerpt from a history book.
Friday: Grammar revision + a short test; 5 minutes of Culture; 3 minutes of Coolinarka.
Week 4 (8 and 10/10/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. Text chosen by the students, or articles from daily newspapers chosen by the instructor.
Friday: Grammar work + drills; Vocabulary through music: song lyrics.
Week 5 (15 and 17/10/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. An excerpt from a history book.
Friday: Grammar work + translation; 5 minutes of Culture; 3 minutes of Coolinarka.
Week 6 (22 and 24/10/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. An excerpt from a source text.
Friday: Grammar revision + a short test; 5 minutes of Culture; 3 minutes of Coolinarka.
Week 7 (29/10 and 31/10/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. Literature: excerpt from a classic literary work.
Friday: Grammar work + translation; 5 minutes of Culture; 3 minutes of Coolinarka.
Week 8 (5 and 7/11/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. Text chosen by the students, or articles from daily newspapers chosen by the instructor.
Friday: Grammar work + drills; Vocabulary through music: song lyrics.
Week 9 (12 and 14/11/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. Literature: excerpt from a classic literary work.
Friday: Grammar revision + a short test; 5 minutes of Culture; 3 minutes of Coolinarka.
Week 10 (19 and 21/11/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. An excerpt from a political essay.
Friday: Grammar work + translation; Vocabulary through music: song lyrics.
Week 11 (26/11 and 28/11/2012)
Monday: Short vocabulary test. Texts chosen by students or articles from daily newspapers chosen by the instructor.
Friday: Grammar revision; 5 minutes of Culture; 3 minutes of Coolinarka.
Week 12 (3 and 5/12/2012)
Monday: Final test. An excerpt from a political essay.
Friday: Test results; revision of common mistakes. Preparatory vocabulary work before watching a video; watching a short film.
Assessment:
The assessment of the students’ learning process will be designed so as to methodically follow the development of their reading skills, their vocabulary, and grammar competencies. Every session will start with a short vocabulary quiz focusing on the new vocabulary from the last class. The score from the vocabulary quizzes together with the score of 3 short tests (both vocabulary and grammar) will comprise 40 % of the final grade. The final exam will make for 40% of the final grade. Additional 20 % of the final grade will be based on students’ participation in class work and discussions.
For All
Optional
Proposed literature:
Literature – excerpts from:
Bosnian literature: Ivo Andrić
Croatian literature: Miroslav Krleža
Serbian literature: Danilo Kiš
History books – excerpts from:
Vladimir Ćorović, Istorija srpskog naroda (1941), http://www.rastko.rs/rastko-bl/istorija/corovic/istorija/index.html
Rudolf Horvat, Povijest Hrvatske, knjiga I, od najstarijeg doba do g. 1657. (1925), http://www.crohis.com/sknjige/horvat_pov1.htm
Noel Malcolm, Povijest Bosne, http://www.camo.ch/povijestbih06.htm (1995)
Source texts
Source texts on Middle Ages (Tekst nadgrobne ploče Katarine Kosače; Dužnosti kmetova pavlinskog samostana Streza), http://www.crohis.com/izvori/petric1.pdf ; Teodosije - Žitije svetog Save (http://www.rastko.rs/knjizevnost/liturgicka/teodosije-zitije_sv_save.html )
Source texts – two texts by travelers on 17th century Sarajevo http://www.crohis.com/izvori/petric-izvori2.pdf
Article on source texts on Bosnian Bogumils, by Salih Jaliman http://hamdocamo.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/bosanski-bogumili-u-historijskim-izvorima/
Fran Barbalić, Peroj – srpsko selo u Istri (1933) (Peroj – Serbian village in Istria), http://www.rastko.rs/rastko-hr/istorija/fbarbalic-peroj.html
Source texts on the accession of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to the Axis Pact, and a transcript of a conversation between Hitler and Cvetkovic, http://www.crohis.com/izvori/trojpak.pdf
Political texts/essays
Tvrtko Jakovina, Afganistan 1979. i Titova smrt (Soviet Intervention in Afganistan in 1979 and Tito’s Death), https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:6EdB4-SLH50J:bib.irb.hr/datoteka/342893.AFGANISTAN_1979._I_TITOVA_SMRT.doc+&hl=hr&gl=hr&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgVmhdHtHBsp9YPgFSqriAKCjMUDQyCntsIGmJSfjxq1K7ym749GBOxtYVGz2Ngt41ZZ_5IZJikqi79DLrDJfuVGPiU09EPM2aoqzQYKcADu_cu8rrW_4KnioNNSHRQv-aDJjaD&sig=AHIEtbQPTwqnJ_FPorqDJswzptaMLs4l1w
Boris Buden, Gastarbajteri, glasnici budućnosti (Guest-workers, the harbingers of future), http://pescanik.net/2012/08/gastarbajteri-glasnici-buducnosti/
Articles by the columnists of Peščanik net (ex. Borka Pavičević, Muharem Bazdulj, Boris Dežulović etc), http://pescanik.net/
Biographs of Serbian political theorists, http://ipt.fpn.bg.ac.rs/sr/taxonomy_menu/8/113
Petar Kočić: Jezik u zakonskim tekstovima – beseda u Saboru BiH u Austro-ugarskom carstvu (Language in legal texts – a speech in Bosnian Parliament in Austro-hungarian empire), http://www.rastko.rs/rastko-bl/umetnost/knjizevnost/pkocic/pkocic-jezik_l.html
Daily newspapers
Oslobođenje, http://www.oslobodjenje.ba/
Jutarnji list, http://www.jutarnji.hr/
Politika, http://www.politika.co.rs/
Vijesti, http://www.vijesti.me/
NB: Choice of texts is subject to change based on students’ needs.
References:
Alexander, Ronelle and Ellen Elias-Bursać. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, A Textbook with Exercises and Basic Grammar, second edition, Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2010.
Alexander, Ronelle. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, A Grammar with Sociolinguistic Commentary, Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2006
Browne, Wayles and Theresa Alt. A Handbook of Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian. SEELRC, 2004.