2019/2020
History of the English Language II
Code: 100192 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500245 English Studies | OB | 3 | 2 |
| 2501902 English and Catalan | OT | 3 | 0 |
| 2501902 English and Catalan | OT | 4 | 0 |
| 2501907 English and Classics | OT | 3 | 0 |
| 2501907 English and Classics | OT | 4 | 0 |
| 2501910 English and Spanish | OT | 3 | 0 |
| 2501910 English and Spanish | OT | 4 | 0 |
| 2501913 English and French | OT | 3 | 0 |
| 2501913 English and French | OT | 4 | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Elisabet Pladevall Ballester
- Email:
- Elisabet.Pladevall@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- english (eng)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Teachers
- Susagna Tubau Muntaña
Prerequisites
This course heavily draws on the 1st and 2nd year-courses in synchronic linguistics as well as the course History of English I taught in the previous term.
The course requires an initial level of English C1 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment). Students with C1 can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning; they can express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions; they can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes; they can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The aim of the course in relation to the degree is:
- to apply and develop the concepts acquired in History of English I
- to provide more detailed knowledge and understanding of the historical evolution of English in its main varieties
- to introduce new tools for diachronic linguistic analysis
- to provide linguistic training to help students access the language of authors from different periods
- to prepare students for elective 4th-year subjects such as Variation and Change, Socio-linguistics or Philological Analysis, as well as subjects in the field of early English literature
Upon completing the course, students will be able:
- to recognize and analyse linguistic features which differ from contemporary English
- to understand and describe the emergence of important linguistic innovations in English
- to analyse and describe the phonological, morphological, lexical and syntactic characteristics of every stage of the English language
- to understand and describe how linguistic features are maintained or change over time within a perspective of functional systems and subsystems of the language.
Competences
- English Studies
- Demonstrate a comprehension of the relationship between factors, processes and phenomena of linguistics, literature, history and culture, and explaining it.
- Demonstrate a general comprehension of the historical evolution of the English language.
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- English and Catalan
- Demonstrate a comprehension of the relationship between factors, processes and phenomena of linguistics, literature, history and culture, and explaining it.
- Demonstrate a general comprehension of the historical evolution of the English language.
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- English and Classics
- Demonstrate a comprehension of the relationship between factors, processes and phenomena of linguistics, literature, history and culture, and explaining it.
- Demonstrate a general comprehension of the historical evolution of the English language.
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- English and Spanish
- Demonstrate a comprehension of the relationship between factors, processes and phenomena of linguistics, literature, history and culture, and explaining it.
- Demonstrate a general comprehension of the historical evolution of the English language.
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- English and French
- Demonstrate a comprehension of the relationship between factors, processes and phenomena of linguistics, literature, history and culture, and explaining it.
- Demonstrate a general comprehension of the historical evolution of the English language.
- Demonstrate they know a wide variety of texts in English language of any mean (oral, written, audiovisual) and recognising implicit meanings.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
Learning Outcomes
- Analysing and describing the linguistic characteristics of extracts of representative documents from different periods and geographical areas.
- Applying the terminology and basic concepts of the diachronic study of the language.
- Appropriately interpreting and using the information contained in reference books in terms of (English) historical linguistics, specially in the etymological dictionaries, and in the studies based on the main current historical corpus.
- Communicating in the studied language in oral and written form, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
- Describing and relating the interconnections between external factors and the internal evolution of the English language.
- Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
- Finding and presenting information about historical and sociolinguistic facts that affect the functional and formal evolution of the English language.
- Interpreting characteristic extracts from different historical periods of documents and texts in English.
- Issue appropriate critical assessments based on the comprehension of relevant information about social, scientific or ethical issues related to linguistics.
- Recognising and explaining the grammatical, phonological, orthographic and lexical characteristics of the various historical stages of the English language.
Content
UNIT 1. Middle English
- External history
- Phonology
- Sound-changes: phonological reduction; quantitative and qualitative vowel changes; consonantal changes.
