ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 99 Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 24 Interactive Classroom: 24 Total: 150
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Classical, French and Italian Philology
Areas: Indo-European Linguistics
Center Faculty of Philology
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable
Indo-European Seminar: An Introduction to the Old Persian language.
1. Basic knowledge of the grammar of the Old Persian language.
2. Basic knowledge of the historical grammar of the Iranian languages and their dialectal position within the Indo-Iranian and Indo-European Languages.
3. Understanding, translation and commentary of Old Persian texts.
1. Introduction
-- The Iranian linguistic group among the Indo-Iranian and Indo-European Languages: Indo-European; Indo-Iranian branch; Iranian: Avestan, Old Persian. Outline of the culture, history and archaeology of the Iranian peoples, with special reference to their Indo-Iranian and Indo-European origins.
2. Phonetics and Phonology
-- The ancient cuneiform script of Old Persian and its problems of interpretation.
-- Historical phonology of Old Iranian: vowels, consonants, problems of phonologic interpretation.
3. Morphology and Syntax
-- Historical morphology of Old Iranian: nominal and pronominal morphology, verbal morphology, indeclinable words.
-- Syntactical overview.
4. Practical section
-- Lecture, transcription, translation and linguistic-comparative commentary of Old Persian texts.
1. Basic bibliography:
-- BRANDENSTEIN, W. & MAYRHOFER, M. 1964. Handbuch des Altpersischen, 2ª ed., Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz (spanish translation of A. TOVAR, 1958, Antiguo Persa, Madrid).
-- BRUST, M. 2018. Historische Laut- und Formenlehre des Altpersischen. Mit einem etymologischen Glossar. Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck.
-- FORTSON IV, B.W. 2010 (2nd ed.). '10. Indo-Iranian II: Iranian', in: Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction. Second Edition, Malden MA etc.: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 227-247, 483.
-- KLEIN, J., JOSEPH, B. & FRITZ, M. in cooperation with M. WENTHE (eds.) 2017. "VI. Iranian", in: Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics (3 vols., 2017-2018), Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 471-624.
-- SCHMITT, R. 2004. “Old Persian”, in: R.D. WOODARD (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages, Cambridge, University Press, pp. 717-741.
2. Complementary bibliography:
-- BARTHOLOMAE, Ch. 1904/1906 (repr. 1979 Berlin / New York). Altiranisches Wörterbuch. Zusammen mit den Nacharbeiten und Vorarbeiten zum altiranischen Wörterbuch. Strassburg: Trübner.
-- CHEUNG, J. 2007. Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb. Leiden / Boston: Brill.
-- KENT, R.G. 1953 (2nd Ed.). Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon. New Haven: American Oriental Society.
-- MAYRHOFER, M. 1986-1996. Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen (3 Bände). Heidelberg: Winter.
-- MEILLET, A. & BENVENISTE, E. 1931 (2ème édition). Grammaire du vieux-perse. Paris: Édouard Champion.
-- PAUL, L. (ed.) 2013. Handbuch der Iranistik. Wiesbaden, Reichert.
-- SCHMITT, R. (ed.) 1989. Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum. Wiesbaden: Reichert.
3. Online resources:
Old Iranian Online. Old Persian: Base Form Dictionary (University of Texas at Austin): https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/aveol
Lexilogos: Old Persian: http://www.lexilogos.com/english/persian_old.htm
Achemenet. Musée achéménide: http://www.achemenet.com/
TITUS: Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien, Frankfurt etc. (ir a: 'Banco de textos' > Iranio): http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de
-- Ability for reading, transcribing, analysing, translating and commenting Old Persian texts.
-- Application of the historical grammatical knowledge of the Iranian and Indo-Iranian languages to the comparison with other Indo-European ancient languages, mainly Greek and Latin.
-- Knowledge of the available resources for extending the linguistical and philological study of the Iranian languages.
The course is thought as totally contact. From the three hours a week for lessons, one hour will be devoted to theory, and two to practical problems. This practical section -- conceived as the true core of the course -- will consist of lecture, translation, and linguistic commentary of Old Persian texts, both in its original scripture and in normalized transcription. The texts will be available to the students through the online Virtual Campus.
Valid for both opportunities: there will be a final exam (75% of importance for the final mark) consisting of the translation and linguistic commentary of an Old Persian text, based on the contents of the lectures, or on the recommended bibliography. For the final mark will be rated as well (25%) the active participation of the students in the practical lectures. The students with exemption of attendance to the lectures will be valued exclusively from the final exam.
6-ECTS credits subject (6x25 = 150 hours of total student's workload).
These credits consist of 3 theoretical and 3 practical.
Work directed by the teacher: 75 h (50%): 42 h (56%) of contact sessions (three hours a week) and 33 h (44%) of directed non-contact activity.
Autonomous student's work: 75 h (50%).
Each activity will be distributed by hours as follows:
Theoretical sessions: 18 h contact and 37 h autonomous work.
Practical sessions: 18 h contact and 37 h autonomous work (including 3 h of directed work).
Lectures + debate: 2 h contact and 15 h non-contact directed lecture.
Work + debate: 2 h contact and 15 h non-contact work.
Specialised tutorials: 2 h contact y 4 h autonomous work.
Participating regularly and continuously at the lessons is highly recommended, For the acquisition of skill in translating is essential to adapt oneself to a regular working habit. The acquisition of skills in using the several available materials (grammars, dictionaries, online resources) will be combined with the gradual introduction of the students into the lecture of original Old Persian texts.
Jose Virgilio Garcia Trabazo
Coordinador/a- Department
- Classical, French and Italian Philology
- Area
- Indo-European Linguistics
- Phone
- 881811888
- josevirgilio.garcia [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
| Tuesday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | B06 |
| Wednesday | |||
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | Spanish | D12 |
| 05.20.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | D07 |
| 05.20.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | D07 |
| 06.23.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLIS_01 | D07 |
| 06.23.2026 09:30-13:30 | Grupo /CLE_01 | D07 |