Subject: summary of sociolinguistics course syllabi

dear subscribers , a shamefully long while back , i posted a request for syllabi for sociolinguistics courses . here , finally , is a summary of what i received . thanks to kate remlinger , ellen l . contini - morava , and ronald cosper for their responses , and apologies to everyone for the tardiness of this posting . best , seth minkoff seth @ mit . edu _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ you might find the collection of syllabi published by coswl ( the committee on the status of women in linguistics ) helpful . i am not sure how to obtain a copy . the lsa secretariat might be able to help . kathryn remlinger karemlin @ mtu . edu department of humanities michigan technological uuniversity 1400 townsend drive houghton , mi 49931 ( 906 ) 487-3274 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ hello , here 's a syllabus for a course i do at the univ . of virginia . it 's aimed at mid-level undergraduates , mostly but not all anthropology majors , and usually students who have no previous linguistics courses , averages about 60-70 students . i would have sent the one from last spring but could n't find the file ( my hard drive got eaten recently ) . there is one change that will probably be permanent : instead of trudgill 's textbook i ' ve substituted nancy bonvillain , language , culture , and communication , prentice hall 1993 . it 's more anthropologically oriented than trudgill , who is of the labovian - sociological school ; also bonvillain includes some rudimentary linguistics , useful for those who have n't had any . here it is . hope it 's not too late to be useful . with best regards , ellen contini - morava anthropology 341 / 741 introduction to sociolinguistics spring 1993 instructor : ellen contini - morava books ( all required reading ) : deborah tannen , you just do n't understand : women and men in conversation . ballantine books , 1990 . peter trudgill , sociolinguistics . penguin , 1983 . [ textbook ] martha coonfield ward , them children : a study in language learning . university press of america , 1971 . in addition to the above books , required readings will include a packet of xeroxed articles available at inprint on elliewood avenue . note : one copy of each book , and one copy of the xeroxed packet , will be placed on reserve in clemons library . requirements : a mid-term and a final , both open-book , take-home essay question exams , and a field project , whose topic and methodology should be discussed with me before spring break . the exams and the field project will each count for one third of the final grade . [ 741 students will write a research paper , approximately 20 pages in length , in addition to the above requirements . the field project may be incorporated into the paper , and the paper will count for one half of the final grade . ] course description : the field of sociolinguistics deals with ways in which language serves to define and maintain group identity and social relationships among speakers . particular topics to be covered in this course include : i . regional and social variation in language . how language reflects and maintains social stratification . the consequences of social attitudes toward linguistic features and the speakers associated with them . standard and non-standard dialects . ii . language and ethnicity . language as a marker of ethnic identity . controversies over " black english " : linguistic definition , social functions , history . problems in interethnic communication . language and ethnic diversity in the classroom . iii . language , sex and gender . do men and women speak different " languages " ? what verbal and non-verbal features mark the sex of a speaker ? gender and communicative style . representations of gender in advertising . sexism and sex-stereotyping in language . iv . language and social context . formal and informal speech styles : linguistic and social definitions . reciprocal and non-reciprocal forms of address . diglossia and bilingualism . the relation between means of expression and social meaning . language , power , and solidarity . v . languages in contact . pidgin and creole languages : structure , origins and social functions . political and social factors affecting language choice in multilingual or developing nations ( including ours ) . the fate of minority languages in this and other countries . vi . applied sociolinguistics . language planning : intervention in language change . multilingualism and education . how language affects health care . language in the courtroom . language and mass media : the linguistic representation of " news " . syllabus jan . 16 preface . 1 / 21 introduction . trudgill ch . 1 wolfram , walt , " varieties of american english " . from c . a . ferguson and s . b . heath ( eds . ) language in the usa . cambridge university press 1981 . 1 / 23 language and social attitudes . labov , william , " general attitudes toward the speech of new york city . " from r . w . bailey and j . l . robinson ( eds . ) , varieties of present-day english . macmillan , 1972 . underwood , gary , " how you sound to an arkansawyer " . american speech 49 . 3 / 4 : 208-216 ( 1974 ) . 1 / 28 language and social class . trudgill ch . 2 labov , william , " the logic of non-standard english " . georgetown monographs in languages and linguistics no . 22 ( 1969 ) . 1 / 30 language and ethnicity . trudgill ch . 3 spears , a . " black american english " in jonetta cole ( ed . ) anthropology for the nineties . new york : free press 1988 . stanback , m . " language and black woman 's place : evidence from the black middle class " . from p . treichler , c . kramarae , b . stafford ( eds . ) for alma mater : theory and practice in feminist scholarship . univ . of illinois press , 1985 . feb . 4 ethnicity and communicative style . mitchell - kernan , claudia , " signifying , loud-talking and marking " . from kochman , t . ( ed . ) rappin ' and stylin ' out : communication in urban black america . univ . of illinois press , 1972 . schiffrin , deborah , " jewish argument as sociability " . language in society 13 : 311-335 , 1984 . 2 / 6 language , ethnicity and the classroom . smitherman , geneva , " where do we go from here ? t . c . b . ! " from talkin and testifyin : the language of black america . boston : houghton mifflin 1977 . philips , susan u . " participant structures and communicative competence : warm springs children in community and classroom . " from c . cazden , v . john and d . hymes ( eds . ) , functions of language in the classroom . new york : teachers college press , 1972 . 