Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Phraseology
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	Eng Lang and Linguistics
Module Code	09 29572
Module Lead	Dr Nicholas Groom
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	Traditional linguistic theory divides languages into two basic components: words, which make meanings, and grammatical rules, which determine how words can combine. But while general grammatical rules can explain why, say, ’she drove a powerful car’ is correct and ’car powerful a drove she’ is not, there are no such rules explaining why native speakers of English will accept ’She drove a powerful car’ but not ’She drove a strong car’, or why they will accept ‘She prefers strong coffee’ but not ’She prefers powerful coffee’. How, then, can such word combination preferences and dispreferences be explained? The aim of this module is to provide students with an in-depth introduction to phraseology, the branch of linguistics that attempts to answer this question. The first half of the module considers phraseology from a psychological perspective, asking how word combinations are stored in, and accessed from, the mind. The second half of the module focuses on more socially-oriented views of phraseology, which see word combinations as preferred ways of speaking or writing in particular social or institutional settings. Students will critically assess these different views of phraseology and consider whether and to what extent they provide an alternative to the traditional ‘words and rules’ model of language.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Identify phraseological features in a range of different text types using a variety of different theoretical and methodological frameworks. Describe and critically evaluate the main theoretical and methodological frameworks that have been proposed in recent phraseological research. Explain (with reference to relevant theoretical and empirical research literature) why phraseology should be seen as a central and not a peripheral feature of natural language, and why traditional approaches to linguistic description fail to account satisfactorily for phraseological phenomena. Explain the strengths and limitations of psychological and sociological perspectives on phraseology as a linguistic phenomenon.
Assessment	29572-01 : Essay 1 : Coursework (50%) 29572-02 : Essay 2 : Coursework (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1 x 1500 word essay (40%); 1 x 2000 word essay (60%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List