Postgraduate Course: History of the English Language (LASC11121)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course will provide students with an accelerated introduction to the development of the English Language, both within the United Kingdom and overseas. |
| Course description |
Following a brief introduction to key aspects of the external history of the language, students will learn about the linguistic characteristics of English from the earliest historical records through to the present day. They will learn how to discuss and evaluate different kinds of evidence used in historical linguistic research. Attention will be given to the development of both standard and non-standard varieties of English, and to general principles of historical linguistics as they apply to change in English phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.
The week-by-week syllabus is as follows:
- Week 1: The history of English in 100 minutes
- Week 2: External factors (= a discussion of the main historical events that affected the development of the language)
- Week 3: The history of English words (= an introduction to semantic and morphological change)
- Week 4: Early English in Britain (= an introduction to OE and ME)
- Week 5: British English in modern times (= an introduction to eModE and lModE)
- Week 0: [Innovative Learning Week]
- Week 6: Phonological change in English (= principles of historical phonology, applied to and illustrated by English data)
- Week 7: Morphosyntactic change in English (= principles of historical morphosyntax, applied to and illustrated by English data)
- Week 8: Dialects in England (= an introduction to the history of English dialects, including new dialect formation in England)
- Week 9: English in Scotland (= an introduction to Scots and Scottish English)
- Week 10: Global English (= an introduction to the spread of English beyond Britain)
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 18,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
79 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% Exam
Exam to be Scheduled:
Exam Return Date: tbc, approximately 3 weeks after the exam takes place |
| Feedback |
There will be interactive exercises and short assignments on Learn as a preparation of the exam.
Comments provided on submitted assessments |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | History of the English Language | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- be familiar with the linguistic characteristics of earlier varieties of English
- apply knowledge of general principles of historical linguistics to changes in the structure of English
- understand the ways in which standard and non-standard varieties of English came into being and developed, both within the United Kingdom and across the world
- evaluate critically different kinds of textual evidence used in research in English historical linguistics
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Reading List
| Hogg, Richard and David Denison (eds.). 2006. A History of the English Language. Cambridge: CUP. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
On completion of this course, students will have developed the following transferable skills:
- critical evaluation of different kinds of evidence
- close analysis of data of different kinds
- problem solving |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Attend all lectures as scheduled |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Graeme Trousdale
Tel: (0131 6)50 3599
Email: Graeme.Trousdale@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk |
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