Prospectus

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Morphology

Course
2021-2022

Admission requirements

The examination and, if indicated, the teaching of the following units of study can only be taken if the examinations of the preceding units of study have been passed Talen van de wereld / Languages of the World of equivalent.

Description

Morphology is the study of word structure, in which two aspects play a central role: word formation and inflection. Every language has means to augment its vocabulary through word formation processes, such as the formation of compounds. Moreover, words often have more than one form (inflection), in which case the choice of a specific word form can depend on the syntactic environment, as, for example, in languages with case systems. Thus, morphology does not only focus on the structure of words themselves but also their interaction with syntax. The morphological form of a word may affect its pronunciation (morphology interacting with phonology) and partly determines its meaning (morphology interacting with semantics). Morphology can therefore be defined as ‘grammar at word level’, and plays a prominent role in language description, historical linguistics, linguistic typology, lexicography, and psycholinguistics.

Course objectives

By the end of this course students will have acquired:

  • knowledge and insight into morphological phenomena

  • knowledge of morphological differences between languages of various language families

  • insight into the structure of the lexicon and the role of word structure in language production and perception

  • knowledge of the major theoretical insights into word structure

Timetable

The timetables are available through My Timetable.

Mode of instruction

Lecture (1 hour) in combination with seminar (1 hour), in various groups, with discussion of homework assignments and interaction between instructor and students.

Assessment method

AAssessment takes place by a written midterm and final examination with multiple choice and/or short open questions

Weighing

  • Midterm exam (30%)

  • Final exam (70%)

Resit

In case of an insufficient final grade, students can take a resit of the final exam.

Exam review

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

Lieber, Rochelle (2016). Introducing Morphology (second edition or later edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Registration

Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.

General information about uSis is available on this website

Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs

Registration Studeren à la carte
Registration Contractonderwijs

Contact

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

Remarks

This course is open to students from the BA Linguistics only.

First year’s students BA Linguistics will be enrolled in the seminars of this course by the Education Administration Office.