EN-458 Syntax: A theoretical introduction to English sentence structure
- ECTS Credits:
- 10
- Responsible department:
- Faculty of Humanities and Education
- Course Leader:
- Arild Høie Henriksen
- Lecture Semester:
- Autumn
- Teaching language:
- English
- Duration:
- 1 term
The course is connected to the following study programs
- Advanced Teacher Education level 8-13, 5-year Master's Programme
- Translation and Professional Communication, Master's programme
- Master's Programme in English
Teaching language
EnglishCourse contents
This course is a theoretical introduction to language structure, with a focus on English sentence formation. Although languages can be strikingly different, generative syntactic theory proposes that they share a common core, a universal grammar. This course develops this hypothesis with respect to standard English, but also takes a comparative look at other varieties of English and other languages, both related and unrelated. The course will address the basic structure of sentences, as well as grammatical phenomena, such as for example, displacement, case, and agreement. Key syntactic proposals will be discussed and evaluated, and students will explore their application to English. Students will also investigate a syntactic phenomenon in (varieties of) English through the use of corpora (e.g. BNC, COCA) and apply their knowledge of English syntax and syntactic theories to a dataset.
Topics to be covered focusing on English:
- basic sentence structure
- grammatical mechanisms (e.g. displacement, case, agreement)
- the architecture of grammar
- methods and approaches to syntactic theorizing
- using corpora to explore varieties of English
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students will have
- advanced understanding of the structure of English sentences
- thorough knowledge of theories of sentence structure
- broad knowledge of general issues in studies of syntax
- knowledge of methods for exploring syntactic questions
On successful completion this course, students will be able to
- syntactically analyse English sentences
- critically evaluate theories of language structure
- critically evaluate evidence for and against syntactic analyses
- use corpora to identify syntactic patterns in varieties of English
- describe and analyse English data in a well-structured paper
Examination requirements
To be eligible to take the exam, all obligatory tasks must have been approved. An overview of the obligatory tasks will be given on Canvas at the start of the term.
Teaching methods
Lectures and discussions. Active and regular participation is expected. The estimated workload is approximately 270 hours.
Evaluation
The person responsible for the course decides, in cooperation with student representative, the form of student evaluation and whether the course is to have a midway or end of course evaluation in accordance with the quality system for education, chapter 4.1.
Admission for external candidates
No.
Offered as Single Standing Module
Yes, if there are places available.
Admission Requirement if given as Single Standing Module
Same admission requirements apply as for the master's programme in English.
Assessment methods and criteria
Individual term paper (5000-6000 words). Graded assessment.
Reduction of Credits
This course’s contents overlap with the following courses. A reduction of credits will occur if one of these courses is taken in addition:
| Course | Reduction of Credits |
|---|---|
| EN-451 – Syntax: A theoretical introduction to English sentence structure | 10 |