Module Identifier | GE30420 | ||
Module Title | LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY IN GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES | ||
Academic Year | 2002/2003 | ||
Co-ordinator | Dr Winifred V Davies | ||
Semester | Semester 1 | ||
Pre-Requisite | GE20420 (Normally) | ||
Course delivery | Lecture | 20 | |
Seminars / Tutorials | 4 | ||
Assessment | Semester Assessment | Presentation: (seminar presentation) | 20% |
Semester Assessment | Continuous Assessment: 4,000 word essay | 80% |
1. Earlier approaches to variation: the aims and concerns of the dialectological school compared with the aims and concerns of modern sociolinguistics; a critical comparison of dialectological and sociolinguistic methodology. Background reading: Barbour & Stevenson (1990), 18-21, 55-74; Chambers, J.K. & Trudgill, P. (1980), Dialectology, Chapter 2.
2. Different approaches within sociolinguistics: quantitative vs. qualitative studies. Background reading: Barbour & Stevenson (1990), Chapter 4; Dittmar, in Stevenson (1995), Chapter 7.
3. Characteristics of the development of a standard language: how 'natural' is the development? Selection, acceptance, elaboration of function, codification. Development of the German standard language. Background reading: Barbour & Stevenson (1990), 45-53; Keller (1978), 485-509; LGL, Chapter 35; Sauer & Glueck, in Stevenson (1995), Chapter 4.
4. Maintenance of the standard: prescription, linguistic criticism, Sprachkritik, complaint tradition, attitudes towards non-standard usage. Background reading: Braun (1987), 228f; Guenther (1988); Hass (1988); Milroy & Milroy (1985), 2.2.
5. Traditional division of German into Standard German, Umgangssprache, Dialekt: how accurate is it? What are the linguistic and social characteristics of Umgangssprache? Is it an autonomous variety of German? What is a variety? How does Umgangssprache differ from Dialekt, from Standard German? Is it a continuum or a series of gradata? Background reading: Barbour & Stevenson (1990), Chapter 5; Keller (1978), 7.3.2.
6. Pluricentricity: how many national varieties of German are/were there? Linguistic and political criteria for pluricentric status of a language; evaluation of these criteria. Arguments for the pluricentric status of German (cf. Clyne (1995), Chapter 1) and against (cf. Fox (1990), 288-93).
7. Linguistic characteristics and social status of the German standard language as used in Austria, the FRG, the former GDR and Switzerland; diglossia in Switzerland. Background reading: LGL, Chapters 58, 59; Clyne (1995), Chapters 1, 2, 3; Russ (1994), Chapters 3, 4, 5; Fasold, R., (1984), The Sociolinguistics of Society, Chapter 2.
8. Language and ideology: What is the relationship between language and reality? Sexism in German. Background reading: Townson (1992), Chapter 4; Hellinger, in Stevenson (1995), Chapter 12; Pusch (1984), 46-68, 76-108.
Note: Students should keep up with the background reading, topic by topic.