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for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Sociolinguistics: Language Variation and Change |
| Unit code |
MODL30015 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
H/6
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. James Hawkey |
| Open unit status |
Open |
| Pre-requisites |
None
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Arts |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit aims to provide a solid grounding in the discipline of sociolinguistics, which examines how language is used in (and can be reflective of) society. Within this unit, specific attention will be paid to topics including (but not limited to):
- Language policy: How governments and other organisations employ, manage and manipulate the different languages used in the speech controls under their jurisdiction.
- Language contact and multilingualism: The different situations which arise from situations where more than one language is used in a given community.
- Language change: How speech situations can result in processes of diachronic language change, as well as cases of language obsolescence and eventual language death.
- Language attitudes: How speakers feel about the different languages with which they are familiar, and the underlying issues and questions this reveals.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, students will have;
- Demonstrated familiarity with the discipline of sociolinguistics,
- Acquired theoretical tools new to students, which will allow for the in-depth study of language variation and change.
- Developed greater knowledge of one or more speech communities where their target language of study is spoken.
- Learned to apply their new theoretical knowledge to different linguistic situations, and will have carried out independent, original, critical analyses.
- Become skilled in the selection and synthesis of relevant material.
- Evaluated and analysed material from a significant body of source materials appropriate to level H.
Teaching Information
1 × 1-hour lecture and 1 × 1-hour seminar per week
Assessment Information
3-hour written exam (50%) testing ILO’s 1-6; 3000-word essay (50%)testing ILO;’s 1-6
Reading and References
Texts may be revised depending on the specific foci of attention in a given academic year:
- Chambers, J.K. and Schilling, N. (2013) The Handbook of Language Variation and Change. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
- Spolsky, B. (2004) Language policy. Cambridge: CUP.
Thomason, S.G. (2001) Language contact: An introduction. Edinburgh: EUP.