- Consonants, vowels, diphthongs and their spellings
- Morphology
- Nouns: changes in gender and case
- Adjectives: levelling of inflections
- Pronouns
- Numerals
- Verbs: levelling of inflections; dialect variation
- Syntax
- Lexicon: borrowing, word formation, semantic shift and lexical loss
UNIT 2. Modern English
- External history
- Phonology: consonants, vowels and their spelling; the Great Vowel Shift.
- Morphology
- Nouns: plural and genitive
- Adjectives: comparative and superlative
- Pronouns
- Verbs: syncretism; auxiliaries (do); modal verbs; verbal periphrasis.
- Syntax
- Lexicon: borrowing; new word-formation processes
Methodology
Directed:
Lectures
- Middle English
- Modern English
Practice
- Philological analysis of English texts of different historical periods
- Correction of exercises
- In-class discussion of topics
Supervised:
Individual and group assignments
- Analysis, interpretation and discussion of structures and meaning.
- Synthesis of phonological, morphological and syntactic content
In-class discussion
- Comparison of structures at different stages of the English language.
- Discussion of examples.
Autonomous:
Personal study and work on exercises and assignments
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Practice | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 2, 5, 8, 3, 10, 7 |
| Theory | 35 | 1.4 | 1, 2, 5, 10, 7 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Exams and assignments | 25 | 1 | 1, 2, 5, 8, 3, 10, 7 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study and reading | 50 | 2 | 1, 2, 5, 8, 3, 10, 7 |
Assessment
Assessment:
- All exams and assignments are obligatory.
- The dates are specified in the course program posted on Moodle. Any changes (for example due to unexpected cancelling of lectures) will be duly announced
- The delivery of 30% of assessment items (assignments / exercises / exams) excludes the possibility of obtaining the status of “not submitted” (NA) as a final course grade.
- The level of English will be taken into account in the correction of written work and in the final evaluation.
- Partial or total PLAGIARISM will immediately result in a FAIL (0) for the plagiarised exercise and if plagiarism is repeated it will result in a FAIL of the whole subject . Plagiarism consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources –whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text– with the intention of passing it off as the student’s own production. It includes cutting and pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student’s own text. Plagiarism is a serious offence. Students must respect authors’ intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.
- In case of absence on a date of assessment (for example due to illness), students must provide a justification to gain the right to re-assessment.
Review:
- All exams and assignments will be collectively reviewed in class. The date of review will be announced together with the marks obtained, posted on Campus Virtual. Students may also review individually in office hours.
Re-assessment:
- Reassessment will consist of an exam and will only be possible for those students who have obtained an average mark 3.5 and 4.9 and have passed 45% of the course.
- The maximum grade obtainable on a re-assessment exam is5.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | 10% | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 2, 5, 9, 6, 4, 3, 10 |
| Exam 1: Middle English: internal history | 35% | 7.5 | 0.3 | 1, 2, 4, 8, 3, 10 |
| Exam 2: Modern English: internal history | 35% | 7.5 | 0.3 | 1, 2, 4, 8, 3, 10 |
| Quiz 1: Middle English: exernal history | 10% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 2, 5, 4, 7 |
| Quiz 2: Modern English: external history | 10% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 5, 4, 7 |
Bibliography
- Algeo, John (2010) The Origins and development of the English Language. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. ISBN: 978-1-4282-3148-1
- Barber, Charles (1976) Early Modern English. London: Deutsch.
- Baugh, Albert and Cable, Thomas (1993) A history of the English language. London: Routledge.
- Freeborn, Dennis (1992) From Old English to Standard English. London: Macmillan.
- Hoad, T. F. (1986) The Oxford Concise Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford: OUP.
- Strang, Barbara (1970) A History of English, London: Methuen.
- Various authors / various years, The Cambridge History of the English Language. Cambridge: CUP.
Any edition of the above mentioned will serve the course. A wider bibliography will be made available at the beginning of the course.