ENGLISH LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT (ELD)
Office: Room 220/a
Phone: 343–0148 ext. 4413; 460-4407 (direct)
Fax: 460-4413
E-mail: delg@ludens.elte.hu
URL: http://www.btk.elte.hu/delg
LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Nádasdy Ádám PhD, associate professor, head
Hanzséros Mária, secretary
TEACHING STAFF
PERMANENT TEACHING STAFF
Farkas Judit PhD, senior lect.
Office: 224
Kniezsa Veronika PhD, associate prof.
Office: 223
Lázár A. Péter dr., senior lect.
Office: 222
Marosán I. Lajos PhD, senior lect.
Office: 216
Nádasdy Ádám PhD, associate prof. Office: 220/b
Newson, Mark PhD, associate prof.
Office: 225
Starcevic Attila lecturer
Office: 222
Surányi Balázs lecturer.
Office: 241
Szécsényi Krisztina lecturer
Office: 222
Szigetvári Péter PhD, senior lect.
Office:222
Törkenczy Miklós PhD, associate prof.
Office: 216
Varga László PhD, professor
Office: 226
PART TIME TEACHING STAFF
Bottyán Gergely temporary lect.
Dávid Gergely temporary lect.
Eitler Tamás temporary lect.
Huber Dániel temporary lect.
Kiss Zoltán temporary lect.
Kristó László temporary lect.
Merényi Csaba temporary lect.
Oláh Gábor temporary lect.
Újvárosi Gábor temporary lect.
Office: 241
Office: B/9
Office 241
Office: 241
Office: 241
Office: 241
Office: 241
Office: 241
Office 241
ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT
English Linguistics Department
As its name suggests the English Linguistics Department (ELD) is a linguistics department
where tuition and research focuses on the English Language.
ELD is a department of the School of English and American Studies (SEAS). The
courses it offers are required in all the MA programmes at SEAS, viz. English Language and
Literature, American Studies and also in the English teacher training BA programme.Since
September 1995 ELD has had its own PhD programme.
The main subfields of linguistics ELD concentrates on are English phonology, syntax
and historical linguistics.
The MA courses offered by ELD are linguistics courses as opposed to practical
grammar courses. The courses are basically of two types: survey-type introductory and core
courses which are given every academic year and consist of Introduction to English
Linguistics, English Phonetics and phonology, Phrasal Syntax, Clausal Syntax, and History of
English; and elective courses of varying content. These latter courses are designed to help the
interested student develop academically in a specialised direction within the field of
linguistics and prepare her/him for research.
_________________________________________________________________________
This Term's Courses
INTRODUCTORY TIER
AN-141
Introductory Course in English Linguistics
Lázár A. Péter adj.
Mon 10-11:30 Rm 135
The lectures survey such diverse fields of linguistics as the origins of language, the languages
of the world and the place of English among them, and change and variation in language.
They provide a glimpse of Universal Grammar by looking at the similarities of languages, the
relation of language and thought, and the problem of language acquisition. The course
attempts to dispel false ideas about language and linguistics, describing the compartments and
boundaries of linguistic science, familiarizing students with the notions of distribution,
variation, sense relations and with some of the tools of phonemic transcription, etymology,
stylistic, morphological, semantic and syntactic analysis. The lectures introduce elementary
concepts of phonological, morphological, semantic, pragmatic, and syntactic analysis, briefly
surveying the development of these in linguistic thought as well. Introducing the basics, the
course also shows some of the open issues facing linguistic science.
The most important topics to be covered are
Varieties of English
Historical and geographical varieties
Levels of analysis
Hierarchy; Double articulation; Syntagmatic and paradigmatic
Etic and emic; Distribution, variation, minimal pair
Phone, phoneme; morph, morpheme; word, lexeme
Analyzing sounds
Gimson transcription; phonetics vs phonology
English Linguistics Department
Morphological analysis
Words as to their internal structure; compounding, suffixation
Sentence analysis
Analyzing sentences with trees, labels, brackets
traditional and modern strategies
Semantic analysis
Word meaning; Synonymy, antonymy, homonymy, polysemy
Nonsense and anomaly
Functional and pragmatic analysis
Sentence types vs language functions; Time and tense
Sex and gender; Speech acts
Language change
Regular and patterned nature of sound change
Change in syntax and meaning; Etymology; Relatedness of languages
Style and medium
Speech and writing, their divergence; Style; Slang and taboo
By the end of the course, ideally, the student
-- distinguishes clearly between the prescriptive and descriptive attitudes
-- understands the fundamental properties of human language
-- recognizes some of the ways that languages are alike
-- understands some of the basic terminology of the field of linguistics
-- has the necessary tools for a deeper study of syntax and phonology
-- is able to apply the methods of linguistic analysis introduced
-- is aware of some of the major findings in the field of linguistics, and areas of current debate
-- appreciates the importance of language for the individual and society, and understands the relation of
language to thought and culture
There will be a written end-term exam based on (i) the course book (ii) the course package and (iii) the students'
own lecture notes, which will include practical tasks such as the drawing of tree diagrams for
words/phrases/sentences.
