Undergraduate Course: Sociolinguistics (LASC10002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Honours 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 |
This course introduces students to the study of language in society ¿ Sociolinguistics ¿ by exploring the social and cultural embedding of language. Students will have the opportunity to engage with diverse areas of sociolinguistic inquiry by exploring the social and linguistic constraints of language variation as well as the socio-political implications of language use in contemporary society. This will include consideration of how linguistic varieties are used by individuals in everyday life and also how those varieties are perceived by others. Readings will cover key issues and current debates in the field of sociolinguistics such as multilingualism, politeness, identity, code-switching/mixing, translanguaging, and style-shifting.
Throughout the course, 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. Students will be particularly encouraged to apply the course concepts to novel datasets and reflect critically on their own sociolinguistic experiences. The content of this course is intended to provide students with a strong grounding in a research area that complements ¿Language Variation and Change¿ (LASC10102).
Assessment will include a group presentation, a written assignment, and a short research project.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting 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
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 30,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| 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
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Reading List
Van Herk, Gerard. 2018. What is Sociolinguistics? 2nd edn. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN: 9781118960745.
Jones, R. and Themistocleous, Christiana. 2022. Introducing Language and Society. Cambridge Introductions to Language and Linguistics. Cambridge: CUP. ISBN: 9781108689922.
Holmes, Janet. 2008. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 3rd edn. London: Longman. ISBN: 9781405821315.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
10 weeks out of 11 at 3 hours/week = 30 hours |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Christian Ilbury
Tel:
Email: cilbury@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Liam Hedley
Tel: (0131 6)50 9870
Email: liam.hedley@ed.ac.uk |
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