Universität Wien
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122252 AR MA+MEd Advanced Course in Linguistics - Focus: FCL (2022W)

English Idioms

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 13.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 20.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 27.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 03.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 10.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 17.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 24.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 01.12. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 15.12. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 12.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 19.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Thursday 26.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Course content:

Idioms form an essential part of the English language. Typically defined as constructions that are semantically non-transparent and non-compositional (i.e. the meaning of the idiom as a whole cannot be predicted on the basis of the meaning of the component parts), they are often regarded as fixed multi-word expressions that simply need to be learned. Closer examination, however, shows that there is huge amount of variation within the class of idioms, in terms of degree of transparency, compositionality, conventionality, collocability and (morpho)syntactic flexibility. In order to come to a better understanding of the use, internal structure and formal behaviour of English idioms, this course will address such questions as how they can be defined and classified, how they can be analysed (semantically and syntactically), how they are used (creatively), and how they are processed and acquired.

Course aims:

By focusing on a single, but very versatile, type of construction, students will learn:
- to recognize the complexity of the linguistic system as manifested in English idioms
- to approach what looks like a straightforward, unitary phenomenon from different angles (metaphoricity & creativity; structure & flexibility; processing & acquisition)
- to decide which research questions and methodology are appropriate in studying the different aspects of idioms
- to understand how these different aspects are interconnected and mutually dependent
- to tackle some of the issues involved individually and in small groups.

Assessment and permitted materials

Students are assessed on the basis of a take-home assignment, a a project proposal, a presentation and a seminar paper. The project proposal, presentation and seminar paper are based on a small-scale research project that students will work on in groups.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Course requirements
1. Regular attendance, active participation
2. Take-home assignment (individual) (20%)
3. Research proposal (group) (10%)
4. Presentation (groups) (20%)
5. Final report (groups; 7,000 words) (50%)

Students need an average of 60 pts (out of 100) to pass; the final paper needs to be a pass (60 pts)

Grading scale:
90-100 pts: 1
80-89 pts: 2
70-79 pts: 3
60-69 pts: 4
0-59 pts: 5

Examination topics

Readings, take-home assignment, project proposal, oral presentation, final report.

Reading list

Required reading:
Boers, Frank, Murielle Demecheler & June Eyckmans. 2004. Etymological elaboration as a strategy for learning idioms. In Paul Bogaarts & Batia Laufer (eds), Vocabulary in a second language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 54-78.
Cieślicka, Anna. 2010. Formulaic language in L2. Storage, retrieval and production of idioms by second language learners. In Martin Pütz & Laura Sicola (eds), Cognitive processing in second language acquisition. 149-168.
Gibbs, Raymond W. & Herbert L. Colston. 2012. Interpreting figurative meaning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 4.
Granger, Sylviane & Magali Paquot. 2008. Disentangling the phraseological web. In Sylviane Granger & Fanny Meunier (eds), Phraseology. An interdisciplinary perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 27-49.
Irujo, Suzanne. 1986. Don’t put your leg in your mouth. Transfer in the acquisition of idioms in a second language. TESOL Quarterly 20 (2):287-304.
Langlotz, Andreas. 2006. Idiomatic Creativity: A cognitive-linguistic model of idiom-representation and idiom-variation in English. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Chapter 6.
Libben, Maya R. and Debra A. Titone. 2008. The multidetermined nature of idiom processing. Memory & Cognition 36 (6): 1103-1121.
Moon, Rosamund. 1998. Fixed expressions and idioms in English: a corpus-based approach. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Chapters 1, 2 & 7.
Nunberg, Geoffrey, Ivan A. Sag & Thomas Wasow. 1994. Idioms. Language 70(3): 491-538.
Vega Moreno, Rosa E. 2007. Creativity and convention: the pragmatics of everyday figurative speech. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Chapter 6.

Association in the course directory

Studium: MA 812 [2]; UF MA 046/507
Code/Modul: MA M04, MA M05, UF MA 4B
Lehrinhalt: 12-0260

Last modified: Fr 02.09.2022 09:28