Reading Old English (U02518)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : PPL-3-ROE-EL

This course focuses on the acquisition of the skills necessary to work with Old English text, both in edited and in unedited form. It provides students with an opportunity to acquire a reading knowledge of Old English, together with a command of central aspects of its grammar. In addition, they will learn to transcribe passages from facsimiles of Old English manuscripts, and they will prepare a 'student edition' of one such short passage.

The course will start by concentrating on the rapid acquisition of essential basic grammar, consolidated through exercises, and on the translation of short passages of simple Old English prose. Once the basics are in place, the level of difficulty and length of the passages will increase. Less central aspects of the grammar will be dealt with gradually, over the course of the semester. At this stage, we will also begin with work on transcribing and analysing Old English from facsimiles of manuscripts, which will alternate with the translation work using printed texts.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : English Language 2 or Linguistics 2A + 2B or Linguistics 2A + 2L. (Students who do not meet this prerequisite requirement but who have alternative equivalent qualifications may be admitted to the course in consultation with the course organiser.)

Subject Areas

Home subject area

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

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 9 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
19/09/2007	10:00	10:50	Room 1.01, 14 Buccleuch Place	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	10:00	10:50	Central
Lecture	Wednesday	10:00	10:50	Central
Lecture	Friday	10:00	10:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
* read and translate unseen West Saxon prose with the aid of a glossary or dictionary
* analyse unseen Old English in terms of morphological and syntactic properties
* transcribe Old English from facsimiles of manuscripts
* make a student edition of part of a facsimile of an Old English manuscript

Assessment Information

There are two pieces of assessment for this course:
(1) Coursework providing 50% of the final mark
(2) A two-hour written examination providing 50% of the final mark.