You can also check out the WWW site of the department at www.btk.elte.hu/~delg -- a good place to find about
about programmes, courses, exams, and in general, to start useful and interesting linguistic surfing.
_________________________________________________________________________
AN-142 Introduction to English Linguistics (ICEL) Seminars
(General information)
The aim of these courses is to teach, by actual demonstration and practice:
- English linguistic terminology, esp. in comparison to Hungarian
- conventions of representation (phonetics, trees, etymological, etc)
- strategies of analysis (exception - rarity - typical)
- methods of data collection and evaluation (eg. spoken vs. written)
- basic concepts like: distribution, zero, sound law, embedding etc.
- the notion that linguistics examines language for its own sake, simply to find out the "truth", and thus it lays
down seemingly trivial facts too.
- a sensitivity in comparing languages, esp. E and H.
¨ There will be regular written homework.
¨ The seminars are related to the IntroLing lectures (AN-141), but do not follow their week-to-week syllabus.
However, a valid mark in the Intro seminar is a pre-requisite for taking the IntroLing examination in
December/January.
¨ There will be some texts (articles, chapters) set for close reading (at home), discussed at class, and controlled in
the tests.
English Linguistics Department
AN-142/a
Introduction to English Linguistics
Nádasdy Ádám assoc. prof.
Wed 3:30
Rm 209
Content: 1. ANALYSING VARIETIES OF ENGLISH. - Short passages from historical
and geographical varieties. Show that divergences are regular/patterned. — 2. LEVELS OF
ANALYSIS. - Hierarchy. Double Articulation. Syntagmatic and paradigmatic. etic and
emic. Distribution, variation, minimal pair. Phon/eme, morph/eme, word/lexeme. — 3.
ANALYSING SOUNDS. - Learning the Gimson transcription, pinpointing the difference
btw phonetics and phonology. — 4. MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. - Analysing
words as to internal structure, compounding, suffixation. — 5. SENTENCE ANALYSIS. Analysing a few sentences with trees, labels, brackets, comparing traditional with modern
strategies. — 6. SEMANTIC ANALYSIS. - Word meaning. Syno-, anto-. Homonymy,
polisemy. Nonsense & anomaly. — 7. FUNCTIONAL AND PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS. Sentence types vs. language functions. Time and tense. Sex and gender. Speech acts.
Presupposition. — 8. ANALYSING LANGUAGE CHANGE. - Regular/patterned nature
of sound change. Change in syntax and meaning. Etymology, its principles. Relatedness of
languages. — 9. ANALYSING STYLE AND MEDIUM. - Speech and writing, their
divergence. Style. Slang and taboo. — 10. ANALYSING CODABILITY AND
TRANSLATION. - How far is translation possible? What is equivalence? Does it have to
be at the lexical level? Linguistic limits of poetic translation.
Written work: (1) regular small homework; (2) two in-class tests (quiz type), one
at midterm, one at endterm; (3) a home essay of about 6 pages, analysing some small
problem of English as compared to Hungarian.
Assessment: based on the two tests, modified by the home essay, possibly
corrected by quality and regularity of homework submitted.
AN-142/b
Introduction to English Linguistics
Törkenczy Miklós assoc. prof.
Fri 12
Rm 210/b
It is a survey course which introduces the basic concepts of modern linguistics.
AN-142/c
Introduction to English Linguistics
Newson, Mark assoc. prof. Mon 11:30
Description as under AN-142/d.
AN-142/d
Rm 210/b
Introduction to English Linguistics
Lázár A. Péter sen. lect.
Tue 8:30
Rm 209
The seminars are closely linked to the core syllabus of the lecture course. There will be
regular homework corrected and discussed; also, texts for close reading at home to be
discussed in class. Two mis-term tests and a major end-term paper, contributing to the
end-term mark 40--40--20 per cent. A one-page summary of the end-term paper will have
to be turned in halfway into the term.
Attendance regularly checked; both tests and the home essay are needed for a valid endterm
mark.
English Linguistics Department
AN-142/e
Introduction to English Linguistics
Lázár A. Péter sen. lect.
Fri 8:30
Description as under AN-142/d.
Rm 209
AN-142/f
Introduction to English Linguistics
Szigetvári Péter sen. lect. Wed 8
Rm 209
In this first course in linguistics we are going to discuss what linguistics is (to expel some
of the many misconceptions), what linguists are concerned with and what they are not
concerned with. We are also going to make very brief encounters with different subfields
of linguistic theory, like phonology, morphology and syntax. You will be assigned
homework regularly, are expected to write at least two of three in-class tests (on 9 Oct, 13
Nov and 11 Dec; there are no retakes!) and will have to produce a thorough analysis of a
natural language based on a set of sentences of that language. The end-term mark will
reflect your achievements in these three sets of tasks.
