| CODE | ENG5035 | ||||||
| TITLE | Variation in English | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | English | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit offers students the opportunity of an in-depth analysis of various aspects of the English language, including both a historic perspective and a consideration of current trends and variations affecting English at the present time. The unit will focus on language description of, as well as language attitudes towards, English language standardisation, variation and change. Study-unit Aims: - To sensitise students to the notion of the multi-faceted nature of the English language; - To develop students' awareness of the nuances involved in approaches to studying standards and variation in language; - To explore patterns of synchronic and diachronic change in English; - To study authentic spoken and written texts, including historical corpora; - To describe a range of contexts for variation in English, including social, historical and political environments, as well as speaker-to-speaker variation; - To introduce the concept of perception of variation. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify characteristic features of the English language; - recognise key features of Old, Middle, Early Modern and Present Day English; - analyse and appropriately describe a range of texts and text types spanning the history of the English language; - recognise the main features of both standard and dialect variation in English; - understand the importance of context in the use of English (such as jargon, formal/informal speech, different registers, anachronism and dated vs contemporary language usage); - identify and use the main English language corpora for historical and regional variation. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - utilise a deeper understanding of the wealth of the English language in their own language usage; - apply an understanding of different speech and written text types to appropriate contexts; - make the appropriate choices in language usage based on the above generated exposure to different text types; - recognise and identify different text types from the range of diachronic and synchronic examples available; - navigate and extract useful information from historical and variation corpora for English; - carry out small-scale, principled research on a range of topics related to analysing variation in English. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Aitchison, Jean. (2001). Language change: Progress or Decay 3rd Edition. Cambridge CUP. - Barber, C. Beal, J. and Shaw, P.A. (2009). The English language. CUP. - Maguire, Warren and April McMahon. 2011. Analysing variation in English. Cambridge CUP. - Tagliamonte, S. (2012). Roots of English: exploring the history of dialects. CUP. Supplementary Readings: - McMahon, A. (1994). Understanding language change. CUP. - Others as necessary. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Lydia Sciriha |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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