Last modified: 31 May 2022 13:30
All languages are in a perpetual state of flux. This flux – a combination of variation and change – is socially meaningful. This course provides a developed understanding of Sociolinguistics — the study of social effects on language use. It also explores the field of Historical Linguistics — the study of how language changes over time. The course will address the interconnectedness of these two subjects, investigating variation as a reflection of on-going change and vice versa.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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All languages are in a perpetual state of flux. At any one time, variation may be observed within a language, within a speech community, and even within individual speakers — variation is inherent to human language. We also know that, over time, languages do not stand still: rewind 50 years, 100 years, 1000 years and the differences are evident. This flux — a combination of variation and change — is socially meaningful. The social groupings we belong to, whether related to gender, ethnicity, social class or any other social grouping, affect the way we speak and the way we linguistically construct our identities. From this flux comes a never-ending cycle of linguistic change. Again this change is affected by social factors, even if how they work upon a language has changed from time to time and place to place.
This course will give you a developed understanding of Sociolinguistics — the study of social effects on language use. It also explores the field of Historical Linguistics — the study of how language changes over time — demonstrating how one subject interconnects with the other. As well as developing a grounding in the theory and methodology of these subjects, you will also take part in hands-on analysis of data.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 | Feedback Weeks | 12 | |
| Feedback |
Students will be provided with a comment through the Blackboard platform, as well as oral feedback from the tutor throughout the course if desired. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Be able to use methods from sociolinguistics and historical linguistics to analyse language data. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the connection between language variation and change. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the factors that affect language variation. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the factors that lead to language change. |
| Procedural | Understand | Have an understanding of methods of analysis used in sociolinguistics and historical linguistics. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 11 | Feedback Weeks | 14 | |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be provided by tutors in written form through the online coursework submission platform Turnitin. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Be able to use methods from sociolinguistics and historical linguistics to analyse language data. |
| Procedural | Understand | Have an understanding of methods of analysis used in sociolinguistics and historical linguistics. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 7 | Feedback Weeks | 10 | |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be provided by tutors in written form through the online coursework submission platform Turnitin. |
Word Count | 2500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the factors that lead to language change. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the connection between language variation and change. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the factors that affect language variation. |
| Procedural | Understand | Have an understanding of methods of analysis used in sociolinguistics and historical linguistics. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Feedback will be provided by tutors in written form through the online coursework submission platform Turnitin. |
Word Count | 2500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the factors that affect language variation. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the factors that lead to language change. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Have an understanding of the connection between language variation and change. |
| Procedural | Understand | Have an understanding of methods of analysis used in sociolinguistics and historical linguistics. |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Be able to use methods from sociolinguistics and historical linguistics to analyse language data. |
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