The Sociolinguistics of English

LELA70232 The Sociolinguistics of English 15 Semester 2 Postgraduate Taught Level 4 Maciej Baranowski Unit coordinator Linguistics & English Language 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5 The course introduces students to the quantitative study of linguistic variation and change, also known as variationist sociolinguistics. The focus is on variation and changes currently occurring in English. A number of classic studies in the field are reviewed, and quantitative methods are used to account for the role of linguistic and extra-linguistic factors, such as socio-economic status, gender, age, ethnicity, and region. The course includes data collection by students, multivariate statistical analysis, and provides a foundation for postgraduate work in variationist sociolinguistics and urban dialectology. The course introduces students to the quantitative study of linguistic variation and change, also known as variationist sociolinguistics. The focus is on variation and changes currently occurring in English. A number of classic studies in the field are reviewed, and quantitative methods are used to account for the role of linguistic and extra-linguistic factors, such as socio-economic status, gender, age, ethnicity, and region. The course includes data collection by students, multivariate statistical analysis, and provides a foundation for postgraduate work in variationist sociolinguistics and urban dialectology. <ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">To introduce sociolinguistics as the study of language variation and change </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">To introduce the main linguistic and extra-linguistic correlates of variation </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">To introduce key issues in linguistic data collection and analysis </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">To explore social variation and changes currently in progress in English </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">To prepare students for independent research in sociolinguistics  </li></ul> <ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">An understanding of sociolinguistics as the scientific study of language variation and change  </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">An understanding of both internal (linguistic) and extra-linguistics factors governing variation, such as gender, age, social class, ethnicity, and region </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">An understanding of the use and interpretation of quantitative methods of data analysis </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">An understanding of the changes occurring in present-day dialects of English </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">The course provides a foundation for students’ independent research in sociolinguistics at postgraduate level</li></ul> The successful completion of this unit will enable students to develop: <ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Analytical skills </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">The ability to empirically test abstract ideas in sociolinguistics; </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Argumentation and presentation skills, both orally and in written form; </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Problem-posing and problem-solving skills; </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">The ability to obtain additional information about relevant topics; </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Critical awareness; </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Creativity and originality of thinking</li></ul> <ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Ability to collect and code sociolinguistic data </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Ability to analyse sociolinguistic data using quantitative methods, including multiple logistic regression </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Preparing and delivering presentations</li></ul> <ul> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Microsoft Excel skills </li> <li style="margin-bottom: 11px;">Multivariate statistics</li></ul> Students gain skills in quantitative data analysis, starting with MS Excel, including making charts, and progressing to multivariate statistical analysis. Stable sociolinguistic variation Language and socioeconomic status Linguistic change in progress The role of gender in language variation and change Ethnicity in language variation and change Dialect contact and dialect levelling Transmission of linguistic variation Statistics Sociolinguistic field methods Data collection practice Data analysis practice  Online statistics quizzes 0 Other 100% <figure class="table"><table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td style="border:1px solid black;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">Assessment Task</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top:1px solid black;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">Formative or Summative</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top:1px solid black;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">Weighting</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:1px solid black;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">Exam</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">Summative</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">80%</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:1px solid black;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">Weekly Blackboard Quizzes</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">Summative</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:200px;">20%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>  <table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse:collapse; border:none"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:301px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Feedback Method</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:301px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Formative or Summative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:301px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Individual scores for exam questions</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:301px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Summative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:301px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Individual scores and answers to quizzes</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:301px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Summative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:301px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Oral comments in seminars</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:301px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Formative</td> </tr> </tbody></table>  Introductory course in phonetics N Labov, William. 1972. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press;              Labov, William. 2001. Principles of Linguistic Change Volume 2: Social Factors. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.              Tagliamonte, S. 2012. Variationist Sociolinguistics: Change, Observation, Interpretation. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Seminars 22 0 128