Sociolinguistics

Catalog description

This course offers an introduction to sociolinguistics, the field of linguistics that examines language in its social context. Students will explore topics such as linguistic variation and its relationship with social factors like identity, class, and power; the phenomena of language birth and death; multilingualism and code choices in bilingual/bi-dialectal communities; and the intersections between language and gender. Throughout the course, students will critically examine language as a stylistic practice and consider how societal attitudes towards specific language varieties can have profound social and political consequences, often marginalizing and disempowering speakers of those varieties. A key component of the course will involve engaging with the ethical dimensions of these topics. Students will discuss the role of language in perpetuating inequality and the responsibilities of linguists in studying and representing linguistic diversity.