This is a joint course for students in Icelandic, General Linguistics and Sign Language Linguistics. It falls into two parts. On the one hand, in Thursday classes, the students receive training in critical thinking, scientific methods and academic writing. Topics include the use of handbooks and other sources, the style and structure of academic papers, research methods in linguistics and literature, conventions regarding citations and bibliographies, etc.

In the second part of the course, taught on Tuesdays, the students are introduced to the various sub-disciplines of Icelandic, General Linguistics and Sign Language Linguistics as academic subjects and their connection to other subject areas. Different teachers and other guests introduce their sub-disciplines and areas of specialization.

The course gives an introduction to linguistics and methods of linguistic analyses. The goal is to acquaint students with the nature of human languages and the main features of Icelandic grammar. 

This course is an introduction to literary theory, its terms and methods. Students are trained in analysing literary texts, poems, prose and drama. 

An overview of Icelandic literary history from the beginning to the end of the 19th century. Novelties and changes in Icelandic literature will be placed in context with contemporary currents in European literature.

The course focuses on the various ways in which medieval texts can be studied, referring to both medieval or modern literary theory. The characteristics of medieval textual culture will be discussed, as well as medieval attitudes to fact and fiction, entertainment and edification. Texts representing all of the most important genres of Icelandic medieval literature will be read.

An introductory course in Icelandic phonetics, phonology, and morphology. The basics of acoustic phonetics and Icelandic articulatory phonetics will be introduced, accompanied by training in phonetic transcription. The main concepts of phonology will be presented, followed by an overview of sound alternations in Icelandic and their conditions. Basic concepts in morphology will be presented and the main word formation processes in Icelandic and their productivity will be dealt with. Grammatical categories in Icelandic will be outlined, the inflection of the main parts of speech will be described, and an overview given of inflectional classes and variations.

Historical overview of the development of literary theory. The main emphasis is on twentieth and twenty-first century trends and methods. In addition to lectures there are small group discussion periods.

This course aims at explaining the connection between diachronic language change and synchronic language variation, as it is generally assumed that language changes generate variants that coexist for a time and that all synchronic variants are caused by a language change of some kind. The course will, on the one hand, discuss the nature of language change and the main types of changes, and on the other hand, the nature of synchronic variation. We will focus on the development of Icelandic; hence, examples will primarily be taken from the history of Icelandic and from present-day Icelandic, but we will also look at parallels in other languages.

This course covers the basic issues in Icelandic syntax, including parts of speech, phrasal categories, the syntactic classification of verbs, movements of various kinds and grammatical functions. The ways in which language use, semantics, and pragmatics relate to syntax will also be discussed.

This course will focus on the works of two female poets and pioneers in the writing of modernist literature in Iceland in the 20th century, Ásta Sigurðardóttir (1930–1971) and Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004). Discussion will cover the reception of their works and their literary-historical context, the authors' lives and careers, and how their experiences and public images are reflected in their writings, as well as the influence of intellectual movements and social changes such as feminism and class struggle. The texts of Ásta and Svava will be compared, with attention paid to connections between their bodies of work and the elements that distinguish them, as well as their influence on other writers and the Icelandic literary field in the 21st century.

This course will introduce the key methods of psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience in research on language. We will discuss how the brain processes meaning and syntax, in addition to topics such as bilingualism, speech production, language development and comprehension of indirect language (such as irony). At the end of the course students will get insights into recent research on the genetics of language.

The course is taught in English alongside a masters level course, but the course requirements will be different.

The cultural and national history of Iceland is entwined with its poetic heritage. In addition to longer, autonomous sagnakvæði, Old Icelandic poetic stanzas are significant components of bigger narratives and the greater storytelling tradition in general. This course will explore two important forms of Old Icelandic poetry, skaldic poetry and rímur, preserved in the oldest sources up until the Reformation. Students will receive training in reading and analyzing this poetry and will discuss the value and role of verse in different texts, the interaction between narratives and rímur, the value of Old Icelandic poetry as sources as well as the oral and written preservation of the poetry at different times.

The meaning of words and sentences is often determined by the context, for instance in irony. How do listeners understand us if we don‘t always say what we mean? What do conversations in different cultures and languages have in common? In this course we will examine language in interaction from different perspectives. Key concepts in linguistic pragmatics will be introduced, including the contribution of context to meaning. The methodology and key topics of conversation analysis will be described along with recent comparative studies on language in interaction around the world. We will also briefly discuss interdisciplinary psycholinguistic research on pragmatics. Students will get hands-on experience with recording conversations, the conceptual analysis of talk, and use of relevant software (including Praat for analyzing and processing sound files and ELAN for annotation of conversation).

The course provides students with an overview of speech pathologists' main subject areas within an Icelandic setting. This is a vast and diverse domain, ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia and aphasia in adults, to language impairment and speech sound disorders in children. The course will intertwine essential terms and knowledge with more practical approaches to the material. Furthermore, students should gain the skills necessary to acquaint themselves with relevant research and peer-reviewed articles within the field of speech-language pathology.

This course is primarily intended for undergraduate student in the humanities at the University of Iceland who wish to be able to use programming in their work. In the course, we go through the foundations of programming using the programming language Python and an emphasis is placed on the analysis of textual data. The course is therefore appropriate for those who would like to get to know language technology at the undergraduate level, especially those who are interested in pursuing the language technology program at the MA-level. The course is taught alongside MLT701F Programming in language technology at the MA-level and all students attend the same lectures but BA students get shorter assignments than MA students. When solving various programming tasks involving the analysis of text it is beneficial for students to be at least somewhat familiar with important concepts in the grammatical analysis of natural languages but if a student is unsure whether they have the appropriate background for the course, they should feel free to contact the instructor for further information. 

The main goal of this course is to support students in taking their first step toward learning programming, help them to knack the basis and train them in solving simple but diverse assignments in language technology using Python. Students will be introduced to a few text processing tools that can be used for natural language processing. Students who subsequently enroll in the MA-program in language technology will build on skills acquired in this course in other courses about natural language processing.

This course covers the basics of phonetics and phonology. The first half of the course will focus on phonetics. The speech articulators and sound production will be described. Students will receive training in phonetic transcription. The main acoustic methods will be introduced and the relationship between phonetics and phonology will be discussed. In the second part of the course, concepts and methods in the analysis of phonological systems will be introduced and students will be trained in their use. Different theories in phonology will be examined in relation to language in general and Icelandic phonology in particular.

This is a basic composition course. Writing skills will be honed through regular assignments, lectures, class discussions and workshops.Approaches to writing research papers will be addressed, such as choosing and narrowing a topic, structure, and sources. Register, style, spelling, punctuation, and resources for writers will be discussed. Students write essays and papers of various kinds and get regular feedback from peers and teachers. Course assessment is based on written assignments and class participation. The course can only be passed if all assignments are turned in.

The aim of this survey course is to sample the literary history of the last four millennia by reading a number of world masterpieces from Africa, Asia and Europe. All texts will be read in Icelandic translations. 

The major aspects of the history of linguistics traced from the antiquity through the middle ages till the beginning of the 19th Century. The Old Icelandic grammatical treatises. The major aspects of the history of linguistics in the 19th and 20th century. Emphasis is placed on the theories and discoveries that have been most influential in the development of ideas and methods in linguistics.

The course gives an overview of the phonological system of Old Icelandic and its prehistory. We will read the First Grammatical Treatise and discuss its importance as source of evidence of Old Icelandic phonology and its contribution to the history of linguistics. The morphological structure of Old Icelandic will be treated in detail.

The teaching consists of lectures and special tutorial classes that will discuss homework assignments.

This module focuses on Icelandic literary history of the 20th and 21st century. Literary fiction of various kinds is read and discussed in a cultural historical context, both locally and internationally.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and the materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different status of social groups and species.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

This course provides an overview of Icelandic manuscript culture. Students will get practical training in reading Icelandic manuscripts from different periods, from the earliest extant Icelandic vellums dating to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries down to the paper manuscripts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The origins of the Icelandic script will be discussed as well as its development over time, and students will get practical training in reading different types of script from different periods. The orthography of medieval manuscripts differs considerably from the modern orthography. It includes a system of abbreviations that is partly inherited from a much earlier Latin tradition. Students will get practical training in interpreting these abbreviations. The Icelandic language has also changed over time, and different manifestations of these language changes appear when reading and examining Icelandic texts from different periods. A selection of these changes will be discussed. Changes in script, orthography, and language provide valuable indications of the date of the manuscript, and students will get practical training in dating medieval Icelandic manuscripts based on script, orthography, and language.

Various aspects of medieval book production will be discussed, including the making of parchment and ink, and book binding. Scribes and scribal schools will be discussed as well as probable centres of book production in medieval Iceland. The works of some prolific scribes in the fourteenth century will be examined. What did they write? How did they write? Did they change their practice over a long scribal career? The texts contained by the manuscripts will also be examined and the basics of textual criticism introduced. Njáls saga, for instance, has survived in over sixty manuscripts with considerable textual variation. Which manuscript should then constitute the basis for a printed edition of Njáls saga? Different types of printed editions will be discussed, and students try their hand at editing a medieval text. The electronic editing of pre-modern texts will be introduced, and students will get practical training in mark-up with XML according to the guidelines of the Medieval Nordic Text Archive (MENOTA) and the Medieval Unicode Font Initiative (MUFI).

The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be pre-recorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions.

The course is run in cooperation with the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies which has the custody of the largest single collection of Icelandic medieval manuscripts. Students will visit the institute to learn about its collections and facilities and to examine manuscripts.

Course synopsis

Week 1
(1) Introduction
The course: format, readings, requirements and assessment.
The subject matter: Medieval Icelandic manuscripts.

(2) The earliest Icelandic manuscripts
A sketch of the history of the Latin script and the earliest writings in Icelandic. Where did Icelanders learn to use the Latin alphabet? Which orthography did they employ? Some main characteristics of medieval orthography and the use of abbreviations.

Week 2
(3) Electronic editing of medieval texts
How can medieval texts be presented electronically? The XML mark-up language, TEI, MENOTA, MUFI, and related matters. We will try our hand at electronic editing.

(4) The earliest Icelandic orthography and the First Grammatical Treatise
The use of the Latin alphabet for writing Icelandic: challenges — and the solutions proposed by the author of the First Grammatical Treatise in the middle of the twelfth century.

Week 3
(5) Icelandic script and orthography in the thirteenth century
The difference between Icelandic and Norwegian orthography in the twelfth century. What changed in the course of the thirteenth century?

(6) Different types of print editions: scholarly editions
How accurate should printed editions be? Should every little detail in the manuscript be reproduced? What is “Classical Old Icelandic Normalized Orthography”? What are the needs of the readers? What is the role of the editor?

Week 4
(7) Norwegian influence on script, orthography, and language in Icelandic manuscripts
What is the manifestation of this Norwegian influence? How deep-rooted was it? How long did it last?

(8) The dating of manuscripts: script, orthography, and language
How can medieval Icelandic manuscripts be dated? Features of script, orthography, and language that can be helpful for dating.

Week 5
(9) Icelandic script and orthography in the fourteenth century
Main characteristics and their development.

(10) One scribal hand or many?
Distinguishing different scribal hands: some criteria. The Icelandic Homily Book from around 1200: One scribe or fourteen?

Week 6
(11) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
From animal skin to parchment. How was the ink produced? Book design and book binding. The care and conservation of medieval manuscripts.

(12) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
A visit to the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

— STUDY WEEK —

Week 7
(13) Scribes, scribal milieus, the export of books
On prolific scribes, scribal collaboration, and extensive production of books. Were books produced in Iceland for export in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?

(14) Icelandic script and orthography in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

Week 8
(15) Textual criticism
On the transmission of texts through copying. Textual variation, manuscript classification, and stemmatology.

(16) Textual criticism
Comparing manuscripts and collecting variants.

Week 9
(17) Manuscript illumination
On illuminated manuscripts, historiated initials, artists and their models.

(18) Manuscript catalogues and cataloguing
We will familiarize ourselves with the most important manuscript catalogues and learn about the principles of manuscript cataloguing.

Week 10
(19) Icelandic script and orthography in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

(20) The transmission of the text: a relic or a living text?
How did the language change when a scribe copied from an old exemplar? Njáls saga is believed to have been written towards the end of the thirteenth century. What is the language of Njáls saga in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century manuscripts?

Week 11
(21) Antiquarianism, manuscript collectors, and copyists
The sixteenth century saw the rise of interest in antiquities, old manuscripts were collected and copied.

(22) Different types of print editions: popular editions
How is a pre-modern text best presented to the modern reader? Should archaic features of language and orthography be retained or should they be updated? On the allegiance to the manuscript and allegiance to the reader.

Week 12
(23) Manuscript collections and manuscript collectors
The life and work of Árni Magnússon.

(24) The manuscript dispute and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland
The search for Codex Scardensis and a nerve-racking auction in London. The custody dispute with Denmark and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland 1971–1997.

— This synopsis may be subject to change. —

Readings

The reading list is on the course website on Canvas. It consists of readings in several languages, including English, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, German, and French. The reading list is (often) divided into three main sections:

(a) Required readings: Texts that everyone is required to read. These are all in English.

(b) Optional supplementary readings: These are optional readings for those who want a more in-depth discussion. Most of these readings are in English, but not all.

(c) For those who still want more: A variety of optional readings in several languages, not least in Icelandic, for those who still want more. This section is mostly for reference purposes and as a tool for further research.

Many of the required readings (and some of the optional readings) are found on the Canvas course website. Other reading materials are available in the institute library in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Edda and the University Library (Háskólabókasafn) in the Þjóðarbókhlaða.

Prerequisites
Some skills in Icelandic are essential to fully benefit from the course, as emphasis will be placed on practical training in reading and transcribing text from medieval Icelandic manuscripts. MIS105F Old Icelandic 1 or equivalent study of Old Icelandic is sufficient or some skills in Modern Icelandic. Please, consult the instructor if in doubt.

Course format
The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be prerecorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions (flipped classroom).

Working language: This course is open to students with different linguistic backgrounds, and there are two working languages, English and Icelandic. Pre-recorded lectures are in both English and Icelandic (except for guest lecturers who will present in English), written assignments are in both English and Icelandic, and reading materials are in English, Icelandic and the Scandinavian languages, but for those who cannot read Icelandic or the Scan-dinavian languages, all required readings are in English. English is the main working language in the classroom, but questions and contributions to class discussion may also be in Icelandic. — See a separate note on the working languages and the classroom arrangement.

Course requirements and assessment
The final grade for the course will be based on:

(1) Transcription assignments: 30%
(2) Manuscript catalogue assignment: 10%
(3) Manuscript dating assignment: 10%
(4) Presentation: manuscript of the day: 10%
(5) Research paper: 30%
(6) Class participation: 10%

All written assignments will be submitted through Canvas. More detailed instructions and information on deadlines is found on Canvas.

This course is an introduction into some of the basic ideas and topics in theoretical syntax. The topics include phrase structure, X-bar theory, functional projections, verb raising, argument structure, case marking, binding principles and locality principles. The discussion will be based on examples from Icelandic, English and many other languages.

This is an advanced morphology course that is taught every other year. The aim of the course is introduce to students various theories and topics in morphology, using examples from Icelandic and other languages, and to train students to work on morphology on their own.

This course is a survey of linguistic research on first language acquisition, in particular, although we will also look at bilingualism and the acquisition of second and foreign languages. We will be concerned with the question of how young children acquire their native language. The primary focus is on (1) the biological foundations of language and the effects of the language environment on young children's language acquisition, and (2) grammatical development in language acquisition, i.e. how children develop the system of rules - syntactic, semantic, morphological, phonological - which comprise the grammar of their language, and acquire its vocabulary. In the course, we will concentrate on Icelandic language development, although we also look at language development in English and other languages.

The number of student in this course is limited to 70.

This course discusses how texts, especially literary texts, can be analyzed from the perspective of theoretical linguistics.  The course is therefore suitable for students who have an interest in both literary studies and linguistics. The topics include style types, the use of tenses, word order, character designations, gender-neutral language, sound symbolism, the effects of verbs and nouns, focalization and metaphors. Many guest lecturers will participate in this class, both literary scholars and linguists.

Examples of so-called "constructed languages" can be found as far back as the 7th century, but human ideas about the origin of languages and their structure are probably as old as humanity itself. Constructed languages are created for various purposes, whether it is purely for pleasure, to create a framework for a fictional world, such as Tolkien's Elvish languages and the alien languages of the Star Trek universe, or to facilitate international communication, as the planned languages Esperanto, Solresol and Volapük are intended to do. Whatever the purpose of the constructed language, it is clear that behind it lies an enormous knowledge of the speakers of the language itself and what properties a language can have - and cannot have - in order for it to function as a real language. The course will discuss different types of constructed languages and the ideology behind them. The structure and properties of constructed languages will be discussed and compared to natural languages, as well as other artificial languages, such as gibberish and secret code. Students learn to distinguish different types of constructed languages based on their purpose and field of use. The grammatical structures of constructed languages will be discussed and students will learn to break down and examine the grammatical categories of different languages, guided by the following questions: What do speakers need to know about their own language in order to learn a constructed language, and what can constructed languages teach us about real languages?

Anger is a prominent driving force and theme in literature and the arts from the very beginning of the Western cultural tradition. Anger is intertwined with the very nature of storytelling. In this course, we examine various examples of anger and place them in the context of theories from the study of emotions—ranging from the anger of Achilles to that of Donald Duck. Who is allowed to be angry? Why are they so angry, and what purpose does their anger serve in a cultural-historical context? A selection of works and scholarly texts dealing with anger, and with anger as a phenomenon, will be read.

The class is taught in Icelandic.  In this course, students get a chance to hone their writing skills. Students will hand in regular writing assignments where they practise different ways of presenting scholarly work in a creative manner, such as op-eds and creative nonfiction. Students will also write creative texts, such as short stories. Students can use material from their field of study but will also have to face new challenges. Classes will be in the form of lectures, discussions, and workshops. Assessment will be based on regular assignments, self-assessment, a midterm assignment, a final assignment, a portfolio, and attendance and participation. Attendance and participation make up 15% of the grade and is partly mandatory (8 out of 12 workshops). The course is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Iceland but students must themselves make sure that the course can be used for credit in their particular studies.

Online learning:

The course is organized as face-to-face learning but all lectures from teachers will be recorded. This is done to assure better access to the course. Students who do not attend class will listen to the lectures and write short reports. They also turn in assignments otherwise done in class.

This course will focus on the works of two female poets and pioneers in the writing of modernist literature in Iceland in the 20th century, Ásta Sigurðardóttir (1930–1971) and Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004). Discussion will cover the reception of their works and their literary-historical context, the authors' lives and careers, and how their experiences and public images are reflected in their writings, as well as the influence of intellectual movements and social changes such as feminism and class struggle. The texts of Ásta and Svava will be compared, with attention paid to connections between their bodies of work and the elements that distinguish them, as well as their influence on other writers and the Icelandic literary field in the 21st century.

This course will introduce the key methods of psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience in research on language. We will discuss how the brain processes meaning and syntax, in addition to topics such as bilingualism, speech production, language development and comprehension of indirect language (such as irony). At the end of the course students will get insights into recent research on the genetics of language.

The course is taught in English alongside a masters level course, but the course requirements will be different.

The cultural and national history of Iceland is entwined with its poetic heritage. In addition to longer, autonomous sagnakvæði, Old Icelandic poetic stanzas are significant components of bigger narratives and the greater storytelling tradition in general. This course will explore two important forms of Old Icelandic poetry, skaldic poetry and rímur, preserved in the oldest sources up until the Reformation. Students will receive training in reading and analyzing this poetry and will discuss the value and role of verse in different texts, the interaction between narratives and rímur, the value of Old Icelandic poetry as sources as well as the oral and written preservation of the poetry at different times.

The meaning of words and sentences is often determined by the context, for instance in irony. How do listeners understand us if we don‘t always say what we mean? What do conversations in different cultures and languages have in common? In this course we will examine language in interaction from different perspectives. Key concepts in linguistic pragmatics will be introduced, including the contribution of context to meaning. The methodology and key topics of conversation analysis will be described along with recent comparative studies on language in interaction around the world. We will also briefly discuss interdisciplinary psycholinguistic research on pragmatics. Students will get hands-on experience with recording conversations, the conceptual analysis of talk, and use of relevant software (including Praat for analyzing and processing sound files and ELAN for annotation of conversation).

The course provides students with an overview of speech pathologists' main subject areas within an Icelandic setting. This is a vast and diverse domain, ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia and aphasia in adults, to language impairment and speech sound disorders in children. The course will intertwine essential terms and knowledge with more practical approaches to the material. Furthermore, students should gain the skills necessary to acquaint themselves with relevant research and peer-reviewed articles within the field of speech-language pathology.

This course is primarily intended for undergraduate student in the humanities at the University of Iceland who wish to be able to use programming in their work. In the course, we go through the foundations of programming using the programming language Python and an emphasis is placed on the analysis of textual data. The course is therefore appropriate for those who would like to get to know language technology at the undergraduate level, especially those who are interested in pursuing the language technology program at the MA-level. The course is taught alongside MLT701F Programming in language technology at the MA-level and all students attend the same lectures but BA students get shorter assignments than MA students. When solving various programming tasks involving the analysis of text it is beneficial for students to be at least somewhat familiar with important concepts in the grammatical analysis of natural languages but if a student is unsure whether they have the appropriate background for the course, they should feel free to contact the instructor for further information. 

The main goal of this course is to support students in taking their first step toward learning programming, help them to knack the basis and train them in solving simple but diverse assignments in language technology using Python. Students will be introduced to a few text processing tools that can be used for natural language processing. Students who subsequently enroll in the MA-program in language technology will build on skills acquired in this course in other courses about natural language processing.

This course covers the basics of phonetics and phonology. The first half of the course will focus on phonetics. The speech articulators and sound production will be described. Students will receive training in phonetic transcription. The main acoustic methods will be introduced and the relationship between phonetics and phonology will be discussed. In the second part of the course, concepts and methods in the analysis of phonological systems will be introduced and students will be trained in their use. Different theories in phonology will be examined in relation to language in general and Icelandic phonology in particular.

This is a basic composition course. Writing skills will be honed through regular assignments, lectures, class discussions and workshops.Approaches to writing research papers will be addressed, such as choosing and narrowing a topic, structure, and sources. Register, style, spelling, punctuation, and resources for writers will be discussed. Students write essays and papers of various kinds and get regular feedback from peers and teachers. Course assessment is based on written assignments and class participation. The course can only be passed if all assignments are turned in.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.
The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).
Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing https://ritver.hi.is/en/center-writing, which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.
Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544

The aim of this survey course is to sample the literary history of the last four millennia by reading a number of world masterpieces from Africa, Asia and Europe. All texts will be read in Icelandic translations. 

The major aspects of the history of linguistics traced from the antiquity through the middle ages till the beginning of the 19th Century. The Old Icelandic grammatical treatises. The major aspects of the history of linguistics in the 19th and 20th century. Emphasis is placed on the theories and discoveries that have been most influential in the development of ideas and methods in linguistics.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and the materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different status of social groups and species.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

This course provides an overview of Icelandic manuscript culture. Students will get practical training in reading Icelandic manuscripts from different periods, from the earliest extant Icelandic vellums dating to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries down to the paper manuscripts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The origins of the Icelandic script will be discussed as well as its development over time, and students will get practical training in reading different types of script from different periods. The orthography of medieval manuscripts differs considerably from the modern orthography. It includes a system of abbreviations that is partly inherited from a much earlier Latin tradition. Students will get practical training in interpreting these abbreviations. The Icelandic language has also changed over time, and different manifestations of these language changes appear when reading and examining Icelandic texts from different periods. A selection of these changes will be discussed. Changes in script, orthography, and language provide valuable indications of the date of the manuscript, and students will get practical training in dating medieval Icelandic manuscripts based on script, orthography, and language.

Various aspects of medieval book production will be discussed, including the making of parchment and ink, and book binding. Scribes and scribal schools will be discussed as well as probable centres of book production in medieval Iceland. The works of some prolific scribes in the fourteenth century will be examined. What did they write? How did they write? Did they change their practice over a long scribal career? The texts contained by the manuscripts will also be examined and the basics of textual criticism introduced. Njáls saga, for instance, has survived in over sixty manuscripts with considerable textual variation. Which manuscript should then constitute the basis for a printed edition of Njáls saga? Different types of printed editions will be discussed, and students try their hand at editing a medieval text. The electronic editing of pre-modern texts will be introduced, and students will get practical training in mark-up with XML according to the guidelines of the Medieval Nordic Text Archive (MENOTA) and the Medieval Unicode Font Initiative (MUFI).

The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be pre-recorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions.

The course is run in cooperation with the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies which has the custody of the largest single collection of Icelandic medieval manuscripts. Students will visit the institute to learn about its collections and facilities and to examine manuscripts.

Course synopsis

Week 1
(1) Introduction
The course: format, readings, requirements and assessment.
The subject matter: Medieval Icelandic manuscripts.

(2) The earliest Icelandic manuscripts
A sketch of the history of the Latin script and the earliest writings in Icelandic. Where did Icelanders learn to use the Latin alphabet? Which orthography did they employ? Some main characteristics of medieval orthography and the use of abbreviations.

Week 2
(3) Electronic editing of medieval texts
How can medieval texts be presented electronically? The XML mark-up language, TEI, MENOTA, MUFI, and related matters. We will try our hand at electronic editing.

(4) The earliest Icelandic orthography and the First Grammatical Treatise
The use of the Latin alphabet for writing Icelandic: challenges — and the solutions proposed by the author of the First Grammatical Treatise in the middle of the twelfth century.

Week 3
(5) Icelandic script and orthography in the thirteenth century
The difference between Icelandic and Norwegian orthography in the twelfth century. What changed in the course of the thirteenth century?

(6) Different types of print editions: scholarly editions
How accurate should printed editions be? Should every little detail in the manuscript be reproduced? What is “Classical Old Icelandic Normalized Orthography”? What are the needs of the readers? What is the role of the editor?

Week 4
(7) Norwegian influence on script, orthography, and language in Icelandic manuscripts
What is the manifestation of this Norwegian influence? How deep-rooted was it? How long did it last?

(8) The dating of manuscripts: script, orthography, and language
How can medieval Icelandic manuscripts be dated? Features of script, orthography, and language that can be helpful for dating.

