Linguistics 2Lh: Structure and History of the Western European Languages (U00583)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 8 ? Acronym : PPL-2-LI2LH-LS

An introduction to the structure and history of the major Western European languages, especially the Romance and Germanic families. The course will cover both the principal historical events that have affected the development of these languages (external history) and provide a sketch of the development of modern vernaculars from their historical forbears (internal history). The course will also deal in detail with a number of specific topics that are significant in the linguistic study of the present-day Romance and Germanic languages, including both structural topics (e.g. umlaut, auxiliary selection) and historical and sociolinguistic topics (e.g. the development of standard languages, the influence of English on modern Western European languages).

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Linguistics 1 or English Language 1 or Linguistics 1A and a first-year course in modern or ancient European language

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Language Sciences, (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Schedule I)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 2nd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 1 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
07/01/2008	12:00	13:00	Room 1.18, David Hume Tower	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	12:10	13:00	Central
Lecture	Wednesday	12:10	13:00	Central
Lecture	Thursday	12:10	13:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- understand the historical context of Romance and Germanic;
- describe the major structural properties that characterise both language groups;
- read specialised linguistic works in individual Romance or Germanic languages;
- identify and outline specific research topics that are suitable as projects for Honours long essays and disserations;
- undertake university-level courses on Romance or Germanic languages in the languages' home countries on a roughly equal footing with local students as regards background knowledge about the language and its history.