Aims

Aims

• To introduce students to variability in the phonetics, phonology and morphology of varieties of UK English
• To introduce students to some changes currently in progress in UK Englishes
• To allow students to apply principles of phonetics/phonology and morphology to linguistic phenomena in varieties in which they have native or near-native competence
• To give students the experience of working in small groups of mixed background, offering one another mutual support

By the end of this module, students will typically:

• Have an understanding of a small number of linguistic-theoretical problems, with an emphasis on their relevance to some aspect of English phonetics, phonology or morphology
• Have experience of applying some aspect or aspects of linguistic theory to the analysis of English language data, and as a result, gain a better understanding of the relationship between data and analysis

Prerequisites

Prerequisites

Students must have successfully completed one of the following:

• L219 Introduction to phonetics and phonology (4190219)
• L220 Introduction to language variation and change (4190220)

Programme

Programme

Contact hours

Four hours per week.

Teaching programme

This module introduces students to a number of topics in English dialect phonetics, phonology and morphology. The module content will vary from year to year, but will typically cover topics which focus on the following areas:

• Vowel inventories across dialects of UK English
• Consonant inventories across dialects of UK English
• Patterns of change in contemporary UK Englishes
• Variation in supra-segmental properties of UK English dialects
• An issue in morphological variation in UK English dialects

Assessment and feedback

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on formative work

Oral feedback during teaching sessions and in surgery hour appointments.

Assessment and feedback

• Coursework, consisting of exercises
  • Weight: 80%
  • Feedback: a mark on the university scale and written comments, within two weeks of submission of the assessment.
• 1,500 word essay
  • Weight: 20%
  • Feedback: a mark on the university scale and written comments, within three weeks of submission of the assessment