S/HS: Grammar writing and usage past and present: Improper, corrupt and barbarous

Dozent/in:

Julia Schlüter

Angaben:

Seminar/Hauptseminar, 2 SWS, ECTS: 8

Termine:

Do, 10:00 - 12:00, U11/00.16
In the second week of term, MA students as well as BA/Lehramt students in their Vertiefungsmodul are expected to take part in an introduction to research methods in the computer pool U5/02.23 (unless they have already participated in the Übung “Methods and Theories in Linguistics”). Thus, these participants are required to reserve the following times and dates: Mon, 18 April 2016, 8–10 h OR 10–12 h OR 12–14 h AND Fri, 22 April 2016, 8–14 h OR Sat, 23 Apr 2016, 10–16 h. To coordinate course dates and times, please register for the following Virtual Campus course by 14 April at the latest and take part in the survey you will find there: https://vc.uni-bamberg.de/moodle/course/view.php?id=15624. You will receive notice of the time slots you have been allotted on 15 April.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

General organization
1. Modules:

BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik: Vertiefungsmodul Sprachwissenschaft: Seminar (8 ECTS)
LA GY modularisiert: Vertiefungsmodul Sprachwissenschaft: Seminar (8 ECTS)
LA GY modularisiert: Wahlpflichtmodul Englische Sprachwissenschaft bei Kombination mit dem Fach Russisch Seminar (6 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Master Module English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Profile Module English Linguistics I-VI: Seminar (8, 6, 5 or 4 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Consolidation Module English Linguistics I-IV: Seminar (8, 6, 5 or 4 ECTS)
Erweiterungsbereich Anglistik/Amerikanistik im Rahmen anderer MA: Master Module or Profile Module I or III English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
Erasmus and other visiting students: Seminar (max. 8 ECTS)

2. Registration and Deregistration:

Registration via FlexNow from 21 March 2016, 10:00h to 14 April 2016, 23:59h.
Deregistration via FlexNow from 21 March 2016, 10:00h to 30 April 2016, 23:59h.

For students transferring to the University of Bamberg, for Erasmus students and for those who need the credit to register for their upcoming final exams a few places will be reserved. If the course is fully booked please contact the lecturer personally.

3. Requirements for successful completion of the course:

4 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation
5/6/8 ECTS in MA English and American Studies Consolidation Module English Linguistics I/II/III: regular active participation in class + oral exam
5 ECTS in other programmes or modules: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + assignment of 2500-3500 words
6 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of 3000-4000 words
8 ECTS BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik Vertiefungsmodul: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of 3500-4500 words
8 ECTS in other programmes or modules, and visiting students: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of 4500-6000 words

4. Language of instruction:

English

Inhalt:

Description:
In this seminar we will look at English grammar and grammars of English from a variety of perspectives. From the 18th to the 20th centuries, much of English grammar writing has been prescriptive, instructing readers which grammatical structures should be used and which should be avoided because they were considered improper, corrupt, barbarous or otherwise inadvisable. We will read about how the grammar of English underwent standardization and which models were adopted. Using published research and carrying out studies of our own, we will investigate the hotly debated question of which role prescriptive grammars played in the process.

This tradition was continued in the 20th century by styleguides such as Strunk’s Elements of Style (1918) and Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926), which had considerable influence on the writing of generations of students in the US and Great Britain, respectively. More recently, the ubiquitous Microsoft grammar checker has been argued to have developed into the most powerful prescriptive language force in the world.

Modern descriptive grammars (e.g. Quirk et al. 1985 and Biber et al. 1999) have shifted the focus from prescription to description based on actual (rather than idealized) usage.

Student grammars, making deliberate use of simplification for didactic purposes, represent yet another type of grammar that is particularly relevant for future teachers of English.

