SEL3026 : The Structure of a Language: Bengali
- Offered for Year: 2021/22
- Module Leader(s): Dr William van der Wurff
- Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
1. To familiarise student with the grammatical properties as well as some of the history and social context of a language other than English.
2. To apply the knowledge of syntax, morphology, phonology and sociolinguistics acquired in the theoretical modules to the study of one particular language.
Outline Of Syllabus
Week 1. Introduction to the language that is the topic for the current year, its culture and some historical background. Introduction to the literature and other sources.
Weeks 2-11 Study of the phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon and sociolinguistics of the language.
This module is all about language structure. The specific language to be focused on varies from year to year. The one chosen for 2021-2022 is Bengali. This is one of the main languages of South Asia, with a vibrant community of speakers (over 200 million of them, making it the 5th language of the world), a rich history (with early literature going back to 1000AD) and many interesting linguistic properties.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 22 | 1:00 | 22:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 80:00 | 80:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 87:00 | 87:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Jointly Taught With
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| SEL8644 | Topics in Language Structure: Bengali |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures: to give background knowledge of facts about the language, methods of analysis, and theoretical issues in analysis; providing guidelines and examples for the final essay
Seminars: to practice linguistic analysis
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | 35 | Test of skills in analysing data in the language |
| Essay | 1 | A | 65 | 2500 words. Independent analysis of a selected group of phenomena in the language |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The mid-term problem-solving exercises will assess knowledge and skill in the analysis of language data. The final essay will assess the students' ability to carry out independent work on the analysis of data in the language.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SEL3026's Timetable