GISDepartment of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies

This course provides students with a basic knowledge of sociolinguistics, the study of language in relation to society. The first part of the course is concerned with how individual language use is correlated with a variety of social variables, such as gender, age, class and ethnicity, by outlining a number of previous studies conducted in the English-speaking world. Particular reference is made to the classic research of William Labov, one of the founding figures of quantitative sociolinguistics.
　Later lectures focus on how and where a language or dialect is socially placed and ranked within a community, including multi-lingual/dialectal countries such as Singapore. Students who are or are becoming bilingual will find the discussion on bilingualism especially interesting when they learn that its implications not merely vary from one society to another, but have been significantly changing recently. Another major topic is language attitudes. They are not based on purely linguistic considerations, but connected with how people perceive and evaluate different dialects or accents.

By the end of the course, students will:
(1) understand key terminology, concepts and theories in sociolinguistics,
(2) have an awareness of ongoing language changes in society, and
(3) become familiar with interpreting quantitative/qualitative data for sociolinguistic analysis.

Will be able to gain “DP 1”, “DP 2”, “DP 3”, and “DP 4”.

英語 / English

This course is a combination of lectures and class discussions. Based on a flipped learning model, students have to read chapter handouts and address questions asked there prior to attending each lecture. Submitted assignments and tests are reviewed in detail and commented on in the following week's lecture.

あり / Yes

なし / No

授業形態/methods of teaching：対面/face to face

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1[オンライン/online]：Course Overview

Outlining the course contents and instructional methodologies

2[対面/face to face]：Linguistics and Sociolinguistics

(1) Definitions of linguistics and sociolinguistics
(2) Interaction between linguistic and social variables

3[対面/face to face]：Languages and Dialects
Regional and Social Variations

(1) How many languages are there in the world?
(2) Languages and dialects
(3) Regional and social variations

4[対面/face to face]：William Labov’s Studies

(1) The social stratification of the non-prevocalic /-r/ in NYC
(2) Centralized diphthongs in Martha’s Vineyard

5[対面/face to face]：Language and Gender

(1) Genderlect
(2) Sexism and PC
(3) Gender and attitudes

6[対面/face to face]：Language and Ethnicity

(1) AAVE
(2) Ethnic markers in utterances
(3) Australian accents and ethnic groups in Sydney
(4) Features of Maori English

7[対面/face to face]：Mid-semester Exam
Language and Social Class (Part 1)

(1) Mid-semester examination
(2) Three Australian accents

8[対面/face to face]：Language and Social Class (Part 2)

(1) Three New Zealand accents
(2) H-dropping in Bradford and Norwich

9[対面/face to face]：Linguistic Features and Indexicality

(1) Indicators, markers and stereotypes
(2) Indexicality
(3) Enregisterment

10[対面/face to face]：Language Attitudes

(1) Language attitudes
(2) Preston’s (1989) study
(3) New Zealanders’ attitudes towards a variety of accents
(4) Rubin's (1992) study
(5) Approaches to language attitudes

11[対面/face to face]：Bilingualism and Multilingualism

(1) Bilingualism and multilingualism
(2) Types of bilinguals
(3) Singapore as a multilingual country
(4) Code-switching and code-mixing
(5) Diglossia

12[対面/face to face]：Standard and Non-standard English
Elaborated and Restricted codes
Pidgin and Creole

(1) The standard variety of a language
(2) Non-standard English
(3) Elaborated and restricted codes
(4) Pidgin and creole English
(5) Pidgin Japanese

13[対面/face to face]：World Englishes

(1) Three circles of English
(2) Hierarchy of Englishes

14[対面/face to face]：Summary and Final Exam

(1) Review
(2) Final examination

Students are required to read the handouts beforehand so that they can actively participate in discussions. They may also need to consult chapter references or search for relevant online resources. Preparatory study and review time for this course are 2 hours each.

No textbooks are used. All handouts are posted on the course website, while additional materials will be provided in the classroom.

Detailed references and suggestions for further reading are listed on each chapter handout. The following books will be helpful as a general introduction.

Holmes, J., & Wilson, N. (2017). An introduction to sociolinguistics (5th ed.). Routledge.
Wardhaugh, R., & Fuller, J. M. (2021). An introduction to sociolinguistics (8th ed.). Wiley Blackwell.

Evaluation will be based on in-class quizzes and take-home tasks (20%), a mid-semester exam (40%) and a final exam (40%). Attendance at the first class is mandatory. More than two unexcused absences will result in failure of the course.

Students have been positive about the contents and method of instruction. Hyperlinked video clips are updated every year.

The lectures are delivered using PowerPoint slides and Internet resources. The handouts are downloadable in PDF format.

It is recommended that students have completed 100-level linguistics courses with a good understanding. This course is cross-listed with the Global Open Program. Non-GIS students may join if they demonstrate solid background in linguistics and meet the minimum English proficiency requirement: TOEFL iBT^®80 or IELTS 6.0.

No prerequisite is required.