We will contrast the accounts of syntactic phenomena given in different grammars of English with real usage as documented in large collections of texts (corpora), both historical and contemporary. Phenomena will include the following:

• sentence-initial and and but
• preposition stranding, e.g. the picture she was looking at
• double negation, e.g. he won’t do no harm
• double comparison, e.g. the most happiest person
• irregular past tense forms, e.g. sung, drunk, dove, snuck
• split infinitives, e.g. to fully understand
• which and that as relativizers
• shall and will with 1st person subjects
• active and passive constructions

The Übung which accompanies the Seminar (Thursdays, 9:15-10:00) is designed for discussions of linguistic project work and other assignments with the teacher individually and/or in small groups. Individual arrangements will be made – also, if necessary, concerning the time of the Übung. Therefore clashes with other courses scheduled for the same time slot as the Übung can be avoided.

Übung zu Seminar/Hauptseminar Schlüter

Dozent/in:

Julia Schlüter

Angaben:

Übung, 1 SWS

Termine:

Do, 9:15 - 10:00, U9/01.03

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

General organization

1. Prerequisites:
Participation in the seminar / Hauptseminar

2. Registration:
Automatic registration with registration for the Hauptseminar

3. Language of instruction:
English

English Morphology

Dozent/in:

Gabriele Knappe

Angaben:

Seminar/Hauptseminar, 2 SWS, benoteter Schein, ECTS: 8

Termine:

Do, 12:15 - 13:45, U5/02.18
In the second week of term, MA students as well as BA/Lehramt students in their Vertiefungsmodul are expected to take part in an introduction to research methods in the computer pool U5/02.23 (unless they have already participated in the Übung “Methods and Theories in Linguistics”). Thus, these participants are required to reserve the following times and dates: Mon, 18 April 2016, 8–10 h OR 10–12 h OR 12–14 h AND Fri, 22 April 2016, 8–14 h OR Sat, 23 Apr 2016, 10–16 h. To coordinate course dates and times, please register for the following Virtual Campus course by 14 April at the latest and take part in the survey you will find there: https://vc.uni-bamberg.de/moodle/course/view.php?id=15624. You will receive notice of the time slots you have been allotted on 15 April.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

General organization

1. Modules:
BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik: Vertiefungsmodul Sprachwissenschaft: Seminar (8 ECTS)
LA GY modularisiert: Vertiefungsmodul Sprachwissenschaft: Seminar (8 ECTS)
LA GY modularisiert: Wahlpflichtmodul Englische Sprachwissenschaft bei Kombination mit dem Fach Russisch Seminar (6 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Master Module English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Profile Module English Linguistics I-VI: Seminar (8, 6, 5 or 4 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Consolidation Module English Linguistics I-IV: Seminar (8, 6, 5 or 4 ECTS)
Erweiterungsbereich Anglistik/Amerikanistik im Rahmen anderer MA: Master Module or Profile Module I or III English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)

2. Registration and Deregistration:

Registration via FlexNow from 21 March 2016, 10:00h to 14 April 2016, 23:59h.
Deregistration via FlexNow from 21 March 2016, 10:00h to 30 April 2016, 23:59h.

A limited number of places will be reserved for visiting students, students who have changed universities and students who need this class urgently as they are approaching the end of their studies. If the seminar is overbooked, the teachers will decide which students will be accepted.

3. Requirements for successful completion of the course:
4 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + short assignment of c. 2000 words
5/6/8 ECTS in MA English and American Studies Consolidation Module English Linguistics I/II/III: regular active participation in class + oral exam
5 ECTS in other programmes or modules: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + assignment of c. 3000 words
6 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of c. 4000 words
8 ECTS BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik Vertiefungsmodul: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of 3500-4500 words
8 ECTS in other programmes or modules, and visiting students: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of 4500-6000 words

4. Language of instruction:
English

Inhalt:

