Module manager: Diane Nelson
Email: d.c.nelson@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
Students are required to have completed one of the following modules, or equivalent: - MODL1060 Language: Structure and Sound Students who have not completed MODL1060 Language: Structure and Sound should be prepared to do some additional reading to familiarise themselves with linguistic concepts built on in this module. Chapters 1 to 6 of Genetti’s How languages work: An introduction to language and linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2014) are a good starting point.
| LING2360 | The Life Cycle of Languages |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module presents a Natural History of Language. Taking a wide-ranging interdisciplinary approach, we start by tracing the story of language from its evolutionary origins in our earliest ancestors, looking at theories about why and how complex language developed in our species. Next we approach linguistic diversity, how languages change and diverge into families over time and how speakers of languages interact with their environment. We take a historical view to understand why so many languages are disappearing, focusing on the role of colonialism in the decline of up to 90% of the world’s languages. Finally, we listen to voices from Indigenous and minoritised speakers to understand how languages and cultures can be reclaimed and revitalised. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
Through lectures, interactive practicals and online materials, this module aims to:
(1) Develop critical awareness of the ways in which theories and models from ecology and biology can be extended to language evolution and linguistic diversity;
(2) Investigate the complex biocultural relationships between speakers of languages, geography, environment and population genetics;
(3) Take a decolonial approach to trace the social, historical and political factors that lead to the endangerment and death of languages and the ways they can be reclaimed;
(4) Guide students to develop an interdisciplinary approach to research and the ability to translate discipline-specific information to a wider audienc
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
(1) Critically appraise key issues in the study of language origins, linguistic diversity and language endangerment and reclamation, drawing on evidence from relevant disciplines.
(2) Apply key terminology and concepts used in the study of language origins, diversity, endangerment and reclamation
(3) Collate and analyse linguistic data along with minoritised sociolinguistic perspectives to construct a profile of a threatened language
(4) Critically evaluate competing theoretical perspectives.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
(5) Communicate complex ideas to a non-specialist audience.
(6) Demonstrate digital skills.
In lectures and in-class practicals, this module takes an interdisciplinary approach to address questions such as the following:
(1) How, when and why did humans evolve the capacity for language?
(2) How did languages spread and diversify throughout the world into the language groups we know today?
(3) Is it appropriate to apply Darwin's theory of natural selection to languages? What other theories of evolution may explain its emergence?
(4) What are the parallels between linguistic diversity and biodiversity?
(5) What are the factors which are currently causing the premature death of nearly half of the world's languages? What is the scale of the problem, and what is lost when a language dies?
(6) How do indigenous and socially marginalised communities view their language as part of intangible cultural heritage, and how can linguists support their revitalisation initiatives?
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 17 | 1 | 17 |
| Practical | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Lectures are interactive and encourage discussion. The three seminars take the form of interactive group work and students will receive feedback in class from peers and the module leader. Students receive individual support and feedback from the module leader as they prepare for their two assessments: first in selecting a theoretical debate for the blog, and second in selecting a threatened language for the second coursework project.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Blog | 50 |
| Coursework | Project | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 02/05/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team