SPA4007 : Spanish and Romance word analysis
- Offered for Year: 2026/27
- Module Leader(s): Professor Ian MacKenzie
- Owning School: Modern Languages
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
To explore how Spanish grew out of proto-Romance (late spoken Latin), by considering (i) the sound changes that have affected the vocabulary and (ii) the associated restructuring of the language’s morphology. A comparative perspective will be adopted, enabling students to see how other Romance languages, such as French, Catalan or Italian, have taken different historical trajectories, having started from the same baseline.
Outline Of Syllabus
Topics include:
1. Changes affecting consonants
2. Changes affecting vowels
3. Creation of the modern Spanish noun system
4. Development of “radical changing verbs”
5. Where the modern pronouns come from
6. Development of verb tenses
7. Changes in inflectional morphology
8. Syntactic changes
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Present-in-Person |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 16 | 2:00 | 32:00 | Present-in-Person |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 167:00 | 167:00 | Non-contact hours |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures will provide hands-on learning support to deliver core technical and conceptual elements of the syllabus. Independent study will develop research skills, data retrieval and analysis, and organizational capabilities.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 50 | 1 | M | 30 | In-class assessment (multiple-choice). |
| Written Examination | 90 | 1 | M | 70 | In-class assessment, mixed question types. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The written exams will assess students’ practical ability to analyse data and solve problems under time pressure. They will also gauge their conceptual grasp of the syllabus and the degree to which they have internalized the material covered throughout the module.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SPA4007's Timetable