Language Resource Center

Introductory courses to Bengali, a major language of northeast India and Bangladesh.

Prerequisites: (BENG UN1101 and BENG UN1102) BENG W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. Further develops a students knowledge of Bengali, a major language of northeast India and Bangladesh.

This course introduces students to both the spoken and written Cantonese language, with achieving conversational proficiency being a primary goal. The course emphasizes oral expressions, listening comprehension, and grammar. It is designed to give beginning students a practical command of the language. Upon completion of the course, students can expect to converse in simple sentences, and recognize and write about 350 Chinese characters. Students with passable conversation ability or native speakers from Cantonese-speaking communities should not enroll in this course. Note: This course is part of the language exchange program with New York University (NYU). Classes will be held at NYU.

Prerequisites: CANT W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. This course further continues the study of the Cantonese language. Emphasis is on linguistic rules to enable students to communicate with more competence. The lessons will not only focus on language, but also incorporate discussions on history, current events, literature, popular culture, and native values. Includes field trips to Chinatown and other Cantonese-speaking neighborhoods. Note: This course is part of the language exchange program with New York University (NYU). Classes will be held at NYU.

Introduction to Filipino with an emphasis on mastering basic skills and working vocabulary. Linguistic rules are applied to enable the student to communicate with more competence. Lessons incorporate discussions on history, current events, literature, pop culture, and native values. Includes field trips to Filipino neighborhoods in Queens and Jersey City. Note: This course is part of the language exchange program with New York University (NYU). Classes will be held at NYU.

Prerequisites: FILI W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. Emphasis is placed on the linguistic rules to enable students to communicate with more competence. The lessons will not only focus on language but also will use a holistic approach and incorporate discussions on history, current events, literature, pop culture, and native values. Note: This course is part of the language exchange program with New York University (NYU). Classes will be held at NYU.

This course offers students an introduction to the basic structures of Bahasa Indonesia, a major language of Indonesia and South East Asia.

Prerequisites: INDO W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. This course further develops a students knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia, a major language of Indonesia and South East Asia.

This course offers students the opportunity to practice advanced structures of Bahasa Indonesia, a major language of Indonesia and South East Asia. This course is offered by videoconferencing from Cornell as part of the Shared Course Initiative.

This course introduces students to the rudiments of the Irish language, including phonemes and pronunciation, syntactical structure, and verbal conjugations. In addition, a history of the language is provided, as well as a general introduction to Irish culture, including discussions of family and place names. Students are encouraged to begin speaking with basic sentence structures, eventually expanding into more complex verbal conjugations while concentrating on idiomatic expressions. The accumulation of vocabulary is stressed and students are introduced to basic literature in Irish while developing beginning conversational fluency.

Prerequisites: (IRSH UN1101 and IRSH UN1102) IRSH UN1101-UN1102 or the instructors permission. For the more advanced student of Irish, this course focuses on improving conversational fluency and on expanding vocabulary through reading complex literature in Irish, and writing in the Irish language, further encouraging students to strengthen their pronunciation and command of spoken Irish.

This course is designed to bring students with no background to a point where they can perform most basic linguistic functions in Khmer, including greetings, likes/dislikes, telling about yourself, describing places and situations, all in appropriate time frames. The class uses a highly interactive classroom style, supplemented by extensive use of video - both prepared and student-produced - and other computer-assisted tools. Please note this course is offered by videoconferencing from Cornell as part of the Shared Course Initiative.

This course focuses on learning Khmer (the national language of Cambodia) for students who have completed Intermediate Khmer I.  Students will be able to communicate in every day conversation using complex questions/answers.  The course focuses on reading, writing, speaking, and listening to Khmer words, long sentences, and texts.  The course is also emphasized on grammar, sentence structure and their use in the right context. This course is applied to persons who want to continue to learn Khmer and want to pursue the language study in the future.

This course introduces students to the language of Haitian Kreyòl, also called Creole, and is intended for students with little or no prior knowledge of the language. Haitian Kreyòl is spoken by Haiti’s population of nine million and by about one million Haitians in the U.S. Including over 190,000 in the New York City area. In fact, New York City has the second largest population of Kreyòl Speakers after Port--au--Prince, Haiti’s capital. Through this course, you will develop introductory speaking, reading, and writing skills. We use a communicative approach, balanced with grammatical and phonetic techniques. Classroom and textbook materials are complemented by work with film, radio, and especially music (konpa, rasin, twoubadou, rap, raga, levanjil, vodou tradisyonèl, etc.), as well as with visits to city museums and institutions related to Haiti. Note: This course is part of the language exchange program with New York University (NYU). Classes will be held at NYU.