Course pages: http://budling.nytud.hu/~szigetva/courses/introsem1.
AN-142/g
Introduction to English Linguistics
Szigetvári Péter sen. lect. Wed 9:30
Rm 209
Description as under AN-142/f.
Course pages: http://budling.nytud.hu/~szigetva/courses/introsem2.
AN-142/h
Introduction to English Linguistics
Surányi Balázs lect.
Mon 2:30
Rm 209
In this seminar we undertake the non-trivial task of formulating meaningful questions
about language, and explore some of the concepts and hzpotheses that linguistic theorizing
has found to be useful in answering them. Key topics will include today’s common
(mis)conceptions about language (what makes language language?), language variation
(how is English different from English?), language and the brain (where do we have
what?), language acquisition (how do we learn it?), the study of sounds, words, sentence
structure, meaning and language use. There will be regular homework for this course,
including reading and written assignments. Assessment will be based on two out of three
in-class tests, a home essay, and the quantity and quality of homework.
AN-142/i
Introduction to English Linguistics
Starcevic Attila lect.
Fri 3:30
Description as under AN-142/d.
AN-142/j
Rm 210/b
Introduction to English Linguistics
Szécsényi Krisztina lect.
Tue 11
Rm 209
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the basic concepts of linguistics, give
an overview of the methods and fields of investigation, and develop a new attitude to the
discipline (an approach different from what we learnt at high school). Key issues will be
language and brain, language acquisition, child language, phonology and syntax. There will
English Linguistics Department
be regular written homework and texts for close reading at home to be discussed in class.
Grading will be based on homework, two in-class tests and a home essay.
AN-142/k
Introduction to English Linguistics
Kiss Zoltán temp. lect.
Wed 2
Rm 139/a
This seminar course will intend to give you an overview of how the various aspects of
language can be approached in a systematic way. It wishes to discover what is of crucial
importance when we want to observe, describe or explain what language (and any
language, for the matter) really is. In this course you will hopefully understand where the
science stands today, what are its methods and areas of investigation, and what do NOT
belong to its domain. We will tackle general notions and ideas on language, its sounds,
words, sentences, meanings, use, and history. We will highlight common
misunderstandings of what modern linguistics is about as opposed to the “high school
grammar” that all of us were taught. Hopefully, it will be shown that this subject is
anything but dry, that it is intruiging, has interesting challenges and rewarding solutions.
There are plenty of problems still waiting ti be explained about language and this course is
meant to provide you with the basic equipment to approach those problems.
Further and more detailed information on the course (planned topics, assigned readings,
requirements and assessment, etc.) can be found at my homepage:
http://budling.nytud.hu/~cash.
AN-142/l
Introduction to English Linguistics
Dávid Gergely temp. lect. Thu 11:30
Rm 210/b
The seminars are designed to support the lecture course by following its syllabus. It will
help students understand as much as possible of the relevant terms, concepts and notions of
the field -- often seen as abstract and divorced from a first-year university student’s world.
Seminar students will engage in a discussion of these terms, concepts and notions. The
discussions will involve the study of examples from practice, often through an analysis of
language awareness data (various written and recorded texts). Students will be expected to
attend regularly, participate actively and do regular homework (reading and short
presentations). It is expected that the course will help students do well at the end-term test
if they work hard in the seminars. The basis of assessment will include attendance, the
quality of contribution in class and for homework and the results of three short tests.
AN-142/m
Introduction to English Linguistics
Huber Dániel temp. lect.
Tue 8:30
Rm 210/b
Priorities of the course: these seminars are not closely related to the lecture course AN-141.
The main priorities of the course are: what linguistics is and whet it is not; the main
characteristics of the language; the dictinction between prescription and description; the
introduction of basic tools and concepts in analyzing languages.
Assessment: there will be regular, though not necessarily written, homework assigned. We
will read most of the text set for the exam plus the first chapter of Radford’s
Transformational Grammar (CUP, 1988). You will be required to write a number of
shorter in-class tests (5-6, 20 minutes each). In exchange for the amount of reading and
tests, you will not have to write an essay.
English Linguistics Department
AN-142/n
Introduction to English Linguistics
Oláh Gábor temp. lect.
Mon 4
Rm 209
Our goal in this course is basically threefold: (1) to familiarize you with fundamental
linguistic/grammatical notions and terms; (2) to introduce you to a linguistic analysis of
language data; and (3) to dspell certain popular misconceptions soem of you might have
about language and linguistics.
Assessment will be based on (1) the quality of the home assignments you are expected to
hand in regularly; plus (2) the two midterm-tests; plus (3) your attendance and participation
in classroom discussions.
AN-142/o
Introduction to English Linguistics
teaching assistant
Thu 8:30
AN-142/p/EC Introduction to English Linguistics
Kristó László temp. lect.
