109-111 Russian Linguistics A

Note

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

109-103 Beginners Russian C and 109-104 Beginners Russian D or equivalent. European studies students wishing to enrol in this subject would normally have completed first year European studies, see Prerequisites.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject builds on the knowledge students already have of Russian and introduces them to many of the main linguistic features of the modern language. It stresses both a theoretical knowledge of (Russian) linguistics as well as the practical application of that knowledge for the purposes of improving students' Russian. The following areas are covered: varieties of language register (e.g. colloquial vs 'higher' register, Russian dialects); problems of meaning (e.g. homonyms, paronyms); problems of translating from English to Russian; language and everyday life (e.g. measurements, numbers, names of countries and nationalities); verbal etiquette (e.g. forms of address); and Russian morphology (inflection of nouns, adjectives and verbs).

Assessment

Written work totalling 2000 words, and two 1-hour tests.

Prescribed Texts

• Derek Offord, Using Russian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage. Cambridge University Press, 1996.