Last modified: 25 Mar 2016 11:33
All languages are in a perpetual state of flux. This flux – a combination of variation and change – is socially meaningful. Gender, ethnicity, age, social background, perhaps even sexuality, affect how you speak. From this flux comes a never-ending cycle of linguistic change, which is affected by social factors.
This course provides an understanding of Sociolinguistics – the study of social effects on language use – and Historical Linguistics – the study of how language changes over time. Besides developing a grounding in the theory and methodology of these interconnected subjects, you will engage in hands-on analysis of data.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | None. | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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All languages are in a perpetual state of flux. This flux – a combination of variation and change – is socially meaningful. Your gender, ethnicity, age, social background, perhaps even your sexuality, affect how you speak. From this flux comes change, the 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 considerable understanding of Sociolinguistics – the study of social effects on language use – and 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.
First Attempt: Two 2,000-2,500 word essays (each worth 30% of the total mark);
one 1,000-1,500 word analytical exercise (20% of the total mark);
group presentation (10% of the total mark);
seminar work (10%).
Resit: Examination (100%).
Students will be given the opportunity of finding out how well they have performed in seminars as an ongoing feature of the learning process.
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