SEL2241 : Philosophy of Linguistics
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Available for Study Abroad and Exchange students, subject to proof of pre-requisite knowledge.
- Module Leader(s): Dr Geoffrey Poole
- Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
To familiarize students with key issues in the philosophy of science, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language as they apply to theorizing about language in the 20th and 21st centuries.
To introduce students to past and present controversies in the study of language and mind and how various foundational/philosophical questions apply to them
Outline Of Syllabus
The first part of the module (prior to the Easter break) considers two fundamental and interrelated philosophical questions about language: (1) What is it, really? and (2) How do we (or should we) study it? It examines a number of different approaches, particularly as they were developed during the course of the 20th century: language as a physical object, language as behavior, language as a property of communities, and language as a property of mind.
The post-Easter weeks will apply the pre-Easter foundational/philosophical discussion to various past and present controversies in language and linguistics (e.g., linguistic determinism (aka the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis), whether generative AI systems actually do (or even could) 'have language' (or 'be intelligent'), and linguistic issues connected to class, gender, and disability).
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 19:00 | 19:00 | Preparation for Essay no. 2 |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 50:00 | 50:00 | Preparation for Essay no. 1 |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 22 | 1:00 | 22:00 | N/A |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 1 | 98:00 | 98:00 | Weekly reading for lectures and seminars, seminar preparation |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures introduce students to the knowledge and skill outcomes by providing contextual information and demonstrating close reading of scientific/philosophical texts. Seminars consolidate the skill outcomes through conceptual questions distributed for discussion. Private study is an important part of the programme, requiring both directed reading of the material in advance of lectures and as a follow-up to them, and also independently for planning and completing the two summative pieces of work.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2 | M | 75 | 2500-word essay |
| Essay | 2 | A | 25 | 1000-word blog entry |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2 | M | 500-word formative essay |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The formative essay provides the students with a sense of their progress in preparation for the first summative assignment. This is particularly important given the 'flipped' nature of the assessments, in which the higher value one comes earlier.
Summative Essay no. 1 tests the knowledge and skill outcomes in the context of the pre-Easter portion of the module, specifically centered around the issues in the philosophy of science, mind and language.
Summative Essay no. 2 provides a counterpoint to Essay no. 1 by testing these outcomes in the context of the historical and current controversies in language and linguistics (which are covered during the post-Easter portion of the module). The task itself also provides a counterpoint, being focused on engagement with and presentation of the issues in a rigorous, but less formally academic context.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SEL2241's Timetable