This is a new course that aims to give students the chance to build their skills in linguistic analysis and their understanding of the range of linguistic diversity, by means of sustained engagement with a range of material in the target language. Students should expect a very significant independent study component.
This course is not intended as a ‘language learning’ course aiming to build practical competence in the language. Early on in the course, students will be provided with grammatical information and pointers to resources that will allow them to begin analysing extracts of texts and/or other materials in the target language. Students will be expected to have prepared for the teaching sessions by analysing extracts provided beforehand: in class, we will focus on going over the analysis and discussion of relevant theoretical concepts, as well as any appropriate sociohistorical background to the material. Structure of a Language is a course in the linguistics of the target language: you will use your analysis skills in concert with appropriate readings to gain a knowledge of the language’s structure and of other relevant information.
For 2022⁄2023, the target language is Ukrainian. More information will appear in due course.
