2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LING3290 Language Change

20 creditsClass Size: 22

Module manager: Dr Leendert Plug
Email: L.Plug@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Pre-requisite qualifications

ENGL1020 English Structure and Style
OR
ENGL1030 Foundations of Language Study
OR
ENGL1021 Analysing English
OR
MODL1060 Language Structure and Sound

This module is mutually exclusive with

LING2410

Language Change

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module introduces students to the study of language change. All languages undergo change over time, but they do not do so randomly. This module provides an overview of the most frequently observed linguistic changes over time and discusses theories of why these changes occur and others do not. It allows students to do practical historical linguistic analysis and to gain insights into the psychological, sociological and evolutionary motivations for language change.**'Students who have not completed MODL1060 or LING1070 should be prepared to do some additional reading to familiarise themselves with linguistic concepts built on in this module**

Objectives

This course introduces core concepts of historical linguistics.

The module aims to:

(1) acquaint students with the main issues that the discipline of historical linguistics seeks to address:
- What linguistic changes are observed frequently across languages?
- How do changes spread throughout speech communities?
- What, if anything, causes languages to change in the way they do?
(2) cover major developments in historical linguistics over the past centuries, which involve the application of various theories of linguistics to questions of language change, and introduce students to current research;
(3) explore the relationship between historical linguistics and other areas of inquiry, such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and language acquisition;
(4) develop students' analysis skills through the practical analysis of patterns of change from a variety of languages;
(5) develop students' writing and research skills through an assessed essay on a topic in language change.

Learning outcomes
On completing this module, students should be
(1) thoroughly acquainted with the main issues that the discipline of historical linguistics seeks to address and the major developments in historical linguistics over the past centuries;
(2) aware of the relationship between historical linguistics and other areas of inquiry, such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and language acquisition,
(3) able to analyse patterns of change from a variety of languages in the light of different theories of language change;
(4) able to undertake independent research in the area of language change.

Skills outcomes
In addition to gaining knowledge of various patterns of language change and relevant theoretical concepts, students will learn to analyse data from a variety of languages and address wider theoretical questions on the basis of their analysis.

Syllabus

This module introduces core concepts of historical linguistics, which studies how languages change over time and proposes explanations for why certain changes do or do not occur.

The module acquaints students with the various issues that the study of language change aims to address and outlines major developments in historical linguistic theory over the past centuries, many of which involve applying current linguistic theory to questions of language change.

The module gives students the opportunity to analyse a variety of diachronic data and to consider the theoretical implications of their analyses. The module addresses the question of why language changes in terms of what we know about language processing, language learning and language spread, drawing on psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic and language acquisition research, among others, thus presenting historical linguistics as a multidisciplinary field of enquiry.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Class tests, exams and assessment	1	2.00	2.00
Lecture	15	1.00	15.00
Seminar	5	1.00	5.00
Private study hours			178.00
Total Contact hours			22.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

(1) Preparing for lectures (reading): 15x5 hours = 75 hours
(2) Preparing for seminars (practical analysis): 5x4 hours = 20 hours
(3) Preparing for and writing a 3,000-word essay: 45 hours
(4) Preparing for final exam: 38 hours
(4) Preparing for final exam: 38 hours.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students are given informal feedback on practical work in the 'workshop' sessions, and on their understanding of research papers and lecture content in seminars.

Following each seminar, students are given the opportunity to submit a critical summary of the research paper discussed, following concrete instructions. Those who do receive written feedback on their submission before the next seminar.

Students are encouraged to make use of this opportunity to receive feedback throughout the semester.

Students are also given the opportunity to discuss their essay plan with the lecturer before submission, and they receive formative feedback on the essay before they take the final exam.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	3,000 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Exam with advance information on questions	2 hr 00 mins	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 02/03/2018 17:22:53

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