Week 5
(9) Icelandic script and orthography in the fourteenth century
Main characteristics and their development.

(10) One scribal hand or many?
Distinguishing different scribal hands: some criteria. The Icelandic Homily Book from around 1200: One scribe or fourteen?

Week 6
(11) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
From animal skin to parchment. How was the ink produced? Book design and book binding. The care and conservation of medieval manuscripts.

(12) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
A visit to the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

— STUDY WEEK —

Week 7
(13) Scribes, scribal milieus, the export of books
On prolific scribes, scribal collaboration, and extensive production of books. Were books produced in Iceland for export in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?

(14) Icelandic script and orthography in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

Week 8
(15) Textual criticism
On the transmission of texts through copying. Textual variation, manuscript classification, and stemmatology.

(16) Textual criticism
Comparing manuscripts and collecting variants.

Week 9
(17) Manuscript illumination
On illuminated manuscripts, historiated initials, artists and their models.

(18) Manuscript catalogues and cataloguing
We will familiarize ourselves with the most important manuscript catalogues and learn about the principles of manuscript cataloguing.

Week 10
(19) Icelandic script and orthography in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

(20) The transmission of the text: a relic or a living text?
How did the language change when a scribe copied from an old exemplar? Njáls saga is believed to have been written towards the end of the thirteenth century. What is the language of Njáls saga in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century manuscripts?

Week 11
(21) Antiquarianism, manuscript collectors, and copyists
The sixteenth century saw the rise of interest in antiquities, old manuscripts were collected and copied.

(22) Different types of print editions: popular editions
How is a pre-modern text best presented to the modern reader? Should archaic features of language and orthography be retained or should they be updated? On the allegiance to the manuscript and allegiance to the reader.

Week 12
(23) Manuscript collections and manuscript collectors
The life and work of Árni Magnússon.

(24) The manuscript dispute and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland
The search for Codex Scardensis and a nerve-racking auction in London. The custody dispute with Denmark and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland 1971–1997.

— This synopsis may be subject to change. —

Readings

The reading list is on the course website on Canvas. It consists of readings in several languages, including English, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, German, and French. The reading list is (often) divided into three main sections:

(a) Required readings: Texts that everyone is required to read. These are all in English.

(b) Optional supplementary readings: These are optional readings for those who want a more in-depth discussion. Most of these readings are in English, but not all.

(c) For those who still want more: A variety of optional readings in several languages, not least in Icelandic, for those who still want more. This section is mostly for reference purposes and as a tool for further research.

Many of the required readings (and some of the optional readings) are found on the Canvas course website. Other reading materials are available in the institute library in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Edda and the University Library (Háskólabókasafn) in the Þjóðarbókhlaða.

Prerequisites
Some skills in Icelandic are essential to fully benefit from the course, as emphasis will be placed on practical training in reading and transcribing text from medieval Icelandic manuscripts. MIS105F Old Icelandic 1 or equivalent study of Old Icelandic is sufficient or some skills in Modern Icelandic. Please, consult the instructor if in doubt.

Course format
The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be prerecorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions (flipped classroom).

Working language: This course is open to students with different linguistic backgrounds, and there are two working languages, English and Icelandic. Pre-recorded lectures are in both English and Icelandic (except for guest lecturers who will present in English), written assignments are in both English and Icelandic, and reading materials are in English, Icelandic and the Scandinavian languages, but for those who cannot read Icelandic or the Scan-dinavian languages, all required readings are in English. English is the main working language in the classroom, but questions and contributions to class discussion may also be in Icelandic. — See a separate note on the working languages and the classroom arrangement.

Course requirements and assessment
The final grade for the course will be based on:

(1) Transcription assignments: 30%
(2) Manuscript catalogue assignment: 10%
(3) Manuscript dating assignment: 10%
(4) Presentation: manuscript of the day: 10%
(5) Research paper: 30%
(6) Class participation: 10%

All written assignments will be submitted through Canvas. More detailed instructions and information on deadlines is found on Canvas.

This course is an introduction into some of the basic ideas and topics in theoretical syntax. The topics include phrase structure, X-bar theory, functional projections, verb raising, argument structure, case marking, binding principles and locality principles. The discussion will be based on examples from Icelandic, English and many other languages.

This is an advanced morphology course that is taught every other year. The aim of the course is introduce to students various theories and topics in morphology, using examples from Icelandic and other languages, and to train students to work on morphology on their own.

This course is a survey of linguistic research on first language acquisition, in particular, although we will also look at bilingualism and the acquisition of second and foreign languages. We will be concerned with the question of how young children acquire their native language. The primary focus is on (1) the biological foundations of language and the effects of the language environment on young children's language acquisition, and (2) grammatical development in language acquisition, i.e. how children develop the system of rules - syntactic, semantic, morphological, phonological - which comprise the grammar of their language, and acquire its vocabulary. In the course, we will concentrate on Icelandic language development, although we also look at language development in English and other languages.

The number of student in this course is limited to 70.

This course discusses how texts, especially literary texts, can be analyzed from the perspective of theoretical linguistics.  The course is therefore suitable for students who have an interest in both literary studies and linguistics. The topics include style types, the use of tenses, word order, character designations, gender-neutral language, sound symbolism, the effects of verbs and nouns, focalization and metaphors. Many guest lecturers will participate in this class, both literary scholars and linguists.

Examples of so-called "constructed languages" can be found as far back as the 7th century, but human ideas about the origin of languages and their structure are probably as old as humanity itself. Constructed languages are created for various purposes, whether it is purely for pleasure, to create a framework for a fictional world, such as Tolkien's Elvish languages and the alien languages of the Star Trek universe, or to facilitate international communication, as the planned languages Esperanto, Solresol and Volapük are intended to do. Whatever the purpose of the constructed language, it is clear that behind it lies an enormous knowledge of the speakers of the language itself and what properties a language can have - and cannot have - in order for it to function as a real language. The course will discuss different types of constructed languages and the ideology behind them. The structure and properties of constructed languages will be discussed and compared to natural languages, as well as other artificial languages, such as gibberish and secret code. Students learn to distinguish different types of constructed languages based on their purpose and field of use. The grammatical structures of constructed languages will be discussed and students will learn to break down and examine the grammatical categories of different languages, guided by the following questions: What do speakers need to know about their own language in order to learn a constructed language, and what can constructed languages teach us about real languages?

Anger is a prominent driving force and theme in literature and the arts from the very beginning of the Western cultural tradition. Anger is intertwined with the very nature of storytelling. In this course, we examine various examples of anger and place them in the context of theories from the study of emotions—ranging from the anger of Achilles to that of Donald Duck. Who is allowed to be angry? Why are they so angry, and what purpose does their anger serve in a cultural-historical context? A selection of works and scholarly texts dealing with anger, and with anger as a phenomenon, will be read.

The class is taught in Icelandic.  In this course, students get a chance to hone their writing skills. Students will hand in regular writing assignments where they practise different ways of presenting scholarly work in a creative manner, such as op-eds and creative nonfiction. Students will also write creative texts, such as short stories. Students can use material from their field of study but will also have to face new challenges. Classes will be in the form of lectures, discussions, and workshops. Assessment will be based on regular assignments, self-assessment, a midterm assignment, a final assignment, a portfolio, and attendance and participation. Attendance and participation make up 15% of the grade and is partly mandatory (8 out of 12 workshops). The course is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Iceland but students must themselves make sure that the course can be used for credit in their particular studies.

Online learning:

The course is organized as face-to-face learning but all lectures from teachers will be recorded. This is done to assure better access to the course. Students who do not attend class will listen to the lectures and write short reports. They also turn in assignments otherwise done in class.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.
The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).
Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing https://ritver.hi.is/en/center-writing, which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.
Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different statuses of social groups and species

This is a joint course for students in Icelandic, General Linguistics and Sign Language Linguistics. It falls into two parts. On the one hand, in Thursday classes, the students receive training in critical thinking, scientific methods and academic writing. Topics include the use of handbooks and other sources, the style and structure of academic papers, research methods in linguistics and literature, conventions regarding citations and bibliographies, etc.

In the second part of the course, taught on Tuesdays, the students are introduced to the various sub-disciplines of Icelandic, General Linguistics and Sign Language Linguistics as academic subjects and their connection to other subject areas. Different teachers and other guests introduce their sub-disciplines and areas of specialization.

The course gives an introduction to linguistics and methods of linguistic analyses. The goal is to acquaint students with the nature of human languages and the main features of Icelandic grammar. 

This course is an introduction to literary theory, its terms and methods. Students are trained in analysing literary texts, poems, prose and drama. 

An overview of Icelandic literary history from the beginning to the end of the 19th century. Novelties and changes in Icelandic literature will be placed in context with contemporary currents in European literature.

The course focuses on the various ways in which medieval texts can be studied, referring to both medieval or modern literary theory. The characteristics of medieval textual culture will be discussed, as well as medieval attitudes to fact and fiction, entertainment and edification. Texts representing all of the most important genres of Icelandic medieval literature will be read.

An introductory course in Icelandic phonetics, phonology, and morphology. The basics of acoustic phonetics and Icelandic articulatory phonetics will be introduced, accompanied by training in phonetic transcription. The main concepts of phonology will be presented, followed by an overview of sound alternations in Icelandic and their conditions. Basic concepts in morphology will be presented and the main word formation processes in Icelandic and their productivity will be dealt with. Grammatical categories in Icelandic will be outlined, the inflection of the main parts of speech will be described, and an overview given of inflectional classes and variations.

Historical overview of the development of literary theory. The main emphasis is on twentieth and twenty-first century trends and methods. In addition to lectures there are small group discussion periods.

This course aims at explaining the connection between diachronic language change and synchronic language variation, as it is generally assumed that language changes generate variants that coexist for a time and that all synchronic variants are caused by a language change of some kind. The course will, on the one hand, discuss the nature of language change and the main types of changes, and on the other hand, the nature of synchronic variation. We will focus on the development of Icelandic; hence, examples will primarily be taken from the history of Icelandic and from present-day Icelandic, but we will also look at parallels in other languages.

This course covers the basic issues in Icelandic syntax, including parts of speech, phrasal categories, the syntactic classification of verbs, movements of various kinds and grammatical functions. The ways in which language use, semantics, and pragmatics relate to syntax will also be discussed.

This course will focus on the works of two female poets and pioneers in the writing of modernist literature in Iceland in the 20th century, Ásta Sigurðardóttir (1930–1971) and Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004). Discussion will cover the reception of their works and their literary-historical context, the authors' lives and careers, and how their experiences and public images are reflected in their writings, as well as the influence of intellectual movements and social changes such as feminism and class struggle. The texts of Ásta and Svava will be compared, with attention paid to connections between their bodies of work and the elements that distinguish them, as well as their influence on other writers and the Icelandic literary field in the 21st century.

This course will introduce the key methods of psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience in research on language. We will discuss how the brain processes meaning and syntax, in addition to topics such as bilingualism, speech production, language development and comprehension of indirect language (such as irony). At the end of the course students will get insights into recent research on the genetics of language.

The course is taught in English alongside a masters level course, but the course requirements will be different.

The cultural and national history of Iceland is entwined with its poetic heritage. In addition to longer, autonomous sagnakvæði, Old Icelandic poetic stanzas are significant components of bigger narratives and the greater storytelling tradition in general. This course will explore two important forms of Old Icelandic poetry, skaldic poetry and rímur, preserved in the oldest sources up until the Reformation. Students will receive training in reading and analyzing this poetry and will discuss the value and role of verse in different texts, the interaction between narratives and rímur, the value of Old Icelandic poetry as sources as well as the oral and written preservation of the poetry at different times.

The meaning of words and sentences is often determined by the context, for instance in irony. How do listeners understand us if we don‘t always say what we mean? What do conversations in different cultures and languages have in common? In this course we will examine language in interaction from different perspectives. Key concepts in linguistic pragmatics will be introduced, including the contribution of context to meaning. The methodology and key topics of conversation analysis will be described along with recent comparative studies on language in interaction around the world. We will also briefly discuss interdisciplinary psycholinguistic research on pragmatics. Students will get hands-on experience with recording conversations, the conceptual analysis of talk, and use of relevant software (including Praat for analyzing and processing sound files and ELAN for annotation of conversation).

The course provides students with an overview of speech pathologists' main subject areas within an Icelandic setting. This is a vast and diverse domain, ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia and aphasia in adults, to language impairment and speech sound disorders in children. The course will intertwine essential terms and knowledge with more practical approaches to the material. Furthermore, students should gain the skills necessary to acquaint themselves with relevant research and peer-reviewed articles within the field of speech-language pathology.

This course is primarily intended for undergraduate student in the humanities at the University of Iceland who wish to be able to use programming in their work. In the course, we go through the foundations of programming using the programming language Python and an emphasis is placed on the analysis of textual data. The course is therefore appropriate for those who would like to get to know language technology at the undergraduate level, especially those who are interested in pursuing the language technology program at the MA-level. The course is taught alongside MLT701F Programming in language technology at the MA-level and all students attend the same lectures but BA students get shorter assignments than MA students. When solving various programming tasks involving the analysis of text it is beneficial for students to be at least somewhat familiar with important concepts in the grammatical analysis of natural languages but if a student is unsure whether they have the appropriate background for the course, they should feel free to contact the instructor for further information. 

