Sociolinguistics

Course Description

This course explores socially patterned variation in language and its connection to long-term language change. In addition to considering social context and speaker identity as factors that condition variation, we also discuss the influence of linguistic and cognitive constraints. We consider topics like style and performance, language attitudes, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity, as well as lexical frequency, syntactic priming, and phonological context, among many others. We consider questions like, Why do people speak differently with different interlocutors in different social contexts? Are they consciously aware of how their speech changes? Is linguistic variation random or patterned? Do some speech communities exhibit greater variation or faster change? Can we stop or slow the rate of language change over time? Students consider these questions in the context of previous research studies and in the development of their own research skills. By the end of the semester, you will have a clearer understanding of language in its social context and a better grasp of the centrality of the data collection process in testing hypotheses.

Code

LIN 595

Credits

3

Subject

Linguistics

Programs That Include This Course

• Master's Master of Arts in Linguistics