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2020/2021

History of the English Language I

Code: 100193 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500245 English Studies OB 3 1
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
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Susagna Tubau Muntaņa
Email:
Susagna.Tubau@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

Mayya Levkina Levkina

Prerequisites

The course requires an initial level of English between C1 (Advanced) and C2 (Proficiency) (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. With C2 students can understand almost everything they read or hear without effort; they can summarise information from different oral and written sources, reconstruct facts and arguments and present them in a coherent way; they can express themselves spontaneously, with fluency and precision, distinguishing subtle nuances of meaning even in the most complex situations.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The course introduces the student to diachronic linguistics, applied to the English language. It feeds on courses in synchronic linguistics studied in the previous 2 years and prepares for History of English II, as well as for some elective subjects, both in linguistics and literature.

On completion, the student will be able to:

  • describe and apply the phenomena and processes of historical linguistics.
  • analyse and describe the phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and orthographic features of Old English.
  • relate the external history of the English language with the most relevant linguistic features of Pre-historical and Old English.
  • apply the knowledge and skills acquired to Old English texts.

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 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 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 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 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 must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analysing and describing the linguistic characteristics of extracts of representative documents from different periods and geographical areas.
  2. Applying the terminology and basic concepts of the diachronic study of the language.
  3. 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.
  4. Communicating in the studied language in oral and written form, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
  5. Describe and relate the interconnections between external factors and the internal evolution of the English language.
  6. Describing and relating the interconnections between external factors and the internal evolution of the English language.
  7. Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
  8. Find and present information about historical and sociolinguistic facts that affect the functional and formal evolution of the English language.
  9. Finding and presenting information about historical and sociolinguistic facts that affect the functional and formal evolution of the English language.
  10. Interpreting characteristic extracts from different historical periods of documents and texts in English.
  11. Recognising and explaining the grammatical, phonological, orthographic and lexical characteristics of the various historical stages of the English language.

Content

  • UNIT 1. Introduction to historical linguistics and the origins of the English language (from Indo-European to Old English)
  • UNIT 2. Old English (spelling, phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon) and the influence of external history in its evolution
  • UNIT 3. Text analysis

Methodology

Directed

Theory

  • Introduction to historical linguistics
  • From Indo-European to Old English
  • Old English
  • External history and linguistic change

Practical exercises on the theoretical topics

  • Correction of exercises
  • Discussion of topics

Supervised

Group work

  • Analysis, interpretation and discussion of structures and meanings

In-class discussion

  • Comparison of the linguistic features at different stages of the Old English period
  • Discussion of examples

Autonomous

  • Personal study
    • Identification of the linguistic features of Old English texts
    • Information search from different sources about the main historical events and their impact on the English language.
  • Exercises
    • Practice in the skills of analysis and synthesis

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Practice 10 0.4 1, 2, 6, 10, 3, 11, 9
Theory 35 1.4 1, 2, 6, 10, 3, 11, 9
Type: Supervised      
Exams and exercises 15 0.6 1, 2, 6, 10, 3, 11, 9
Type: Autonomous      
Reading, study and practice 75 3 1, 2, 6, 10, 3, 11, 9

Assessment

Assessment:

  • All tests and the text analysis are obligatory.
  • The date of tests and submissions are specified in the course calendar posted on Moodle at the beginning of the semester. Any changes in dates will be duly notified.
  • Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 35% of the assessment items.
  • In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
  • In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
  • The level of English will be taken into account in the correction of written work and in the final evaluation.
  • In case of absence on the day of an exam (e.g. due to illness) students must provide a certificate to justify their absence to gain the right to re-assessment.

Review of assessment items:

  • On carrying out each assessment activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review willtake place.

Re-assessment:

Re-assessment forthis course will involve a final summative test (date and time to be announced by the Faculty) which will cover all course content with the following conditions:

  • The student must have obtained a minimum course mark of 3.5/10.
  • The student must have taken/submitted all assessment items.
  • The student must have passed at least 35% of the course.
  • The final course mark if the student passes the re-assessment test is 5. Students cannot re-assess to improve their course mark.

VERY IMPORTANT: Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered "fail" (0) for the plagiarised exercise. If plagiarism occurs for a second time, the entire course will be failed. PLAGIARISM is copying one or more sentences from unidentified sources, presenting it as original work (THIS INCLUDES COPYING PHRASES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET AND ADDING THEM WITHOUT MODIFICATION TO A TEXT WHICH IS PRESENTED AS ORIGINAL). Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students must learn to respect the intellectual property of others, identifying any source they may use, and take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of the texts they produce.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Test 1 35% 4.5 0.18 1, 2, 6, 5, 7, 4, 10, 3, 11, 9, 8
Test 2 35% 4.5 0.18 1, 2, 6, 5, 7, 4, 10, 3, 11, 9, 8
Text analysis 30% 6 0.24 1, 2, 4, 10, 3, 11

Bibliography

Baldi, Philip. 1983. An Introduction to the Indo-European languages. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

Baugh, Albert & Cable, Thomas. 1993. A history of the English language. London: Routledge.

Comrie, Bernard, Stephen Matthews & Maria Polinsky (eds). 1996. The Atlas of Languages. The Origin and Development of Languages throughout the World. London: Quarto Publishing.

Freeborn, Dennis. 1992. From Old English to Standard English: A Coursebook in Language Variation across Time. Houndmills: Macmillan Press.

Hoad, T. F. 1986. The Oxford Concise Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford: OUP. [It is recommended to buy it]

Hogg, Richard. 2002. An Introduction to Old English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.