3 ECTS credits
75 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1024339BNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
Dutch
Faculty
Faculty of Languages & Humanities
Department
Linguistics and Literary Studies
Educational team
Wim Vandenbussche (course titular)
Ludovic De Cuypere
Activities and contact hours
26 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
22 contact hours Lecture
Course Content


This course offers students a thorough overview of variation between languages and language families, of the kinds of language change that leads to language variation, and of the different manifestations of language internal variation. The course emphasizes terminology rather than theory and presents a broad conceptual framework, which is amply illustrated with examples from different languages.  

The course starts from a macrolevel perspective and gives a broad overview of the world's languages, introducing students to language typological similarities within the universal phonological and morpho-syntactic diversity. We then look at different instances of semantic and formal language change. A third section deals with internal language variation. We see how social and regional variation, but also context, register and style, may act as an expression of the speaker's linguistic identity.

Course material
Digital course material (Required) :
Additional info

This course is taught in Dutch; examples may be given from all languages offered in the programme Taal- en Letterkunde.

Digital course materials will be made available via the electronic platform. 

Learning Outcomes

General competencies


Upon completion of this course, the student is able to: 
-Recognize and appreciate language variation between and within languages  
-define, illustrate and apply the appropriate terminology associated with linguistic typology (variation and similarities between) 
-define, illustrate and apply the appropriate terminology associated with language change.  
-define, illustrate and apply the appropriate terminology associated with language internal variation

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written Exam with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Details on the exam will be provided via Canvas before the start of the course.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: German-French (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: French-Italian (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: French-Spanish (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Dutch-English (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Dutch-French (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Dutch-Italian (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Dutch-Spanish (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Dutch-German (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Spanish-Italian (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Italian-German (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: German-Spanish (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: English-German (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: English-French (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: English-Italian (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: English-Spanish (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence: Default track (only offered in Dutch)