Ling 232: Intro to Language & Society (Winter 2006)
Jeff Conn connjc@pdx.edu https://webmail.pdx.edu/~connjc/ 503-725-4099 East Hall 241
Office Hours: Tues 2:30 – 3:30 & by appointment
In this course we will explore various ways language and society are interconnected. During the quarter, you will
Ø gain an understanding of the power of language
Ø explore the interaction between language and the structure and functioning of society
Ø consider ways language influences our thoughts and cultures
Ø examine some common misunderstandings about language
Ø investigate how language, culture, and environment are intertwined.
You will also have opportunities to reflect on and apply course concepts to your interests and to your role as a member of society.
Required:
Goshgarian, Gary (Ed.). 2004. Exploring Language (10th Edition). New York: Pearson
Longman.
Bauer, Laurie and Trudgill, Peter (Eds.). 1998. Language Myths. London: Penguin.
Classroom atmosphere. The nature of a course dealing with language and attitudes often brings up personal experiences and strong emotional reactions to things. It is critical that we promote the sharing of these experiences and reactions in a constructive, safe and positive atmosphere. Please be respectful of others.
Not a competition. This course is meant to be an individual and group exploration, even a team effort. You are strongly encouraged to discuss the readings and the assignments together, both in and outside of class. Written assignments should be yours and/or your team’s alone. In other words, talk things over as much as you like beforehand, but when you write your paper, the work should be all yours or confined to the team.
Consultation. Feel free to come talk with me about assignments, issues, questions, comments, suggestions or frustrations at any point.
Requirements. Class participation is a very important component of this course. Regular attendance, therefore, is crucial. Attendance will be taken and more than 2 unexcused absences will affect your participation grade. If you need to miss a class, please contact me BEFORE the class to have it excused. Also, not only should you come to class prepared in terms of the reading or other assignment, but you should come ready to contribute actively to class discussion. You should also willingly contribute to class discussion and, perhaps more important, attentively listen to the contributions of others. Be conscious of letting everyone have a chance to say something and accord them the same attention and respect that you expect to receive.
Late assignments are not accepted.
Evaluation. Grades will be decided on the following basis:
10% Class participation
25% Language Journals (5)
25% 3-point critical reading homework (10)
40% Language attitudes projects (4)
Class Participation includes regular attendance (see above) and participation in class discussions. If you are extremely uncomfortable participating and/or contributing to class discussions, please let me know and we can make alternative modes of participation.
Language Journals are simply your personal thoughts and reactions to the readings or life in general relating to the course. There are a total of 5 journals due by the end of the term. These are not graded for content, but you are graded just for doing them. They should be anywhere from 1 single-spaced typed page to 2 pages (try not to make them too long). Please only submit one journal per week in class Thursdays or by email. Any journal received after midnight Friday night will count for the next week. Please do not wait for the last 5 weeks of the term to do these. Feel free to be creative and conduct mini-experiments if you like. These should be a place for you to explore random thoughts that arise during readings and class discussions.
3-point Critical Reading Homework. Since there are no exams in this course, this is the section of your grade that demonstrates to me that you have read the assigned readings. 10 homeworks are due by the end of the term. The ideal situation is to turn in 1 per week. At a minimum, each homework is to be about one of the readings. However, you may decide to turn in one homework about more than one reading. There are multiple ways to fulfill these assignments. As we will be reading many small articles, I would like for you to read with a critical eye. (This is discussed in detail in Exploring Language, Chapter 1.) To fulfill the assignment, I expect 3 points. 1 possibility is to discuss 3 critical questions that come out of the reading. Be sure to include not just the questions, but why and where the question is coming from. You may also choose to answer 3 of the questions at the end of the reading in Exploring Language. For Language Myths readings, you need to identify the myth, if you think the author supports or refutes the myth, what evidence he/she uses to support or refute, and if you agree or disagree (or both) with the result.
Language Attitudes Projects. We will be examining different aspects in which language and society interact. There will be 4 social differences that I want you to focus on and sample Portlanders’ opinions about. The 4 areas are: Regional differences; Language Change/Slang/Style differences; Ethnic/Racial differences; and Gender differences. These projects can be done individually, or in a group of 3 or fewer (I would suggest groups of 3). They will be developed as we go along, but include the following.
Ø A survey question – This question, based on the readings, should be something like: “Do you think men and women talk differently? How so?” or “Do you think people in Portland talk correctly? Is it pleasant?”