2 / 11 - 2 / 13 ethnicity , social class , and language learning . ward , them children ( textbook ) . 2 / 18 - 2 / 20 language and gender . trudgill ch . 4 tannen , you just do n't understand ( textbook ) . 2 / 25 language and gender : cross-cultural perspectives . keesing , r . " kwaio women speak : the micropolitics of autobiography in a solomon island society " . american anthropologist 87 . 1 ( 1985 ) pp . 27-39 . keenan , elinor ochs , " norm - makers , norm-breakers : uses of speech by men and women in a malagasy community " . in r . bauman and j . sherzer ( eds . ) explorations in the ethnography of speaking . cambridge university press , 1974 . 2 / 27 sexism and sex-stereotyping in language . schulz , m . " the semantic derogation of woman " . in b . thorne and n . henley ( eds . ) language and sex : difference and dominance . rowley , ma : newbury house , 1975 satire , w . ( alias w . hofstadter ) , " a person paper on purity in language " . metamagical themas . new york : basic books 1985 . take-home midterm handed out . due by 12 : 30 pm tuesday , march 3 . ground rules for the exam : this is an open-book test , so texts and lecture notes may be consulted in preparing the answers , but the test may not be discussed with anyone . the test must be pledged , and returned to me at the beginning of class . tests returned later than the deadline , left in my mailbox , under my door , on car windshield etc . will not be accepted ( i . e . will receive a grade of f ) . no time extensions except in ( documented ) cases of emergency , and only with permission from me in person . leaving a message on my answering machine , office door , or with the department secretary does not guarantee that an extension will be granted . mar . 3 language and social context , overview . trudgill ch . 5 . take home midterm due at beginning of class . 3 / 5 language and social context : theoretical perspectives . hymes , dell , " models of the interaction of language and social life . " from j . j . gumperz and d . hymes ( eds . ) directions in sociolinguistics . holt , rinehart and winston , 1972 . 3 / 10 language / context : forms of address . e . bates and l . benigni , " rules of address in italy : a sociological survey " . language in society 4 . 3 ( 1975 ) , pp . 271-288 . field project proposals due 3 / 12 language / context : choice of code . ferguson , charles , " sports announcer talk " . language in society 12 : 153-172 , 1983 . abu - lughod , l . " honor and the sentiments of loss in a bedouin society " . american ethnologist 12 . 2 ( 1985 ) . 3 / 17 - 3 / 19 spring break 3 / 24 language / context : silence . basso , keith , " to give up on words : silence in western apache culture " . southwestern journal of anthropology 26 : 213-30 , 1970 . sansom , b . " the sick who do not speak . " in d . parkin ( ed . ) , semantic anthropology . academic press 1983 . 3 / 26 language / context : social norms . goffman , erving , " the lecture " . from forms of talk . university of pennsylvania press 1981 . 3 / 31 theoretical perspectives ii . trudgill ch . 6 . bernstein , basil , " a sociolinguistic approach to socialization . " from j . j . gumperz and d . hymes ( eds . ) directions in sociolinguistics . holt , rinehart and winston , 1972 . apr . 2 languages in contact : bilingualism and multilingualism . heller , monica , " bonjour , hello ? negotiations of language choice in montreal . " in gumperz , j . ( ed . ) communication , language and social identity . cambridge university press , 1982 . mkilifi , m . h . a . " triglossia and swahili - english bilingualism in tanzania . " language in society 1 : 197-213 , 1972 . 4 / 7 languages in contact : pidgins and creoles . trudgill ch . 8 . crowley , t . and b . rigsby , " cape york creole " . in t . shopen ( ed . ) , languages and their status . univ . of pennsylvania press , 1987 . 4 / 9 pidgins and creoles ( cont . ) stewart , w . " creole languages in the caribbean " . from rice , f . a . ( ed . ) study of the role of second languages in asia , africa , and latin america . washington , dc : center for applied linguistics , 1962 . sistren with honor ford smith , " ole massa and me " . from lionheart gal . sister vision , black women and women of colour press , box 217 , station e , toronto , ontario , m6h 4e2 , canada . 4 / 14 language dominance : native and immigrant languages in the us . darnell , r . " the language of power in cree interethnic communication . " from wolfson , n . and j . manes ( eds . ) , language of inequality . berlin : mouton de gruyter , 1985 . fishman , j . " the lively life of a 'd ead ' language ( or ' everyone knows that yiddish died long ago ' ) " . from wolfson and manes ( see preceding for full reference ) . 4 / 16 applied sociolinguistics : language planning . trudgill ch . 7 . ferguson , charles , " on sociolinguistically oriented language surveys . " from s . ohannessian , c . ferguson and e . polom ( eds . ) , language surveys in developing nations . washington , dc : center for applied linguistics , 1975 . 4 / 21 applied sociolinguistics : language and inequality . walker , a . g . h . , " applied sociology of language : vernacular languages and education . " in p . trudgill ( ed . ) applied sociolinguistics . london ; orlando : academic , 1984 . fisher , s . and a . todd , " friendly persuasion : negotiating decisions to use oral contraceptives " . in fisher and todd ( eds . ) discouse and institutional authority : medicine , education , and law . norwood , nj : ablex 1986 . 4 / 23 language and inequality ( cont . ) : the courts , the media . o'barr , w . " speech styles in the courtroom " . from linguistic evidence : language , power , and strategy in the courtroom . academic press , 1982 . van dijk , teun , " mediating racism : the role of the media in the reproduction of racism . " in ruth wodak ( ed . ) language , power , and ideology . john benjamins , 1989 . 4 / 28 review , discussion , oral reports . field projects due . ( same policy applies as for midterm , see 2 / 27 . ) final exam handed out . due by 5 pm wednesday , may 6 . return to secretary in anthropology department office , 303 brooks hall . in other respects same policy applies as for midterm , see 2 / 27 . =
