Postgraduate Course: Sociolinguistics (LASC11180)
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 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| 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 |
Do men, women, and non-binary folk use language in different ways? Is there such a thing as 'gay voice'? Should 'slang' be banned in schools? Do media cause language change? What does it mean to say that a speaker 'sounds Black'?
This course will interrogate these types of questions by introducing students to the study of language in society (i.e., Sociolinguistics). Throughout the course, 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 styleshifting.
Throughout the course, there is an emphasis on collaborative learning. Students 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' (LASC10102/11141).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
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 2026/27, 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:
100
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 11,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
65 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. Research Proposal (30%) 500 words
2. Project (70%) 2000 words |
| Feedback |
Feedback on summative and formative work, feedback from class activities, feedback in meetings with tutors and lecturers. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe and critically assess foundational concepts in sociolinguistics
- Confidently relate sociolinguistic research to real world contextsÂ
- Apply relevant sociolinguistic theories and concepts to novel datasets
- Demonstrate a sound awareness of current issues in sociolinguistics
- Identify and critically evaluate 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 & Nick Wilson. (2022). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 6th edn. London: Longman. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Christian Ilbury
Tel:
Email: cilbury@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Sasha Wood
Tel:
Email: swood310@ed.ac.uk |
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