Postgraduate Course: Introduction to Morphology (LASC11120)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Language Sciences |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
Please use Learn |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The course will introduce postgraduate students with little or no knowledge of linguistic morphology to the study of this subdiscipline of formal linguistics. It will be similar to the way the topic is presented elsewhere in LEL's curricula; but (appropriate to postgraduate study) it will progress rapidly and reach a fairly high level of attainment within comparatively few contact hours. In line with the mainstream of successful research in past decades, the course will have a focus on linguistic form (rather than meaning), but will otherwise seek to be fairly theory-neutral. It will draw on English where possible but will, for exampled in addressing typological issues, also use other languages for exemplification (eg Turkish, Latin, German).
Topics to be covered: Discussion of basic concepts: word, morpheme, lexeme. Inflection vs. derivation. A survey of the derivational morphology of English. Headedness. The Unitary Base Hypothesis. Rival morphological processes and 'blocking'. The mental lexicon, lexical accessing and 'productivity'. Compounding in English and the Lexical Integrity Principle. The lexicon-syntax 'continuum' and its problems. Interactions between morphology, syntax and phonology.
Feedback: individual student meetings to discuss essay plans |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| The course will enable students to understand the basics of the morphology of English, of morphological theorising, and of the modularization of the grammar. At the end of the course students will be ready to take more advanced option course(s) on the subject; high-performing students may be able to engage in relevant dissertation work. |
Assessment Information
Either an essay of 2000 words on a topic to be selected from a list of up to 10, or a 2-hour exam comprising three short essay questions (chosen from a list of up to 10).
Essay Deadline: Monday 21st April 2014, 12 Noon
OR
Exam to be Scheduled: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/registry/exams
Essay Word Limit: 2,500 words
Essay Return Date: Tuesday 13th May 2014
Exam Return Date: tbc, approximately 3 weeks after exam takes place |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Week 1: Trying to define the word. Listedness. Morphological complexity.
Week 2: The morpheme and the problems of constraining allomorphy. Lexemes and word forms.
Week 3: Inflection, paradigm and inflectional typology.
Week 4: Derivation and the problems of the inflection/derivation distinction.
Week 5: Survey of the derivational morphology of English. Headedness. Unitary Base Hypothesis.
(Week 6: reading week)
Week 7: The mental lexicon: lexical accessing, morphological productivity.
Week 8: ¿Rival¿ processes: why do they exist, how do they interact? Listedness. Synonymy blocking.
Week 9: Compounds, phrases and the ¿lexical integrity principle¿.
Week 10: Modularizing the lexicon. The nature of grammatical modules. |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Bauer, L. A glossary of morphology. Edinburgh 2004.
Bauer, L. Introduction to linguistic morphology. 2nd edn. Edinburgh 2003.
Booij, G. The grammar of words. 2nd edn.Oxford 2007.
Carstairs-McCarthy, A. An introduction to English morphology. Edinburgh 2002.
Don, J. English morphology. Edinburgh (to appear).
Fabregas, A. & S. Scalise, Morphology. Edinburgh 2012.
Lieber, R. & P. ¿tekauer, Handbook of word-formation. Dordrecht 2006.
Marchand, H. The categories and types of Present-day English word-formation. Munich 1969.
Plag, I. Word-formation in English. Cambridge 2002.
Spencer, A. & A. Zwicky (eds.), The handbook of morphology. Oxford 1998. |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Heinz Giegerich
Tel: (0131 6)50 3595
Email: heinz.giegerich@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk |
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