- Ling. 550: Sociolinguistics II Instructor:
Theory and Practice
Office: 4072B FLB
Office Hrs: Th. 1-3 pm
Email: rbhatt@uiuc.edu
Ph: 265-6308
Course Description:
This course offers a systematic investigation of theoretical issues in language use. The aim of this course is to present contemporary theoretical frameworks to explain a variety of diverse—and at first glance unrelated—sociolinguistically significant generalizations. The empirical content of this course covers issues that present the possibility of engaging in the development of a theory of language use, informed by ideas and insights of social theories.
This is a reading-intensive course. It invites critical interpretation of text (oral and written), thoughtful discussion, and active participation. In addition to readings from the texts, students will be required to come prepared to discuss readings assigned from the course packet. Students are expected to present exemplars of theoretical issues from their own language use/experience/background.
Texts:
Recommended:
Coupland, N., S. Sarangi, & C. Candlin. (eds.) 2001. Sociolinguistics and Social Theory. London: Longman (CSC)
Bourdieu, P. 1991. Language & Symbolic Power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP. (PB)
Course Packet: 4100 FLB.
Hudson, R. A. 1996. Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: CUP (H)
Course Evaluation:
Class Presentations: 20%
Response Papers: 20%
Research Paper: 60%
Presentations: Presentations are designed to invite a more rigorous discussion among students of research paper/agendas that are considered seminal. Each student will be required to present two or more research papers. The presentation should not exceed 15-20 mins. and each presenter will prepare at least a 2-page handout highlighting the main arguments and the supporting cast of evidence. The readings that appear with a star [*] below are reserved for student presentation.
Response papers allow students to present an informed critique of the assigned readings. The idea is NOT a review, but a critique. Each paper will be assigned a letter grade.
Research Paper: The research paper will be graded for its originality, intellectual content, and publishability (at least in the UIUC journal, Studies in the Linguistic Sciences [SLS] or the UCLA journal, Issues in Applied Linguistics [IAL]). A typical research paper has the following structure:
Title
• Consider keywords that best describe study and include them.
• Should reflect study as accurately as possible, without being overly wordy.
Abstract
• 100-200 words
• Should contain elements from all 4 sections of report:
1: 2-3 sentences on the importance of study followed by succinct statement of
study’s chief purpose (no references).
2: Brief statement of methods: e.g., # of Ss and cursory definition of variables.
3: Putative results presented as they relate to primary objective of study. (no
numbers)
4: Conclusions of study: What is the primary contribution of study?
Introduction
• Briefly describe general problem area, why this study is important.
Literature Review
• Needs to communicate the purpose of the study and why this is important
• Needs to motivate variables of study, if any.
• Demonstrates what other researchers have found on the topic (history on topic)
• Outlines theoretical framework, if necessary, and discusses how it generates specific hypotheses on your focus.
• Needs to stay focused, relevant to study
• Ends with specific statement on purpose of study or hypotheses. Must be a logical endpoint (or next step) for entire lit review to that point.
Methods
• To describe your data collection procedures as clearly as possible, stating HOW the study will be carried out.
• To convince readers that study is valid and results will be reliable, to allow others to replicate, thus making your claims (argument) stronger.
1: Subjects: who, when, why, etc. (show how subjects-related variables were manipulated)
2: Items/instruments: target constructions (show how items-related variables were manipulated)
3: Procedures: what researcher(s) did, what subjects did, how groups were assigned, how, when, and on what subjects were measured.
Results and Discussion
• Need to summarize your findings (support of your hypotheses or not) and then interpret them in terms of the theoretical framework used—what the results are and what do they mean.
Conclusions and Implications
• Summarize the main arguments (hypotheses, results, and discussion) and discuss what theoretical, methodological and empirical implications the study has for our understanding of the interaction of language and society.
Course Schedule:
Note: 1. All readings are available in room 4100 FLB.
2. Italicized readings below are OPTIONAL.
Week 1: Jan 20-22
· Review of SL I:
Readings:
Hymes, Dell. 1972. On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & Holmes (eds.) Sociolinguistics. Harmodsworth, England: Penguin. Pp: 269-293.
Saville-Troike, M. 1989. The ethnographic analysis of communicative events. In M. Saville-Troike The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell. Pp. 107-139.
Habermas, Jürgen. 1970. Towards a theory of communicative competence. Inquiry, 13, 360-375.
Habermas, Jürgen. 1970. On systematically distorted communication. Inquiry, 13, 205-218.
Week 2: Jan 27-29
· Review of SL I, contd.:
Readings:
Labov, W. 1972. The study of language in its social context. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (eds.) Sociolinguistics. Harmodsworth, England: Penguin. Pp: 180-202.
Labov, W. 1988. The judicial testing of linguistic theory. In D. Tannen (ed.) Linguistics in Context: Connecting Observations and Understanding. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. 159-182.
