Module Identifier EL10610  
Module Title LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY: AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLINGUISTICS  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Dr Winifred V Davies  
Semester Semester 1  
Other staff Mr Robert Morris Jones, Professor David A Trotter  
Course delivery Lecture   14 Hours  
  Seminars / Tutorials   3 Hours  
Assessment Semester Exam   2 Hours (written exam)   70%  
  Semester Assessment   (1 essay of 1500 words)   30%  
  Supplementary Exam   2 Hours (If no continuous assessment has been submitted, the exam will be 3 hours)   100%  

Learning outcomes

If students are diligent and attend regularly they will be able to:
a) Demonstrate that they have gained insights into the social meaning of language by having acquired a knowledge of some of the main areas of contemporary sociolinguistics.
b) Assess critically theoretical and methodological aspects of the discipline.
c) Carry out independent research and analyze critically the material they have collected.
d) Express themselves clearly, coherently and cogently, both orally and in writing.
e) Demonstrate familiarity with and an ability to use appropriately the specialist terminology associated with the subject.

Brief description

This module will offer an introduction to sociolinguistics and will show how trends and developments in language are often related to developments in society. The main basis for any conclusions as to the nature of the relationship between language and society will be provided by an examination of linguistic variation. After a general introduction to the field of sociolinguistics and a discussion of different approaches to the study of language in society, students will consider the effect of social factors, such as socio-economic class, gender and situation, on language use.

Reading Lists

Books
Chambers, J K. (1995) Sociolinguistic Theory. Oxford: Blackwell
Chambers, J K & P Trudgill. (1980) Dialectology. Cambridge: CUP
Cheshire, J & P Trudgill. (1997) The Sociolinguistics Reader.
Coupland, N & A Jaworski. (1997) Sociolinguistics: a reader and coursebook.
Crystal, D. (1987,1997) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: CUP
Downes, W. (1998) Language and Society. Cambridge: CUP
Fasold, R. (1984) The Sociolinguistcs of Society. Oxford: Blackwell
Fasold, R. (1990) The Sociolinguistics of Language. Oxford: Blackwell
Honey, J. (1991) Does Accent Matter?. London: Faber & Faber
Hudson, R A. (1980) Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: CUP
Labov, W. (1972) Sociolinguistic Patterns. Oxford: Blackwell
Milroy, L. (1987) Language and Social Networls. 2nd. Oxford: Blackwell (1st edition, 1980)
Newmeyer, F J. (1988) Linguistics: The Cambridge Survey. Vol. IV, Language: The Socio-cultural Context. Cambridge: CUP
Radford, A et al. (1999) Linguistics: An introduction. Cambridge: CUP
Romaine, S. (1994) Language in Society. Oxford: OUP
Thomas, L & S Wareing. (1999) Language, Society and Power. New York: Routledge
Trudgill, P (ed). (1978) Sociolinguistic Patterns in British English. London: Edward Arnold
Trudgill, P & Cheshire, J. (1997) The Socioluistics Reader. Vol. 1: Variation and Multilingualism. London: Arnold
Trudgill, P & Cheshire J. (1999) The Sociolinguistics Reader. Vol. 2: Gender and Discourse. London: Arnold