Dec 26, 2024  
2017-18 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2017-18 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

LING 205 Sociolinguistics

This course is about the intersection between language and society. The way we speak varies based on geographical region, gender, socio-economic status, profession, age, ethnicity, social group, level of formality, and sexual preference. We also vary our language based on our audience. These variations have profound (and often unnoticed) impacts on people’s perceptions of each other and the creation and maintenance of stereotypes and power relations.  In this course, we study language variations according to the aforementioned factors through readings, case studies, and reflections on real-life situations in all parts of the world. Students will learn how sociolinguistics research is conducted, and will become familiar with the theories and major findings of research studies in this field. We will also consider some of the educational, political, and social repercussions of language variations. Students will learn to conduct a small research project in the field based on their specific interests. This course counts toward the Spanish, French, and Italian majors and minors and the Linguistics minor as well as toward the International Studies major and minor. It would also be relevant for Sociology or Education (ESL) majors.