Issues in Linguistic Research (LING40002)
HonoursPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
| Availability | Semester 1 |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
This subject takes a broad and historically based view of some of the great topics that have preoccupied thinkers in linguistics, and how they interrelate, by juxtaposing the history of ideas on each of a dozen topics with relevant contemporary debates. Topics to be covered include defining properties of language, sign and system, arbitrariness versus constraints on the system, the role of typology, the role of formal modelling of language systems, linguistic relativity, synchrony versus diachrony, linguistics as a science, the linguistic system and the community of usersm, the boundaries of the language system, functionalism, adaptation and evolution of language systems, categories, classical and otherwise, and language, mind and brain.
Intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of this subject, students should:
- appreciate how the great questions and puzzles of the present are shaped by the historical concerns of the past;
- understand how developments in one field are built on those of another;
- read and understand ideas as formulated by their original discoverers sympathetically, but critically;
- have a broad overview of, and be able to articulate, the great questions in the field of linguistics.
Generic skills
At the completion of this subject, students should:
- have developed their skills in research;
- have developed their skills in critical thinking and analysis.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Class presentation and write up
| During the teaching period | 30% |
Discussant for topics
| During the teaching period | 10% |
Written paper
| End of semester | 60% |
| Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 75% of tutorials in order to pass this subject. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Additional details
Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per working day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Barbara Kelly Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24 hours- 1 x 2 hour seminar per week Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 2 March 2020 to 7 June 2020 Last self-enrol date 13 March 2020 Census date 30 April 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 5 June 2020 Assessment period ends 3 July 2020 Semester 1 contact information
Time commitment details
170 hours
Additional delivery details
If not admitted to Honours, the Graduate Diploma in Arts (Advanced), or the Graduate Certificate in Arts (Advanced) in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, students must contact the subject coordinator prior to enrolling in this subject.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Specialisation (formal) Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Specialisation (formal) Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Specialisation (formal) Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Specialisation (formal) Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Informal specialisation PD-ARTS Linguistics and Applied Linguistics - Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
Subject coordinator approval required
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 31 January 2024