Scots: History and Structure (P01215)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : PPL-P-SHS-EL

The course provides a synchronic and diachronic account of the structure of General Modern Scots dialect and 'mainstream' Scottish Standard English by examining the ways in which selected features of phonology, morphology, syntax and lexis have evolved from Older Scots to Modern Scots and contributed to the structure of Scottish (Standard) English. This latter variety emerges during the eighteenth century and the discussion of Modern Scots will therefore be informed by the interaction between it and this standard by: (a) examining the two varieties within the socio-cultural and sociolinguistic climate of the Early Modern Scots period; (b) identifying, investigating and describing some of the processes and outputs involved in the development of Scottish Standard English and (c) investigating standard~accent~lect interfacing in present-day Scotland, together with the status of, and attitudes towards, Scots, particularly as these relate to education.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : As for MSc in English Language.

? Costs : Students may be expected to purchase a textbook for this course. For details, please contact the course organiser.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Language Sciences, (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Schedule I)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 9 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
08/01/2007	16:10	17:00			1.02, 14 Buccleuch Place

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	16:10	17:00	Central
Lecture	Thursday	16:10	17:00	Central
Lecture	Friday	16:10	17:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, students will have acquired detailed knowledge and understanding of:
- the synchronic and diachronic structure of Scots and Scottish Standard English;
- processes and resulting outputs generated in the development of Scottish Standard English;
- the socio-cultural and sociolinguistic circumstances and linguistic processes involved in the development of Scottish Standard English; and have:
-developed an informed awareness and knowledge of the linguistic, cultural and sociolinguistic concerns pertinent to Scots historically and currently (especially vis-a-vis Scottish English);
- explored and gained detailed knowledge of matters pertinent to present day Scotland like standard~accent~lect interfacing and attitudes towards Scots.
Students will be able to:
- formulate some of the major linguistic developments from Older Scots to Modern Scots;
- provide derivational histories of forms from Older to Modern Scots;
- examine, describe and evaluate Scots and Scottish Standard data and structure from a synchronic point of view;
- identify, describe and explicate (socio-)linguistic processes involved in the development of Scottish Standard English, as well as assess its relationship to late Middle and Early Modern Scots' approach any/all of the above in the light of the socio-cultural and sociolinguistic circumstances pertaining at given periods in the history of Scots and Scottish Standard English, and more generally have acquired the critical judgement and skills required in:
- assimilating and applying concepts of linguistic analysis to information and data abstracted from texts (written or in other form) and from compendia based on texts gathering, handling, organising and rigorously analysing complex linguistic material and dealing with it in an interpretative and evaluative way;
- investigating the process of interpretation and reconstruction;
- recognising and solving problems analytically.