MA

The ELAP Masters Degree is oriented towards both language fieldwork and theoretical analysis. Students have a choice of two MA pathways, Language Support and Revitalisation (for students with or without a background in linguistics) or Field Linguistics (for those with a BA or equivalent in Linguistics).

From the academic year 2010-2011 the programme will be structured as follows:

The MA in LDD (Language Support and Revitalisation) is open to fulltime students with or without a background in linguistics. It provides an introductory overview of the study of language, as well as courses geared at enabling students to support endangered and minority language communities in a number of ways.

• Introduction to the study of language
  Term 1 & term 2 (full unit)
• Applied Language Documentation and Description
  Term 1 (half unit)
• Language Support and Revitalisation
  Term 2 (half unit)
• Dissertation in Linguistics
  Term 2 (full unit)
• Option courses
  (2 half units or 1 full unit)

The MA in Language Documentation and Description (Field Linguistics) is open to students with BA in Linguistics and equivalent and provides students with a sound knowledge of state-of-the-art methods and technology for language documentation and description with an emphasis on endangered and minority languages.

• Field methods
  Term 1 and term 2 (full unit)
• Applied Language Documentation and Description
  Term 1 (half unit)
• Descriptive Linguistics
  Term 2 (half unit)
• Dissertation in Linguistics
  Term 2 (full unit)
• Option courses
  (2 half units or 1 full unit)

These courses provide the theory and techniques needed for fieldwork on endangered languages in the pathway in Field Linguistics, and for support for endangered languages in the pathway in Language Support and Revitalisation. A range of optional courses are available in linguistics, applied linguistics, and language studies. For those that have studied linguistics before, the pathway in Field Linguistics provides an opportunity to put linguistic training and insights into use. Fieldwork skills will enable students to take a role in documenting and assisting threatened languages around the world. For those concerned about assisting endangered language communities around the world, the pathway in Language Support and Revitalisation provides the necessary awareness of linguistics, language ecology and language planning and policy making. The entry requirement for the Masters Degree is a 2:1 Bachelors degree (or equivalent) in any discipline. All students take the core courses and submit a Masters dissertation at the end of the year. The MA may be taken part-time, over two or three years.

For detailed course descriptions and a list of the current option courses, pleasee see the Linguistics Department Course Handbook 2011-12