Course aims:

• Explaining the role of the English language in the context of globalization
• Detailed linguistic analysis of a text of increased complexity, different from standard contemporary language
• Explaining in a multidisciplinary context some culturally complex phenomena

Course Entry Requirements:

- There is no compulsory work placement in the course unit.

Course contents:

 

1. Introductory Course 2. English As a World Language  3. What is a Global Language? 4. Why English? The Historical Context and the Cultural Legacy 5. Language and Culture  6. The linguistic character of new Englishes  7. The future of English as a world language  8. Revision and conclusions

Teaching methods:

-Interactive learning.

Learning outcomes:

• Description of the phonetic, lexical and grammatical system of the English language in its diachronic evolution and its synchronic varieties; Description of linguistic concepts and theories with a high degree of complexity, including those of language history and dialectology;
Explaining some linguistic phenomena by relating dialectal texts and texts from different stages of language evolution to standard contemporary English; 

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

Written paper 40%; interpretative essay – 20%; lab – 40%.

Recommended reading:

Battistella, Edwin L., Bad language: Are some words better than others?, Oxford: Oxford University Press, -, 2005, -.
Crystal, David, English as a Global Language, Cambridge University Press., -, 2003, -.
Galloway, Nicola, Introducing Global Englishes, New York: Routledge., -, 2015, -.