England never had an Academy (unlike France, Italy, Spain or Sweden), which might have published an authoritative grammar or dictionary. Instead, grammars and dictionaries were published by interested individuals, such as scholars, mathematicians, teachers (including women!) and booksellers. These people had very different motives for writing a grammar, ranging from the opportunity to make money to being commissioned by a bookseller with a keen eye for the market. As there were no professional linguists at the time, the question presents itself of where the linguistic norm they presented in their grammars came from, and how much unacknowledged copying (plagiarism?) took place. Other questions are: when and why did women become grammarians? And how much do we really know about the people behind the grammars? In this course we are therefore looking at the people behind the grammars, i.e. as language users rather than codifiers, in order to try and reconstruct their language in as full sociolinguistic detail as possible. Moreover, we will have a close look at selected grammars to trace the influence of Greek and Latin grammatical models on the English grammar as well as the development of the latter grammar away from the traditional Classical framework.
Timetable
Method of Instruction
One two-hour weekly seminar.
A la carte and contract teaching
Available as modular course and a la carte.
Course objectives
Building on experience acquired as part of a BA curriculum in English historical linguistics and Old and Middle English language and culture, students will extend their philological skills and insights and learn to apply them to the course subject. At the end of the course, they will be able to read and interpret relevant literature independently, to conduct research based on current developments in the field, and to present their research results both orally and in written form. After completing the course successfully, students will be well equipped to write their MA thesis on a topic in English philology.
Required reading
· Tieken-Boon van Ostade, Ingrid (ed.) (2008) Grammars, Grammarians and Grammar-Writing in Eighteenth-Century England_. Berlin and NewYork: de Gruyter.
· Additional background reading.
Examination
Active course participation, including a presentation, and a written essay.
Information
English Department, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 102c, tel: 071 5272144. English@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Blackboard/webpage
This course is supported by blackboard.