The main goal of this course is to support students in taking their first step toward learning programming, help them to knack the basis and train them in solving simple but diverse assignments in language technology using Python. Students will be introduced to a few text processing tools that can be used for natural language processing. Students who subsequently enroll in the MA-program in language technology will build on skills acquired in this course in other courses about natural language processing.

This course covers the basics of phonetics and phonology. The first half of the course will focus on phonetics. The speech articulators and sound production will be described. Students will receive training in phonetic transcription. The main acoustic methods will be introduced and the relationship between phonetics and phonology will be discussed. In the second part of the course, concepts and methods in the analysis of phonological systems will be introduced and students will be trained in their use. Different theories in phonology will be examined in relation to language in general and Icelandic phonology in particular.

This is a basic composition course. Writing skills will be honed through regular assignments, lectures, class discussions and workshops.Approaches to writing research papers will be addressed, such as choosing and narrowing a topic, structure, and sources. Register, style, spelling, punctuation, and resources for writers will be discussed. Students write essays and papers of various kinds and get regular feedback from peers and teachers. Course assessment is based on written assignments and class participation. The course can only be passed if all assignments are turned in.

The aim of this survey course is to sample the literary history of the last four millennia by reading a number of world masterpieces from Africa, Asia and Europe. All texts will be read in Icelandic translations. 

The major aspects of the history of linguistics traced from the antiquity through the middle ages till the beginning of the 19th Century. The Old Icelandic grammatical treatises. The major aspects of the history of linguistics in the 19th and 20th century. Emphasis is placed on the theories and discoveries that have been most influential in the development of ideas and methods in linguistics.

The course gives an overview of the phonological system of Old Icelandic and its prehistory. We will read the First Grammatical Treatise and discuss its importance as source of evidence of Old Icelandic phonology and its contribution to the history of linguistics. The morphological structure of Old Icelandic will be treated in detail.

The teaching consists of lectures and special tutorial classes that will discuss homework assignments.

This module focuses on Icelandic literary history of the 20th and 21st century. Literary fiction of various kinds is read and discussed in a cultural historical context, both locally and internationally.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and the materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different status of social groups and species.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

This course provides an overview of Icelandic manuscript culture. Students will get practical training in reading Icelandic manuscripts from different periods, from the earliest extant Icelandic vellums dating to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries down to the paper manuscripts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The origins of the Icelandic script will be discussed as well as its development over time, and students will get practical training in reading different types of script from different periods. The orthography of medieval manuscripts differs considerably from the modern orthography. It includes a system of abbreviations that is partly inherited from a much earlier Latin tradition. Students will get practical training in interpreting these abbreviations. The Icelandic language has also changed over time, and different manifestations of these language changes appear when reading and examining Icelandic texts from different periods. A selection of these changes will be discussed. Changes in script, orthography, and language provide valuable indications of the date of the manuscript, and students will get practical training in dating medieval Icelandic manuscripts based on script, orthography, and language.

Various aspects of medieval book production will be discussed, including the making of parchment and ink, and book binding. Scribes and scribal schools will be discussed as well as probable centres of book production in medieval Iceland. The works of some prolific scribes in the fourteenth century will be examined. What did they write? How did they write? Did they change their practice over a long scribal career? The texts contained by the manuscripts will also be examined and the basics of textual criticism introduced. Njáls saga, for instance, has survived in over sixty manuscripts with considerable textual variation. Which manuscript should then constitute the basis for a printed edition of Njáls saga? Different types of printed editions will be discussed, and students try their hand at editing a medieval text. The electronic editing of pre-modern texts will be introduced, and students will get practical training in mark-up with XML according to the guidelines of the Medieval Nordic Text Archive (MENOTA) and the Medieval Unicode Font Initiative (MUFI).

The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be pre-recorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions.

The course is run in cooperation with the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies which has the custody of the largest single collection of Icelandic medieval manuscripts. Students will visit the institute to learn about its collections and facilities and to examine manuscripts.

Course synopsis

Week 1
(1) Introduction
The course: format, readings, requirements and assessment.
The subject matter: Medieval Icelandic manuscripts.

(2) The earliest Icelandic manuscripts
A sketch of the history of the Latin script and the earliest writings in Icelandic. Where did Icelanders learn to use the Latin alphabet? Which orthography did they employ? Some main characteristics of medieval orthography and the use of abbreviations.

Week 2
(3) Electronic editing of medieval texts
How can medieval texts be presented electronically? The XML mark-up language, TEI, MENOTA, MUFI, and related matters. We will try our hand at electronic editing.

(4) The earliest Icelandic orthography and the First Grammatical Treatise
The use of the Latin alphabet for writing Icelandic: challenges — and the solutions proposed by the author of the First Grammatical Treatise in the middle of the twelfth century.

Week 3
(5) Icelandic script and orthography in the thirteenth century
The difference between Icelandic and Norwegian orthography in the twelfth century. What changed in the course of the thirteenth century?

(6) Different types of print editions: scholarly editions
How accurate should printed editions be? Should every little detail in the manuscript be reproduced? What is “Classical Old Icelandic Normalized Orthography”? What are the needs of the readers? What is the role of the editor?

Week 4
(7) Norwegian influence on script, orthography, and language in Icelandic manuscripts
What is the manifestation of this Norwegian influence? How deep-rooted was it? How long did it last?

(8) The dating of manuscripts: script, orthography, and language
How can medieval Icelandic manuscripts be dated? Features of script, orthography, and language that can be helpful for dating.

Week 5
(9) Icelandic script and orthography in the fourteenth century
Main characteristics and their development.

(10) One scribal hand or many?
Distinguishing different scribal hands: some criteria. The Icelandic Homily Book from around 1200: One scribe or fourteen?

Week 6
(11) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
From animal skin to parchment. How was the ink produced? Book design and book binding. The care and conservation of medieval manuscripts.

(12) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
A visit to the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

— STUDY WEEK —

Week 7
(13) Scribes, scribal milieus, the export of books
On prolific scribes, scribal collaboration, and extensive production of books. Were books produced in Iceland for export in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?

(14) Icelandic script and orthography in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

Week 8
(15) Textual criticism
On the transmission of texts through copying. Textual variation, manuscript classification, and stemmatology.

(16) Textual criticism
Comparing manuscripts and collecting variants.

Week 9
(17) Manuscript illumination
On illuminated manuscripts, historiated initials, artists and their models.

(18) Manuscript catalogues and cataloguing
We will familiarize ourselves with the most important manuscript catalogues and learn about the principles of manuscript cataloguing.

Week 10
(19) Icelandic script and orthography in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

(20) The transmission of the text: a relic or a living text?
How did the language change when a scribe copied from an old exemplar? Njáls saga is believed to have been written towards the end of the thirteenth century. What is the language of Njáls saga in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century manuscripts?

Week 11
(21) Antiquarianism, manuscript collectors, and copyists
The sixteenth century saw the rise of interest in antiquities, old manuscripts were collected and copied.

(22) Different types of print editions: popular editions
How is a pre-modern text best presented to the modern reader? Should archaic features of language and orthography be retained or should they be updated? On the allegiance to the manuscript and allegiance to the reader.

Week 12
(23) Manuscript collections and manuscript collectors
The life and work of Árni Magnússon.

(24) The manuscript dispute and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland
The search for Codex Scardensis and a nerve-racking auction in London. The custody dispute with Denmark and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland 1971–1997.

— This synopsis may be subject to change. —

Readings

The reading list is on the course website on Canvas. It consists of readings in several languages, including English, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, German, and French. The reading list is (often) divided into three main sections:

(a) Required readings: Texts that everyone is required to read. These are all in English.

(b) Optional supplementary readings: These are optional readings for those who want a more in-depth discussion. Most of these readings are in English, but not all.

(c) For those who still want more: A variety of optional readings in several languages, not least in Icelandic, for those who still want more. This section is mostly for reference purposes and as a tool for further research.

Many of the required readings (and some of the optional readings) are found on the Canvas course website. Other reading materials are available in the institute library in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Edda and the University Library (Háskólabókasafn) in the Þjóðarbókhlaða.

Prerequisites
Some skills in Icelandic are essential to fully benefit from the course, as emphasis will be placed on practical training in reading and transcribing text from medieval Icelandic manuscripts. MIS105F Old Icelandic 1 or equivalent study of Old Icelandic is sufficient or some skills in Modern Icelandic. Please, consult the instructor if in doubt.

Course format
The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be prerecorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions (flipped classroom).

Working language: This course is open to students with different linguistic backgrounds, and there are two working languages, English and Icelandic. Pre-recorded lectures are in both English and Icelandic (except for guest lecturers who will present in English), written assignments are in both English and Icelandic, and reading materials are in English, Icelandic and the Scandinavian languages, but for those who cannot read Icelandic or the Scan-dinavian languages, all required readings are in English. English is the main working language in the classroom, but questions and contributions to class discussion may also be in Icelandic. — See a separate note on the working languages and the classroom arrangement.

Course requirements and assessment
The final grade for the course will be based on:

(1) Transcription assignments: 30%
(2) Manuscript catalogue assignment: 10%
(3) Manuscript dating assignment: 10%
(4) Presentation: manuscript of the day: 10%
(5) Research paper: 30%
(6) Class participation: 10%

All written assignments will be submitted through Canvas. More detailed instructions and information on deadlines is found on Canvas.

This course is an introduction into some of the basic ideas and topics in theoretical syntax. The topics include phrase structure, X-bar theory, functional projections, verb raising, argument structure, case marking, binding principles and locality principles. The discussion will be based on examples from Icelandic, English and many other languages.

This is an advanced morphology course that is taught every other year. The aim of the course is introduce to students various theories and topics in morphology, using examples from Icelandic and other languages, and to train students to work on morphology on their own.

This course is a survey of linguistic research on first language acquisition, in particular, although we will also look at bilingualism and the acquisition of second and foreign languages. We will be concerned with the question of how young children acquire their native language. The primary focus is on (1) the biological foundations of language and the effects of the language environment on young children's language acquisition, and (2) grammatical development in language acquisition, i.e. how children develop the system of rules - syntactic, semantic, morphological, phonological - which comprise the grammar of their language, and acquire its vocabulary. In the course, we will concentrate on Icelandic language development, although we also look at language development in English and other languages.

The number of student in this course is limited to 70.

This course discusses how texts, especially literary texts, can be analyzed from the perspective of theoretical linguistics.  The course is therefore suitable for students who have an interest in both literary studies and linguistics. The topics include style types, the use of tenses, word order, character designations, gender-neutral language, sound symbolism, the effects of verbs and nouns, focalization and metaphors. Many guest lecturers will participate in this class, both literary scholars and linguists.

Examples of so-called "constructed languages" can be found as far back as the 7th century, but human ideas about the origin of languages and their structure are probably as old as humanity itself. Constructed languages are created for various purposes, whether it is purely for pleasure, to create a framework for a fictional world, such as Tolkien's Elvish languages and the alien languages of the Star Trek universe, or to facilitate international communication, as the planned languages Esperanto, Solresol and Volapük are intended to do. Whatever the purpose of the constructed language, it is clear that behind it lies an enormous knowledge of the speakers of the language itself and what properties a language can have - and cannot have - in order for it to function as a real language. The course will discuss different types of constructed languages and the ideology behind them. The structure and properties of constructed languages will be discussed and compared to natural languages, as well as other artificial languages, such as gibberish and secret code. Students learn to distinguish different types of constructed languages based on their purpose and field of use. The grammatical structures of constructed languages will be discussed and students will learn to break down and examine the grammatical categories of different languages, guided by the following questions: What do speakers need to know about their own language in order to learn a constructed language, and what can constructed languages teach us about real languages?

Anger is a prominent driving force and theme in literature and the arts from the very beginning of the Western cultural tradition. Anger is intertwined with the very nature of storytelling. In this course, we examine various examples of anger and place them in the context of theories from the study of emotions—ranging from the anger of Achilles to that of Donald Duck. Who is allowed to be angry? Why are they so angry, and what purpose does their anger serve in a cultural-historical context? A selection of works and scholarly texts dealing with anger, and with anger as a phenomenon, will be read.

The class is taught in Icelandic.  In this course, students get a chance to hone their writing skills. Students will hand in regular writing assignments where they practise different ways of presenting scholarly work in a creative manner, such as op-eds and creative nonfiction. Students will also write creative texts, such as short stories. Students can use material from their field of study but will also have to face new challenges. Classes will be in the form of lectures, discussions, and workshops. Assessment will be based on regular assignments, self-assessment, a midterm assignment, a final assignment, a portfolio, and attendance and participation. Attendance and participation make up 15% of the grade and is partly mandatory (8 out of 12 workshops). The course is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Iceland but students must themselves make sure that the course can be used for credit in their particular studies.

Online learning:

The course is organized as face-to-face learning but all lectures from teachers will be recorded. This is done to assure better access to the course. Students who do not attend class will listen to the lectures and write short reports. They also turn in assignments otherwise done in class.

This course will focus on the works of two female poets and pioneers in the writing of modernist literature in Iceland in the 20th century, Ásta Sigurðardóttir (1930–1971) and Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004). Discussion will cover the reception of their works and their literary-historical context, the authors' lives and careers, and how their experiences and public images are reflected in their writings, as well as the influence of intellectual movements and social changes such as feminism and class struggle. The texts of Ásta and Svava will be compared, with attention paid to connections between their bodies of work and the elements that distinguish them, as well as their influence on other writers and the Icelandic literary field in the 21st century.

