Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH The Romance languages: structure, variation and change
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Modern Languages
Module Code	09 34943
Module Lead	Norma Schifano
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-20 hours Seminar-10 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	The Romance Languages is an introductorya module about the linguistic history of one the most widely studied and researched language families in modern linguistics, i.e. the Romance languages. Born from the linguistic fragmentation of their ancestor, Latin, they went through a long period of obscurity and diversification, to emerge as a new language family, spoken extensively in Europe and well beyond. During this module, students will learn the evolution of sounds, structures and vocabulary of a wide array of (non-)standard Romance varieties, shedding new light on some of the most salient features of present-day Romance. Issues like the selection of different auxiliary verbs (e.g. why je suis parti but j’ai mangé in French?), irregularities in verbal paradigms (e.g. why (io) vado but (noi) andiamo in Italian?) or apparent Romance-internal idiosyncrasies (e.g. why je suis in French but sou in Portuguese?), will be explained from a historical perspective, allowing students to identify and appreciate their rationale. Lectures will be complemented by task-based seminars devoted to the analysis of a wide selection of early written attestations of Romance. Using a rigorous scientific approach to the study of language variation and change, The Romance languages will also equip students with a new set of analytic skills which can be fruitfully applied well beyond the study of language change.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Critically discuss major linguistic changes which took place in the passage from Latin to Romance in relation to sounds, structures and vocabulary and identify specific examples in early written sources; demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the fundamental linguistic properties of the Romance family, showing some acquaintance also with lesser-know varieties; identify and analyse links between corresponding properties attested across different Romance varieties (e.g. the selection of auxiliaries in French and Italian vs Spanish); apply a scientific approach to the study of language change and variation, where claims are successfully supported by relevant empirical evidence.
Assessment	34943-01 : 2,000 word comparative commentary : Coursework (50%) 34943-02 : Digital project : Coursework (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 50% Comparative linguistic commentary of early written texts (2,000 words, English); 50% Digital project (research poster + oral presentation, 10 minutes) (2,000 words equivalent, English). Reassessment: No resits are permitted in final year. If students miss the assessed task owing to extenuating circumstances, the failed task would be rescheduled at a later date.
Other
Reading List