Postgraduate Course: History of Scots (LASC11130)
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 | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | The course examines the emergence, structure and status of Scots from its earliest beginnings to c.1900. |
Course description |
The course will study the emergence, structure and status of Scots from its earliest beginnings to c.1900. For each major stage in the language¿s development, the course will: (i) survey the socio-historical context; (ii) identify the major structural changes; (iii) consider theories of linguistic change. Students will additionally learn to read and analyse selected Older and early Modern Scots texts and to interpret Scottish place-names and other commonly-used Scottish terms. As the course progresses, there will be opportunity for some small-group discussions and interactive analyses of Older Scots texts.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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Academic year 2016/17, 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:
200
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Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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Additional Information (Assessment) |
A mid-course assignment, chosen from a list provided by the lecturer, to assess knowledge of Older Scots lexis, spelling and grammar: 2,000 words, 50%
An end-of-course essay, chosen from a list provided by the lecturer, to assess engagement with the literature on the status of Older Scots: 2,000 words, 50% |
Feedback |
A practice assignment (1,000 words), set early in the course, with a model answer provided for self-assessment. This will be followed by a feedback session, which will feed forward to the assessed coursework
Ongoing feedback to students during lectures and seminars
Advice on assessed coursework throughout the course
Detailed marker comments on assessed coursework
A Q&A session in week 8 on essay topics |
No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- comment on linguistic features of texts from Early, early Middle, late Middle and early Modern Scots
- describe diachronic developments at all levels of language in the history of Scots
- identify key figures and events in the history of the Scots language and explain their impact
- summarise and critically evaluate arguments concerning the status of Older Scots
- interpret Scottish place-names and other commonly-used Scottish terms
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Reading List
Corbett, J., J.D. McClure & J. Stuart-Smith (eds.) 2003. The Edinburgh Companion to Scots. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Devitt, A. 1989. Standardising Written English: Diffusion in the Case of Scotland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dossena, M. 2005. Scotticisms in Grammar and Vocabulary. Edinburgh: John Donald.
Görlach, M. 2002. A Textual History of Scots. Heidelberg: C. Winter.
Jones, C. (ed.) 1997. The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Kay, B. 1988. Scots: The Mither Tongue. London: Grafton.
Macafee, C. & A.J. Aitken. 2002. A history of Scots to 1700. In W. Craigie et al. (eds.), A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, vol. XII. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Online at: www.dsl.ac.uk/about-scots/history-of-scots/]
McClure, J.D. 1988. Why Scots Matters. Edinburgh: Saltire Society.
Murison, D. 1979. The historical background. In A.J. Aitken & T. McArthur (eds.), Languages of Scotland, 2:13. Edinburgh: Chambers.
Robinson, C. & R. Ó Maolalaigh. 2007. The several tongues of a single kingdom: the languages of Scotland, 1314:1707. In T.O. Clancy & M. Pittock (eds.), The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature, vol. 1, 153:63. Edinburgh: EUP.
Smith, J. 2013. Oder Scots: A Linguistic Reader. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer.
Web resource
Timeline of the Scots Language AD 550-1700, Scots Language Centre. Available at: http://media.scotslanguage.com/library/document/Scots%20Timeline%20Pre-1700.pdf |
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
Keywords | Scots,linguistics,history,language,medieval |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Rhona Alcorn
Tel: (0131 6)50 6660
Email: R.Alcorn@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2016 The University of Edinburgh - 3 February 2017 4:30 am
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