Varieties of English

Course Description

Description
Language is a multifaceted reality, and so are languages. What we designate with a single name 'English' (or any other, for that matter), actually hides heterogenous forms and components. In this class, we will examine some of the main axes of variation for different forms of English: diachronic and dialectal variation.

Pre-requisites
This course requires having acquired the basic linguistic concepts and analytic skills developed in the previous linguistic subjects.
C1 level of English

Contents
1. English from a chronological perspective: from Old English to Modern English
1.1 Old English: general characteristics. Strong and weak verbs. The origins of modern irregular verbs.
1.2 English in the context of IE languages.
1.3 Middle and Modern English: linguistic changes. The origins of moderns dialects
2. Geographical varieties of English
2.1 Axes of variation: lexicon, grammar, pronunciation, spelling. Standardization
2.2 The major standards: General American and British RP
2.3 'Inner circle variaties': a case study in one dialect.

Methodology
* Class lectures and discussion
* Data analysis
* Oral presentations
* Homework analysis, contrast and selection of data
* Tests
* Guided data gathering
* Elaboration of analytic and descriptive texts
* Assignment rewriting

Assessment
Assignments: 20%.
Tests: 50%
Oral presentation: 10%
Written paper: 20%

There will be several tests, the last one coinciding with the last day of classes. On the day of the official exam, failed tests may be retaken; passed tests may also be retaken to raise the grade.