Mon 3:30
Rm 209
EC
_________________________________________________________________________
MAIN TIER
General Information
The Main Tier courses are pairs of weekly lectures and seminars covering the following areas
of language: English and Phonology, English Phrasal Syntax, English Clausal Syntax, History
of English. The endterm exam in each area is based on the lecture course. It is best to take the
lecture course and seminar dealing with the same area in the same term, even though the
seminars are not (necessarily) backups for the lectures. The Main Tier courses are offered in
every term and may in principle be taken in any order. However, we recommend that you take
History of English only after you have done English Phonetics and Phonology, and also that
you take the Phrasal Syntax and Clausal Syntax lecture courses from the same lecturer
(preferably starting with Phrasal Synatx).
A prerequisite for getting an endterm mark in any of these courses is a valid mark in
AN-141 (IntroLing).
AN-241
English Phonetics and Phonology (lecture course)
Nádasdy Ádám assoc. prof.
Thu 10
Rm 135
It is best to take this course together with one of the Phonetics and Phonology seminars
(AN-242). Prerequisite for taking the exam: a valid mark in AN-141 (IntroLing).
THE LECTURES cover three aspects of the sound domain of English, with the emphasis
on the phonological aspect. — (a) Phonetics: the articulation of English sounds, rhythm
and melody in speech, and their comparison with Hungarian; the functions of transcription;
— (b) Phonology: the system of English sounds, their relevant features, the "phonemes"
of English, their interrelatedness with morphology; the elements of the intonation-unit; —
English Linguistics Department
(c) Letter-to-Sound rules: the regularities applying between spelling and pronunciation,
especially the stressed vowel-letters. The course concentrates on British "RP", while the
prescribed textbook (Kreidler) also includes AmE and other variants. Students who speak
another variety of English (e.g. American, Scottish, etc.) are not asked to change their
accent; however, at the examination they, too, are required to transcribe according to RP
and use the symbols of the Gimson school.
PRESCRIBED MATERIAL for the exam:
(1) Theoretical: Kreidler, C.W., The Pronunciation of English: A Course Book in
Phonology. Oxford: Blackwell.
(2) Transcription: the "Gimson" variety of the IPA, as used for BrE (RP) in e.g. the
Longman Dict of Contemp English or the Oxf Advcd Learner's Dict of Current Eng.
(3) Letter-to-Sound rules: the best sources for these are Nádasdy (Practice Book), and
Nádasdy (Background) (both available as "jegyzet").
THE EXAMINATION is a written test composed of: (1) theoretical questions (Multiple
Choice or fill-in) based on the Kreidler textbook, plus Letter-to Sound rules, and on the
lectures; (2) transcription of words and phrases as pronounced in RP, using the Gimson
notation; (3) data analysis: discovering or exemplifying the working of some rule.
_________________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY SEMINARS (2 hrs, S)
General Information
All students must take one course from the AN-242 "English Phonetics and Phonology
Seminar" menu at some point (before taking the AN-299 Second Proficiency exam). This
seminar is normally taken in the 2nd to 5th semester of studies. It is best to take the seminar
and the Phonetics lecture course (AN-241) in the same term. A prerequisite for getting the
Phon seminar endterm mark is a valid mark in AN-141 (IntroLing). Students who fail the
Phon seminar, or cannot be graded because of their absences, must re-take in another term.
The Phon seminar (as well as the lecture course) is offered in every term.
AN-242/a
English Phonetics and Phonology
Nádasdy Ádám assoc. prof.
Thu 1:30
Rm 209
We shall examine: (a) the articulation of English vowels, and their differences from
Hungarian; (b) the vowel-rules of English phonology; (c) the IPA transcription; (d) the
letter-to-sound correspondences for English vowels. The course covers British RP only.
Students who speak another variety need not change their accent; however, they too have to
learn the rules and definitions for RP vowels. The practice material is A. Nádasdy's
Practice Book in English Phonetics and Phonology, which students are required to buy.
Written work: (a) frequent homework, mainly transcription but also problem solving; (b)
two classroom tests (transcription + theoretical questions); (c) Home Paper (cca 6 typed
pages), on a prescribed subject. Regular attendance (not more than 3 absences) and proper
homework (not more than 3 missing) is a pre-requisite for any mark. The endterm mark
will be the mean of the 2 Tests, modified by the Home Paper.
English Linguistics Department
AN-242/b
English Phonetics and Phonology
Törkenczy Miklós assoc. prof.
Fri 10
Rm 210/b
This is a survey course in which the basic concepts of phonetics and phonology are
introduced and the main characteristics of the sound pattern of English are discussed.
Requirements: regular attendance, three tests and a home essay.
AN-242/c
English Phonetics and Phonology
Szigetvári Péter sen. lect. Wed 12:30 Rm 209
We are going to study the phonological rules of (mainly Standard Southern British) English
and the some of the basic concepts of current phonological theory. Exercises from
Nádasdy's Practice Book will be assigned every week, you will have to write at least two of
three in-class tests (on 9 Oct, 13 Nov and 11 Dec; no retakes!) and write a home paper on a
topic to be specified in due time. The end-term mark will reflect your achievement in
these three sets of tasks.
