A Comprehensive Introduction to Malayalam Grammar TRS1028

  • Academic Session: 2023-24
  • School: School of Critical Studies
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 1 (SCQF level 7)
  • Typically Offered: Summer
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes

Short Description

The Malayalam language summer school offers an intensive and advanced introduction to Malayalam language designed for research purposes. The course targets dedicated undergraduate students and graduate students as well as researchers and scholars specializing in South Asian languages and history, anthropology, linguistics, and religious studies. By the end of the course, students and researchers will be equipped with a thorough albeit basic knowledge of Malayalam grammar to further pursue their research concerns. The study is based on a grammar text book with drills, examples from Malayalam literature and speech samples collected during years-long of fieldwork in Kerala.

Timetable

10 x 70-minute lectures and 5 x 70-minute tutorials per week over 3 weeks as scheduled in MyCampus.

Requirements of Entry

None

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Set exercise A (750 words) - 25%

Set exercise B (750 words) - 25%

Exam (90 minutes) - 50%

Main Assessment In: August

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? No

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

 

Reassessment opportunities are not available for set exercises A or B or for the exam, due to time-bound nature of the international summer school.

Course Aims

This course aims to:

1. develop proficiency in reading and writing the Malayalam script (including the pre-reform Old Script)

2. provide in-depth knowledge of the verbal and nominal categories in Malayalam

3. contextualise Malayalam grammar in linguistics, ethnology, textual studies, and South Asian Studies

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. identify verbal forms (aspects, light verbs, conditionals)

2. identify nominal forms (pronouns, inflected nouns, particles, compound postpositions)

3. analyse the grammatical structure of Malayalam sentences and paragraphs

4. translate a short story from Malayalam into English

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.