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 | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Modern Languages |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Sociolinguistics is the study of language in its social context; it is primarily concerned with analysing how and why speakers mark their personal history and identity in their speech. The study of language variation and change, a sub-discipline of sociolinguistics, examines the ways in which internal linguistic factors and external social factors influence language use and language evolution. In this unit, students will be introduced to key concepts in sociolinguistics, before analysing the treatment of social meaning in sociolinguistics over time by investigating language use in relation to macro-sociological categories (age, sex, social class), ethnographic methods, and the construction of social meaning through language. Additionally, students will examine the spread of linguistic changes over time and over geographical space, as well as exploring the relationship between language use and more recently studied social variables such as sexuality and ethnicity.
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
1 × 1-hour lecture and 1 × 1-hour seminar per week
2-hour written exam (50%) testing ILO’s 1-6; 3000-word essay (50%)testing ILO;’s 1-6
Texts may be revised depending on the specific foci of attention in a given academic year