The course's web pages are at budling.nytud.hu/~szigetva/courses/phonosem1.
AN-242/d
English Phonetics and Phonology
Szigetvári Péter sen. lect. Wed 2
Rm 209
Description as under AN-242/c.
The course's web pages are at budling.nytud.hu/~szigetva/courses/phonosem2.
AN-242/e
English Phonetics and Phonology
Kiss Zoltán temp. lect.
Wed 10
Rm 210/b
This course intends to provide an introduction to contemporary phonological theory
through analysing vatious aspects of the English sound system (particularly modern British
English RP). The course also lays emphasis on practical issues, like phonemic transcription
and letter-to-sound rules. You must be aware of the fact that the issues covered might be
regarded as “difficult” or “different”, and so it is recommended that students attend the
classes regularly and do their homework for each occasion.
Assessment is based on the average of the in-class tests (the best 2 count out of 3), the
quantity of homework, and the quality of the home paper essay. More details (planned
topics, course material, schedule, readings, requirements and assessment) can be found at
http://budling.nytud.hu/~cash.
AN-242/f
English Phonetics and Phonology
Kiss Zoltán temp. lect.
Wed 3:30
Description as under AN-242/e.
Rm 210/b
_________________________________________________________________________
English Linguistics Department
AN-243
English Phrasal Syntax (lecture course)
Surányi Balázs lect.
Mon 12
Rm 135
This lecture course is concerned with the essentials of basic structure in English. After
laying out the methodological foundation (i.e. why do what?), we look at structural
ambiguity, constituency as well as issues of representation and generation of structure (i.e.
what does a syntactic representation represent?). In examining the internal organization of
phrases, we work towards isolating idiosyncratic and regular properties in phase structure
(what makes phases similar and what makes them different?). Then, we move neyond the
lexical domain and generalize our findings to functional categories (is there life outside
phrases?). There will be a set of compulsory and a set of recommended readings, which
however do not fully cover the material presented in the lectures, therefore attendance is
strongly advised. Grading will be based on a written end-term test.
_________________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH PHRASAL SYNTAX SEMINARS (2 hrs, S)
AN-244/a
English Phrasal Syntax
Mark Newson doc.
Mon 1
Rm 209
This seminar looks at basic issues in the description of phrases and is based on the X-bar
framework. The main aim of this is that all phrases have essentially the same structural
foundation and differ only in their categorial nature and their filling of optional positions,
both things mostly determined by the head. We will investigate a large number of phrasal
types in English to see if this claim can be maintained. Assessment will be by two home
papers. Attendance is a requirement.
AN-244/b
The Structure of Phrases
Marosán Lajos sen. lect.
Mon 10
Rm 210/b
This course will examine two alternative views on the structure of phrases: X-bar Theory,
which is the topic of the 243 syntax course, and another approach which follows a different
tradition, known as dependency grammar. The course will be based on standard current
syntax textbooks (Radford (1988): Transformational Grammar, Culicover (1997): Principles
and Parameters and Haegeman (1993): Introduction to Government and Binding) and
Chapter 1 from Allerton's Valency and the English Verb.
There will be three quizzes in class, of which each student is required top write two. Also, a
home essay should be prepared by the end of the term, the topic of which will be specified
during the course. No more than three absences will be tolerated.
AN-244/c
English Phrasal Syntax
Surányi Balázs lect.
Wed 11:30 Rm 211
In this seminar, we examine the internal organization of phrases, concentrating in the main
on nominal and verbal expressions. The focus of attention will be English, but we do not
refrain from a comparison with other languages (e.g. Hungarian). After discussing goals
English Linguistics Department
and methods, we review tools detecting structure, and set out to explore the principles that
underlie structural composition (i.e. why is syntax simple?). There will be regular
homework, which can include reading set texts and preparing analyses. Assessment will be
based on two out of three in-class tests,a home essay, and the quantity and quality of
homework assignments.
AN-244/d
English Phrasal Syntax
Surányi Balázs lect.
Description as under AN-244/c.
Wed 2
Rm 211
AN-244/e
English Phrasal Syntax
Szécsényi Krisztina lect.
Wed 8:30
Rm 211
In this seminar we will concentrate on X-bar theory investigate a number of phrasal types
in English and other languages to point out the structural similarity of all phase types. The
role of functional categories in syntactic analysis will also be considered.
Grading will be based on homework, two in-class tests and a home essay.
AN-244/f
English Phrasal Syntax
Merényi Csaba temp. lect. Fri 12
Rm 209
This course offers an overview of the basics of syntactic theory and a chance to develop
your skills in addressing practical problems of syntactic analysis. The course material is
based on Radford’s Trabsformational Grammar and Syntax, A Minimalist Introduction.
