Admission requirements
Successful completion of Philology 3 or equivalent.
Description
The Late Modern English period (1700-1900) is marked as the period when people had great concerns about the state of English and generally complained about its deficiency as a language. Not only that, in the Victorian age, people were very much concerned with propriety and etiquette. This included propriety and politeness in language use. As part of this, prescriptivism emerged; there was to be only one ‘’correct’’ version of English. It was at this point that written and spoken Standard English were codified in spelling books, grammars, and (pronunciation) dictionaries, while at the same time, English varieties in the English colonies emerged, which led to conflicting attitudes about different national standards. The codification of the Standard in Britain was accompanied by negative attitudes towards non-standard varieties of English, as well as the stigmatization of specific linguistic features. Did this really mean that people followed the rules laid down in prescriptive works and that they avoided stigmatized features at all costs? How about Dickens and other late modern writers who used non-standard English in their writings? What about the varieties associated with different nationalities, such as the ones spoken in in Scotland and Ireland?
In this course, we will address the question why people were so concerned about language, particularly language variation, and we will look at how language was used at the time. We will take a sociolinguistic approach and investigate which linguistic features and varieties were stigmatized and how and if prescribed rules were reflected in actual usage by looking at a variety of contemporary texts. We will consider how different layers of society spoke and wrote, mostly in Britain, but also beyond, by looking at texts by men and women, the nobility, middling sorts, including the labouring poor who were often less familiar with standard norms of the time. In addition to that, we will look at the representation of (non)standard dialects in contemporary literature to uncover the dominant conceptions of and attitudes to existing language variation at the time in Britain and beyond.
In doing so we will concentrate on characteristics of Late Modern English spelling, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, handwriting and pragmatic aspects such as forms of address. Wherever possible we will make use of relevant databases that are available online, as well as authentic archive material.
Course objectives
At the end of the course, students can:
Provide an overview of the characteristics of Late Modern English
Identify and explain the pre-dominant language attitudes using primary sources
Explain the socio-historical processes that played a role in the development of Late Modern Englishes (in the British Isles and beyond).
Analyse and interpret sets of linguistic and socio-historical data using sociolinguistic theory (and quantitative measures), with a particular focus on the effects of variables such as gender, social class, education, and region
Describe the historical sociolinguistic context of different Late Modern Englishes that contributed to the rich variation found in present-day Englishes
Transcribe Late Modern English handwritings and use primary sources for research
Gather relevant literature and formulate a research question on a historical sociolinguistic topic centering on Late Modern English and communicate findings in oral and written form
Use basic digital tools to investigate language variation as found in Late Modern Texts
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Presentation
Participation
Final paper
Weighing
Presentation: 20%; minimum grade required: 5,0
Class contribution: 20%
Final paper: 60%; minimum grade required: 5,0
The final mark for the course is established by determination of the weighted average combined with additional requirements. The additional requirements is a minimum of a 5 for the paper and the presentation.
Resit
There is no resit for the Class contribution.
Students will have successfully passed the course if the average course grade is a 6 or higher, and the paper and the presentation are at least a 5.
When the final grade is lower than a 6 or when the grade for the paper and/or presentation is below a 5, the paper and/or the presentation will have to be retaken during the resit period.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Johnson, Keith (2021). The History of Late Modern Englishes: An Activity-based Approach. Routledge (We will also be making use of selected chapters and articles that are available digitally from the library. Details about these sources will be provided on the Brightspace page of the course)
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of À la carte education (without taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
Not applicable.