Admission requirements
Introductory (BA-level) courses in (English) syntax and (English) phonology. If in doubt, consult the course tutor before registering.
Also admissible are students from the two-year educational master programme Language and Culture Education: English.
Description
The study of word formation deals with the ways in which new words are built on the basis of other words (e.g. clue-less-ness). In this course, we will examine a number of perspectives on word formation and apply these to English. What types of word formation processes are there in English? Are the rules that build words similar to the rules that build sentences? How are complex words stored in the brain? And how does word formation throw light on the way that languages change, and on how they are acquired from birth or in the classroom as a second language?
Course objectives
Students have gained insight into the different types of word formation in English.
Students are familiar with different theoretical approaches to word formation, and are able to apply these approaches in their own work.
Students are familiar with current issues in the study of word formation.
Students in the MA-education programme are able to reflect on the relevance of their topic for the English secondary classroom.
Timetable
Visit MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment Method
Presentations, classroom participation (20%)
Writing assignment (20%)
Essay (30%)
Written exam (30%)
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. In order to pass the course, a minimum of a 5.5 is required for both the essay and the written exam.
Students in the two-year teaching MA are able to concretize how their research paper topic can be put to use in secondary schools.
Resit
If the mark for the essay is a 5.49 or lower, a resit essay must be submitted during the resit exam period. If the mark for the written exam is a 5.49 or lower, the exam will have to be retaken during the resit exam 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
• Plag, Ingo (2018). Word Formation in English (2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Note: the first (2003) edition of the coursebook is outdated, and is no longer suitable for this course.]
Additiona reading material (to be announced)
Registration
Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar
For questions related to the content of the course, please contact the lecturer, you can find their contact information by clicking on their name in the sidebar.
For questions regarding enrollment please contact the Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats E-mail address Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats: osz-oa-reuvensplaats@hum.leidenuniv.nl
For questions regarding your studyprogress contact the Coordinator of Studies