Handouts with the most important terms and data will be available for each class.
Requirements: you have to pass at least two of the three in-class tests, hand in two pieces
of homework and attend classes regularly.
AN-244/g
English Phrasal Syntax
Bottyán Gergely temp. lect. Thu 3
Rm 209
The aim of these seminars is to examine the structure of various kinds of English phrases.
Students will have to attend regularly, participate in the discussion, read some chapters
from introductory textbooks (to be announced at the beginning of the term), do written
home assignments and write at least two of the three in-class tests. Grading will reflect the
extent to which you fulfil the above requirements.
_________________________________________________________________________
AN-245
English Clausal Syntax (lecture course)
Marosán Lajos sen. lect.
Mon 9
Rm 135
This lecture course is the continuation of the AN-243 lecture course. The topics will include
the discussion of different sentence types in the Government and Binding framework, such as
the structure of IPs, CPs and AGRPs; exceptional clauses, control structures &c., and the
various movement transformations will be discussed in detail. As usual, the course will
terminate in a multiple choice examination test. Course books: Radford (1988):
Transformational Syntax, Haegeman (1993): Introduction to Government and Binding.
English Linguistics Department
_________________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH CLAUSAL SYNTAX SEMINARS (2 hrs, S)
AN-246/a
Clause Structure in English
Varga László prof.
Mon 10
Rm 209These seminars will
centre on the structures and types of clauses in English, and the symmetry between clause
structure and phrase structure. In addition, we will have systematic exercises in drawing
trees and will solve problems in A. Radford's (1988): Transformational Grammar. A First
Course. Cambridge: CUP. Students will write two midterm tests in class and a home essay.
Assessment and grading will be based mainly but not exclusively on the results of the two
midterm tests.
AN-246/b
Clause Structure in English
Varga László prof. Mon 11:30
Description as under AN-246/a.
Rm 209
AN-246/c
Movement in Syntax and Information Structure
Lázár A. Péter sen. lect.
Tue 12:30
Rm 209
The seminars look at some of the syntactic issues raised in the lectures mainly from the
aspect of movement types and how they are related to information structure.
Grading: based on the midterm test (80 pc) and the endterm paper (20 pc); both tests and
the home essay are needed for a valid end-term mark.
AN-246/d
An Overview
Lázár A. Péter sen. lect.
Fri 10:30
Rm 209
The seminars do not tie in with the lecture topics but they do offer a survey of the syntactic
issues raised in the lectures, including different movement types and their diagrammatic
representation. The approach taken will be a somewhat eclectic one, between the more
traditional and the GB frameworks.
Grading: see under AN-246/c.
AN-246/e
Movement Transformations
Marosán Lajos sen. lect.
Thu 8:30
Rm 210/b
This course will concentrate on movement transformations which account for various English
sentence structures, such as passive, direct/indirect wh- and yes-no questions &c. The course
material will involve standard textbooks such as Radford (1988): Transformational Grammar
and Haegeman (1993): Introduction to Government and Binding.
English Linguistics Department
There will be three quizzes in class, of which each student is required top write two. Also, a
home essay should be prepared by the end of the term, the topic of which will be specified
during the course. No more than three absences will be tolerated.
AN-246/f
Movement Transformations
Marosán Lajos sen. lect.
Thu 10
Description as under AN-246/e.
Rm 210/b
AN-246/g
English Clausal Syntax
Szécsényi Krisztina lect.
Wed 2
Rm 138/a
The aim of the course is to give an overview of the syntactic issues raised in the lectures
concentrating on the tree representation of clause structure and movement transformations.
Grading will be based on homework, two in-class tests and a home essay.
AN-246/h
English Clausal Syntax
Szécsényi Krisztina lect.
Description as under AN-246/g.
Wed 3:30
Rm 138/a
_________________________________________________________________________
AN-251
History of the English Language - A Survey (Lecture Course)
Farkas Judit sen. lect.
Tue 11
Rm 007
Language, languages and language change. The Indo-European language family; Germanic
languages; the English language. History of writing and spelling in England. Historical
sources. Linguistic reconstruction. Foreign influence upon the English language: Latin,
Celtic, Scandinavian, French etc. Written and spoken language. Standardisation, dialects,
sociolects. National varieties of English.
Examination: written exam at the end of the term.
For the examination the following are the set texts:
1. Word Formation (= Th. Pyles: Origins and Development, Chapter X.: New Words from
Old)
2. Semantic Change (= Th. Pyles: Origins and Development, Chapter XII.: Words and
Meanings AND L. Bloomfield: Language, Chapter 24.: Semantic Change)
3. Loan-Words (= R. Berndt: History of English, Chapter 3.: Historical Changes in the
Sphere of Lexis)
4. Germanic and Indo-European (= B. Strang: History of English, Chapter 9.: Before 370)
5. History of English Morphology and Syntax (= Chapters from Millward: A Biography of
English)
6. Lecture handouts
English Linguistics Department
Topics 1 - 4 can be studied from the books available in the Library OR are available at the
Print Shop (Building B). Topic 5 is only available from the Print Shop (Building B).
