Learning outcomes


Upon completion of this course unit, the student will be able to:

  • define and explain the fundamental concepts in the study of contemporary English phonology, morphology, and grammar

  • understand and explain how the sounds of contemporary (British) English are produced

  • identify phonemes and morphemes in contemporary English

  • analyse authentic language samples using formal and semantic criteria to identify the grammatical categories used

Goals


The general aims of this course are as follows:

  • to introduce students to the linguistic study of contemporary English, to linguistic reasoning and to the analysis of attested language data

  • to support the students in their efforts to obtain the objectives for the Proficiency course during the second semester


(N.B. Prérequis au niveau langagier: niveau B1, conformément aux référentiels pour les socles de compétences en langues modernes dans l'enseignement secondaire général (4h/sem). Toutefois, nous soutiendrons dans la mesure du possible les étudiant.e.s ne disposant pas de ce niveau dans leurs démarches pour atteindre celui-ci.)

Content

The course includes a brief introduction to articulatory phonetics and the phonology and morphology of present-day English. The bulk of the course is devoted to a descriptive and usage-based approach to the grammatical structure of contemporary English. The aim of the course is to acquaint students with the main categories in the grammar of the noun phrase (such as determination, modification, categorization), the verb phrase (tense, aspect, modality) and the clause (mood, transitivity). In each of these areas, the goal is to teach students to demonstrate their grasp of English grammar in their own analyses of attested data.

Table of contents

Introduction to English phonetics, phonology and morphology


  • Introduction: 'phonetics' and 'phonology'
  • Some key notions in phonetics
  • A brief survey of English phonology
  • Introduction
  • English vowels; short vowels; long, steady-state vowels; diphthongs
  • English consonants; stop consonants; nasals; fricatives; approximants
  • Morphology
  • The internal structure of words
  • Inflectional vs derivational morphology
  • Identifying morphemes
  • A brief survey of English word formation processes


Introduction to English grammar


Chapter 1. The grammatical rank scale

Chapter 2. The noun phrase

Chapter 3. Verb types, voice, and clefts

Chapter 4. Basic clause types

Chapter 5. Adverbials

Chapter 6. Notes on some complex clause types

Chapter 7. Tense

Chapter 8. Progressive aspect

Chapter 9. Modality


Exercices

The exercise module is entitled "Understanding linguistic concepts". It aims to help students fully understand and apply the main theoretical notions taught in the course across the different domains of phonology and phonetics (including phonemic transcriptions), morphology and grammar.

Co-requisites

English proficiency [LANGB102]

Teaching methods


The course is accompanied by 30 hours of exercises (covering the phonology, morphology and grammar parts of the course). In addition, multiple choice exercises on the central concepts of the grammar course which students are expected to analyse in novel example sentences are available via WebCampus.

Assessment method

Written exam.

Use of AI tools to produce texts or content in either the formative or summative assessment phases will not be tolerated, unless explicitly stated.


Sources, references and any support material


Davidse, Kristin, Liesbet Heyvaerts and Lieven Vandelanotte. Introduction to English grammar. University of Leuven/University of Namur. (New edition for the Namur programme)


Vandelanotte, Lieven. Slides syllabus (phonetics, phonology and morphology course & grammar slides). University of Namur.

Language of instruction

English