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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

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

Undergraduate Course: LEL2A: Linguistic Theory and the Structure of English (LASC08017)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course presents a detailed discussion of aspects of the structure of Modern English in relation to some core elements of linguistic theory.
Course description The course explores the linguistic structure of Modern English in relation to some central issues in linguistic theory. The teaching is organised thematically, covering the phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics of English as the principal components of linguistic structure.

1. Phonology: introduces some key ideas from phonological theory within the broader context of the study of linguistic structure. Material will consider some of the main characteristics of the phonology of English and will present some of the central concepts in phonological analysis.

2. Morphology: explores some central aspects of the morphological structure of English words, examining some of the traditional elements of morphological analysis.

3. Syntax: presents syntactic properties of major constructions in English, including a thorough grounding in syntactic structure.

4. Semantics: develops a logical analysis of the meaning of English sentences and its relationship to syntactic structures.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: ( Linguistics and English Language 1A (LASC08022) AND Linguistics and English Language 1B (LASC08023)) OR Informatics 1 - Cognitive Science (INFR08020)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 1 introductory level Language Science course at grade B or above for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. Relevant courses will be courses in Linguistics as an academic discipline. Courses that describe aspects of a given language as part of a Modern Foreign Languages degree will typically not provide students with an adequate background.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 33, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 154 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Essay worth 40%
Syntax assignment worth 20%
Semantics assignment worth 20%
Learn assessment worth 20%

Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand the structure of the phonological system of English and the theoretical issues that arise in its description and analysis.
  2. Understand the way that words are structured in English and other languages and the relations between morphology, phonology, syntax and semantics.
  3. Have an understanding of the foundations of syntactic and semantic analysis.
  4. Be able to parse any English sentence, and objectively analyse grammatical phenomena in English and other languages.
  5. Be able to critically assess different theoretical analyses of particular constructions
Reading List
Bauer, Laurie. 2003. Introducting Linguistic Morphology (2nd edition; 1st edn. 1988). Edinburgh: EUP.

Carr, Philip. 2013. English Phonetics and Phonology: An Introduction (make sure you use this, the 2nd, edition). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Carstairs-McCarthy, Andrew. 2018. An Introduction to English Morphology (2nd edition; 1st edn. 2002). Edinburgh: EUP.

Cruse, Alan. 2000. Meaning in Language: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Oxford: OUP.

Giegerich, Heinz. 1992. English Phonology: An Introduction. Cambridge: CUP.

Hayes, Bruce. 2009. Introductory Phonology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Kearns. Kate. 2000. Semantics. London: Palgrave.
Plag, Ingo. 2019. Word-Formation in English (2nd edition). Cambridge: CUP.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Itamar Kastner
Tel: (0131 6)50 6802
Email: itamar.kastner@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Susan Hermiston
Tel: (0131 6)50 3440
Email: Susan.Hermiston@ed.ac.uk
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