Lecture handout is available either at the AN-252 seminars or in Rm 224. All the AN-251
exam questions will be set on the examples mentioned in the above material.
_________________________________________________________________________
HISTORY OF ENGLISH SEMINARS (2 hrs, S)
AN-252/a
History of the English Language
Farkas Judit sen. lect.
Tue 11
Rm 210/b
The primary aim of these seminars is partly to discuss problems emerging at the lectures and
solve exercises to help to understand these problems. In addition we are going to analyse
Old-, Middle-, and Early Modern English texts to see the development of the language and to
show how to deal with historical texts linguistically. There will be some linguistic papers
which deal with various problems of the history of the English language - to read and discuss.
Grading will be based on the student's work during the seminars (smaller presentations,
dictionary work, etc.), a home essay, and an end-term test.
AN-252/b
History of the English Language
Farkas Judit sen. lect.
Description as under AN-252/a.
Tue 12:30
Rm 210/b
AN-252/c
History of the English Language
Starcevic Attila lect.
Mon 1
Rm 210/b
This course will be primarily devoted to analysing short passages from various periods of
the English language, beginning with early Modern English and proceeding towards
Middle English and Old English. The aim of the course is not only to familiarise you with
the necessary philological techniques of tackling a less known text of this language, but
also to enable you to see the more-encompassing picture behind such notions as syntactic,
phonological and semantic change. The course will be overwhelmingly practical but at
times chapters of theoretical importance may be assigned. Final assessment will be in the
form of an end-term test (a short passage will have to be analysed exhaustively based on
the criteria set up during the course; there will also be a fill-in and a multiple choice part to
it). In addition to this, there will also be a week-to-week assessment of your analysing
skills. Your presence (not more than three absences!), regular homework and a home-paper
are the necessary components to obtaining a grade.
AN-252/d
History of the English Language
Starcevic Attila lect.
Mon 2:30
Description as under AN-252/c.
Rm 210/b
English Linguistics Department
AN-252/e
History of the English Language
Starcevic Attila lect.
Fri 2
Description as under AN-252/c.
Rm 210/b
AN-252/f
History of the English Language
Eitler Tamás temp. lect.
Wed 3:30
Rm 139/a
Besides elaborating on some of the lecture topics and doing a great number of related
exercises, we will discuss the following aspects in the history of English: 1. variation and
standardisation; 2. internal and external factors of change.
Requirements: regular homework, active participation, two in-class tests, a home paper.
AN-252/g
History of the English language
Újvárosi Gábor temp. lect. Wed 5
Rm 139/a
The course provides a survey of historical dialets of the English language as well as Gothic.
Representative samples of each major dialect will be closely looked at linguistically and in
terms of their paleographic aspects.
Assessment will be based on two in-class eassys and a home essay.
_________________________________________________________________________
SPECIALIZATION TIER
General Information
Since the courses offered in this tier are of highly specialised nature, they may be taken
only after the obligatory Main Tier courses have been done, including AN-299 (nyelvi
szigorlat).
SPECIALIZATION LECTURES IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
(2hrs, L)
AN-341.15
Rhytmical Variation in English and Hungarian
Varga László prof.
Thu 10
Rm 209
These lectures will concentrate on rhythmical variation, i.e. the working of the famous
Rhythm Rule in English (e.g. 'thirteen 'men and 'just thir'teen), and its Hungarian
counterpart (which – believe it or not – also exists; cf. e.g. 'ugyanaz a 'lap and 'mind
ugyan'az). In addition to describing and comparing the actual facts of rhythmical variation
in the two languages, we shall get acquainted with the most influential phonological
models that have been proposed to account for these facts and, simultaneously, discuss the
English Linguistics Department
basic concepts of metrical phonology (e.g. the metrical grid and the metrical tree). There
will be a written examination.
Literature:
- A. Goldsmith (ed.) (1995) The handbook of phonological theory. Cambridge, Mass., &
Oxford: Blackwell. Relevant parts.
- C. Gussenhoven (1991) The English rhythm rule as an accent deletion rule. Phonology 8:
1-35.
- B. Hayes (1984): The phonology of rhythm in English. Linguistic Inquiry 15: 33-74.
- R. Hogg and C.B. McCully (1987): Metrical Phonology, A Coursebook, Cambridge:
CUP. Relevant parts.
- S. Inkelas & D. Zec (eds.) (1990): The phonology-syntax connection. Chicago & London:
The Univ. of Chicago Press. Relevant parts.
- R. Kager & E. Visch (1988) Metrical constituency and rhythmic adjustment. Phonology
5: 21-71.
- L. Varga (1998) Rhthmical variation in Hungarian. Phonology 15: 227-66.
AN-341.16
Current Developments in English Syntax
Newson, Mark assoc. prof.
