Postgraduate Course: Structure of a Language MSc (LASC11185)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course gives students the chance to acquire in-depth knowledge of the structure of a selected language, expanding their analytical skills and awareness of linguistic diversity. Students will be provided with the support necessary to undertake close grammatical analysis of a range of textual or other kind of material in an unfamiliar language. |
| Course description |
This course will give students the opportunity to acquire in-depth knowledge of the structure of a selected language and to build their skills in linguistic analysis and in communicating specialist information to a variety of audiences. Students will be provided with the support and resources that will enable them to engage in the analysis of textual or other kind of material in the target language. Students will be able to develop their understanding of the language's structure and relevant grammatical concepts, and to apply this knowledge as they engage with a varied set of data. Coupled with additional readings, this will enable them to gain an in-depth understanding of the language's structure, as well as to engage, as appropriate, with relevant sociolinguistic, historical, and cultural context as well as the diachronic development of the language.
The choice of language will vary from year to year: information will be provided in advance to allow students to make an informed choice.
The course will be focused primarily on developing structural understanding rather than practical mastery of the language; students will be required to engage closely with linguistic theory throughout the course. Students should expect a significant independent study component in preparation for the teaching sessions.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 18,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 14,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
164 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. Peer assessment of a written draft of midterm project (5%)
2. Midterm project: presentation of an aspect of the language to a non-specialist audience (1,500 words if using essay format) (45%)
3. Final assignment: grammatical analysis and written submission (2,000 words) (50%) |
| Feedback |
Feed-forward on all assessments
For Assessment 2, students will give and receive peer feedback on a draft as part of Assessment 1.
For Assessment 2, students will be offered formative feedback from the lecturer on draft work.
|
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Carry out in-depth grammatical analysis of data from a previously unfamiliar language
- Demonstrate in-depth mastery of key linguistic concepts relevant to the structure of the language
- Synthesize and effectively and accurately communicate information about the structural and/or sociohistorical aspects of an unfamiliar language to specialist and/or non-specialist audiences
- Formulate research hypotheses to which data from the language is relevant and design studies to address these hypotheses
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical thinking; Problem solving; Curiosity; Collaboration; Communication; Reflection; Inclusivity; Adaptivity; Data and Digital Literacy; Individuality
The course promotes curiosity and inclusivity by giving students the opportunity to engage with data from an unfamiliar language that does not belong to the small group of hegemonic languages of the global North, and with its sociohistorical embedding.
The course promotes independent engagement with challenging linguistic data, developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills, as well as data literacy.
Assessment includes developing a piece that communicates information about the language aimed at a non-specialist audience, developing communication skills as well as requiring reflection and adaptivity in the context of audience design for such a piece. The free format of this assessment gives students the opportunity to show their individuality. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Albert Remijsen
Tel: (0131 6)50 6657
Email: b.remijsen@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Sasha Wood
Tel:
Email: swood310@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage