THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

Draft Edition - Due to be published Thursday 11th April 2024

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

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

Undergraduate Course: English grammar: a cognitive account (LASC10045)

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
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 Students MUST have passed: LEL2A: Linguistic Theory and the Structure of English (LASC08017)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 3 Linguistics/Language Sciences courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students should have acquired the following:

(a) a greater understanding of how Modern English grammar works
(b) preparation for more advanced work involving syntactic theories
(c) basic grounding in aspects of Cognitive Linguistics, particularly Cognitive Grammar and Construction Grammar
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information Teaching Contact Time: 9 weeks out of 11 at 3 hours/week = 27 hours
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserProf Graeme Trousdale
Tel: (0131 6)50 3599
Email: Graeme.Trousdale@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Susan Hermiston
Tel: (0131 6)50 3440
Email: Susan.Hermiston@ed.ac.uk
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