Description:
In language description, the word is a central notion. Morphology, dealing with the smallest meaningful units in language, is the linguistic discipline which analyzes the structure of complex words (word-formation) and word forms (inflection) with regard to both form and meaning. We will look at possibilities and problems of the morphological analysis of English. After the discussion of the basic notions, theoretical points of interest will take us to a consideration of interfaces between morphology and phonology, syntax and semantics. Some models of the representation and processing of complex words in the mind will also be discussed. From a more practical point of view of actual language use, some of our time will be spent working with large present-day English corpora, and we will look at Staatsexamen tasks dealing with morphology and word-formation. Finally, changes in English morphology over time will also be addressed.
The Übung which accompanies the Seminar (Wednesday, 14:15-15:00) is designed for discussions of linguistic project work and other assignments with the teacher individually and/or in small groups. Individual arrangements will be made – also, if necessary, concerning the time of the Übung. Therefore clashes with other courses scheduled for the same time slot as the Übung can be avoided.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Recommended reading:
• Martin Haspelmath and Andrea D. Sims. 2010. Understanding Morphology. Second ed. London: Arnold, ch. 1: “Introduction” and ch. 2: “Basic Concepts”.
• Laurie Bauer, Rochelle Lieber and Ingo Plag. 2013. The Oxford Reference Guide to English Morphology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Part 1: “Introduction”.

Scottish English (with excursion)

Dozent/in:

Manfred Krug

Angaben:

Hauptseminar, 2 SWS, ECTS: 8

Termine:

jede 2. Woche Di, 8:45 - 11:45, U9/01.11
In the second week of term, MA students as well as BA/Lehramt students in their Vertiefungsmodul are expected to take part in an introduction to research methods in the computer pool U5/02.23 (unless they have already participated in the Übung Methods and Theories in Linguistics ). Thus, these participants are required to reserve the following times and dates: Mon, 18 April 2016, 8 10 h OR 10 12 h OR 12 14 h AND Fri, 22 April 2016, 8 14 h OR Sat, 23 Apr 2016, 10 16 h. To coordinate course dates and times, please register for the following Virtual Campus course by 14 April at the latest and take part in the survey you will find there: https://vc.uni-bamberg.de/moodle/course/view.php?id=15624. You will receive notice of the time slots you have been allotted on 15 April.
ab 19.4.2016

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

General organization
1. Modules:

LA GY modularisiert: Vertiefungsmodul Sprachwissenschaft: Seminar (8 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Mastermodule in English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Consolidation Module in English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Profile Module in English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Restricted Electives in English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
MA Interdisziplinäre Mittelalterstudien/Medieval Studies: Mastermodul II Anglistik: Seminar (7 ECTS)
Erweiterungsbereich Anglistik/Amerikanistik im Rahmen anderer MA: Erweiterungsmodul I oder II: Seminar (8 ECTS)
LA alt (alle), Diplom, Magister: Hauptseminar Sprachwissenschaft
European Joint Master's Degree in English and American Studies: Mastermodule in English Linguistics: Seminar (max. 8 ECTS)
European Joint Master's Degree in English and American Studies: Consolidation Module in English Linguistics: Seminar (max. 8 ECTS)
European Joint Master's Degree in English and American Studies: Profile Module in English Linguistics: Seminar (max. 8 ECTS)
Erasmus and other visiting students: Seminar (max. 8 ECTS)

2. Registration and Deregistration:

Registration via FlexNow from 11 February 2016, 10:00h to 10 March 2016, 23:59h.
Deregistration via FlexNow from 11 February 2016, 10:00h to 10 March 2016, 23:59h.

Das Seminar und die Exkursion sind voll, es stehen keine Wartelistenplätze mehr zur Verfügung.

For students transferring to the University of Bamberg, for Erasmus students and for those who need the credit to register for their upcoming final exams a few places will be reserved. If the course is fully booked please contact the lecturer personally.

3. Requirements for successful completion of the course:

regular active participation in class + oral presentation + termpaper (4500-6000 words)

4. Language of instruction:

English

Inhalt:

This seminar will focus on linguistic characteristics of Scottish English and Scots. We will also survey historical, cultural and political aspects, in particular insofar as they are relevant for linguistic features in Scotland and for the identities of people living there today. Topics to be dealt with therefore include the relationship and conflicts with England, partial autonomy, devolution and language politics in today s Scotland.

For participation in this Seminar, students must be willing to join the excursion to Scotland (Edinburgh and Glasgow) from 7 May to 14 May, 2016. Each student s expenses for this will be about 250 (including flights and all breakfasts).