Spring 2010

FR 396K • ISSUES IN SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Course Description

COURSE DESCRIPTION The objective of this course is twofold: after providing a general introduction to the discipline of sociolinguistics, we will examine in detail specific topics that will be chosen accordingly to the students' main interests. We will adopt a contrastive approach, focusing on Romance and Asian languages. Among possible topics to be selected are the following: • Varieties and variation • Dialect • Social factors in language change • Gender/Age/Sex sociolinguistic variables • Spoken and written Language • Code-switching • Multilingualism • Language and identity • Linguistic etiquette • Language mediated by experience

READING ASSIGNMENTS The course will be conducted seminar-style; therefore, students are required to complete the reading assignments as listed in the syllabus and expected to participate actively to the class discussion. TERM PAPER The students will write a research paper (20-25 pages), which will be due on the day scheduled for the final examination. The only restriction that applies to the research topic is that it falls within the domain of the theoretical issues and/or phenomena examined during the semester. The students are required to discuss the topic they choose with the instructor before starting their research and/or data collection. ORAL PRESENTATIONS The students will give two class presentations: (1) they will present one of the readings; and (2) they will present their term paper during the last days of class. The oral presentations are expected to be about 20 minutes long and will be followed by a question/discussion period.

Grading Policy

• Class discussion 20 % • Two oral presentations 20% each • One research paper 40%

Texts

Course packet (required).

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