Analysing Language Structure and Use (level 5)

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 5
• Convenor: Dr Kinga Kozminska
• Assessment: a take-home examination (50%) and 2000-word written assignment (50%)

In this module we introduce you to the leading ideas and theoretical proposals in linguistics. You will develop your critical understanding of the central assumptions of contemporary linguistics, learn about the application of linguistic ideas and constructs to the analysis of language data, and develop a familiarity with the aims and rationales for linguistic theory and its relevance and applications.

Indicative syllabus

• What is language?
• Sounds of world languages: phonetics
• Sounds of world languages: phonology
• Situating variation: data session
• Words and word formation: morphology
• Understanding language change: data session with historical evidence
• Syntax: the phrase
• Syntax: the sentence
• What is possible? Systems and typological differences
• Reflections and future direction