Names and Language Change
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| ENGL4378 | English | 4 | N/A | April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK |
- Code
- ENGL4378
- School
- English
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- N/A
- Semesters
- April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK
Summary
Through this pod, students will learn about the relationship between place-name evidence and language change. The pod will detail the main types of linguistic change affecting the development of place-names and personal names, and students will also learn to use onomastic material as evidence for linguistic change in English from the early medieval period onwards. Students will cover aspects of language change including dialect, vocabulary, linguistic contact, and semantic change. We will also consider the use of names in other disciplines such as lexicography.
Target Students
Students registered on the School of English online masters scheme.
Assessment
- 100% Participation: Participation
Assessed by end of designated period
Educational Aims
This module comprises an optional component in the following pathways: Applied English, Early Medieval Studies, Language and Linguistics, Medieval Englishes, Name-Studies, and Norse and Viking Studies. As such, it contributes in its specific aims to the programme-level coverage of these pathways.Learning Outcomes
Demonstrate knowledge of the main processes of language change evidenced in place-names and personal names.
Construct and communicate sustained analysis of the linguistic changes present in the historical spellings of at least one English place-name or surname.
Evaluate and critically discuss the use of onomastic material as evidence for linguistic change in English.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired to the appropriate disciplinary and professional standard.
Assimilate and present subject-specific material in an appropriate format (assessed within the ‘Assessment Portfolio’ 1, 2 or 3).