This course will introduce the key methods of psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience in research on language. We will discuss how the brain processes meaning and syntax, in addition to topics such as bilingualism, speech production, language development and comprehension of indirect language (such as irony). At the end of the course students will get insights into recent research on the genetics of language.

The course is taught in English alongside a masters level course, but the course requirements will be different.

The cultural and national history of Iceland is entwined with its poetic heritage. In addition to longer, autonomous sagnakvæði, Old Icelandic poetic stanzas are significant components of bigger narratives and the greater storytelling tradition in general. This course will explore two important forms of Old Icelandic poetry, skaldic poetry and rímur, preserved in the oldest sources up until the Reformation. Students will receive training in reading and analyzing this poetry and will discuss the value and role of verse in different texts, the interaction between narratives and rímur, the value of Old Icelandic poetry as sources as well as the oral and written preservation of the poetry at different times.

The meaning of words and sentences is often determined by the context, for instance in irony. How do listeners understand us if we don‘t always say what we mean? What do conversations in different cultures and languages have in common? In this course we will examine language in interaction from different perspectives. Key concepts in linguistic pragmatics will be introduced, including the contribution of context to meaning. The methodology and key topics of conversation analysis will be described along with recent comparative studies on language in interaction around the world. We will also briefly discuss interdisciplinary psycholinguistic research on pragmatics. Students will get hands-on experience with recording conversations, the conceptual analysis of talk, and use of relevant software (including Praat for analyzing and processing sound files and ELAN for annotation of conversation).

The course provides students with an overview of speech pathologists' main subject areas within an Icelandic setting. This is a vast and diverse domain, ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia and aphasia in adults, to language impairment and speech sound disorders in children. The course will intertwine essential terms and knowledge with more practical approaches to the material. Furthermore, students should gain the skills necessary to acquaint themselves with relevant research and peer-reviewed articles within the field of speech-language pathology.

This course is primarily intended for undergraduate student in the humanities at the University of Iceland who wish to be able to use programming in their work. In the course, we go through the foundations of programming using the programming language Python and an emphasis is placed on the analysis of textual data. The course is therefore appropriate for those who would like to get to know language technology at the undergraduate level, especially those who are interested in pursuing the language technology program at the MA-level. The course is taught alongside MLT701F Programming in language technology at the MA-level and all students attend the same lectures but BA students get shorter assignments than MA students. When solving various programming tasks involving the analysis of text it is beneficial for students to be at least somewhat familiar with important concepts in the grammatical analysis of natural languages but if a student is unsure whether they have the appropriate background for the course, they should feel free to contact the instructor for further information. 

The main goal of this course is to support students in taking their first step toward learning programming, help them to knack the basis and train them in solving simple but diverse assignments in language technology using Python. Students will be introduced to a few text processing tools that can be used for natural language processing. Students who subsequently enroll in the MA-program in language technology will build on skills acquired in this course in other courses about natural language processing.

This course covers the basics of phonetics and phonology. The first half of the course will focus on phonetics. The speech articulators and sound production will be described. Students will receive training in phonetic transcription. The main acoustic methods will be introduced and the relationship between phonetics and phonology will be discussed. In the second part of the course, concepts and methods in the analysis of phonological systems will be introduced and students will be trained in their use. Different theories in phonology will be examined in relation to language in general and Icelandic phonology in particular.

This is a basic composition course. Writing skills will be honed through regular assignments, lectures, class discussions and workshops.Approaches to writing research papers will be addressed, such as choosing and narrowing a topic, structure, and sources. Register, style, spelling, punctuation, and resources for writers will be discussed. Students write essays and papers of various kinds and get regular feedback from peers and teachers. Course assessment is based on written assignments and class participation. The course can only be passed if all assignments are turned in.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.
The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).
Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing https://ritver.hi.is/en/center-writing, which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.
Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544

The aim of this survey course is to sample the literary history of the last four millennia by reading a number of world masterpieces from Africa, Asia and Europe. All texts will be read in Icelandic translations. 

The major aspects of the history of linguistics traced from the antiquity through the middle ages till the beginning of the 19th Century. The Old Icelandic grammatical treatises. The major aspects of the history of linguistics in the 19th and 20th century. Emphasis is placed on the theories and discoveries that have been most influential in the development of ideas and methods in linguistics.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and the materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different status of social groups and species.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

This course provides an overview of Icelandic manuscript culture. Students will get practical training in reading Icelandic manuscripts from different periods, from the earliest extant Icelandic vellums dating to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries down to the paper manuscripts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The origins of the Icelandic script will be discussed as well as its development over time, and students will get practical training in reading different types of script from different periods. The orthography of medieval manuscripts differs considerably from the modern orthography. It includes a system of abbreviations that is partly inherited from a much earlier Latin tradition. Students will get practical training in interpreting these abbreviations. The Icelandic language has also changed over time, and different manifestations of these language changes appear when reading and examining Icelandic texts from different periods. A selection of these changes will be discussed. Changes in script, orthography, and language provide valuable indications of the date of the manuscript, and students will get practical training in dating medieval Icelandic manuscripts based on script, orthography, and language.

Various aspects of medieval book production will be discussed, including the making of parchment and ink, and book binding. Scribes and scribal schools will be discussed as well as probable centres of book production in medieval Iceland. The works of some prolific scribes in the fourteenth century will be examined. What did they write? How did they write? Did they change their practice over a long scribal career? The texts contained by the manuscripts will also be examined and the basics of textual criticism introduced. Njáls saga, for instance, has survived in over sixty manuscripts with considerable textual variation. Which manuscript should then constitute the basis for a printed edition of Njáls saga? Different types of printed editions will be discussed, and students try their hand at editing a medieval text. The electronic editing of pre-modern texts will be introduced, and students will get practical training in mark-up with XML according to the guidelines of the Medieval Nordic Text Archive (MENOTA) and the Medieval Unicode Font Initiative (MUFI).

The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be pre-recorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions.

The course is run in cooperation with the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies which has the custody of the largest single collection of Icelandic medieval manuscripts. Students will visit the institute to learn about its collections and facilities and to examine manuscripts.

Course synopsis

Week 1
(1) Introduction
The course: format, readings, requirements and assessment.
The subject matter: Medieval Icelandic manuscripts.

(2) The earliest Icelandic manuscripts
A sketch of the history of the Latin script and the earliest writings in Icelandic. Where did Icelanders learn to use the Latin alphabet? Which orthography did they employ? Some main characteristics of medieval orthography and the use of abbreviations.

Week 2
(3) Electronic editing of medieval texts
How can medieval texts be presented electronically? The XML mark-up language, TEI, MENOTA, MUFI, and related matters. We will try our hand at electronic editing.

(4) The earliest Icelandic orthography and the First Grammatical Treatise
The use of the Latin alphabet for writing Icelandic: challenges — and the solutions proposed by the author of the First Grammatical Treatise in the middle of the twelfth century.

Week 3
(5) Icelandic script and orthography in the thirteenth century
The difference between Icelandic and Norwegian orthography in the twelfth century. What changed in the course of the thirteenth century?

(6) Different types of print editions: scholarly editions
How accurate should printed editions be? Should every little detail in the manuscript be reproduced? What is “Classical Old Icelandic Normalized Orthography”? What are the needs of the readers? What is the role of the editor?

Week 4
(7) Norwegian influence on script, orthography, and language in Icelandic manuscripts
What is the manifestation of this Norwegian influence? How deep-rooted was it? How long did it last?

(8) The dating of manuscripts: script, orthography, and language
How can medieval Icelandic manuscripts be dated? Features of script, orthography, and language that can be helpful for dating.

Week 5
(9) Icelandic script and orthography in the fourteenth century
Main characteristics and their development.

(10) One scribal hand or many?
Distinguishing different scribal hands: some criteria. The Icelandic Homily Book from around 1200: One scribe or fourteen?

Week 6
(11) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
From animal skin to parchment. How was the ink produced? Book design and book binding. The care and conservation of medieval manuscripts.

(12) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
A visit to the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

— STUDY WEEK —

Week 7
(13) Scribes, scribal milieus, the export of books
On prolific scribes, scribal collaboration, and extensive production of books. Were books produced in Iceland for export in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?

(14) Icelandic script and orthography in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

Week 8
(15) Textual criticism
On the transmission of texts through copying. Textual variation, manuscript classification, and stemmatology.

(16) Textual criticism
Comparing manuscripts and collecting variants.

Week 9
(17) Manuscript illumination
On illuminated manuscripts, historiated initials, artists and their models.

(18) Manuscript catalogues and cataloguing
We will familiarize ourselves with the most important manuscript catalogues and learn about the principles of manuscript cataloguing.

Week 10
(19) Icelandic script and orthography in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

(20) The transmission of the text: a relic or a living text?
How did the language change when a scribe copied from an old exemplar? Njáls saga is believed to have been written towards the end of the thirteenth century. What is the language of Njáls saga in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century manuscripts?

Week 11
(21) Antiquarianism, manuscript collectors, and copyists
The sixteenth century saw the rise of interest in antiquities, old manuscripts were collected and copied.

(22) Different types of print editions: popular editions
How is a pre-modern text best presented to the modern reader? Should archaic features of language and orthography be retained or should they be updated? On the allegiance to the manuscript and allegiance to the reader.

Week 12
(23) Manuscript collections and manuscript collectors
The life and work of Árni Magnússon.

(24) The manuscript dispute and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland
The search for Codex Scardensis and a nerve-racking auction in London. The custody dispute with Denmark and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland 1971–1997.

— This synopsis may be subject to change. —

Readings

The reading list is on the course website on Canvas. It consists of readings in several languages, including English, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, German, and French. The reading list is (often) divided into three main sections:

(a) Required readings: Texts that everyone is required to read. These are all in English.

(b) Optional supplementary readings: These are optional readings for those who want a more in-depth discussion. Most of these readings are in English, but not all.

(c) For those who still want more: A variety of optional readings in several languages, not least in Icelandic, for those who still want more. This section is mostly for reference purposes and as a tool for further research.

Many of the required readings (and some of the optional readings) are found on the Canvas course website. Other reading materials are available in the institute library in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Edda and the University Library (Háskólabókasafn) in the Þjóðarbókhlaða.

Prerequisites
Some skills in Icelandic are essential to fully benefit from the course, as emphasis will be placed on practical training in reading and transcribing text from medieval Icelandic manuscripts. MIS105F Old Icelandic 1 or equivalent study of Old Icelandic is sufficient or some skills in Modern Icelandic. Please, consult the instructor if in doubt.

Course format
The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be prerecorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions (flipped classroom).

Working language: This course is open to students with different linguistic backgrounds, and there are two working languages, English and Icelandic. Pre-recorded lectures are in both English and Icelandic (except for guest lecturers who will present in English), written assignments are in both English and Icelandic, and reading materials are in English, Icelandic and the Scandinavian languages, but for those who cannot read Icelandic or the Scan-dinavian languages, all required readings are in English. English is the main working language in the classroom, but questions and contributions to class discussion may also be in Icelandic. — See a separate note on the working languages and the classroom arrangement.

Course requirements and assessment
The final grade for the course will be based on:

(1) Transcription assignments: 30%
(2) Manuscript catalogue assignment: 10%
(3) Manuscript dating assignment: 10%
(4) Presentation: manuscript of the day: 10%
(5) Research paper: 30%
(6) Class participation: 10%

All written assignments will be submitted through Canvas. More detailed instructions and information on deadlines is found on Canvas.

This course is an introduction into some of the basic ideas and topics in theoretical syntax. The topics include phrase structure, X-bar theory, functional projections, verb raising, argument structure, case marking, binding principles and locality principles. The discussion will be based on examples from Icelandic, English and many other languages.

This is an advanced morphology course that is taught every other year. The aim of the course is introduce to students various theories and topics in morphology, using examples from Icelandic and other languages, and to train students to work on morphology on their own.

This course is a survey of linguistic research on first language acquisition, in particular, although we will also look at bilingualism and the acquisition of second and foreign languages. We will be concerned with the question of how young children acquire their native language. The primary focus is on (1) the biological foundations of language and the effects of the language environment on young children's language acquisition, and (2) grammatical development in language acquisition, i.e. how children develop the system of rules - syntactic, semantic, morphological, phonological - which comprise the grammar of their language, and acquire its vocabulary. In the course, we will concentrate on Icelandic language development, although we also look at language development in English and other languages.

The number of student in this course is limited to 70.

This course discusses how texts, especially literary texts, can be analyzed from the perspective of theoretical linguistics.  The course is therefore suitable for students who have an interest in both literary studies and linguistics. The topics include style types, the use of tenses, word order, character designations, gender-neutral language, sound symbolism, the effects of verbs and nouns, focalization and metaphors. Many guest lecturers will participate in this class, both literary scholars and linguists.