Wed 11
Rm 209
This lecture introduces students to developments in linguistic theory that have taken place
in the 1990s. As a background to these we briefly review Government and Binding theory
and discuss the reasons for its collapse at the end of the 1980s. We then introduce two
theories which have been forwarded to take the place of GB: the Minimalist Programme
and Optimality Theory. Emphasis will be placed on a few selected areas to enable
comparison and contrast between the theories.
Reading for the course consists of weekly course material, available from the
Student’ Service or from my home page (http://www.btk.elte.hu/~delg - follow the links
from there), plus supplementary reading indicated in the course material.
The course will be examined by a final exam. Be warned - the material is difficult
and there is a lot of reading. It is therefore recommended that students attend the lectures
and complete the readings on a week by week basis.
_________________________________________________________________________
SPECIALIZATION SEMINARS IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
(2 hrs, S)
AN-342.71
Phonetics
Törkenczy Miklós assoc. prof.
Wed 10
Rm 211
The course discusses the articulatory and acoustic characteristics of sounds and illustrates
them with examples from various languages. We shall also discuss universal patterns in
which phonetic properties are utilised in the phonologies of languages (language
universals, markedness). assessment: two tests.
English Linguistics Department
AN-342.72
Semantics
Marosán Lajos sen. lect.
Wed 3:30
Rm 211
The discussion in this semantics course course will be based on reading material selected
from current textbooks. The purpose of the course is to give an overview of what problems
semantics deals with and what answers are suggested by various approches. The course
material will involve Frawley (1998): Linguistic Semantics, Kiefer (2000): Szemantika, Cann
(1993): Formal Semantics.
There will be three quizzes in class, of which each student is required top write two. Also, a
home essay should be prepared by the end of the term, the topic of which will be specified
during the course. No more than three absences will be tolerated.
_________________________________________________________________________
SPECIALIZATION LECTURE IN THE HISTORY AND DIALECTOLOGY OF
ENGLISH (2 hrs, L)
Not offered this term.
_________________________________________________________________________
SPECIALIZATION SEMINARS IN THE HISTORY AND DIALECTOLOGY OF
ENGLISH (2 hrs, S)
AN-352.40
Reading Early MoE Texts (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Nádasdy Ádám assoc. prof.
Thu 11:30
Rm 210/b
The aim of the course is a very close philological reading of selections from Act I (we can
cover about 300 lines, or 1/7 of the whole text). We will look at questions of metre,
rhyming, morphology, syntax and vocabulary, as well as "pragmatical" questions like the
thou/you problem. Weekly preparation of the passages will be compulsory, together with
making a rough Hungarian translation.
Home paper (6-8 pp): linguistic/philological analysis of a longer unread passage
(20-30 lines) of the play, with a rough Hungarian translation (and, if you wish, a
comparison of existing Hungarian translations).
Endterm Test (without the use of handbooks or supplementary materials):
analysing short unread passages of the play, pointing out phenomena discussed during
term, comparing them to MoE, and giving a rough Hung. translation.
Regular attendance (not more than 3 absences) and proper homework (not more
than 3 missing) is a pre-requisite for any mark. Endterm mark based on: endterm test, home
paper, depth of preparation during term.
AN-352.41
Learning Old English (MÆB)
English Linguistics Department
Farkas Judit sen. lect.
Wed 12
Rm 210/b
Prerequisite: AN-251, AN-252.
This one-term course is a kind of introduction to help students to read Old English texts
with less difficulty. The course is based on a language lab programme planned for 12
weeks. If it is taken systematically, the course will give you real knowledge about the
structure and grammar of Old English as well as a fairly reliable vocabulary as each lesson
is accompanied by texts and exercises.
Texts: based on Sweet’s Anglo-Saxon Primer, course handouts from the teacher.
Assessment: seminar-paper, text analysis (prose-texts only).
_________________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH LINGUISTICS PhD PROGRAMME
1.
Advanved Old English Grammar.
Kniezsa Veronika assoc. prof.
2.
Middle English Dialects.
Kniezsa Veronika assoc. prof.
3.
Research Seminar.
Varga László prof. Wed 5, Rm 210/b.
4.
English Phonology: An Overview.
Törkenczy Miklós assoc. prof. Wed 2, Rm 210/b.
5.
English Syntax: An Overview.
Newson, Mark assoc. prof. Wed 12, Rm. 210/b.
6.
Historical Generative Syntax.
Newson, Mark assoc. prof.
7.
Readings in the Philosophy of Language.
Marosán Lajos sen. lect.
8.
Relevance Theory (Neo-Gricean Pragmatics). Individual course.
English Linguistics Department
Csölle Anita sen lect.
9.
Psycholinguistics. (Language Pedagogy Programme)
Kormos Judit sen. lect. Thu 9.
10.
Research Design and Statistics. (Language Pedagogy Programme)
Kormos Judit sen. lect. Thu 10:40.