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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2019/2020

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

Undergraduate Course: Language Contact and the History of English (LASC10105)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryIn this course you will become familiar with the study of language contact, and with the role contact has played in the development of English in the British and Irish Isles from the earliest times until the end of the 19th century.
Course description This course familiarizes students with the study of language contact and the role contact has played in the development of English in the British and Irish Isles from the earliest time to the 19th century. It provides some brief historical background and an introduction to historical sociolinguistics, with an emphasis on the study of language contact. Armed with this knowledge, students will be in a position to tackle issues around the role of language contact in shaping the development of English in the British and Irish Isles; topics covered include the earliest contacts of the Germanic languages, 'the Celtic hypothesis' (the early influence of Celtic on Old and Middle English), the impact of contact with French and with North Germanic, both in the Middle English period and later on, and modern 'Celtic Englishes'.
Please note that this course does not cover topics such as overseas varieties of English, English-based pidgins and creoles, or varieties of English spoken in multicultural contexts today.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: LEL2C: English in Time and Space (LASC08019) OR LEL2E: Structure and History of European Languages (LASC08021) OR Gaelic 2A (CELT08006) OR Gaelic 2B (CELT08007)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have completed at least 3 Linguistics/Language Sciences courses at grade B or above. Students are expected to have some background in historical linguistics and/or the history of English. We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 27, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 169 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Article review (1,000 word limit): 40%«br /»
Final essay (3,000 word limit): 60%«br /»
Feedback Midterm assignment briefing
Essay briefing after the end of the teaching period
One-on-one draft feedback sessions to be offered before submission of the final essay
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a good understanding of the mechanisms and theories of language contact, and the methods used to study language contact in the past.
  2. Be able to discuss the major controversies around historical language contact in the British and Irish Isles
  3. Be able to identify potential contact features in varieties of English
  4. Be able to critically evaluate proposals in the scholarly literature relating to the contact origin of linguistic features found in varieties of English and the mechanism of transfer involved in such contacts.
  5. Acquire sufficient subject knowledge and study skills to be able to engage with advanced research issues in historical sociolinguistics, including the study of historical language contact
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Pavel Iosad
Tel: (0131 6)50 3948
Email: Pavel.Iosad@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Lynne Robertson
Tel: (0131 6)50 9870
Email: Lynne.Robertson@ed.ac.uk
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