Examples of so-called "constructed languages" can be found as far back as the 7th century, but human ideas about the origin of languages and their structure are probably as old as humanity itself. Constructed languages are created for various purposes, whether it is purely for pleasure, to create a framework for a fictional world, such as Tolkien's Elvish languages and the alien languages of the Star Trek universe, or to facilitate international communication, as the planned languages Esperanto, Solresol and Volapük are intended to do. Whatever the purpose of the constructed language, it is clear that behind it lies an enormous knowledge of the speakers of the language itself and what properties a language can have - and cannot have - in order for it to function as a real language. The course will discuss different types of constructed languages and the ideology behind them. The structure and properties of constructed languages will be discussed and compared to natural languages, as well as other artificial languages, such as gibberish and secret code. Students learn to distinguish different types of constructed languages based on their purpose and field of use. The grammatical structures of constructed languages will be discussed and students will learn to break down and examine the grammatical categories of different languages, guided by the following questions: What do speakers need to know about their own language in order to learn a constructed language, and what can constructed languages teach us about real languages?

Anger is a prominent driving force and theme in literature and the arts from the very beginning of the Western cultural tradition. Anger is intertwined with the very nature of storytelling. In this course, we examine various examples of anger and place them in the context of theories from the study of emotions—ranging from the anger of Achilles to that of Donald Duck. Who is allowed to be angry? Why are they so angry, and what purpose does their anger serve in a cultural-historical context? A selection of works and scholarly texts dealing with anger, and with anger as a phenomenon, will be read.

The class is taught in Icelandic.  In this course, students get a chance to hone their writing skills. Students will hand in regular writing assignments where they practise different ways of presenting scholarly work in a creative manner, such as op-eds and creative nonfiction. Students will also write creative texts, such as short stories. Students can use material from their field of study but will also have to face new challenges. Classes will be in the form of lectures, discussions, and workshops. Assessment will be based on regular assignments, self-assessment, a midterm assignment, a final assignment, a portfolio, and attendance and participation. Attendance and participation make up 15% of the grade and is partly mandatory (8 out of 12 workshops). The course is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Iceland but students must themselves make sure that the course can be used for credit in their particular studies.

Online learning:

The course is organized as face-to-face learning but all lectures from teachers will be recorded. This is done to assure better access to the course. Students who do not attend class will listen to the lectures and write short reports. They also turn in assignments otherwise done in class.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.
The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).
Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing https://ritver.hi.is/en/center-writing, which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.
Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different statuses of social groups and species

This is a joint course for students in Icelandic, General Linguistics and Sign Language Linguistics. It falls into two parts. On the one hand, in Thursday classes, the students receive training in critical thinking, scientific methods and academic writing. Topics include the use of handbooks and other sources, the style and structure of academic papers, research methods in linguistics and literature, conventions regarding citations and bibliographies, etc.

In the second part of the course, taught on Tuesdays, the students are introduced to the various sub-disciplines of Icelandic, General Linguistics and Sign Language Linguistics as academic subjects and their connection to other subject areas. Different teachers and other guests introduce their sub-disciplines and areas of specialization.

The course gives an introduction to linguistics and methods of linguistic analyses. The goal is to acquaint students with the nature of human languages and the main features of Icelandic grammar. 

This course is an introduction to literary theory, its terms and methods. Students are trained in analysing literary texts, poems, prose and drama. 

An overview of Icelandic literary history from the beginning to the end of the 19th century. Novelties and changes in Icelandic literature will be placed in context with contemporary currents in European literature.

The course focuses on the various ways in which medieval texts can be studied, referring to both medieval or modern literary theory. The characteristics of medieval textual culture will be discussed, as well as medieval attitudes to fact and fiction, entertainment and edification. Texts representing all of the most important genres of Icelandic medieval literature will be read.

An introductory course in Icelandic phonetics, phonology, and morphology. The basics of acoustic phonetics and Icelandic articulatory phonetics will be introduced, accompanied by training in phonetic transcription. The main concepts of phonology will be presented, followed by an overview of sound alternations in Icelandic and their conditions. Basic concepts in morphology will be presented and the main word formation processes in Icelandic and their productivity will be dealt with. Grammatical categories in Icelandic will be outlined, the inflection of the main parts of speech will be described, and an overview given of inflectional classes and variations.

Historical overview of the development of literary theory. The main emphasis is on twentieth and twenty-first century trends and methods. In addition to lectures there are small group discussion periods.

This course aims at explaining the connection between diachronic language change and synchronic language variation, as it is generally assumed that language changes generate variants that coexist for a time and that all synchronic variants are caused by a language change of some kind. The course will, on the one hand, discuss the nature of language change and the main types of changes, and on the other hand, the nature of synchronic variation. We will focus on the development of Icelandic; hence, examples will primarily be taken from the history of Icelandic and from present-day Icelandic, but we will also look at parallels in other languages.

This course covers the basic issues in Icelandic syntax, including parts of speech, phrasal categories, the syntactic classification of verbs, movements of various kinds and grammatical functions. The ways in which language use, semantics, and pragmatics relate to syntax will also be discussed.

This course will focus on the works of two female poets and pioneers in the writing of modernist literature in Iceland in the 20th century, Ásta Sigurðardóttir (1930–1971) and Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004). Discussion will cover the reception of their works and their literary-historical context, the authors' lives and careers, and how their experiences and public images are reflected in their writings, as well as the influence of intellectual movements and social changes such as feminism and class struggle. The texts of Ásta and Svava will be compared, with attention paid to connections between their bodies of work and the elements that distinguish them, as well as their influence on other writers and the Icelandic literary field in the 21st century.

This course will introduce the key methods of psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience in research on language. We will discuss how the brain processes meaning and syntax, in addition to topics such as bilingualism, speech production, language development and comprehension of indirect language (such as irony). At the end of the course students will get insights into recent research on the genetics of language.

The course is taught in English alongside a masters level course, but the course requirements will be different.

The cultural and national history of Iceland is entwined with its poetic heritage. In addition to longer, autonomous sagnakvæði, Old Icelandic poetic stanzas are significant components of bigger narratives and the greater storytelling tradition in general. This course will explore two important forms of Old Icelandic poetry, skaldic poetry and rímur, preserved in the oldest sources up until the Reformation. Students will receive training in reading and analyzing this poetry and will discuss the value and role of verse in different texts, the interaction between narratives and rímur, the value of Old Icelandic poetry as sources as well as the oral and written preservation of the poetry at different times.

The meaning of words and sentences is often determined by the context, for instance in irony. How do listeners understand us if we don‘t always say what we mean? What do conversations in different cultures and languages have in common? In this course we will examine language in interaction from different perspectives. Key concepts in linguistic pragmatics will be introduced, including the contribution of context to meaning. The methodology and key topics of conversation analysis will be described along with recent comparative studies on language in interaction around the world. We will also briefly discuss interdisciplinary psycholinguistic research on pragmatics. Students will get hands-on experience with recording conversations, the conceptual analysis of talk, and use of relevant software (including Praat for analyzing and processing sound files and ELAN for annotation of conversation).

The course provides students with an overview of speech pathologists' main subject areas within an Icelandic setting. This is a vast and diverse domain, ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia and aphasia in adults, to language impairment and speech sound disorders in children. The course will intertwine essential terms and knowledge with more practical approaches to the material. Furthermore, students should gain the skills necessary to acquaint themselves with relevant research and peer-reviewed articles within the field of speech-language pathology.

This course is primarily intended for undergraduate student in the humanities at the University of Iceland who wish to be able to use programming in their work. In the course, we go through the foundations of programming using the programming language Python and an emphasis is placed on the analysis of textual data. The course is therefore appropriate for those who would like to get to know language technology at the undergraduate level, especially those who are interested in pursuing the language technology program at the MA-level. The course is taught alongside MLT701F Programming in language technology at the MA-level and all students attend the same lectures but BA students get shorter assignments than MA students. When solving various programming tasks involving the analysis of text it is beneficial for students to be at least somewhat familiar with important concepts in the grammatical analysis of natural languages but if a student is unsure whether they have the appropriate background for the course, they should feel free to contact the instructor for further information. 

The main goal of this course is to support students in taking their first step toward learning programming, help them to knack the basis and train them in solving simple but diverse assignments in language technology using Python. Students will be introduced to a few text processing tools that can be used for natural language processing. Students who subsequently enroll in the MA-program in language technology will build on skills acquired in this course in other courses about natural language processing.

This course covers the basics of phonetics and phonology. The first half of the course will focus on phonetics. The speech articulators and sound production will be described. Students will receive training in phonetic transcription. The main acoustic methods will be introduced and the relationship between phonetics and phonology will be discussed. In the second part of the course, concepts and methods in the analysis of phonological systems will be introduced and students will be trained in their use. Different theories in phonology will be examined in relation to language in general and Icelandic phonology in particular.

This is a basic composition course. Writing skills will be honed through regular assignments, lectures, class discussions and workshops.Approaches to writing research papers will be addressed, such as choosing and narrowing a topic, structure, and sources. Register, style, spelling, punctuation, and resources for writers will be discussed. Students write essays and papers of various kinds and get regular feedback from peers and teachers. Course assessment is based on written assignments and class participation. The course can only be passed if all assignments are turned in.

The aim of this survey course is to sample the literary history of the last four millennia by reading a number of world masterpieces from Africa, Asia and Europe. All texts will be read in Icelandic translations. 

The major aspects of the history of linguistics traced from the antiquity through the middle ages till the beginning of the 19th Century. The Old Icelandic grammatical treatises. The major aspects of the history of linguistics in the 19th and 20th century. Emphasis is placed on the theories and discoveries that have been most influential in the development of ideas and methods in linguistics.

The course gives an overview of the phonological system of Old Icelandic and its prehistory. We will read the First Grammatical Treatise and discuss its importance as source of evidence of Old Icelandic phonology and its contribution to the history of linguistics. The morphological structure of Old Icelandic will be treated in detail.

The teaching consists of lectures and special tutorial classes that will discuss homework assignments.

This module focuses on Icelandic literary history of the 20th and 21st century. Literary fiction of various kinds is read and discussed in a cultural historical context, both locally and internationally.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and the materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different status of social groups and species.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

This course provides an overview of Icelandic manuscript culture. Students will get practical training in reading Icelandic manuscripts from different periods, from the earliest extant Icelandic vellums dating to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries down to the paper manuscripts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The origins of the Icelandic script will be discussed as well as its development over time, and students will get practical training in reading different types of script from different periods. The orthography of medieval manuscripts differs considerably from the modern orthography. It includes a system of abbreviations that is partly inherited from a much earlier Latin tradition. Students will get practical training in interpreting these abbreviations. The Icelandic language has also changed over time, and different manifestations of these language changes appear when reading and examining Icelandic texts from different periods. A selection of these changes will be discussed. Changes in script, orthography, and language provide valuable indications of the date of the manuscript, and students will get practical training in dating medieval Icelandic manuscripts based on script, orthography, and language.

Various aspects of medieval book production will be discussed, including the making of parchment and ink, and book binding. Scribes and scribal schools will be discussed as well as probable centres of book production in medieval Iceland. The works of some prolific scribes in the fourteenth century will be examined. What did they write? How did they write? Did they change their practice over a long scribal career? The texts contained by the manuscripts will also be examined and the basics of textual criticism introduced. Njáls saga, for instance, has survived in over sixty manuscripts with considerable textual variation. Which manuscript should then constitute the basis for a printed edition of Njáls saga? Different types of printed editions will be discussed, and students try their hand at editing a medieval text. The electronic editing of pre-modern texts will be introduced, and students will get practical training in mark-up with XML according to the guidelines of the Medieval Nordic Text Archive (MENOTA) and the Medieval Unicode Font Initiative (MUFI).

The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be pre-recorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions.

The course is run in cooperation with the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies which has the custody of the largest single collection of Icelandic medieval manuscripts. Students will visit the institute to learn about its collections and facilities and to examine manuscripts.

Course synopsis

Week 1
(1) Introduction
The course: format, readings, requirements and assessment.
The subject matter: Medieval Icelandic manuscripts.

(2) The earliest Icelandic manuscripts
A sketch of the history of the Latin script and the earliest writings in Icelandic. Where did Icelanders learn to use the Latin alphabet? Which orthography did they employ? Some main characteristics of medieval orthography and the use of abbreviations.

Week 2
(3) Electronic editing of medieval texts
How can medieval texts be presented electronically? The XML mark-up language, TEI, MENOTA, MUFI, and related matters. We will try our hand at electronic editing.

(4) The earliest Icelandic orthography and the First Grammatical Treatise
The use of the Latin alphabet for writing Icelandic: challenges — and the solutions proposed by the author of the First Grammatical Treatise in the middle of the twelfth century.

Week 3
(5) Icelandic script and orthography in the thirteenth century
The difference between Icelandic and Norwegian orthography in the twelfth century. What changed in the course of the thirteenth century?

(6) Different types of print editions: scholarly editions
How accurate should printed editions be? Should every little detail in the manuscript be reproduced? What is “Classical Old Icelandic Normalized Orthography”? What are the needs of the readers? What is the role of the editor?

Week 4
(7) Norwegian influence on script, orthography, and language in Icelandic manuscripts
What is the manifestation of this Norwegian influence? How deep-rooted was it? How long did it last?

(8) The dating of manuscripts: script, orthography, and language
How can medieval Icelandic manuscripts be dated? Features of script, orthography, and language that can be helpful for dating.

Week 5
(9) Icelandic script and orthography in the fourteenth century
Main characteristics and their development.

