(Fall 2008) Ling 410/510: Language Variation

 

 

TTh 12:00-1:50 – 4th Ave. Bldg. 40-07

Jeff Conn                      connjc@pdx.edu                 503-725-4099                    East Hall 241

Office Hours: TTh 2:30-3:30 and by appt.     / /     Webpage: http://web.pdx.edu/~connjc/

 

Course description

 

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the facts of language variation and to the explanations that have been advanced to account for that variation.  Crucial to the course is observing how people actually use language, rather than viewing language as an autonomous entity divorced from its speakers.  Language varieties function beyond the conveying of simple denotative meaning; the use of a linguistic variety (or multiple varieties) and variants within a variety can say much about an individual, that individual’s state of mind, political orientation, social identity, etc.  It is the psychological, cultural, and social meaning of language as correlated with linguistic variants that will be the focus of this course.

 

Course objectives:

 

  • To become familiar with the basic framework of variationist sociolinguistics
  • To learn about a range of language-external factors that affect language use
  • To gain knowledge of observed patterns of variation, particularly in American English
  • To be able to read primary literature in the field

 

 

Required Texts

 

  1. Wolfram, Walt, and Natalie Schilling-Estes. 2006. American English. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Blackwell.
  2. Photocopies from me (or available at Smart Copy [next to Hot Lipps]) or available electronically (See additional readings below).

 

 

Evaluation: assignments and exam

 

All of the assignments for this course have basically the same intention in asking you the student to observe language in its everyday use.  In an ideal world of sociolinguistic inquiry, there would be no contaminating factors and the language data would be of high quality, accessible and completely representative.  Unfortunately no such ideal exists in actual practice.  What you as a researcher will have to do is approximate that ideal as best you can.  Much of the researcher’s ingenuity must often be applied to the methodological issues that you will encounter in this course.

 

Assignment 1.  (Group) Sociolinguistic Interview.  The purpose of the first assignment is to gather some data for future analysis.  We will discuss in class the techniques used in this type of interview.  In order to share the responsibility in the groups, I would recommend that different members of the groups take on different tasks.  One task is obviously finding a subject to interview and carrying out and recording the interview (as well as finding recording equipment).  Another task is to come up with possible interview questions, as well as some formal task, such as a word list or reading passage.  Finally, we need to develop an informed consent form for each group to use.  Each group should prepare a small report (2-3 pages) on the experience and what each group member did as part of the assignment.  In addition, a discussion of trials and tribulations of the process should be included in your summary of activities.  What was difficult? What was unexpected?      

 

Assignment 2. (Individual assignment) Attitudes about Portland speech.  You need to conduct a small survey of what people believe about the speech of Portlanders and/or Northwesterners.  You need to identify if people think Portland has an individual accent, or if its part of a larger accent.  Also, you need to see if people think Portland’s accent is pleasant and if it is considered correct.  You need to survey 10 people (5 women and 5 men), and include relevant social information if available.    

 

 

Assignment 3.  (Group) Analyzing natural speech.  Using the recorded interview from Assignment 1, each group will identify 2 sociolinguistic variables – 1 of your choosing, and the 2nd is (ING).  A selection to choose from will be given in class as we go along.  Each group member should locate 20-30 tokens of each variable (however long that takes in the interview).  For reliability, each series of tokens should be analyzed by 2 different group members and they should agree on what variant each token is.  From these analyses, each group is responsible for a paper (around 5 pages) of the results.  The papers should include:

    

a. Background and Methodology.  You should include a small review of the literature around each variable (1-2 outside sources per variable).  What did others find?  How did other studies investigate the variable?  Then, explain briefly what you investigated and how you investigated it. Why did you choose the linguistic features you did?  Characterize the linguistic features fully.  For example, to analyze ­(ING) there are usually 2 possibilities (velar or alveolar nasal).  Discuss how you came to consensus over questionable tokens. 

 

b. Results and discussion.  What were your results?  Detail the linguistic factors that account for the linguistic variation that you have observed.  Why did the speaker use one form some of the time and another form at other times?  Include tables and charts of the results.  You need to show what percentage use each variant has in the over data you analyzed.  Also, compare your findings with those in the literature you reviewed.

 

c. Evaluation.  Discuss how you would improve your analysis the next time around and perhaps how the assignment itself might be improved.   

