Unit information: Linguistic Variation and Change in German in 2018/19

Unit name	Linguistic Variation and Change in German
Unit code	GERM30060
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Havinga
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of German
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit focuses on language variation and change in German. After an introduction to sociolinguistic theories on this topic, ways of studying language variation and change will be explored, focusing on corpus linguistics. Students will learn how to compile their own data, how to work with existing German corpora, and how to use text analytic software (AntConc and SketchEngine) to investigate the data for diachronic, regional, and/or social variation. Starting from examples of language change from canonical textbook literature, students will learn to carry out their own linguistic analyses, encouraging them to challenge common language ideologies. No specialised computing knowledge is required for students of this unit.

Aims:

• To introduce students to a significant body of knowledge of a complexity appropriate to final year level.
• To further skills of linguistic analysis and research and build on the students’ existing knowledge of varieties of German.
• To engage students in quantitative methods and corpus linguistic tools for text analytical research.
• To develop further skills of synthesis, analysis and independent research, building on the skills developed at Level I.
• To equip students with knowledge and skills that will transfer to other working environments, including postgraduate study.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, successful students will have:

1. Demonstrated sophisticated knowledge of German varieties and language change;
2. Developed and deployed advanced topic-specific skills: quantitative methods and text analytic tools for linguistic analysis;
3. Articulated an advanced understanding of processes involved in language change;
4. Demonstrated advanced skill in the selection, synthesis, evaluation and analysis of relevant topic-based material, appropriate to level H;
5. Presented independent judgements in a range of written forms in an appropriate style and at a high level of complexity.

Teaching Information

Two seminar hours per week across one teaching block (22 contact hours).

Assessment Information

One 3000-word essay (50%) and one project-based assignment (50%), each testing ILOs (1)-(5).

Reading and References

Holmes, Janet and Kirk Hazen (eds). 2014. Research Methods in Sociolinguistics'. A Practical Guide. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

Nübling, Damaris, Antje Dammel, Janet Duke, and Renata Szczepaniak. 2013. Historische Sprachwissenschaft des Deutschen. Eine Einführung in die Prinzipien des Sprachwandels. 4. Aufl. Tübingen: Narr.

Rasinger, Sebastian. 2008. Quantitative Research in Linguistics. An Introduction. London: Continuum.

Salmons, Joseph. 2012. A History of German. What the past reveals about today’s language. Oxford. OUP.

Weisser, Martin. 2016. Practical Corpus Linguistics. An Introduction to Corpus-Based Language Analysis. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.