Admission requirements
None
Description
This course discusses the mutual relevance of the study of microvariation and grammatical theory (in particular, phonology and morpho-syntax). We will devote some attention to sociolinguistic models of social variation, the study of geographic microvariation in dialectology, theories of language change and the relation between variation and change, and the effects of language contact on the structure of human language. It will be shown how neighbouring disciplines bring to light many interesting data and puzzles which any serious theory of phonology or syntax cannot abstract away from. We will then discuss the extent to which the main theoretical approaches to microvariation, e.g. Optimality Theory, the parametric theory and typological-functional theory, can account for these data. Examples will be chosen from a wide variety of languages. Some attention will also be paid to alternative ways of describing language variation, in particular to so-called ‘usage-based’ models.
Course objectives
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Mode of instruction
2-hour weekly seminar
Assessment method
Presentations (40%)
Homework (20%)
Course paper (40%)
Blackboard
Yes
Reading list
To be made available
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Registration Studeren à la carte
Registration Contractonderwijs