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Course details

LEL2A: Linguistic Theory and the Structure of English (LASC08017)

Subject Area

Language Sciences

Pre-requisites

Visiting students should usually have at least 1 introductory level Language Science course at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses.

Credits

Course level

SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate)

Course description

The course explores the linguistic structure of Modern English in relation to central issues in linguistic theory. There are three blocks of teaching coveringthe phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics of English: 1. Phonology: introduces the idea of 'phonological theory' within the broader context of the study of linguistic structure. Lectures will present some of the central and largely 'theory-neutral' concepts in phonological analysis - contrast; naturalness; derivation vs. representation, constituency structure etc. - and identify some structural analogies found elsewhere in linguistic structure, as well as some interactions of phonology with morphology and syntax. 2. Morphology: explores some central aspects of the morphological structure of words. Drawing on conceptual parallelism of the 'X-eme vs. allo-X' kind, lectures will scrutinize some of the traditional elements of morphological analysis and then move on to structural analogies such as constituency structure, headedness etc. as well as to interactions of the morphology with the phonology, syntax and semantics. 3. Syntax/Semantics: presents both syntactic and semantic properties of certain major constructions in English in such a way that students are exposed both to general theoretical concerns as well as certain specific theoretical approaches to the phenomena. Topics to be explored include: argument realisation and verb semantics;the structure and interpretation of noun phrases, including nominal modificationand relative clauses; functional categories and their syntax; passivisation; finite and non-finite complementation; tense, aspect, mood and the English auxiliary system; and interrogatives.

Timetable

View the timetable and assessment information for this course

Course delivered by

College of Humanities and Social Science
School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

This article was published on Feb 24, 2012