2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL3241 Voices, Regional and Social

20 creditsClass Size: 20

School of English

Module manager: Professor Clive Upton
Email: c.s.upton@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

Pre-requisite qualifications

Students wishing to take this module must have passed an introduction to language study in the School of English or another department (such modules include: 'Language, Text and Context', 'Foundations of Language Study', 'Language Methodologies and Research Methods', a level 1 module in Linguistics and Phonetics, or similar modules in other departments in Modern Languages.) Students who have not done such a module, but do have an A in English Language A-level and who wish to do this module should consult the tutor, as should any student who is uncertain whether they meet the pre-requisite requirements.

Please note: This module is restricted to Level 2 and 3 students.

This module is mutually exclusive with

ENGL32102	English Dialects in Place
ENGL32104	English Dialects in Society

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

It is well known that the English language is spoken with a great deal of variation, even within the confines of the British Isles in long-settled communities. Regional speech variation has been studied academically since the nineteenth century, and since the 1960s social speech differences within rather than between communities has come to be an important focus of attention. This module affords an introduction to insights into language variation provided by different studies, and encourages participating students to make their own contribution to the field of dialectology.

Objectives

To provide students with an overview of insights into language variation provided by different studies in the areas of both regional and social English dialectology. To encourage participating students to make their own contribution to the field of knowledge of regional or social speech variation, or both.

Learning outcomes
Students will have developed:
the ability to use written and oral communication effectively;
the capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse;
the ability to manage quantities of complex information in a structured and systematic way;
the capacity for independent thought and judgement;
critical reasoning;
research skills, including the retrieval of information, the organisation of material and the evaluation of its importance;
IT skills;
Efficient time management and organisation skills;
the ability to learn independently.

Skills outcomes
Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
Critical reasoning.
Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
IT skills.
Time management and organisational skills.
Independent learning.

Syllabus

This module covers a range of issues concerning the impetus for and evolution of the discipline of dialectology in both its regional/diachronic and social/synchronic manifestations. Topics for lectures and discussion include: nineteenth-century practitioners; the Survey of English Dialects and other mid-twentieth-century surveys; mapping past and present; the motivation for 'a socially realistic linguistics'; linguistic and independent variables; surveying and quantifying variability.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Meetings	5	1.00	5.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			185.00
Total Contact hours			15.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Teaching will be through weekly seminars (10 x 1 hour) plus up to 5 additional hours (content to be determined by the module tutor). The 5 additional hours may include lectures, plenary sessions, film showings, or the return of unassessed/assessed essays.

Private Study: Reading, seminar preparation, assignment writing.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Seminar contribution.

1st assessed assignment.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Assignment	1700 words	33.30
Investigative Project	2750 words	66.70
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

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: 25/04/2008

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