Department of French
M.Phil. in Linguistics (French)
For students interested in studying French linguistics at Masters level, the Faculty offers an M.Phil in Linguistics (French). This combines a range of taught courses with a substantial element of independent research and personalised supervision that can in practice be tailored to meet the particular interests and needs of individual students. The French pathway within the MPhil in Linguistics is therefore ideally suited for students wishing to gain a broad grounding in French linguistics and/or an in-depth introduction to specific areas of interest, as well as offering the possibility to combine the study of French linguistics with that of other Romance languages (for details see the Italian or Spanish departmental web pages). The course begins in October, and ends with the examination of a thesis in the following June. Many students then proceed to do research for the PhD degree, for which a Master's qualification is increasingly a pre-requisite.
Course Structure
At the beginning of the course in October, students are interviewed by the Director of the M.Phil and a specialist in French linguistics with whom they agree a study plan for the Michaelmas (October to December) and Lent (January to March) Terms that best suits their individual needs, interests and previous experience. The M.Phil. programme is structured progressively, with a change in balance through the year so that in the first two months there is intensive instruction through lectures and supervisions, and by the last three months students carry out independent research full-time.
In Michaelmas Term, students must attend the Research Methods and Linguistic Theory courses. In addition, students will receive supervision relating to their essays. Supervision will be in the form of one-to-one sessions or supervision seminars.
Additionally, in the first four weeks of term, students will attend a minimum of four introductory courses (which may sometimes be in the form of 'directed reading') in areas they have not previously studied in detail so as to broaden their knowledge of linguistics. Work in the Michaelmas Term is assessed by two essays of 2000 words and one of 4000 words. Students will be expected to work largely independently on writing the essays.
In Michaelmas Term there will normally be teaching in the following areas of French linguistics (the format of the teaching as either lectures or direct reading will depend on the number of students taking each course):
- History of the French language
Through supervisions and directed reading, students will engage in detailed study of the evolution of French from Latin. Aspects of the phonetics, syntax, morphology and lexis of French will be studied diachronically and students will be introduced to different theories that have been put forward to account for these developments. This will be complemented by the study of a number of texts from different periods of the history of the French language, which will enable students to 'stop the clock' and encounter the French language at different points in its history, thereby providing the opportunity for them to gather original data with which to test the theory they are studying. - French Dialectology
Supervision in this area aims to introduce students to the wealth of linguistic variation found within France. In addition to studying the linguistic geography of the French territory, students may also explore in detail the most salient phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical characteristics of the dialects. There is also the possibility for students with clearly defined interests to study a particular dialect or the linguistic situation of a specific region. - French Sociolinguistics
Students following supervision in this area will examine the relationship between language and society by examining language variation and change in relation to factors such as age, gender and social class and will also explore the ways in which contemporary French sociolinguistics is breaking away from the Labovian tradition. They will also be introduced to different qualitative and quantitative techniques of data collection. - History of Linguistic Thought in France
France is noteworthy for its long tradition of grammarians, lexicographers and purists who, via their pronouncements and writings on French, have helped shaped the language. Supervision in this area will aim to introduce students to the most influential of these figures but also offers the possibility of specialising on a particular period or grammarian. - Language Contact in France and the French-Speaking World
Through a series of seminars students will explore the linguistic change that has occurred as a consequence of contact between French and other languages. Areas of study include pidginisation and creolisation, language death, convergence and levelling. - French Syntax
Supervision in this area will aim to familiarise students with a number of phenomena that have been widely explored in relation to the syntax of French (e.g. negation, question formation, inversion, the position of adjectives, pronouns reference). Students will be introduced to a range of theoretical approaches. - French Phonetics and Phonology
Supervision in this area will aim to provide a detailed introduction to the sound system of French and associated prosodic features. It provides the opportunity for students to focus on phenomena characteristic of French such as schwa deletion, nasalisation, liaison, high vowel/glide alternations etc. Students will be introduced to a range of theoretical approaches.
In Lent Term, students are expected to follow two advanced courses, which will either take the form of seminars or 'directed reading'. The two courses a student selects will normally be relevant to the 20,000 word thesis, the preparation for which will be the main focus of their work from the start of Lent Term onwards. All students studying for the M.Phil. in Linguistics (French) obligatorily take the advanced course 'Topics in Romance Linguistics' and one other from the list below:
- Formal syntax
- Formal phonology
- Pragmatics
- Experimental phonetics
- Historical linguistics
- Topics in Celtic Linguistics
- Topics in Germanic Linguistics
- Topics in Slavonic Linguistics
In addition students will give an oral presentation on the topic of the second seminar at the end of Lent Term. The presentation will aim at the general audience rather than subject specialists. The presentation will be assessed on the content by the subject specialist and on presentation by two other members of the Faculty.
Assessment
Progress in the M.Phil. in Linguistics (French) is assessed in Michaelmas Term by two essays of 2000 words and one of 4000 words, chosen from areas in which students have followed lectures, classes, directed reading and supervisions during the first term. The essays must be in at least two different areas of linguistics, and at least one of the essays must relate to one of the specific French linguistics research areas listed above. The other two essays may, in accordance with the interests of individual students, relate to any of the general linguistics M.Phil. courses offered by the Department of Linguistics or the language-specific M.Phil. linguistics courses offered by the Department of Italian and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Students must submit titles and brief summaries for these three essays by 12.00 pm on the Monday of the fifth week of Michaelmas Full Term. Titles will be subject to approval by the Department and by the Faculty's Degree Committee. Students will receive advice from the relevant subject specialists on the formulation of essay topics, but they will be expected to work largely independently on writing the essays.
In addition to following two advanced courses, students begin work on their thesis during Lent Term. The thesis demands independent study under the guidance of the supervisor and will involve a substantial piece of original research on a subject in French linguistics. This may be in a field other than the three examined in the shorter essays. A proposed title and summary for the 20,000 word thesis, formulated in discussion with the supervisor, must be submitted in mid-February, and this will be subject to approval by the Department and by the Faculty's Degree Committee. A day will be set aside just after the end of Lent Term for M.Phil. students to make a presentation of their research for the thesis. Because seminars finish at the end of Lent term, students can then devote themselves full time to research for the thesis during the Easter vacation and the Easter Term (April to June). The thesis is submitted on the seventh Friday of Easter Full Term, and about two to three weeks later there is an oral examination on the thesis.
Supervision
M.Phil. students start the course under the supervision of an assigned supervisor who will normally be a specialist in French linguistics (depending on their area of interest) and who can be called on for general advice; they typically also consult subject specialists in the Departments of French and Linguistics as appropriate, for instance when writing the three short essays. A subject-specific supervisor is appointed at the latest in week 5 of the Michaelmas Term. The student will be guided by this supervisor throughout the research for the thesis.
Who Should Apply
Applications for the M.Phil. course are welcomed from those who have or expect to obtain a good first degree (at least a high 2.1 or equivalent) in French. Normally students taking the M.Phil. have spent some time studying (French / Romance) linguistics or related subjects at undergraduate level, but this is not a prerequisite for admission to the course. Many students move straight into the M.Phil. after their first degree, but others come to it after a number of years away from formal study.
Students interested in applying for the M.Phil. in Linguistics (French) are encouraged to speak informally to either Professor Wendy Bennett (wmb1001@cam.ac.uk) or Dr Mari Jones (mcj11@hermes.cam.ac.uk) who will be happy to discuss the course and answer any questions (see also http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/app-grad.html). Details of funding can be found on the following University website: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/gsprospectus/funding/index.html.
Further information about the application process can be found at http://www.mml.cam.ac.uk/ling/courses/pgrad/mphil.html#how.
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