Admission requirements
BA German or BA Linguistics plus a good command of German.
Description
When we think of language, we think of words. Words are also of scientific interest. Are “schreibst” and “schreibt” two words or two forms of the same word? Is “Haupt-“ in “Haupteingang” a noun or a prefix? How do you make new words such as “whatsappisch” and why doesn’t this work with “*Facebookung”? Why are there hardly any true synonyms? How do we know that “Kalkreiniger” is against chalk, but “Glasreiniger” is not against glass? What is the phenomenon that we see in the dissimilar forms of “sein”, i.e. “bin” and “seid”?
In this course we discuss the central issues in morphology: the structure of words, their semantic and grammatical function, the productivity of word formation, but also the architecture of the mental lexicon.
Students will be collecting their own data and making their own observations.
Course objectives
After completion of the course, the student possesses:
A sound knowledge of the morphology of German and elementary knowledge of the morphology of other related and unrelated languages
Insights in the way in which morphological entities and processes are identified
Basic insights in morphological theory
The ability to report – in an adequately scientific manner – in oral and written form on observations about language and on selected linguistic literature. This is proven in an oral presentation and in two written essays.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the MA Linguistics website
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
Total course load 10 EC x 28 hours = 280 hours.
Lectures: 13 x 2 = 26 hours
Class preparation and reading: 13 x 4 = 52 hours
Preparation oral presentation: 26 hours
Written version of presentation: 36 hours
Essay: 140 hours
Assessment method
Assessment
*Active participation in class
Oral presentation
Brief written version of the presentation (1000 words)
Essay (7000 words)
Weighing
*Active participation in class: 10%
Oral presentation: 20%
Brief written version of the presentation (“abstract”): 20%
Essay: 50%
The essay has to be sufficient, i.e. 5,5 or higher. The final grade for the course has to be sufficient, i.e. 5,5 or higher.
Resit
A resit is only possible for the essay.
Feedback
The participants will receive written feedback on the oral presentation, the abstract and the essay.
Students are entitled to view their marked essay within a period of 30 days, following publication of the results
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for:
Providing study material (including powerpoints from classes)
Communication
Reading list
- Reading material will be provided during class
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable
Contact
For substantive information you can contact the instructor, dr. Jenny Audring (https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/jenny-audring#tab-1)
Please contact Student administration van Eyckhof for general questions.
The coordinator of studies is Else van Dijk