SEMESTER VIII

This course introduces students to Sociolinguistics, a field of study which ties language and communication to the context in which the language is being used. The basis of Sociolinguistics is that what language is cannot be separated from how and why it is used. Accordingly, the focus is on an investigation of how language varies according to context. The course will include Language and the Ethnography of Communication. A key figure in this field is Dell Hymes, the American linguist who coined the term and who proposed the core elements of the approach in the mid C20th. Of particular relevance is functional linguistics which models the relationship between context and language and proposes language variation as linked either to the users of language or to the use of language. At a practical level the course will introduce ethnographic work which has been conducted on specific topics and in particular geographic locations, while at the same time conducting ethnographic observations within a chosen community or site of interaction, for example a coffee shop, a supermarket, a gym or an office. The course is activity based and students are encouraged to engage in collecting and analysing data related to authentic language use in the broad community. The variations of language use that are found in relation to age, gender, ethnicity, geographical location and social structure are some of the areas for investigation in the course.

On completing this course students will:

1.                  Begin to notice how language is used and how it varies across the array of contexts in which we engage daily.

2.                  Understand the theoretical underpinnings of the tradition of Sociolinguistics.
                  
3.                  Understand different perspectives on context, including identities, social institutions, cultural values and  their            
                     relationships with language

4.                  Confidently engage with the technical discourse and metalanguage within the field of Sociolinguistics.

5.                  Make the clear link between the use of language and the context of that use.

6.                  Link theory to the practical reality of language variation in the community.

7.                  Articulate why and how some varieties of language are more highly valued than others.

8.                  Generate, collate and analyse samples of authentic language use.

9.                  Undertake small-scale research, with a focus on language variation in the community.

10.               Engage productively and respectfully with their peers.