 

Grads

Article Review: Graduate students enrolled in 510 will be required to read a research article about some aspect of variation and write a critical review of it.  The review should situate the article within the context of our class discussions, addressing questions or problems raised by the work.  The review should also provide a clear summary of the methodology and major findings of the work, since I will not require you to provide the article to me.  You may select any research article in any relevant journal; some good places to start might be Language Variation and Change and American Speech, as well as variation-oriented articles in the more general journal Language.  The review is limited to five double-spaced pages.

 

The general criteria that will be used to evaluate each assignment are as follows.  The weightings are approximate and typically a global mark will be given rather than a mark broken down into the components listed below.

 

30%     Achieving the stated goals of the assignment.

20%     Critical evaluation of the methodology and of the assignment itself.

20%     Originality and independence of approach, thought, interpretation, or analysis.

20%     Format, organization, presentation, neatness, etc.

 

Submission.  Students should be prepared to present orally the general findings of their papers during the class in which the assignment is listed.  No late assignments will be accepted.

 

Undergrads (Ling 410)

 

 

Grads (Ling 510)

 

3 assignments @ 20%

60%

 

4 assignments @ 15%

60%

Class participation/Exercises

15%

 

Class participation/Exercises

15%

Take-Home Final exam

25%

 

Take-Home Final exam

25%

 

100%

 

 

100%

(Grad students essentially have 4 assignments (the article review is one), so each is worth 15%).

 

Participation/Exercises.  This includes regular attendance as well as preparing answers to assigned questions for the reading due that class.

 

Final exam.  The exam will be at a relatively low level of complexity in terms of what students will be asked to do.  Its main function is to assess the extent to which you have done the readings, listened in lecture, and thought about the issues raised.  The exam will combine a set of objective questions with a set of short-answer ones.  The final exam will be due by Wednesday December 10, 2008 by noon in my box in the Linguistics office.

 

Additional readings (to be updated):

 

Chambers, J. K., Peter Trudgill and Natalie Schilling-Estes. (eds.).  2001.  The Handbook of

Language Variation and Change.  Oxford: Blackwell.

Milroy, Leslie, and Matthew Gordon.  2003.  Sociolinguistics: Method and Interpretation.

Oxford: Blackwell.  (Various chapters – on reserve and photocopies from me.)

 


Tentative Course calendar

WSE = Wolfram and Schilling-Estes

*Additional readings from other sources may also be assigned at my discretion.*

Week

Tuesday

Thursday

1

 

 

 

1 (T 30 Sep) Introduction

Bureaucratic preliminaries

 

2 (Th 2 Oct) History and definitions of dialectology and sociolinguistics

Milroy & Gordon Ch. 1 (on reserve); Handbook of Language Variation and Change p. 3-12 (optional reading)

2

 

 

3 (T 7 Oct) Dialects, methodology

WSE, Ch 1 and 2

4 (Th 9 Oct) Dialects, methodology

Milroy & Gordon Ch. 2, 3 (on reserve)

3

 

 

 

5 (T 14 Oct) Dialect levels; history of dialects in the U.S.

WSE, Ch 3, WSE, Ch 4

 

6 (Th 16 Oct) Dialect levels; history of dialects in the U.S.

WSE, Ch 3, WSE, Ch 4

 

4

 

 

 

 

7 (T 21 Oct)  Regional dialects

WSE Ch 5

Assignment 1 due - Discuss

8 (Th 23 Oct) Regional dialects

WSE Ch 5

Video: “Do you Speak American”

Dialect attitudes, Preston TBA

5

 

 

9 (T 28 Oct) Video: “Do you Speak American”

Dialect attitudes

10 (Th 30 Oct) Age and Language Change

Labov TBA; Reading TBA

6

 

 

11 (T 4 Nov) Social and ethnic dialects

WSE Ch 6, Milroy & Gordon Ch. 4

Assignment 2 due – Discuss

12 (Th 6 Nov) Social and ethnic dialects

Labov TBA

7

 

 

 

13 (T 11 Nov) VETERAN’S DAY

NO CLASS

 

14 (Th 13 Nov) African American English

WSE Ch 7

Reading TBA

 

8

 

 

15 (T 18 Nov) Gender and Sex

WSE, Chapter 8, Eckert TBA

 

16 (Th 20 Nov) Gender and Sex

WSE, Chapter 8

9

 

 

 

 

17 (T 25 Nov) Style

WSE, Chapter 9

Reading TBA

Assignment 3 due – Discuss

18(Th 27 Nov) THANKSGIVING!

NO CLASS

10

 

 

19 (T 2 Dec) Style

WSE, Chapter 9

 

20 (Th 4 Dec) Style

Grad Article Review due

Review

 

Take-home final due: W Dec 10, 2008 by noon in my box in Ling office!