175-428 Seminars in Descriptive Linguistics

Departmental approval is required for enrolment in this subject.

Strict enrolment deadlines apply to subjects taught intensively. Any enrolment in, or withdrawal from, this subject must be made in line with HECS/course fee census dates.

37.5 points of second/third-year linguistics and applied linguistics subjects. In particular years, depending on the nature of the advanced topic, students may be recommended to have completed an introductory subject relevant to this topic.

A program of advanced seminars on topics related to language documentation especially focusing on new technological tools. Students will work with a set of language data and learn how to transcribe a selection of data with time-alignment, inter-linearise them and create a lexicon from the corpus established. Students will work with concordance and regular expression tools. Readings and tutorial discussion will cover some broader issues involved in language documentation.

• communicate intelligibly and economically their understanding of debates within this area;

• understand the social and cultural context of the construction of identities in and through language.

Three practical assignments of 500 words each 40% (due over the course of the intensive) and a data analysis paper of 3500 words 60% (due at the end of the semester).