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 | This course offers an introduction to the study of the relationship between language and society: Sociolinguistics. The course will cover topics including language, gender, and sexuality; language, politics, and ideology; language and social identity (age, gender, class, region); language contact; and multilingualism. Students will gain an overview of foundational and contemporary theoretical and methodological developments in the field. |
| 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 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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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, 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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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. Essay (30%) 1500 words
2. Presentation (20%) 10 mins
3. Project (50%) 2000 words |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and describe foundational concepts in sociolinguistics.
- Relate sociolinguistic research to their own experiences.
- Apply relevant sociolinguistic theories and concepts to novel datasets.
- Have an awareness of current issues in sociolinguistics.
- Identify the major theoretical issues addressed in a sociolinguistics article.
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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 |
Through lectures and workshops, students will acquire a good knowledge of current debates and questions in the field of sociolinguistics and how these relate to broader societal issues in the world. Over the course, students will develop critical analytical and research skills that will help them apply theories and concepts covered in lectures to novel datasets. The content of the tutorials is designed so that students get both the training in relevant research methodologies such as Interactional Sociolinguistics and Narrative Analysis but also practice in applying these approaches to real-world data.
Through the assessment of the course - i) a presentation, ii) a summary of a research article, and iii) a research report - students will develop a number of research and analytical skills. They will receive training in delivering a group presentation, summarizing a research article, and designing and implementing a small-scale research project that explores some sociolinguistic phenomena in a novel dataset of their choice.
Core skills gained or developed on this course:
Adapting presentation or writing tone/style to audience; Being open to different perspectives; Challenging own perspectives and assumptions; Critical thinking; Data collection; Data analysis and evaluation; Critical analysis and evaluation; Ethics and research ethics; Group work (delegation, influencing, conflict resolution, motivating others, taking responsibility); Independence; Oral communication (discussion, debating respectfully, influencing); Preparation, planning and organisation; Academic reading skills; Report writing; Research skills; Written communication. |
| 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 | Miss Kayla Johnson-McCraw
Tel: (0131 6)50 3440
Email: Kayla.Johnson@ed.ac.uk |
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