Teaching code

4S002921

Teacher

Marco Magnani

Coordinator

Marco Magnani

Credits

9

Also offered in courses:

• Russian Language 2 of the course Bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures

Language

Russian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

L-LIN/21 - SLAVIC STUDIES

Period

II semestre dal Feb 18, 2019 al Jun 1, 2019.

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students are expected to:

− know and critically describe the morphological structures of the Russian language;
− apply their knowledge of the language in the understanding of texts on different topics, as well as in written and oral communication;
− have the language skills that correspond to the B2 level on the CEFR scale.

Program

*PROGRAMME*

THE COMPLEXITY OF THE RUSSIAN VERB SYSTEM

1. Categories, features and values

2. Aspect
2.1. Semantic category vs Grammatical category
2.2. Broad aspectual meanings
2.3. Specific meanings of the perfective aspect
2.3.1. Concrete factual meaning
2.3.2. Exemplificative meaning
2.3.3. Potential meaning
2.3.4. Global meaning
2.3.5. Disregarded expectation praesens
2.4. Specific meanings of the imperfective aspect
2.4.1. Progressive meaning
2.4.2. Durative meaning
2.4.3. Potential meaning
2.4.4. Iterative meaning
2.4.5. Generic factual meaning

3. The search for an aspectual invariant

4. Aspectual competition
4.1. Concrete factual perfective vs Generic factual imperfective
4.2. The two aspects in the imperative mood: the Politeness Theory
4.3. The two aspects in the infinitive mood: possibility vs obligation, and impossibility vs prohibition

5. Lexical aspect
5.1. Verb classes
5.2. Aspectual correlation: Maslov’s criterion
5.3. Prefixation and perfectivization
5.4. Suffixation and secondary imperfectivization
5.5. Some types of lexical aspect
5.5.1. Incohative
5.5.2. Limitative
5.5.3. Perdurative
5.5.4. Finitive
5.5.5. Cumulative
5.5.6. Saturative

6. Verbs of motion
6.1. Unprefixed verbs of motion: unidirectional vs pluridirectional
6.2. Prefixed verbs of motion and their aspectual pairs
6.2.1. Traditional grammatical explanations and their problems
6.2.2. The linguistic explanation and its advantages
6.2.3. The different meanings of prefixes with uni- and pluridirectional verbs
6.2.4. The derivation of homonymous forms (e.g. zachodit’)

7. Non-finite verb forms
7.1. The participle (active and passive, present and past)
7.1.1. The past passive participle: verbs or adjectives? one or two -n-?
7.2. The gerund (perfective and imperfective)
7.2.1. The consecutio temporum



*TEACHING METHODS*

– Slides
– Critical reading of examples and texts
– Exercises
– Group discussion both in class and on the Moodle forum



*LANGUAGE*

Russian and Italian

Examination Methods

Written + Oral

*PREREQUISITES*
Students can take the exam ONLY IF:
– they have acquired the B2 language certificate
– they have passed the exams “Russian language 1” and “Russian literature 1”

*CONTENUTI*
Written part: open questions and exercises on all topics in the syllabus section (duration: 1.5 hours).
Oral part: correction of mistakes in the written exam and discussion on one of the topics in the syllabus.

*LANGUAGE*
Written part: exercises are in Russian.
Oral part: conversation in Russian; comments on the written exam can be made in either Russian or Italian.

*ASSESSMENT CRITERIA*
Particular attention in the final evaluation is given to:
– content accuracy and completeness
– knowledge of the subject-specific lexicon
– precision in the discussion of the topics
– critical ability in the argumentation
– originality in establishing connections among the various topics
– active participation, both in class and in the Moodle forum (for attending students)

Repeating mechanically and mnemonically the contents of the course, logical fallacies in the argumentation, insufficiently mastering the technical terminology will have a negative impact on the evaluation.

*ASSESSMENT METHODS*
– The written test is marked in thirties.
– The oral exam is marked in thirties.
– The final mark is the mean score among written test, oral exam and language certificate.

N.B.1: in order to take the oral exam, students must have passed the written test (at least 18/30).
N.B.2: students who fail the oral exam or reject its mark can repeat it only within the same session; in later sessions they will have to repeat the whole exam (written + oral).