LING210-14S2 (C) Semester Two 2014

Language Variation Across Space and Time

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 14 July 2014
End Date: Sunday, 16 November 2014
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 27 July 2014
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 12 October 2014

Description

Languages are not fixed; they vary across physical and social space and change over generations. These patterns of variation and change can be understood by studying the linguistic and social factors which affect language use. This course is an introduction to the sociolinguistic study of language variation and change. We examine how language varies both across individuals (e.g. according to a speaker's regional origin, gender, social class, ethnicity and age) and within individuals (e.g. how speakers adjust their language in different contexts depending on the social message they want to convey). Our consideration will include a detailed study of patterns of language change, with attention to changes currently taking place in English and other languages around the world.

Languages are not fixed; they vary across physical and social space and change over generations. These patterns of variation and change can be understood by studying the linguistic and social factors which affect language use. This course is an introduction to the sociolinguistic study of language variation and change. We examine how language varies both across individuals (e.g. according to a speaker's regional origin, gender, social class, ethnicity and age) and within individuals (e.g. how speakers adjust their language in different contexts depending on the social message they want to convey). Our consideration will include a detailed study of patterns of language change, with attention to changes currently taking place in English and other languages around the world.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will:

(1) have developed their knowledge of how the formal structures of language can vary (including sound patterns and grammatical systems)
(2) understand the relationship between language and society, and how e.g. social attitudes can affect language use
(3) understand how different groups of people use language differently
(4) understand the main principles of language change
(5) be able to critically evaluate rival hypotheses concerning language change
(6) be able to conduct bibliographic searches of relevant work in language variation and change,
(7) be able to manage large datasets efficiently, using e.g. Microsoft Excel

Prerequisites

Restrictions

LING203

Course Coordinators

Kevin Watson and Lynn Clark

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Coding 10% Coding of a linguistic variable
Report 35% Report and linguistic analysis
Sociolinguistic interview 10% Conduct a sociolinguistic interview
Take home tasks 20% 4 take home tasks
Transcription 25% Transcription of a sociolinguistic


There is no final exam for this course.

More information about each piece of assessment will be provided in separate handouts.

Textbooks / Resources

There is no set textbook for the course. Instead, journal articles and book chapters will be recommended to accompany each lecture. Electronic copies will be made available on Learn.

To access the Learn page for the course, go to www.learn.canterbury.ac.nz, and log in with your usual UC username and password. You will see a menu of the courses you are enrolled in.

Other material, which may be helpful, can be found at the Library Subject Guide for Linguistics: http://canterbury.libguides.com/

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $670.00

International fee $2,850.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Language, Social and Political Sciences .

All LING210 Occurrences

  • LING210-14S2 (C) Semester Two 2014
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