LING 180LIntro to Sociolinguistics

Catalog

Sociolinguistics is the study of social dimensions of language use. In this class, students are introduced to the basic theoretical concepts, methodological approaches, and debates in the field of sociolinguistics. We seek to understand the social pressures that cause linguistic change, the political stakes of everyday language practices, and the way we can come to learn about linguistic patterns that often go unrecognized. These questions underlie issues of race, language, power, and politics. We will delve into a few of these contexts from the lens of multiple languages and social contexts. This course is appropriate for first-year students.