APG5046 English grammar, pedagogy and use

Language is infinitely creative, yet governed by a set of rules that speakers learn consciously and subconsciously. In this unit we focus on making our implicit knowledge about English more explicit. We do this through the two-pronged approach of introducing terminology and notation systems for talking about language structures, and applying this knowledge to real-world language issues (especially the teaching and learning of English). Through a focus on morpho-syntax ('grammar') you will gain deeper insights into the workings of English, while also investigating data from a range of other languages for the purposes of comparison. You also reflect on how utterances are given meaning (semantics and pragmatics) and the importance of contextual factors in determining whether an utterance is grammatically correct or appropriate.