Undergraduate Course: Dialects of English in Britain and Ireland (LASC10085)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course provides a detailed account of dialects of English in Britain and Ireland. Beginning with an overview of variation and change in dialects of English, the course proceeds to examine how they differ in terms of their phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and lexis, and investigates key linguistic features in detail. Having covered key parameters of variation, the course then focusses on specific dialects, examining their linguistic features, historical origins, relations to other dialects, and the current forces which are shaping their development. These are examined from dialectological, sociolinguistic, perceptual and theoretical linguistic perspectives, and issues that are investigated include dialect and language contact, dialect levelling and new dialect formation, and the interaction of language and physical and human geography. Central concerns throughout the course are: why dialects of English in Britain and Ireland are the way they are; what the linguistic similarities and differences between them are; and what local and general trends are affecting them. Specific areas covered in detail may vary from year to year, but could include, for example, Northern Ireland (including the importance of the ethno-religious dimension), peripheral areas of Scotland such as the Hebrides, the Northern Isles, and the Scottish-English Border (including contact and the sociolinguistics of peripheral varieties), Northern England (including the status of 'Northern English' and the linguistic and perceptual border with the Midlands and South), Liverpool (including changing perceptions of a stigmatised urban variety), Northeast England (including dialect levelling and the transition from traditional dialects to modern accents of English), and Southern British English (including 'Estuary English', koinéization, and London Multicultural English). |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | 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. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
- An overview of dialects of English in Britain and Ireland.
- An understanding of why dialects of English are the way they are, of the historical, geographical and social forces that have shaped their development, and of current trends in their development.
- An ability to describe the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical features of a range of dialects of English in Britain and Ireland, and to explain in detail particular linguistic features which are found in them.
- An appreciation of previous and on-going research into dialects of English in Britain and Ireland from dialectological, sociolinguistic, perceptual and theoretical linguistic perspectives, including issues such as dialect and language contact, dialect levelling and new dialect formation, and the interaction of language and political, cultural and physical borders.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Teaching Contact Time: 9 weeks out of 11 at 3 hours/week = 27 hours |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Warren Maguire
Tel:
Email: W.Maguire@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Samantha Bell
Tel: (0131 6)50 3602
Email: sam.bell@ed.ac.uk |
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