(H). Pps. 144-202.
Week 3: Feb 3-5
· Review of SL1, contd.
Readings:
Goodwin, C. & A. Duranti. 1992. Rethinking context: an introduction. In A. Duranti & C. Goodwin (eds.) Rethinking Context: Language as an Interactive Phenomenon. Cambridge: CUP. Pp: 1-43.
Gumperz, J. 1992. Contextualization and understanding. In A. Duranti & C. Goodwin (eds.) Rethinking Context: Language as an Interactive Phenomenon. Cambridge: CUP. Pp: 229-252.
Gumperz, J. 1996. The linguistic and cultural relativity of inference. In J. Gumperz & S. Levinson (eds.) Rethinking Linguistic Relativity. Cambridge: CUP. Pp: 374-406.
Week 4: Feb 10-12
· Critiques of traditional sociolinguistics
Readings:
Cameron, D. 1990. Demythologizing sociolinguistics: Why language does not reflect society. In J. Joseph & T. Taylor (eds.) Ideologies of Language. London: Routledge. Pp: 79-93.
*Woolard, Kate. 1985. Language variation and cultural hegemony: Toward an integration of soicolinguistic and social theory. American Ethnologist 12, 738-748.
*Cameron, D. et al. 1999. Ethics, advocacy and empowerment in researching language. In N. Coupland & A. Jaworski (eds.) Sociolinguistics. London: Blackwell. Pp: 145-162.
Week 5: Feb 17-19
· Social theories: Language as action
Readings:
Bourdieu: Editor’s (John Thompson’s) Introduction
*Thomson, J. 1984. Symbolic violence. In Studies in the Theory of Ideology. Cambridge: Polity Press. Pp: 42-72.
Week 6: Feb 24-26
· Social theories: Language as action (contd.)
Readings:
Bourdieu: Chapters 1, 2, and 7.
Week 7: March 2-4
· Language and political economy
Readings:
Gal, S. 1989. Language and political economy. Annual Review of Anthropology, 18, 345-367.
Heller, M. 1988. Strategic ambiguity: Codeswitching in the management of conflict. In M. Heller (ed.) Codeswitching: Anthroplogical and Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Pp: 77-96.
*Irvine, J. 1989. When talk isn’t cheap: Language and political economy. American Ethnologist, 16, 248-267.
*Heller, M. 1995. Language choice, social institutions, and symbolic domination. Language in Society 24, 373-405.
*Gal, S. 1988. The political economy of code choice. In M. Heller (ed.) Codeswitching: Anthroplogical and Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Pp: 245-264.
Friedrich, P. 1989. Language, ideology and political economy. American Anthropologist 91, 295-312.
Gal, S. 1987. Codeswitching and conciousness in the European periphery. American Etnologist 14, 637-653.
Hill, J. 1985. The grammar of conciousness and the conciousness of grammar. American Ethnologist 12, 725-737.
Week 8: March 9-11
· Language, ideology, power
Readings:
Thomson, J. 1984. Theories of ideology and methods of discourse analysis. In Studies in the Theory of Ideology. Cambridge: Polity Press. Pp: 73-147.
Fairclough, N. 1989. Discourse and power. In Language and Power. London: Longman. Pp. 43-76.
*Brown, R and A. Gilman 1960. The pronouns of power and solidarity. In T. Sebeok (ed.) Style in Language. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 253-276.
*Fowler, R. 1985. Power. In T. van Dijk (ed.) Handbook of Discourse Analysis. NY: Academic Press. Pp: 61-82.
Week 9: March 16-18
· “Rational Choice” theories
Readings:
Elster, J. 1986. Introduction. In J. Elster (ed.) Rational Choice. New York: NYU Press. Pp: 1-33.
*Elster, J. 1994. Rationality, emotions, and social norms. Synthese 98: 21-49.
*Nyuts, J. 1993. Intentions and Language Use. Antwerp Papers in Linguistics, 73. 1-53.
Myers-Scotton, C. & A. Bolonyai. 2001. Calculating speakers: Codeswitching in a rational choice model. Language in Society, 30, 1-28.
PAPER TOPICS DUE: March 16
WEEK 10: SPRING BREAK
Week 11: March 30-April 1
· Rational choice theories: Language and social psychology
Readings:
Giles, H. & P. Powesland. 1999. Accommodation Theoy. . In N. Coupland & A. Jaworski (eds.) Sociolinguistics. London: Blackwell. Pp: 232-239.
Bell, A. 1999. Language style as audience design. In N. Coupland & A. Jaworski (eds.) Sociolinguistics. London: Blackwell. Pp: 240-250.
*Gallois, C. et al. 1995. Accommodating Intercultural Encounters: Elaborations and Extensions. In R. Wiseman (ed.) Intercultural Communication Theory. London: Sage. 115-147.
