AJ42013 Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2013
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. Mgr. Jan Chovanec, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Friday 10:50–12:25 G31
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ40999 Qualifying Examination || AJ41002 Practical English II
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course provides a survey of recent sociolinguistic approaches to language study, particularly with regard to the relationship between language and culture, language and society, language and language users. Language variation (social and regional) and language change will be studied on texts, both spoken and written. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand the relationship between language and society. They will be able to appreciate the role of social factors in human communication, as well as the social significance of linguistic variablity.
Syllabus
  • Language, dialects and varieties; Pidgins and creoles; Choice of a code; Variation; Language change; Language and culture; Solidarity and Politeness; Language and Gender; Language and Disadvantage; Language Planning; Pragmatics: Deixis and distance, Reference and inference, Presupposition and entailment, Cooperation and implicature, Speech acts and events, Politeness and interaction, Conversation and preference structure, Discourse and culture
Literature
  • WARDHAUGH, Ronald. An introduction to sociolinguistics : Sociolinguistics (Variant.). 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002, vi, 408 s. ISBN 0-631-22539-0. info
  • DOWNES, William. Language and society. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, ix, 503. ISBN 0521456630. info
  • HUDSON, Richard A. Sociolinguistics. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, xv, 279. ISBN 0521565146. info
  • HOLMES, Janet. An introduction to sociolinguistics. London: Longman, 1992, xi, 412. ISBN 0582060621. info
Teaching methods
Seminars, class discussions, practical analysis of sample texts and language data. Compulsory attendance/povinná docházka
Assessment methods
Instruction: seminar; active participation is necessary - discussion of issues based on independent reading Written test - text analysis, terminology + concepts, theory. Several homework assignments to be completed and submitted during the term. Students are expected to meet all requirements (e.g. concerning attendance) as specified by the study regulations.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
General note: This course is NOT designated for Erasmus students! List of courses offerd by the Department of English and American studies for Erasmsus students is available at http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/ under "Information for Erasmus students".
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: This course is NOT designated for Erasmus students! List of courses offerd by the Department of English and American studies for Erasmsus students is available at http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/ under "Information for Erasmus students".
Teacher's information
http://elf.phil.muni.cz/elf/course/view.php?id=2299
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2004, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2013, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2013/AJ42013