THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2018/2019

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Language Sciences

Postgraduate Course: English grammar: a cognitive account (LASC11054)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryClasses will provide an account of major topics in the grammar of English from a cognitive linguistics perspective.
Course description This course introduces students to cognitive linguistics, particularly construction grammar. We look at the ways in which construction grammar differs from mainstream models of syntax, and at what the general principles of construction grammar are. The course covers a range of topics, including:

- the relationship between word structure, the structure of idioms, and syntactic structures
- the word as a construction
- argument structure constructions
- constructions and information structure
- language as a network of constructions
- how language users acquire constructions
- how constructions vary and change in time and space

We explore the framework using data from English, both standard and non-standard, and both contemporary and historical, from a range of genres.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2018/19, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 44, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 151 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Coursework: 100%
Students will be assessed by means of one extended piece of written work of c.4000 words.

Additional exercises will be provided, but will not count towards the overall mark for the course.
Feedback Each student will have an individual meeting with the course organiser to discuss the topic of the extended essay.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. understand aspects of modern English grammar
  2. undertake more advanced work on theories of grammar
  3. understand basic principles of cognitive linguistics and construction grammar
Reading List
Hilpert, Martin. 2013. Construction Grammar and its Application to English. Edinburgh: EUP.

Hoffmann, Thomas and Graeme Trousdale, eds. 2013. The Oxford Handbook of Construction Grammar. New York: OUP.

Barlow, Michael and Suzanne Kemmer (eds.) 2000. Usage-¬based models of language. Stanford: CSLI.

Croft, William. 2001. Radical Construction Grammar. Oxford: OUP.

Croft, William and D. Alan Cruse. 2004. Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: CUP.

Evans, Vyvyan and Melanie Green. 2006. Cognitive Linguistics: an introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Goldberg, Adele E. 1995. Constructions: a Construction Grammar approach to argument structure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Goldberg, Adele E. 2006. Constructions at work: the nature of generalization in language. Oxford: OUP.

Langacker, Ronald. 2008. Cognitive Grammar: an introduction. Oxford: OUP.

Taylor, John R. 2002. Cognitive Grammar. Oxford: OUP.

Ungerer, Friedrich and Hans-¬Jörg Schmid. 1996. An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics. London: Longman.

Traugott, Elizabeth Closs and Graeme Trousdale. 2013. Constructionalization and Construction Changes. Oxford: OUP.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information Attend all lectures as scheduled
Keywordscognitive linguistics,English grammar,construction grammar
Contacts
Course organiserDr Graeme Trousdale
Tel: (0131 6)50 3599
Email: Graeme.Trousdale@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: Toni.noble@ed.ac.uk
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