THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2019/2020

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Language Sciences

Undergraduate Course: Sociolinguistics (LASC10002)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryHonours Sociolinguistics builds on introductory sociolinguistics and phonetics work undertaken in LEL1 and LEL2B (see Course Prerequisites). LEL2B introduced skills in acoustic phonetics and the empirical methods used in studying naturally occurring linguistic variation. This included collecting, organising, and analysing quantitative data. Sociolinguistics develops those skills at an advanced level.
Course description Students on this course will pursue a guided research project, conducting a detailed analysis of social and linguistic factors influencing the realisation of a particular linguistic variable in a corpus of spontaneous speech. The analysis of this variation constitutes the final project. Students will also read widely from the primary literature covering key issues and debates in the field of sociolinguistics. The readings explore major aspects of the theory of language variation and change, including language change in a community and an individual, and the relationship between social identities like gender, social networks, communities of practice or social class and variation in language use.

The course consists of lab work (one of two lab sessions on Mondays) and lectures / class discussions (one each on Tuesday and Wednesday). The first half of the course will be an introduction to sociolinguistic concepts and theory, plus an introduction to research methods. The second half of the course will be an advanced look at those same concepts, with research-led teaching focusing on a collaborative group project. There is an emphasis on collaborative learning. You are expected to participate fully in discussions in the class, and occasionally to present material to the class as a whole.

Assessment is by combination of a take-home exam and a final project write-up.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: LEL2B: Phonetic Analysis and Empirical Methods (LASC08018)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Sociolinguistics of Modern Scots (LASC10016)
Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting student must have completed at least 3 Linguistics/Language Sciences courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Visiting students must have prior training in basic statistics and empirical methods.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 27, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 169 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Assessment is by: take-home exam (40%) and final project(60%).
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, all participants will be able to:
- analyse and interpret primary data
- critically evaluate the reasoning behind data interpretation
- critically evaluate the rationale for using particular methods for analysing data
- identify the major theoretical issues addressed in a sociolinguistics article
- report on their own research showing a synthesis of the above
- relate academic sociolinguistic research to their own experiences
- provide and ask for peer-support, e.g. in data collection, tutoring.

In addition, students may have developed skills in:
- quantitative analysis of data using Excel and R
- advanced statistical methods using R
- face-to-face interviewing
- fieldwork in the wider community
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information Teaching Contact Time: 9 weeks out of 11 at 3 hours/week = 27 hours
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Lauren Hall-Lew
Tel: (0131 6)51 1836
Email: Lauren.Hall-Lew@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Lynne Robertson
Tel: (0131 6)50 9870
Email: Lynne.Robertson@ed.ac.uk
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