Intermediate Haitian Creole II is intended to continue the material covered in Elementary Haitian Creole I and II. It is intended for students who already have a strong comprehension of the grammar, sounds, and vocabulary of Haitian Creole. The course is taught primarily in Haitian Creole. Students are guided to a more advanced level of the Haitian Creole language to further develop speaking, reading, writing, and listening comprehension skills. A communicative approach is used and class materials are complemented by work with film, radio, and music
(konpa, rasin, twoubadou, rap, raga, levanjil, vodou tradisyonèl, etc.),

Prerequisites: Shared course. Contact ck2831@columbia.edu for more Info. Introduction to Punjabi, a major language of northern India and Pakistan. Beginning with the study of the Gurmukhi script, the course offers an intensive study of the speaking, reading, and writing of the language.

Prerequisites: PUNJ W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. Further develops a students writing, reading, and oral skills in Punjabi, a major language of northern India and Pakistan.

Quechua is the most important and most widely-distributed indigenous language in South America, with over 10 million speakers living from the high mountains to the tropical lowlands in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Those who speak it call the language runa simi or runa shimi, human speech. It was the principal language of the Inca empire and the key language of cultural interaction during the colonial era. Quechua has remained central to indigenous peoples efforts to preserve their cultural autonomy. It has gained greater force in recent years, during which indigenous movements have swept Quechua speakers into national politics, where they have succeeded in transforming constitutions to recognize cultural diversity, making Quechua an official language of state, and successfully promoting schooling in the language. Students who satisfactorily complete Elementary Quechua I and II will be well-prepared for intensive summer study at one of many summer study abroad programs in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia that will put them in closer contact with the indigenous world.

Quechua is the most important and most widely-distributed indigenous language in South America, with over 10 million speakers living from the high mountains to the tropical lowlands in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Those who speak it call the language runa simi or runa shimi, human speech. It was the principal language of the Inca empire and the key language of cultural interaction during the colonial era. Quechua has remained central to indigenous peoples efforts to preserve their cultural autonomy. It has gained greater force in recent years, during which indigenous movements have swept Quechua speakers into national politics, where they have succeeded in transforming constitutions to recognize cultural diversity, making Quechua an official language of state, and successfully promoting schooling in the language. Students who satisfactorily complete Elementary Quechua I and II will be well-prepared for intensive summer study at one of many summer study abroad programs in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia that will put them in closer contact with the indigenous world.

This course is designed to bring students with no background to a point where they can perform most basic linguistic functions in Sinhala, including greetings, likes/dislikes, telling about yourself, describing places and situations, all in appropriate time frames. The class uses a highly interactive classroom style, supplemented by extensive use of video – both prepared and student-produced – and other computer-assisted tools. Please note this course is offered by videoconferencing from Cornell as part of the Shared Course Initiative.

Prerequisites: SINH W1101-1102 or the instructors permission. In this course, learners will continue practicing all four language skills through every day dialogues, writing letters, and describing basic situations. In addition, they will be introduced to Sinhala literature and learn how to read and comprehend basic Sinhala texts, such as newspaper articles. Finally, they will be introduced to current affairs as well as social, artistic, and cultural events and issues in Sri Lanka. The class uses a highly interactive classroom style supplemented by extensive use of video – both prepared and student-produced – and other computer-assisted tools. Please note this course is offered by videoconferencing from Cornell as part of the Shared Course Initiative.

This one-semester course further develops students' comprehension of written Literary Sinhala, using sample materials from a variety of genres prepared by the instructor, as well as excerpts from texts relevant to graduate student research (when appropriate).

 

This course is designed to bring students with no background to a point where they can perform most basic linguistic functions in Yoruba, including greetings, likes/dislikes, telling about yourself, describing places and situations, all in appropriate time frames. The class uses a highly interactive classroom style, supplemented by extensive use of video – both prepared and student-produced – and other computer-assisted tools. Please note this course is offered by videoconferencing from Cornell as part of the Shared Course Initiative.

Prerequisites: YORU W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. In this course, learners will continue practicing all four language skills through every day dialogues, writing letters, and describing basic situations. In addition, they will be introduced to Yoruba literature and learn how to read and comprehend basic Yoruba texts, such as newspaper articles. Finally, they will be introduced to current affairs as well as social, artistic and, cultural events and issues in Nigeria. The class uses a highly interactive classroom style, supplemented by extensive use of video – both prepared and student-produced – and other computer-assisted tools. Please note this course is offered by videoconferencing from Cornell as part of the Shared Course Initiative.

Prerequisites: ZULU W1201-W1202 or the instructors permission. Introduces students to the basic structures of Zulu, a Bantu language spoken in South Africa, especially in the Zululand area of KwaZulu/Natal province.

Prerequisites: ZULU W1201-W1202 or the instructors permission. Provides students with an in-depth review of the essentials of the Zulu grammar. Students are also able to practice their language skills in conversation.

Prerequisites: ZULU W1201-W1202 or the instructors permission. This course allows students to practice adanced structures of the Zulu language. Please note this course is offered by videoconference from Yale through the Shared Course Initiative.