An358 22

Course unit title: History of the English language Number of ECTS Course unit code:
and varieties of American English credits allocated: 5 NAN 358

LAN 358
Type of course unit (compulsory, optional): compulsory
Level of course unit (according to EQF): 6
Year of study when the course unit is delivered (if applicable): 3rd
Semester/trimester when the course unit is delivered: 5th semester
Name of lecturer(s): Szitó, Judit PhD
Learning outcomes of the course unit
• Knowledge: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6
• Skills: 2/1, 2/2, 2/3, 2/5, 2/8, 2/14, 2/15
• Attitudes: 3/2, 3/5, 3/10
• Autonomy and responsibility: 4/3, 4/4, 4/5
Mode of delivery (face-to-face, distance learning): face-to-face
Prerequisites and co-requisites (if applicable): none
Course content:
The course familiarizes students with the origins of English and follows the spread of English around
the globe. It introduces several Old and Middle English texts and provides opportunities to discover
some rules and descriptive features of earlier versions of English. In addition, the course outlines
differences between British and American English, and discusses several American varieties. It also
considers some substandard varieties of American English (major dialects, some pidgins and creoles,
including non-English based native American creoles). also touching upon World Englishes and English
as a Lingua Franca (ELF).
The course generally raises awareness of phonetic, phonological, morpho-syntactic and lexical
differences between varieties of English, thus aids students in understanding the inherent variability of
languages and adopting a descriptive, rather than prescriptive, attitude towards linguistic variation,
including accents, dialects, social and ethnic varieties.
Required reading:
• Balogné Bérces Katalin 2008. Beginner`s English Dialectology: An Introduction to the Accents
and Dialects of English. Ad Librum, Budapest.
• Culpeper, J. (2006) History of English. London / New York
• Kövecses Z. (2000). American English. An Introduction. (Peterborough, ON, Canada:
Broadview Press)
• Baugh, C.A., Cable, T. (2012). A History of the English Language (Routledge, 6th ed.)
• Szitó, J. 2006. Language IDs: Sociolinguistics. In: Richter, B. (szerk). First Steps in Theoretical
and Applied Linguistics. Budapest, Bölcsész Konzorcium: 97-110.
Recommended reading:
• Hiraga, Yuko. (2005). British attitudes towards six varieties of English in the USA and Britain.
World Englishes. Vol. 24, No. 3: 289–308.
• Jenkins, Jennifer. (2009). ‘(Un)pleasant? (In)correct? (Un)intelligible?’ ELF speakers'
perceptions of their accents. In Mauranen, Anna and Ranta, Elina (eds.) English as a Lingua
Franca: Studies and Findings. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars
Publishing. 10–36.
• Kretzschmar, William A., Jr. (2004). Standard American English pronunciation. In Schneider,
Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.). A
Handbook of Varieties of English. Volume 1: Phonology. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter: 257–269.
• Szitó, Judit (2020) “American vs. English”: US American and British English speakers’
attitudes toward phonological and lexical features in accent tag videos. Freeside Europe Online
Academic Journal, 11. DOI 10.51313/Freeside-2020-2-9.
• Szitó, J. & Albert, V. (in preparation) The Apple Pie Recipe: An historical and global Englishes
perspective.
 Online resources by the American Dialect Society
Planned learning activities and teaching methods:

Lectures will be accompanied by worksheets and presentations. Active learning, Awareness raising,
Autonomous learning, Task-based learning. Pair work, Group work. Text analysis, Presentation. Self-
and peer assessment.
Individual assignments: students are expected to follow up classes by completing assignments and
tasks at home. They will also read article texts independently and provide summaries and interpretations
in written or oral form.
Required average students’ working hours (number of credits multiplied by 30):

5x30= 150 working hours
Expected hours of home study: 120 working hours
Language of instruction: English
Assessment methods and criteria:

1-5 (Fail – Excellent), based on the following:
• professional content
• use of English
• professional terminology
Course requirements:
• attendance and active participation; no more than three absences (provided the student comes to
the following class prepared);
• successful writing of two tests;
• summary of an academic article: oral presentation or essay.

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Course unit title: History of the English language Number of ECTS Course unit code:

and varieties of American English credits allocated: 5 NAN 358

Prerequisites and co-requisites (if applicable): none

Planned learning activities and teaching methods:

Required average students’ working hours (number of credits multiplied by 30):

Expected hours of home study: 120 working hours

Language of instruction: English

Assessment methods and criteria:

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