Postgraduate Course: Early Germanic Dialects (LASC11116)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Language Sciences |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Our earliest English is Old English, the language spoken in Britain by Germanic tribes who migrated here from the continent in the course of the fifth century. The arrival of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes marked a watershed: English, whose speakers were now separated from Germanic tribes that remained on the continent, embarked on a separate trajectory of development. The Germanic dialects on the continent ultimately developed into present-day German, Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages, each with their own lexicon, grammar, and sound systems. Yet all these languages share a common core that marks them as members of the same language family, Germanic, as well as a cultural core of legendary figures of the Germanic past. Although the position of Old English is unique in this family with respect of the early dating of its texts, and the sheer size of its textual corpus, the other early Germanic "dialects" are also well-documented. This course offers a comparative study of the early Germanic languages: Gothic (East Germanic), Old Norse (North Germanic), Old Saxon, Old English, Old Frisian, Old Low Franconian and Old High German (West Germanic), in the context of the historical background of the Germanic tribes and the Migration Period. These linguistic data will be reviewed in the light of recent insights into modelling dialect continuums, and into the effects of language or dialect contact. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 2, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
13/01/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
200 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Early Germanic Dialects | 2:00 | |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
- An understanding of the shared linguistic history of the Germanic languages
- An understanding of linguistic relatedness and language change
- An understanding of the linguistic impact of language or dialect contact
- An ability to read research papers and present their content to a peer audience |
Assessment Information
Coursework (50%)
Exam (50%) |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Robinson, Orrin (1992). Old English and its closest relatives: a survey of the earliest Germanic languages. Stanford Calif.: Stanford University Press |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Heinz Giegerich
Tel: (0131 6)50 3595
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: |
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