
Apply through UCAS
- UCAS course code
- TQ11
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course unit details:
Language Contact
Unit code | LELA30291 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 3 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
Offered by | Linguistics & English Language |
Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
This module provides an introduction to the study of language contact both as a process (the processing of different languages by multilingual individuals) and as a result (observed language change over time as a result of multilingual language use). Both aspects will be discussed on the basis of a range of case studies involving languages from around the world and different scenarios of multilingualism.
Pre/co-requisites
At least one unit out of:
- LELA20021 Theory of Grammar;
- LELA20101 Societal Multilingualism;
- LELA20031 Typology;
- LELA20502 Variationist Sociolinguistics;
- LELA20401 The changing structure of English;
- LELA20042 Meaning in Grammar;
- LELA20962 Psycholinguistics–or comparable
Aims
Students will:
- obtain an overview of processes of historical language change
- obtain an overview of the formation of new languages due to language contact
- obtain an overview of the relation between the above and multilingual language use
- critically reflect on the concept of “language” as a delimited system,
- learn to analyse relevant aspects of the pho nology, grammar and semantics of a range of languages, including non-European ones
Knowledge and understanding
- understand the role of some key conceptual notions in language contact such as “borrowing”, “code-switching”, and “creole genesis”
- link historical processes of contact-induced change to the processing of multiple languages by multilingual speakers
- apply these concepts to data from familiar and unfamiliar languages
Intellectual skills
- identifying key points in published research papers on different subtopics
- critical evaluation of the evidence and sources of data underlying theoretical claims
- identifying conceptual links between synchronic and diachronic phenomena
Practical skills
- analysis of multilingual conversations
- use of glosses and translations to analyse structures of unfamiliar languages
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- confidence in discussion and argumentation
- providing explicit evidence and precise argumentation in written work
- increased appreciation of linguistic and cultural diversity
Employability skills
- Other
- The course will have particular benefits for any student interested in pursuing a career which involves teaching and learning, diversity management, intercultural communication and community cohesion. The course will also provide key skills in critical analysis, dissemination of information to specialist (but non-academic) audiences and therefore be of value for a range of career paths. The course content encourages students to critically reflect upon the world outside the university thereby providing confidence to use academic research in a variety of settings.
Assessment methods
Discussion board contribution | 20% |
Annotated Bibliography for Essay | 10% |
Essay | 70% |
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
feedback on contributions to discussion board
| formative and summative |
feedback during seminars
| formative |
written feedback via Turnitin on outline of main assignment | fortmative and summative |
written feedback via Turnitin on main assignment
| summative |
additional one-to-one feedback during consultation hours | formative |
Recommended reading
- Bhatia, Tej K. & William C. Ritchie (eds.), The Handbook of Bilingualism and Multilingualism, Second Edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Hickey, Raymond (ed.), The Handbook of Language Contact. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Matras, Yaron. 2009. Language contact. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Winford, Donald. 2003. An introduction to contact linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell.
- Wei, Li. ed. 2000. The bilingualism reader. London: Routledge.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Lectures | 22 |
Seminars | 10 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 168 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Eva Schultze-Berndt | Unit coordinator |