AJL20004 Modern Linguistics

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. Mgr. Jan Chovanec, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. Mgr. Jan Chovanec, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 8:00–9:40 K23, except Mon 15. 4.
Prerequisites
Students are expected to have mastered the basic linguistic terminology relating to various linguistic levels (phonological, semantic/lexical, syntactical) and be able to correctly use the concepts when analysing linguistic data.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 15 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course introduces students to the various forms and approaches of modern qualitative linguistics, discussing some of the central issues currently addressed in mainstream linguistics. The aim of the course is to help students to use linguistic methods and concepts in order to understand how meanings emerge and are constructed in various types of communication. The course is grounded in functional linguistics, looking at language forms in a close relation to the situational and cultural contexts in which they are embedded, as well as with a view to the communicative goals of the individual interlocutors. The course addresses the following topics: discourse analysis, conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, multimodal analysis, pragmatics (interactional, historical, cognitive), systemic functional linguistics, sociolinguistics of globalized communication, superdiversity. The course will include hands-on analysis of spontaneous, mediated and institutional discourses.
Learning outcomes
After passing the course, students will be able:
- to understand how meaning is discursive constructed;
- to understand the role of situational and cultural contexts in discourse interpretation;
- to carry out analysis of various text types using the tools of the dominant linguistic paradigms;
- to describe micro-level linguistic phenomena and offer a macro-level explanation of their significance within the broader scheme of communication;
- to explore the role of subjectivity in texts;
- perceive differences between spontaneous and scripted discourse.
Syllabus
  • The course will introduce students to the basic concepts of the following disciplines and approaches:
  • 1. discourse analysis, 2. conversation analysis, 3. critical discourse analysis, 4. multimodal analysis, 5. systemic functional linguistics, 6. interactional pragmatics, 7. historical pragmatics, 8. discourse pragmatics, 9. institutional discourse, 10. sociolinguistics of the social media, 11. sociolinguistics of globalized communication, 12. multilingualism, language and superdiversity.
  • The discussion will be complemented with analysis of linguistic data.
Literature
    required literature
  • Culpeper, Jonathan and Michael Haugh (2014) Pragmatics and the English Language. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Arnaut, Karel, Jan Blommaert, Ben Rampton and Massimiliano Spotti (2016) Language and Superdiversity. New York and London: Routledge.
  • Hart, Christopher (2014) Discourse, Grammar and Ideology. Functional and Cognitive Perspectives. London: Bloomsbury.
    recommended literature
  • Gee, James Paul and Michael Handford (2012) The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis. London and New York: Routledge.
Teaching methods
seminar, once a week, 90 minutes seminar work includes: teacher input, class discussion, discussion of readings, hands-on analysis of authentic language data, presentations
Assessment methods
written examination and/or essay successful completion of all course assignments during the term: a reflection essay on readings, homework assignments class attendance (2 absences permitted) active participation in seminars
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2024/AJL20004