Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Description

Course Description:

This course introduces students to sociolinguistics, the study of the relationship between language and society. Topics covered include language variation, multilingualism, language and gender, dialectology, language attitudes, and the politics of language. Through readings, discussions, and case studies, students will explore how language shapes and is shaped by social, cultural, and political contexts.

Course Objectives:

• Understand key sociolinguistic concepts and terminology.
• Explore the social functions of language and its role in shaping identity.
• Examine language variation and the factors that influence it.
• Analyze how language interacts with gender, class, ethnicity, and power.
• Investigate multilingualism and language policies in different sociopolitical contexts.

Weekly Outline:

Week 1: Introduction to Sociolinguistics

• Overview of sociolinguistics and its scope.
• The relationship between language and society.
• Key concepts: speech communities, language variation, and social context.
• Practice: Identifying sociolinguistic features in everyday speech.

Week 2: Language Variation – Dialects, Sociolects, and Registers

• Defining dialects, sociolects, and registers.
• Regional dialectology and social factors in language variation.
• Register and style-shifting: how context affects language use.
• Case study: Analyzing regional dialects in a specific language.

Week 3: Language, Identity, and Power

• The role of language in constructing and expressing social identity.
• Language and group membership (ethnicity, nationality, religion).
• Power, prestige, and linguistic hierarchies.
• Discussion: How do different social groups use language to assert identity and power?

Week 4: Language and Gender

• The relationship between language and gender.
• Gendered speech patterns: differences in male and female speech.
• Theories of language and gender (deficit, dominance, difference, dynamic models).
• Case study: Analyzing gender differences in communication in media or conversation.

Week 5: Language and Social Class

• Sociolinguistic stratification: Language and class.
• Language prestige and stigmatization based on class.
• William Labov’s studies on class and language variation.
• Practice: Examining how social class influences speech in different contexts.

Week 6: Language Contact and Multilingualism

• Language contact and its outcomes: pidgins, creoles, code-switching, and borrowing.
• Types of multilingualism: societal vs. individual.
• The role of bilingualism and diglossia in societies.
• Discussion: The social and political implications of multilingualism in various countries.

Week 7: Code-Switching and Code-Mixing

• Defining code-switching and code-mixing.
• Social and linguistic motivations for code-switching.
• Case studies: Analyzing code-switching in multilingual communities.
• Practice: Identifying instances of code-switching in natural conversations.

Week 8: Language Attitudes and Ideologies

• Language attitudes: How people perceive different dialects and languages.
• Language ideologies: Beliefs about language and their social implications.
• The relationship between language attitudes, discrimination, and power dynamics.
• Case study: Investigating language attitudes in media or public discourse.

Week 9: Language and Ethnicity

• The connection between language and ethnic identity.
• Ethnolinguistic vitality and the role of language in preserving ethnic heritage.
• Language and racism: The role of language in reinforcing ethnic divisions.
• Case study: Exploring how language reflects and shapes ethnic identity in a multicultural society.

Week 10: Language Policy and Planning

• What is language policy and planning?
• Language standardization, status planning, and corpus planning.
• The politics of language planning: Nationalism, colonialism, and language revitalization.
• Case studies: Language policy in post-colonial or multilingual countries (e.g., South Africa, Canada, India).

Week 11: Language and Media

• Language use in mass media: Representation of different dialects and sociolects.
• Media’s role in shaping and reinforcing language ideologies.
• Linguistic features of different media genres: News, social media, film.
• Discussion: How media shapes public perceptions of language varieties.

Week 12: Globalization and World Englishes

• The spread of English as a global language.
• Varieties of English: World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca.
• The impact of globalization on local languages: language shift, endangerment, and revitalization.
• Final discussion: The future of sociolinguistics in a globalized world.

Assessment Methods:

• Weekly Quizzes: Test understanding of key concepts from readings and lectures.
• Midterm Assignment: Analysis of a sociolinguistic feature (e.g., dialect, code-switching, language policy) in a specific community or media source.
• Participation in Class Discussions: Engage with sociolinguistic issues through discussion of case studies and reading materials.
• Final Project/Presentation: A sociolinguistic research project on a topic of the student’s choice, analyzing language in a social context.

Recommended Readings:

1. Wardhaugh, Ronald, & Fuller, Janet M. (2015). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (7th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
2. Holmes, Janet (2013). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (4th ed.). Routledge.
3. Meyerhoff, Miriam (2019). Introducing Sociolinguistics (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Final Project:

Students will choose a sociolinguistic phenomenon (e.g., code-switching, language policy, language attitudes) and analyze it in a real-world context, using sociolinguistic methods such as interviews, recordings, or media analysis. The project will culminate in a written report and a presentation.

This 12-week course offers a broad but structured introduction to sociolinguistics, covering key topics like language variation, identity, power, and multilingualism, while providing practical and analytical skills through case studies and discussions.