6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL
Undergraduate - Unit
Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.
Faculty
Organisational Unit
Chief examiner(s)
Coordinator(s)
Unit guides
Prerequisites
Two gateway units in Linguistics
Prohibitions
ATS3676
Synopsis
This unit explores the relationship between language and society. The unit focuses on language variation within and between societies, including how such variation may be linked to social, regional and ethnic factors, among others. Moreover, we show how variation is critically influenced by the values, attitudes and ideologies associated with language varieties and their speakers. Language variation will be examined in the context of speech communities and communities of practice. A particular focus will be the ways in which individuals exploit a range of linguistic resources to take stances in interaction and how speakers use these stances to (dis)affiliate themselves with communities.
Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
- explain and apply key terms and concepts used for the study of language and society;
- identify and discuss how linguistic features intersect with society;
- articulate key differences between two or more approaches to the study of language and society;
- analyse the impact that ideologies and world-view have on inter- and intra-speaker variation;
- apply their knowledge in the collection and the analysis of sociolinguistic data.
Assessment
Within semester assessment: 100%
Workload requirements
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
See also Unit timetable information