SE1109: Introduction to Language

School Language and Communication
Department Code ENCAP
Module Code SE1109
External Subject Code Q310
Number of Credits 20
Level L4
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Dr Christopher Heffer
Semester Autumn Semester
Academic Year 2015/6

Outline Description of Module

This double module introduces you to some of the key concepts and methods in the study of language. We take you on a tour of analysis from the smallest units of meaning (phonemes, morphemes) to the largest ones (sentences and extended discourse) to build up a picture of how language is structured and how it conveys meaning. By the end of the module, you should have a clear awareness of how language works, how it is analysed and what we can do with it. The course provides an essential background for anyone going on to study language in more detail, literature in any language, social development and interaction, or human communication.

On completion of the module a student should be able to

On completion of the module a student should be familiar with both the general mechanics of language and scholarly approaches to its study.

How the module will be delivered

Lectures (20) and seminars (10).   Guided reading and seminar preparation (130 hours).  Exam preparation including exam revision sessions (40 hours).

Skills that will be practised and developed

On completion of the module, a student should be able to analyse language at all levels, from individual sounds, through the structure and meaning of words and the structure and meaning of sentences to the pragmatic and interactional complexities of spoken discourse. They should also be able to analyse under the pressure of an exam and to express a clear and concise argument.

How the module will be assessed

Written Examination (100%)

The module is assessed according to the Assessment Criteria set out in the English Language Student Handbook. Otherwise, there are no academic or competence standards which limit the availability of adjustments or alternative assessments for students with disabilities.

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Exam - Autumn Semester 100 Introduction To Language 2

Syllabus content

  • The nature of spoken and written language
  • The sounds and sound patterns of language
  • The formation, structure and meaning of words
  • Grammar as structure and functions
  • Semantics and pragmatics
  • Discourse and transcription

Essential Reading and Resource List

Crystal, D. (2004) Rediscover Grammar. (3rd ed.) London: Longman.

Crystal, D. (2003) The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language (2nd ed). Cambridge: CUP.

Fromkin, V., Rodman, R. & Hyams, N. (2003) An Introduction to Language. (7th ed.) Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.

Yule, G. (2010) The Study of Language. 4th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (or 3rd edition)

 

Yule 2010 is the Textbook for the module. There will also be a Reader. Both will be available from Blackwell’s bookshop from the start of semester 1.  The 3rd or 4th edition of the textbook is also available in electronic form through the library catalogue.

Background Reading and Resource List

Crystal, D. (2004) Rediscover Grammar. (3rd ed.) London: Longman.

Crystal, D. (2003) The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language (2nd ed). Cambridge: CUP.

Fromkin, V., Rodman, R. & Hyams, N. (2003) An Introduction to Language. (7th ed.) Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.

Yule, G. (2010) The Study of Language. 4th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (or 3rd edition)

 

Yule 2010 is the Textbook for the module. There will also be a Reader. Both will be available from Blackwell’s bookshop from the start of semester 1.  The 3rd or 4th edition of the textbook is also available in electronic form through the library catalogue.


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