B5249 - LINGUE E LETTERATURE DELL'INDIA MERIDIONALE (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, the student will have acquired an initial level of competence in Tamil language and literature within the wider context of Dravidian philology and the multilingualism that has characterised South India over the last two millennia. Through the reading of original language sources, both manuscript and printed, the student learns the basics of the literary history of the major Dravidian languages, with particular attention to Tamil, and acquires the ability to express effectively in oral and/or written form the material studied, contextualising it also with reference to the relevant bibliography.

Course contents

The course intends to provide students with a working knowledge of Tamil and its grammar through the reading of nineteenth-century Tamil Manipravalam texts. Tamil Manipravalam (literally “gems and corals”) is a mixed language, or a register of Tamil, that combines Sanskrit vocabulary with Tamil endings and syntax. Furthermore, it presents Tamil words in both their formal and colloquial variants.

The first classes will introduce the Dravidian language family, and address in detail the core features of Tamil grammar (phonology, morphology, and syntax) and its diglossic character. Furthermore, students will be introduced to the various literary traditions of South India that have employed forms of Manipravalam.

Later on, the focus will be on reading from a selection of nineteenth-century texts: 1. the opening section of the Viṣṇupurāṇavacaṉam (a Manipravalam adaptation of the Viṣṇupurāṇa) with an eye to its linguistic variation across manuscripts, and 2. the commentary of the invocation verse of the Nāmaliṅgānuśāsana (aka Amarakośa) as found in manuscript RE22704 of the Institut Français de Pondichéry. The latter will also give students the chance to make a first encounter with elements of Telugu (sporadically used in the commentary to paraphrase Tamil), thus rounding off the picture of the complex multilingual environment that has characterised much of Tamil Nadu’s literary culture.

 

Non-attending students:

Non-attending students can agree with the instructor on an alternative bibliography for the examination that reflects their interests in the literary culture of southern India.

Readings/Bibliography

All materials will be distributed by the instructor at the beginning of the course and will be available on the Virtual platform of the University.

Teaching methods

Teaching consists of lectures during which various selected texts will be read, translated, and commented on.

Attendance is not mandatory but is strongly recommended.

Assessment methods

• Attending students

Students who attend at least 75% of the classes are considered to be attending.

The exam is oral, generally lasting between 30 and 60 minutes, and consists of a reading (in transliteration), grammatical analysis, and translation of passages chosen by the instructor from those read in class and covered in the exam (for attending students).

Grading is primarily based on the student's linguistic and grammatical preparation, but fluency in translation, clarity of presentation, and the ability to use appropriate terminology will also be taken into account.

 

Broadly speaking:

• The ability to identify without hesitation the grammatical forms met with in the texts and to describe them precisely, using an appropriate grammatical terminology, together with a correct and elegant Italian translation, will be evaluated with excellent marks (28 to 30+);
• The ability to recognise a good part of the grammatical forms in the texts and to describe them through a decent grammatical terminology, together with a correct Italian translation, will be evaluated with decent to average marks (24 to 27);
• A limited ability to identify the grammatical forms in the texts, a patchy knowledge of the grammatical rules, and an inadequate Italian translation, will lead to mere pass marks (18 to 23);
• The inability to identify a substantial part of the grammatical forms in the texts, to describe the relevant rules, or to provide an Italian translation, will lead to exam failure.

 

• Non-attending students

Students who attend less than 75% of the classes are considered to be non-attending.

The exam is oral, and lasts approximately 30-60 minutes.

The exam consists in the discussion (presentation, contextualisation, criticism) of a selection of the historical and literary sources selected in agreement with the instructor.

Grading is based primarily on student's preparation, but will also take into account her/his ability of analysis and synthesis, clarity in exposition, and use of an appropriate language.

Broadly speaking:

• An organic vision of the topics discussed in the course, the capacity for critical analysis, and the use of a precise and appropriate language will be evaluated with excellent to good marks (28 to 30+);
• A mnemonic knowledge of the subject, a limited ability of analysis and synthesis, and the use of an acceptable but not always accurate language will be evaluated with decent to average marks (24 to 27);
• Incomplete knowledge of the subject and/or poor analysis and synthesis skills and/or the use of an inaccurate language will lead to mere pass marks (18 to 23);
• Poor preparation, lack of familiarity with the bibliography of the course, use of inappropriate language will lead to exam failure.

 

• Please note

This 6 CFU course can be chosen as a part of the 12 CFU Integrated Course "TEXTS AND LANGUAGES OF SOUTH ASIA (I.C.) (LM)". If the student has the Integrated Course (12 CFU) in his/her study plan, the examination of the two courses making up the Integrated Course must be taken on a single date and the final grade will result from the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts ("SOUTH INDIAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES (1) (LM)" e "TEXTUAL CULTURES ACROSS SOUTH ASIA (1) (LM)").

• Exam sessions

During the academic year, exam sessions are scheduled for the following months: May, June, September, November, December, February

 

Teaching tools

Grammatical outlines, original texts and manuscript images will be made available to students through the "Virtuale" platform of the University.

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Giovanni Ciotti