MODULE SPECIFICATION TEMPLATE
MODULE DETAILS
Module title
Module code
Credit value
Level
Mark the box to the right of the
appropriate level with an ‘X’
Grammar and the English Language
LQM20
20
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 0 (for modules at foundation
level)
Level 7
X
Level 8
Entry criteria for registration on this module
Pre-requisites
Specify in terms of module
codes or equivalent
Co-requisite modules
Specify in terms of module
codes or equivalent
None
None
Module delivery
Mode of delivery
Taught
Other
X
Distance
Placement
Pattern of delivery
Weekly
X
Block
Other
Online
When module is delivered
Semester 1
X
Semester 2
Throughout year
Other
Brief description of module This module examines the interface between semantics and syntax –
content and/ or aims
meaning and structure. Thorough study of the main contours of English
Overview (max 80 words)
grammar, along with detailed analysis of selected areas where the
syntax-semantics relationship is problematic, are essential for students
taking this Masters programme. This module gives students the essential
metalanguage and analytical tools for them to investigate the structural
units of language.
Module team/ author/
Prof Raphael Salkie and Dr Sandra Jensen
coordinator(s)
School
Humanities
Site/ campus where
Falmer
delivered
Course(s) for which module is appropriate and status on that course
Course
MA Linguistics
MA English Language
MA Philosophy of Language
MRes Linguistics
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
Status (mandatory/ compulsory/
optional)
Compulsory
Compulsory
Optional
Optional
MODULE AIMS, ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT
Aims
The aims for this module are set into the context of the QAA
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and they relate to the
SEEC level descriptors for level M study. The module aims to:
 develop a sophisticated and critical understanding of grammatical
concepts and grammatical analysis
 investigate the interface between semantics and syntax
 analyse selected areas of English grammar
 instil a rigorous and independent approach to grammatical
problems
Learning outcomes
In relation to the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
and the SEEC level descriptors for level M study, by the end of the
module students should be able to:
1. Apply the tools of modern linguistics to the in-depth independent
analysis of selected core areas of English grammar.
2. Gather authentic language data from computer corpora and use
the data as the basis of grammatical analysis.
3. Evaluate critically competing theories of the relationship between
semantics and syntax.
4. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the scope of
grammatical analysis.
5. Read and summarise scholarly literature within the field of modern
grammatical theory, and integrate this body of knowledge into their
own problem solving
Content
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Learning support
The scope of English Grammar
The syntax-semantics interface: issues and hypotheses
Semantic elements: states, events, actions, participants,
circumstances, propositions.
Syntactic units: verbs, nouns, adverbs, prepositions, specifiers,
determiners, modifiers, adjuncts, complements, clauses,
sentences.
Grammatical processes: subordination, co-ordination,
nominalisation
Information packaging: passives, extraposition, word order
Semantic sub-classes of verbs and nouns.
Idiomaticity
Transitivity and causatives
Promotion to subject
Grammatical variation in English dialects
Books
Aarts, B. (2007) Syntactic gradience : the nature of grammatical
indeterminacy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Biber, D. et al. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman.
Declerck, R., S. Reed & B. Capelle. (2006). The Grammar of the
English Verb Phrase, Vol.I: The Grammar of the English Tense
System, a Comprehensive Analysis. Berlin,:Walter de Gruyter.
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
Dixon, R.M.W. (2005). A Semantic Approach to English Grammar. 2nd
Edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Greenbaum, S. & R. Quirk (1990). A Student’s Grammar of the English
Language. London: Longman.
Huddleston, R. & G. Pullum. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the
English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hughes, A, P. Trudgill & D. Watt (2012) English Accents and Dialects:
An Introduction to Social and Regional Varieties of English in the
British Isles. 5th Edn. London: Routledge.
Jackson, H. (1990). Grammar and Meaning: A Semantic Approach to
English Grammar. London: Longman.
Journals
Linguistics
http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/ling
English Language and Linguistics
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ELL
International Journal of Corpus Linguistics
http://www.benjamins.com/cgi-bin/t_seriesview.cgi?series=Ijcl
Electronic Sources
Internet Grammar of English
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/ [Accessed Mar 2014]
SIL International Linguistic Resources
http://www.sil.org/linguistics/resources.html [Accessed Mar 2014]
Teaching and learning activities
Details of teaching and
learning activities
Lectures and tutorials, with more tutorials towards the end
Allocation of study hours (indicative)
Where 10 credits = 100 learning hours
Study hours
SCHEDULED
This is an indication of the number of hours students
can expect to spend in scheduled teaching activities
including lectures, seminars, tutorials, project
supervision, demonstrations, practical classes and
workshops, supervised time in workshops/ studios,
fieldwork, external visits, and work-based learning.
20
GUIDED INDEPENDENT
STUDY
All students are expected to undertake guided
independent study which includes wider reading/
practice, follow-up work, the completion of assessment
tasks, and revisions.
180
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
PLACEMENT
The placement is a specific type of learning away from
the University that is not work-based learning or a year
abroad.
TOTAL STUDY HOURS
200
Assessment tasks
Details of assessment for
this module
(including details of assessment criteria)
Assessment will be in the context of the University of Brighton
Assessment Policy and the Faculty Code of Practice in Assessment,
and students will be required to complete the following tasks:
Diagnostic test: A written take-away activity to test students’ level of
grammatical knowledge and ability to write academic English at the
start of the module. This test is compulsory but does not form part of
the formal module assessment.
Task 1 (Weighting – 40%): An analysis of approximately 1,500 words of
a grammatical problem. (LOs 1 & 2)
Task 2 (Weighting – 60%): An essay of 2,500 words on a theoretical
issue related to the syntax-semantics interface. (LOs 3, 4 & 5)
Each task will be marked on a percentage basis. Module pass mark is
50%.
Referral task: Reworking of original task
Assessment criteria
General criteria for assessment are framed by the SEEC descriptors for
level M. Against specific criteria, credit will be awarded for:
Task 1
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Clear and convincing grammatical analysis using theoretical
concepts from linguistics. (LO1)
Accurate and insightful link between theory and authentic corpus
data. (LO2)
Task 2
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A coherent, informed and critical evaluation of the syntaxsemantics interface. (LO3)
Mastery of the whole range of grammatical analysis (LO4)
Confident application of material from the research literature to the
problem at hand. (LO5)
All learning outcomes must be achieved in order to pass the module at
the threshold level.
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
Types of assessment task1
Indicative list of summative assessment tasks which lead to the award of credit or
which are required for progression.
WRITTEN
Written exam
COURSEWORK
Written assignment/ essay, report, dissertation,
portfolio, project output, set exercise
PRACTICAL
Oral assessment and presentation, practical skills
assessment, set exercise
% weighting
(or indicate if
component is
pass/fail)
100%
EXAMINATION INFORMATION
Area examination board
PG Programme in Linguistics and English language
Refer to Faculty Office for guidance in completing the following sections
External examiners
Name
Position and institution
Date appointed
Date tenure
ends
Prof. Daniel Kadar
Professor of Linguistics and
English language, Uni. of
Huddersfield
1st Jan. 2015
31st Dec.
2019
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Date of first approval
Only complete where this is
not the first version
2009
Date of last revision
Only complete where this is
not the first version
2009
Date of approval for this
version
Version number
2
Modules replaced
Specify codes of modules for
which this is a replacement
n/a
Available as free-standing module?
Yes
X
No
1 Set exercises, which assess the application of knowledge or analytical, problem-solving or evaluative skills, are included
under the type of assessment most appropriate to the particular task.
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012