Undergraduate Course: Principles and Applications of Medieval Dialectology (LASC10075)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Language Sciences |
Other subject area | European Languages and Cultures - Common Courses |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The course provides an introduction to (a) the techniques for the investigation of medieval vernaculars, which show high degrees of variation in their extant texts; (b) the theoretical framework underpinning historical dialectology, its methodology and applications. The questionnaire method of dialectal analysis will be compared and contrasted with the more recent techniques of corpus linguistics, in particular the lexico-grammatical tagging of texts. The course will concentrate on medieval English and Scots texts but will also draw on materials from Old French and Middle Dutch (for which no prior knowledge is assumed).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed
Middle English (LASC10009)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | This course has a named level 11 version, if you are a Postgraduate Student you must take the PG version.
Visiting students should have at least 3 Linguistics/Language Sciences courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
Although some knowledge and experience of Middle English and/or Older Scots would be helpful, prospective students need not have studied these in detail before applying for this course. Some background in the history of English, and an interest in linguistic variation is required. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Increased understanding of the extent of regional and temporal variation in medieval vernacular texts.
Knowledge and understanding of the theoretical underpinning of historical dialectology, especially as it relates to Middle English and Older Scots, and first hand observation of some of the problems inherent in the discipline.
Basic knowledge and understanding of medieval scribal copying practices and their implications for the linguistic status of the resulting texts.
Ability to progress to independent research on the subject
Ability to analyse and localise Middle English and Older Scots texts
Ability to evaluate critically the strengths and weaknesses of techniques of description and analysis |
Assessment Information
| 100% coursework - comprising an essay of about 3000 words |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Teaching Contact Time: 9 weeks out of 11 at 3 hours/week = 27 hours |
| Keywords | Historical linguistics,Historical dialectologyMiddle EnglishOlder ScotsPalaeographyCorpus lingu |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Margaret Laing
Tel: (0131 6)50 4020
Email: M.Laing@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Stephanie Fong
Tel:
Email: S.Fong@ed.ac.uk |
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