(10) One scribal hand or many?
Distinguishing different scribal hands: some criteria. The Icelandic Homily Book from around 1200: One scribe or fourteen?

Week 6
(11) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
From animal skin to parchment. How was the ink produced? Book design and book binding. The care and conservation of medieval manuscripts.

(12) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
A visit to the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

— STUDY WEEK —

Week 7
(13) Scribes, scribal milieus, the export of books
On prolific scribes, scribal collaboration, and extensive production of books. Were books produced in Iceland for export in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?

(14) Icelandic script and orthography in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

Week 8
(15) Textual criticism
On the transmission of texts through copying. Textual variation, manuscript classification, and stemmatology.

(16) Textual criticism
Comparing manuscripts and collecting variants.

Week 9
(17) Manuscript illumination
On illuminated manuscripts, historiated initials, artists and their models.

(18) Manuscript catalogues and cataloguing
We will familiarize ourselves with the most important manuscript catalogues and learn about the principles of manuscript cataloguing.

Week 10
(19) Icelandic script and orthography in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

(20) The transmission of the text: a relic or a living text?
How did the language change when a scribe copied from an old exemplar? Njáls saga is believed to have been written towards the end of the thirteenth century. What is the language of Njáls saga in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century manuscripts?

Week 11
(21) Antiquarianism, manuscript collectors, and copyists
The sixteenth century saw the rise of interest in antiquities, old manuscripts were collected and copied.

(22) Different types of print editions: popular editions
How is a pre-modern text best presented to the modern reader? Should archaic features of language and orthography be retained or should they be updated? On the allegiance to the manuscript and allegiance to the reader.

Week 12
(23) Manuscript collections and manuscript collectors
The life and work of Árni Magnússon.

(24) The manuscript dispute and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland
The search for Codex Scardensis and a nerve-racking auction in London. The custody dispute with Denmark and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland 1971–1997.

— This synopsis may be subject to change. —

Readings

The reading list is on the course website on Canvas. It consists of readings in several languages, including English, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, German, and French. The reading list is (often) divided into three main sections:

(a) Required readings: Texts that everyone is required to read. These are all in English.

(b) Optional supplementary readings: These are optional readings for those who want a more in-depth discussion. Most of these readings are in English, but not all.

(c) For those who still want more: A variety of optional readings in several languages, not least in Icelandic, for those who still want more. This section is mostly for reference purposes and as a tool for further research.

Many of the required readings (and some of the optional readings) are found on the Canvas course website. Other reading materials are available in the institute library in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Edda and the University Library (Háskólabókasafn) in the Þjóðarbókhlaða.

Prerequisites
Some skills in Icelandic are essential to fully benefit from the course, as emphasis will be placed on practical training in reading and transcribing text from medieval Icelandic manuscripts. MIS105F Old Icelandic 1 or equivalent study of Old Icelandic is sufficient or some skills in Modern Icelandic. Please, consult the instructor if in doubt.

Course format
The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be prerecorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions (flipped classroom).

Working language: This course is open to students with different linguistic backgrounds, and there are two working languages, English and Icelandic. Pre-recorded lectures are in both English and Icelandic (except for guest lecturers who will present in English), written assignments are in both English and Icelandic, and reading materials are in English, Icelandic and the Scandinavian languages, but for those who cannot read Icelandic or the Scan-dinavian languages, all required readings are in English. English is the main working language in the classroom, but questions and contributions to class discussion may also be in Icelandic. — See a separate note on the working languages and the classroom arrangement.

Course requirements and assessment
The final grade for the course will be based on:

(1) Transcription assignments: 30%
(2) Manuscript catalogue assignment: 10%
(3) Manuscript dating assignment: 10%
(4) Presentation: manuscript of the day: 10%
(5) Research paper: 30%
(6) Class participation: 10%

All written assignments will be submitted through Canvas. More detailed instructions and information on deadlines is found on Canvas.

This course is an introduction into some of the basic ideas and topics in theoretical syntax. The topics include phrase structure, X-bar theory, functional projections, verb raising, argument structure, case marking, binding principles and locality principles. The discussion will be based on examples from Icelandic, English and many other languages.

This is an advanced morphology course that is taught every other year. The aim of the course is introduce to students various theories and topics in morphology, using examples from Icelandic and other languages, and to train students to work on morphology on their own.

This course is a survey of linguistic research on first language acquisition, in particular, although we will also look at bilingualism and the acquisition of second and foreign languages. We will be concerned with the question of how young children acquire their native language. The primary focus is on (1) the biological foundations of language and the effects of the language environment on young children's language acquisition, and (2) grammatical development in language acquisition, i.e. how children develop the system of rules - syntactic, semantic, morphological, phonological - which comprise the grammar of their language, and acquire its vocabulary. In the course, we will concentrate on Icelandic language development, although we also look at language development in English and other languages.

The number of student in this course is limited to 70.

This course discusses how texts, especially literary texts, can be analyzed from the perspective of theoretical linguistics.  The course is therefore suitable for students who have an interest in both literary studies and linguistics. The topics include style types, the use of tenses, word order, character designations, gender-neutral language, sound symbolism, the effects of verbs and nouns, focalization and metaphors. Many guest lecturers will participate in this class, both literary scholars and linguists.

Examples of so-called "constructed languages" can be found as far back as the 7th century, but human ideas about the origin of languages and their structure are probably as old as humanity itself. Constructed languages are created for various purposes, whether it is purely for pleasure, to create a framework for a fictional world, such as Tolkien's Elvish languages and the alien languages of the Star Trek universe, or to facilitate international communication, as the planned languages Esperanto, Solresol and Volapük are intended to do. Whatever the purpose of the constructed language, it is clear that behind it lies an enormous knowledge of the speakers of the language itself and what properties a language can have - and cannot have - in order for it to function as a real language. The course will discuss different types of constructed languages and the ideology behind them. The structure and properties of constructed languages will be discussed and compared to natural languages, as well as other artificial languages, such as gibberish and secret code. Students learn to distinguish different types of constructed languages based on their purpose and field of use. The grammatical structures of constructed languages will be discussed and students will learn to break down and examine the grammatical categories of different languages, guided by the following questions: What do speakers need to know about their own language in order to learn a constructed language, and what can constructed languages teach us about real languages?

Anger is a prominent driving force and theme in literature and the arts from the very beginning of the Western cultural tradition. Anger is intertwined with the very nature of storytelling. In this course, we examine various examples of anger and place them in the context of theories from the study of emotions—ranging from the anger of Achilles to that of Donald Duck. Who is allowed to be angry? Why are they so angry, and what purpose does their anger serve in a cultural-historical context? A selection of works and scholarly texts dealing with anger, and with anger as a phenomenon, will be read.

The class is taught in Icelandic.  In this course, students get a chance to hone their writing skills. Students will hand in regular writing assignments where they practise different ways of presenting scholarly work in a creative manner, such as op-eds and creative nonfiction. Students will also write creative texts, such as short stories. Students can use material from their field of study but will also have to face new challenges. Classes will be in the form of lectures, discussions, and workshops. Assessment will be based on regular assignments, self-assessment, a midterm assignment, a final assignment, a portfolio, and attendance and participation. Attendance and participation make up 15% of the grade and is partly mandatory (8 out of 12 workshops). The course is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Iceland but students must themselves make sure that the course can be used for credit in their particular studies.

Online learning:

The course is organized as face-to-face learning but all lectures from teachers will be recorded. This is done to assure better access to the course. Students who do not attend class will listen to the lectures and write short reports. They also turn in assignments otherwise done in class.

This course will focus on the works of two female poets and pioneers in the writing of modernist literature in Iceland in the 20th century, Ásta Sigurðardóttir (1930–1971) and Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004). Discussion will cover the reception of their works and their literary-historical context, the authors' lives and careers, and how their experiences and public images are reflected in their writings, as well as the influence of intellectual movements and social changes such as feminism and class struggle. The texts of Ásta and Svava will be compared, with attention paid to connections between their bodies of work and the elements that distinguish them, as well as their influence on other writers and the Icelandic literary field in the 21st century.

This course will introduce the key methods of psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience in research on language. We will discuss how the brain processes meaning and syntax, in addition to topics such as bilingualism, speech production, language development and comprehension of indirect language (such as irony). At the end of the course students will get insights into recent research on the genetics of language.

The course is taught in English alongside a masters level course, but the course requirements will be different.

The cultural and national history of Iceland is entwined with its poetic heritage. In addition to longer, autonomous sagnakvæði, Old Icelandic poetic stanzas are significant components of bigger narratives and the greater storytelling tradition in general. This course will explore two important forms of Old Icelandic poetry, skaldic poetry and rímur, preserved in the oldest sources up until the Reformation. Students will receive training in reading and analyzing this poetry and will discuss the value and role of verse in different texts, the interaction between narratives and rímur, the value of Old Icelandic poetry as sources as well as the oral and written preservation of the poetry at different times.

The meaning of words and sentences is often determined by the context, for instance in irony. How do listeners understand us if we don‘t always say what we mean? What do conversations in different cultures and languages have in common? In this course we will examine language in interaction from different perspectives. Key concepts in linguistic pragmatics will be introduced, including the contribution of context to meaning. The methodology and key topics of conversation analysis will be described along with recent comparative studies on language in interaction around the world. We will also briefly discuss interdisciplinary psycholinguistic research on pragmatics. Students will get hands-on experience with recording conversations, the conceptual analysis of talk, and use of relevant software (including Praat for analyzing and processing sound files and ELAN for annotation of conversation).

The course provides students with an overview of speech pathologists' main subject areas within an Icelandic setting. This is a vast and diverse domain, ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia and aphasia in adults, to language impairment and speech sound disorders in children. The course will intertwine essential terms and knowledge with more practical approaches to the material. Furthermore, students should gain the skills necessary to acquaint themselves with relevant research and peer-reviewed articles within the field of speech-language pathology.

This course is primarily intended for undergraduate student in the humanities at the University of Iceland who wish to be able to use programming in their work. In the course, we go through the foundations of programming using the programming language Python and an emphasis is placed on the analysis of textual data. The course is therefore appropriate for those who would like to get to know language technology at the undergraduate level, especially those who are interested in pursuing the language technology program at the MA-level. The course is taught alongside MLT701F Programming in language technology at the MA-level and all students attend the same lectures but BA students get shorter assignments than MA students. When solving various programming tasks involving the analysis of text it is beneficial for students to be at least somewhat familiar with important concepts in the grammatical analysis of natural languages but if a student is unsure whether they have the appropriate background for the course, they should feel free to contact the instructor for further information. 

The main goal of this course is to support students in taking their first step toward learning programming, help them to knack the basis and train them in solving simple but diverse assignments in language technology using Python. Students will be introduced to a few text processing tools that can be used for natural language processing. Students who subsequently enroll in the MA-program in language technology will build on skills acquired in this course in other courses about natural language processing.

This course covers the basics of phonetics and phonology. The first half of the course will focus on phonetics. The speech articulators and sound production will be described. Students will receive training in phonetic transcription. The main acoustic methods will be introduced and the relationship between phonetics and phonology will be discussed. In the second part of the course, concepts and methods in the analysis of phonological systems will be introduced and students will be trained in their use. Different theories in phonology will be examined in relation to language in general and Icelandic phonology in particular.

This is a basic composition course. Writing skills will be honed through regular assignments, lectures, class discussions and workshops.Approaches to writing research papers will be addressed, such as choosing and narrowing a topic, structure, and sources. Register, style, spelling, punctuation, and resources for writers will be discussed. Students write essays and papers of various kinds and get regular feedback from peers and teachers. Course assessment is based on written assignments and class participation. The course can only be passed if all assignments are turned in.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.
The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).
Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing https://ritver.hi.is/en/center-writing, which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.
Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544

The aim of this survey course is to sample the literary history of the last four millennia by reading a number of world masterpieces from Africa, Asia and Europe. All texts will be read in Icelandic translations. 

The major aspects of the history of linguistics traced from the antiquity through the middle ages till the beginning of the 19th Century. The Old Icelandic grammatical treatises. The major aspects of the history of linguistics in the 19th and 20th century. Emphasis is placed on the theories and discoveries that have been most influential in the development of ideas and methods in linguistics.

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and the materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different status of social groups and species.

In this course we concern ourselves with how language and society interact by examining sociolinguistic methods and concepts with regard to international and domestic research in the field.

Among the topics discussed are language attitudes, language contact, dialects, language style and language management. We take a look at different manifestations of language use and language variation as well as contemplating on how factors such as environment, context and background of a language user potentially influence language use and choice of style.

We provide an overview of principal research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, discuss recent trends in sociolinguistics and evaluate methods and methodologies with respect to the particular research topic.

Besides presenting research on attitudes towards language and language use, considering both attitudes towards one’s own language and that of others, we consider possible outcomes of unconventional language use. Special emphasis will be put on considering the language use of those who speak Icelandic as a foreign language as well as the status of immigrants in Iceland.

Additionally, we address the current status of the Icelandic language, particularly in relation to English and other languages. Principles of language management are discussed along with people’s ideas and believes about language through time. In that respect, we have a look at Icelandic language policy, language management, language standardization and linguistic purism from different perspectives, e.g. a synchronic and diachronic angle as well as with regard to other speech communities. 

We will discuss language use of particular social groups (e.g. teenagers) in terms of its social meaning for the group on the one hand and for the speech community as a whole on the other hand.

