ZUR517 An Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Robert Helán, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Pavel Sedláček (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Tae-Sik Kim, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
each odd Thursday 16:00–19:40 AVC
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Theoretical and practical introduction into sociolinguistics; interpretation and evaluation of different texts (written and spoken). Students will raise their sensitivity to a variety of texts used in different contexts and will become aware of methods used in sociolinguistics.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction – The Scope of Sociolinguistics, Relationship between Language and Society, Sociolinguistics and the Sociology of Language, Ethnomethodology, Basic methodological concerns, Sociolinguistics and related disciplines
  • 2. Language, Dialects, and Varieties, Regional dialects, Social dialects, Styles and Registers, Collecting and Analyzing Data
  • 3. Choosing a Code, Code Choice, Code – switching, and Code-mixing, Speech Communities, Variation Studies: Some Findings and Issues
  • 4. Language Change
  • 5. Language and Culture, The Whorfian Hypothesis, Taboo and Euphemism
  • 6. Ethnography and Ethnomethodology, Varieties of Talk, The Ethnography of Communication, Ethnomethodology
  • 7. Solidarity and Politeness
  • 8. Acting and Conversing, Speech Acts: Austin and Searle, Cooperation and Face: Grice and Goffman, Some Features of Conversation
  • 9. Language and Gender
  • 10. Language and Disadvantage, Bernstein and Codes
  • 11. Basic Concepts in Pragmatics
  • 12. Language Planning
  • 13. Presentations of Project Work
Literature
  • Mesthrie, Rajend, Swann, Joan, Deumert, Andrea and Leap, William (2000). Introducing Sociolinguistics. Edinburgh University Press.
  • Weatherall, Ann (2002) Gender, Language and Discourse. Routledge.
  • Coates, Jennifer ed. (1998) Language and Gender. Blackwell.
  • The Routledge companion to sociolinguistics. Edited by Carmen Llamas Saíz - Louise Mullany - Peter Stockwell. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 2007, xix, 271. ISBN 9780415338509. info
  • WARDHAUGH, Ronald. An introduction to sociolinguistics. 4th ed. Malden: Blackwell, 2002, vi, 408 s. ISBN 0-631-22540-4. info
  • DOWNES, William. Language and society. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, ix, 503. ISBN 0521456630. info
  • Sociolinguistic : a reader and coursebook. Edited by Adam Jaworski - Nikolas Coupland. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 1997, xi, 505. ISBN 0333611802. info
  • SCHIFFRIN, Deborah. Approaches to discourse. 1st publ. Oxford: Blackwell, 1994, x, 470. ISBN 063116622X. info
  • FAIRCLOUGH, Norman. Discourse and social change. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press, 1992, 259 p. ISBN 9780745612188. info
Teaching methods
After a short input provided by the teacher, students will work individually, in pairs or groups and interactively discuss issues in the syllabus. The workshop approach is always based on work with authentic lingustic materials. At the end of the course, students will give individual presentations of their own analyses.
Assessment methods
Seminar taught in 4 blocks
Active participation in seminar
Presentation of text analysis
Written text analysis (4 pages)
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
General note: Předmět je určen všem studentům MU.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2000, Spring 2001, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Spring 2009, Spring 2012, Spring 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2019/ZUR517