Ø Sample – You need to ask this question to at least 6 people (if in a group, 6 people per group member). It is best if you just ask 6 random people on or off campus, but you can use friends or family members living in Portland. We will talk about techniques to do this. You should ask 3 men and 3 women, and guess/provide other social info like age and race. If you can ask or find out what their occupations are too, that may provide some social class information. Also, where is the person from (where did they go to elementary and high school).
Ø Written Presentation – You and/or your group should gather all the responses together (make a table with what people answered what) and turn in a written paper. This should include your question, and who you asked this question to (how many people and include all the social info you have – again a table format is best). Also, you should show your results and then include a short analysis. This includes if your results show any social relationships (men think one thing but women another). Also, how do your results compare to the readings, particularly the language myths we will be discussing.
Ø Oral Presentation – Each group/individual will give a quick oral account of their findings in a large class discussion and we will examine all of the data together. This includes reporting what each group/person found, as well as any questions or discussion about the readings that arose in the written presentation. This will be done the day the projects are due.
Tentative Class calendar
Jeff Conn, Ling 232: Language and Society (Winter 06), T-Th 12:00-1:50, NH 385
The course will be divided up into 5 topics. Please read all of the readings for that topic by the first day of discussion about that topic.
EL = Exploring Language; LM = Language Myths
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Weeks |
Topic |
Readings |
Class Meetings |
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1-2 |
Intro; Language/ Culture/ Conversation / DYSA |
EL: Intro (pp. 1-22); Lang & Thought (pp.27-32) The Social Basis of Talk (pp. 275-285) |
1/10, 1/12 1/17 |
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LM: 2, 7, 10, 19 |
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2-3 |
Variation: Region |
EL: Everyone Has an Accent but Me (pp. 564-569) |
1/19, 1/ 24 1/26 |
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Language Attitudes Proj. #1 DUE 1/26 |
LM: 9, 15, 17 |
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3-6 |
Style Slang Lang Change Prescriptive attitudes |
EL: A Brief History of Eng (pp. 32-41); Like, Uptalk? (pp.291-294); The Other Side of E-Mail (pp. 294-296); Mr. Language Person Takes a Hammer to Grammar (pp. 328-332); Oh, the Profanity (pp. 369-372); Is Bad Language Unacceptable on TV? (pp. 373-377); Why Good English is Good for You (pp. 555-564); Good English and Bad (572-581) |
1/31, 2/2 2/7, 2/9 & 2/14 |
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Language Attitudes Proj. #2 DUE 2/14 |
LM: 1, 3, 5, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 21 |
Tentative Class calendar
Jeff Conn, Ling 232: Language and Society (Winter 06), T-Th 12:00-1:50, NH 385
The course will be divided up into 5 topics. Please read all of the readings for that topic by the first day of discussion about that topic.
EL = Exploring Language; LM = Language Myths
|
Weeks |
Topic |
Readings |
Class Meetings |
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6-7 |
Variation: Race/Ethnicity |
EL: Homemade Education (pp. 61-65); The Language of Silence (pp. 72-77); Spanish Lessons (pp. 79-85); “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (pp. 90-100); Case Study: English Only or Bilingualism [4 articles] (pp. 582-600) |
3/26, 2/21 & 2/23
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Language Attitudes Proj. #3 DUE 2/23 |
LM: 13 |
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8-9 |
Variation: Gender |
EL: Seneca Falls Declaration (pp. 86-90); Aren’t I a Woman? (pp. 100-102); The Struggle for Human Rights (pp.102-110); He Says, She Says: Differences in Discourse [5 articles] (pp. 240-275) |
2/28, 3/2 & 3/7 |
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Language Attitudes Proj. #4 DUE 3/7 |
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9-10 |
Media Politically Incorrect |
EL: Dubya and Me: We’ve Got No Idea (pp. 198-201); Outsiders/Insiders (pp. 309-318); Taking TV’s “War of Words” Too Literally (pp. 377-382); Hate Speech (pp. 498-505); Bias-Free Language: Some Guidelines (pp. 505-516); “Nigger”: The Meaning of the Word (pp. 526-530); Crimes Against Humanity (pp. 536-543); Queer (pp.543-547); Discrimination at Large (pp. 547-549) |
3/9, 3/14 & 3/16 (& 3/23 if needed) |
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Final Exam: Thursday, March 23, 2006; 10:15-12:05 |