Students are expected to complete group or individual tasks on questions and problems originating from topics and discussions in the class room.

This course provides an overview of Icelandic manuscript culture. Students will get practical training in reading Icelandic manuscripts from different periods, from the earliest extant Icelandic vellums dating to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries down to the paper manuscripts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The origins of the Icelandic script will be discussed as well as its development over time, and students will get practical training in reading different types of script from different periods. The orthography of medieval manuscripts differs considerably from the modern orthography. It includes a system of abbreviations that is partly inherited from a much earlier Latin tradition. Students will get practical training in interpreting these abbreviations. The Icelandic language has also changed over time, and different manifestations of these language changes appear when reading and examining Icelandic texts from different periods. A selection of these changes will be discussed. Changes in script, orthography, and language provide valuable indications of the date of the manuscript, and students will get practical training in dating medieval Icelandic manuscripts based on script, orthography, and language.

Various aspects of medieval book production will be discussed, including the making of parchment and ink, and book binding. Scribes and scribal schools will be discussed as well as probable centres of book production in medieval Iceland. The works of some prolific scribes in the fourteenth century will be examined. What did they write? How did they write? Did they change their practice over a long scribal career? The texts contained by the manuscripts will also be examined and the basics of textual criticism introduced. Njáls saga, for instance, has survived in over sixty manuscripts with considerable textual variation. Which manuscript should then constitute the basis for a printed edition of Njáls saga? Different types of printed editions will be discussed, and students try their hand at editing a medieval text. The electronic editing of pre-modern texts will be introduced, and students will get practical training in mark-up with XML according to the guidelines of the Medieval Nordic Text Archive (MENOTA) and the Medieval Unicode Font Initiative (MUFI).

The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be pre-recorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions.

The course is run in cooperation with the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies which has the custody of the largest single collection of Icelandic medieval manuscripts. Students will visit the institute to learn about its collections and facilities and to examine manuscripts.

Course synopsis

Week 1
(1) Introduction
The course: format, readings, requirements and assessment.
The subject matter: Medieval Icelandic manuscripts.

(2) The earliest Icelandic manuscripts
A sketch of the history of the Latin script and the earliest writings in Icelandic. Where did Icelanders learn to use the Latin alphabet? Which orthography did they employ? Some main characteristics of medieval orthography and the use of abbreviations.

Week 2
(3) Electronic editing of medieval texts
How can medieval texts be presented electronically? The XML mark-up language, TEI, MENOTA, MUFI, and related matters. We will try our hand at electronic editing.

(4) The earliest Icelandic orthography and the First Grammatical Treatise
The use of the Latin alphabet for writing Icelandic: challenges — and the solutions proposed by the author of the First Grammatical Treatise in the middle of the twelfth century.

Week 3
(5) Icelandic script and orthography in the thirteenth century
The difference between Icelandic and Norwegian orthography in the twelfth century. What changed in the course of the thirteenth century?

(6) Different types of print editions: scholarly editions
How accurate should printed editions be? Should every little detail in the manuscript be reproduced? What is “Classical Old Icelandic Normalized Orthography”? What are the needs of the readers? What is the role of the editor?

Week 4
(7) Norwegian influence on script, orthography, and language in Icelandic manuscripts
What is the manifestation of this Norwegian influence? How deep-rooted was it? How long did it last?

(8) The dating of manuscripts: script, orthography, and language
How can medieval Icelandic manuscripts be dated? Features of script, orthography, and language that can be helpful for dating.

Week 5
(9) Icelandic script and orthography in the fourteenth century
Main characteristics and their development.

(10) One scribal hand or many?
Distinguishing different scribal hands: some criteria. The Icelandic Homily Book from around 1200: One scribe or fourteen?

Week 6
(11) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
From animal skin to parchment. How was the ink produced? Book design and book binding. The care and conservation of medieval manuscripts.

(12) Book production: parchment, ink, binding — and conservation
A visit to the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

— STUDY WEEK —

Week 7
(13) Scribes, scribal milieus, the export of books
On prolific scribes, scribal collaboration, and extensive production of books. Were books produced in Iceland for export in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?

(14) Icelandic script and orthography in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

Week 8
(15) Textual criticism
On the transmission of texts through copying. Textual variation, manuscript classification, and stemmatology.

(16) Textual criticism
Comparing manuscripts and collecting variants.

Week 9
(17) Manuscript illumination
On illuminated manuscripts, historiated initials, artists and their models.

(18) Manuscript catalogues and cataloguing
We will familiarize ourselves with the most important manuscript catalogues and learn about the principles of manuscript cataloguing.

Week 10
(19) Icelandic script and orthography in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Main characteristics and their development.

(20) The transmission of the text: a relic or a living text?
How did the language change when a scribe copied from an old exemplar? Njáls saga is believed to have been written towards the end of the thirteenth century. What is the language of Njáls saga in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century manuscripts?

Week 11
(21) Antiquarianism, manuscript collectors, and copyists
The sixteenth century saw the rise of interest in antiquities, old manuscripts were collected and copied.

(22) Different types of print editions: popular editions
How is a pre-modern text best presented to the modern reader? Should archaic features of language and orthography be retained or should they be updated? On the allegiance to the manuscript and allegiance to the reader.

Week 12
(23) Manuscript collections and manuscript collectors
The life and work of Árni Magnússon.

(24) The manuscript dispute and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland
The search for Codex Scardensis and a nerve-racking auction in London. The custody dispute with Denmark and the return of the manuscripts to Iceland 1971–1997.

— This synopsis may be subject to change. —

Readings

The reading list is on the course website on Canvas. It consists of readings in several languages, including English, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, German, and French. The reading list is (often) divided into three main sections:

(a) Required readings: Texts that everyone is required to read. These are all in English.

(b) Optional supplementary readings: These are optional readings for those who want a more in-depth discussion. Most of these readings are in English, but not all.

(c) For those who still want more: A variety of optional readings in several languages, not least in Icelandic, for those who still want more. This section is mostly for reference purposes and as a tool for further research.

Many of the required readings (and some of the optional readings) are found on the Canvas course website. Other reading materials are available in the institute library in the Árni Magnússon Institute in Edda and the University Library (Háskólabókasafn) in the Þjóðarbókhlaða.

Prerequisites
Some skills in Icelandic are essential to fully benefit from the course, as emphasis will be placed on practical training in reading and transcribing text from medieval Icelandic manuscripts. MIS105F Old Icelandic 1 or equivalent study of Old Icelandic is sufficient or some skills in Modern Icelandic. Please, consult the instructor if in doubt.

Course format
The course is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops with considerable student engagement. Many of the lectures will be prerecorded allowing more time in the classroom for discussion and student contributions (flipped classroom).

Working language: This course is open to students with different linguistic backgrounds, and there are two working languages, English and Icelandic. Pre-recorded lectures are in both English and Icelandic (except for guest lecturers who will present in English), written assignments are in both English and Icelandic, and reading materials are in English, Icelandic and the Scandinavian languages, but for those who cannot read Icelandic or the Scan-dinavian languages, all required readings are in English. English is the main working language in the classroom, but questions and contributions to class discussion may also be in Icelandic. — See a separate note on the working languages and the classroom arrangement.

Course requirements and assessment
The final grade for the course will be based on:

(1) Transcription assignments: 30%
(2) Manuscript catalogue assignment: 10%
(3) Manuscript dating assignment: 10%
(4) Presentation: manuscript of the day: 10%
(5) Research paper: 30%
(6) Class participation: 10%

All written assignments will be submitted through Canvas. More detailed instructions and information on deadlines is found on Canvas.

This course is an introduction into some of the basic ideas and topics in theoretical syntax. The topics include phrase structure, X-bar theory, functional projections, verb raising, argument structure, case marking, binding principles and locality principles. The discussion will be based on examples from Icelandic, English and many other languages.

This is an advanced morphology course that is taught every other year. The aim of the course is introduce to students various theories and topics in morphology, using examples from Icelandic and other languages, and to train students to work on morphology on their own.

This course is a survey of linguistic research on first language acquisition, in particular, although we will also look at bilingualism and the acquisition of second and foreign languages. We will be concerned with the question of how young children acquire their native language. The primary focus is on (1) the biological foundations of language and the effects of the language environment on young children's language acquisition, and (2) grammatical development in language acquisition, i.e. how children develop the system of rules - syntactic, semantic, morphological, phonological - which comprise the grammar of their language, and acquire its vocabulary. In the course, we will concentrate on Icelandic language development, although we also look at language development in English and other languages.

The number of student in this course is limited to 70.

This course discusses how texts, especially literary texts, can be analyzed from the perspective of theoretical linguistics.  The course is therefore suitable for students who have an interest in both literary studies and linguistics. The topics include style types, the use of tenses, word order, character designations, gender-neutral language, sound symbolism, the effects of verbs and nouns, focalization and metaphors. Many guest lecturers will participate in this class, both literary scholars and linguists.

Examples of so-called "constructed languages" can be found as far back as the 7th century, but human ideas about the origin of languages and their structure are probably as old as humanity itself. Constructed languages are created for various purposes, whether it is purely for pleasure, to create a framework for a fictional world, such as Tolkien's Elvish languages and the alien languages of the Star Trek universe, or to facilitate international communication, as the planned languages Esperanto, Solresol and Volapük are intended to do. Whatever the purpose of the constructed language, it is clear that behind it lies an enormous knowledge of the speakers of the language itself and what properties a language can have - and cannot have - in order for it to function as a real language. The course will discuss different types of constructed languages and the ideology behind them. The structure and properties of constructed languages will be discussed and compared to natural languages, as well as other artificial languages, such as gibberish and secret code. Students learn to distinguish different types of constructed languages based on their purpose and field of use. The grammatical structures of constructed languages will be discussed and students will learn to break down and examine the grammatical categories of different languages, guided by the following questions: What do speakers need to know about their own language in order to learn a constructed language, and what can constructed languages teach us about real languages?

Anger is a prominent driving force and theme in literature and the arts from the very beginning of the Western cultural tradition. Anger is intertwined with the very nature of storytelling. In this course, we examine various examples of anger and place them in the context of theories from the study of emotions—ranging from the anger of Achilles to that of Donald Duck. Who is allowed to be angry? Why are they so angry, and what purpose does their anger serve in a cultural-historical context? A selection of works and scholarly texts dealing with anger, and with anger as a phenomenon, will be read.

The class is taught in Icelandic.  In this course, students get a chance to hone their writing skills. Students will hand in regular writing assignments where they practise different ways of presenting scholarly work in a creative manner, such as op-eds and creative nonfiction. Students will also write creative texts, such as short stories. Students can use material from their field of study but will also have to face new challenges. Classes will be in the form of lectures, discussions, and workshops. Assessment will be based on regular assignments, self-assessment, a midterm assignment, a final assignment, a portfolio, and attendance and participation. Attendance and participation make up 15% of the grade and is partly mandatory (8 out of 12 workshops). The course is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Iceland but students must themselves make sure that the course can be used for credit in their particular studies.

Online learning:

The course is organized as face-to-face learning but all lectures from teachers will be recorded. This is done to assure better access to the course. Students who do not attend class will listen to the lectures and write short reports. They also turn in assignments otherwise done in class.

The BA thesis is primarily intended to train students in researching a chosen topic within their field of study and presenting their findings in a well-structured academic text. Students write a BA thesis on a research topic of their own choice in consultation with their supervisor. The course coordinator assists students in selecting a supervisor if needed. Students are encouraged to meet with their supervisor and prepare an initial outline of the research project before the thesis semester begins.
The final thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and academically, present material logically and systematically, analyse sources, and make use of scholarly resources (e.g., handbooks, dictionaries, or comparable online resources).
Students are encouraged to use the services of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing https://ritver.hi.is/en/center-writing, which offers support for academic writing. At the Centre for Writing, students can book consultations and receive advice on any issues related to academic essays, reports, and other written assignments.
Students are also advised to familiarise themselves with the University of Iceland guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence: https://gervigreind.hi.is/

See detailed rules regarding BA theses at the School of Humanities (in Icelandic only): https://ugla.hi.is/kerfi/view/page.php?sid=3544

By focusing on folk tales, literature and other relevant sources, the course discusses the manifestations of nature and the supernatural in Icelandic narrative culture throughout the centuries. Students will learn about the significance, interface, and unclear boundaries of these phenomena and how they have shaped society and the environment as well. Students will thus get to know different ideas about the position of people and (other) animals within, above or "outside" of nature. Through diverse lectures and assignments, topics such as humanity vs. animality, the known world vs. other worlds, and materiality vs. the supernatural, will be discussed from critical points of view. The roles and forms of landscape, organisms, bodies, weather, and natural phenomena in the narrative culture will be explored. The latest research in this broad field will be presented, such as on the representation of earthquakes and celestial bodies, bears, whales, seals, and domestic animals, and on the supernatural creatures of nature and other mythological creatures such as fairies, ghosts, trolls, and berserks. Students will learn how story worlds and folklore have left their mark on the perception of nature, folk traditions, folk customs, and social spaces such as enchanted spots, sacred places and hunted places. We also ask how these narratives appear in folk art and visual art, from previous centuries to the present. Finally, we will explore the significance of nature narratives and the supernatural in the context of the Anthropocene, human perspectives, climate change, and the different statuses of social groups and species