Prospectus

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Linguistics: Language Change: English and Beyond

Course
2009-2010

Description

In this course we will focus on three questions concerning linguistic change: (1) What type of changes occur? (2) What are the causes of linguistic change? (3) How can our knowledge of linguistic change be used to reconstruct earlier stages of a language, in particular those stages for which no written records are available? Using the course book and a number of articles as background, we will try to determine and evaluate some of the answers that have been given to these questions. In doing so, we will consider various examples of linguistic change, most of them from English, but also from a variety of other languages.

Teaching method

Two-hour seminar per week

Admission requirements

Introductory BA courses in (historical) linguistics (Linguistics 5C or comparable).

Course objectives

To extend the students’ knowledge of linguistic theory and historical linguistics acquired in earlier courses; to introduce them to the question of the relationship between theory and historical data.

Required reading

  • Campbell, Lyle (2004). Historical Linguistics: an Introduction (2nd edn.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

  • Various articles.

Test method

essay (40%); written examination, with short open and essay-type questions (50%); oral presentation (10%).

Time table

Click here for the timetable

Information

English Department, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 102c. Phone: 071 527 2144, or by mail: english@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Registration

Students can register through U-twist before 15 July, After 15 July students can only register through the Departmental Office.

Blackboard

Not available.