Introductory description

This module introduces students to the major sub-fields within theoretical and applied linguistics. Stretching your understanding of French beyond its use as a mere tool of communication and means of cultural production, you will consider the nuts and bolts of the language, and how it is created, structured, and interpreted. This module offers you a unique opportunity to look under the bonnet of the language you are learning. For instance, where do meanings come from, and how does a language make new words for new things? How does French vary in different places, and according to who is speaking? What is the relationship between the spoken and written forms, and how does this affect our understanding of 'language'?
Topics include:
etymology - where words come from and how new ones are created
semantics - how meaning is created within and behind words
morphology - how language is structured within word units
syntax - how language is structured within sentence segments
phonetics - how speech sounds are created and transcribed
sociolinguistics - how users modify their language based on personal characteristics, audience, and social norms

We will study the fundamental theories and emerging ideas within these areas of linguistics, and build up a greater understanding of how French works, and where, how, and why it varies. In addition to analysing the language critically and scientifically, this will broaden your understanding of French as it is currently developing, and equip you with the tools to recognise, describe, and improve your own mastery of the language ahead of the year abroad.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The purpose of the module is to introduce intermediate-level students to the fundamental aspects of French linguistics, via weekly lectures and follow-up seminars for which the students will prepare worksheets and other exercises. Two lectures (plus seminars) will be dedicated to each of sociolinguistics, phonetics, and syntax; one lecture (plus seminar) will be dedicated to etymology, semantics, morphology, and phonology. Ahead of the exam, revision materials in the same format will be made available through Moodle, along with a revision session.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• - To gain understanding of the structural and linguistic principles of French, its governance and variation, according to theoretical and applied linguistic theories and methods
• - To develop a general familiarity with key developments in linguistics, and the ways in which the composite features of French have been, and are, studied scientifically
• - To become proficient in phonetic transcription and drawing syntactic tree diagrams
• - To be able to think more critically and in-depth about the construction of meaning(s) in French, and language more broadly
• - To consolidate learning in the language programme with alternative explanations for points of grammar, register, and vocabulary selection.

Indicative reading list

Ager, D.E. (1990). Sociolinguistics and Contemporary French. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Ball, R., Marley, D. (2017). The French-speaking World: A practical introduction to sociolinguistic issues. (Abingdon: Oxford)
Fagyal, Z., Kibbee, D., Jenkins, F. (2006). French: A linguistic introduction. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Foley, J. (1979). Theoretical Morphology of the French Verb. (Amsterdam: Benjamins)
Jones, M.A. (1996). Foundations of French Syntax. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Lodge, R.A., Armstrong, N., Ellis, Y., Shelton, J. (1997). Exploring the French Language. (London: Arnold)
Love, N. (1981). Generative Phonology: A case-study from French. (Amsterdam: Benjamins)
Mailhammer, R. (Ed.) (2013). Lexical and Structural Etymology: Beyond word histories. (Boston: De Gruyter Mouton)
Yaguello, M. (Ed.) (2003). Le Grand Livre de la Langue Française. (Paris: Seuil)

View reading list on Talis Aspire

International

All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.

Subject specific skills

This module will develop students’ linguistic skills through engaging with primary materials in the target language. It will build students’ capacity to engage with aspects of French culture through analysis of this primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students’ awareness of French linguistics will be enhanced through lectures and seminars which engage in scholarship in the field.

Transferable skills

All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability to mediate between languages and cultures, ICT literacy in both English and the target language(s), personal responsibility and the exercise of initiative.