*Bell, A. 1991. Audience accommodation in the mass media. In H. Giles, et al (eds.) Contexts of Accommodation — Developments in Applied Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: CUP. Pp: 69-102.
Bell, A. 1984. Language style as audience design. Language in Society 13, 145-204.
2-PAGE RESEARCH PAPER ABSTRACT DUE: March 30
Week 12: April 6-8
· Rational choice theories: Politeness
Readings:
Tracy, K. 1990. The many faces of facework. In H. Giles & W. Robinson (eds.) Handbook of Language and Social Psychology. London: John Wiley & Sons. Pp: 209-226.
*Scarcella, R. & J. Brunak. 1981. On speaking politely in a second language. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 27, 59-75.
*Matsumoto, Y. 1988. Reexamination of the universality of face: Politeness phenomena in Japanese. Journal of Pragmatics, 12, 403-426.
*Lim, T-S. & J. Bowers. 1991. Facework: Solidarity, Approbation, and Tact. Human Communication Research, 17, 415-450.
Week 13: April 13-15
· Language and discourse practices
Readings:
van Dijk, T. 1993. Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse and Society 4. 249-283.
* van Dijk, T. 1993. Analyzing racism through discourse analysis: some methodological reflections. In J. H. Stanfield and R.M. Dennis (eds.) Race and Ethnicity in Research Methods. California: Sage. Pp. 92-139.
*Martín, R. 1995. Division and rejection: from the personification of the Gulf conflict to the demonization of Suddam Hussein. Discourse and Society, 6, 49-80.
*Morgan, P. 1997. Self-presentation in a speech of Newt Gingrich. Pragmatics. 7, 275-308.
Blommaert, J. and C. Bulcaen. 2000. Critical discourse analysis. Annual Review of Anthropology, 29, 447-466.
Week 14: April 20-22
· Language and discourse practices (contd.)
Readings:
*El Refaie, E. 2001. Metaphors we discriminate by: Naturalized themes in Austrian newspaper articles about asylum speakers. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 5, 352-371.
*Schiffrin, D. 2001. Language, experience and history: ‘What happened’ in World War II. Journal of Sociolinguistics. 5, 323-351.
*Martín, R. & T. van Dijk. 1997. “There was a problem, and we solved!”: Legitimating the expulsion of ‘illegal’ migrants in Spanish parliamentary discourse. Discourse and Society, 8, 523-566.
Week 15: 27-29
· Language and social identity
Readings:
Turner, J. 1999. Some current issues in research on social identity and self-categorization theories. In N. Ellemers, et al. (eds.) Social Identity, Context, Commitment, Content. Oxford: Blackwell. Pp: 7-34.
Week 16: May 4
Readings:
*Smith, H. et al. 1999. Social identity and the context of relative deprivation. In N. Ellemers, et al. (eds.) Social Identity, Context, Commitment, Content. Oxford: Blackwell. Pp: 205-229.
May 14: RESEARCH PAPERS DUE
Some Useful Works (Modern Language & Linguistics, 425 Library)
Bell, A and P. Garrett (eds.) 1998. Approaches to Media Discourse. Oxford: Blackwell.
Brown, P. & S. Levinson. 1987. Politeness: Some Universals of Language Usage. Cambridge: CUP.
Chouliaraki, L. & N. Fairclough. 1999. Discourse in Late Modernity: Rethinking Critical Discourse Analysis. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP
Duranti, A. 1994. From Grammar to Politics: Linguistic Anthropology in Western Samoan Village. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Eagleton, T. 1990. Ideology: An Introduction. London: Verso.
Fairclough, N. 1995. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London: Longman.
Gibbs, R. 1999. Intentions in the Experience of Meaning. Cambridge: CUP.
Habermas, J. 2001. On the Pragmatics of Social Interaction. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Heller, M. (ed.) 1988. Codeswitching: Anthropological and Sociolinguistic Perspectives. The Hague: Mouton de Gruyter.
Heller, M. 1999. Linguistic Minorities and Modernity: A Sociolinguistic Ethnography. London: Longman.
Heller, M. & M. Martin-Jones. (eds.) 2001. Voices of Authority: Education and Linguistic Difference. Westport, CT: Ablex.
Kieienpointner, M. (ed.) 1999. Ideologies of Politeness. Special Issue Pragmatics 9(1): 1-176.
Kroskrity, P. (ed.) 2000. Regimes of Language: Ideologies, Polities, and Identities. New Mexico: School of American Research Press.
Pujolar, J. 2000. Gender, Heteroglossia, and Power: A Sociolinguistic Study of Youth Culture. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Rampton, B. 1995. Crossing: Language and Ethnicity among Adolescents. London: Longman.
S. Sarangi & S. Slembrouck. 1996. Language, Bureaucracy, and Social Control. London: Longman.
Schäffner, C, & A. Wenden (eds.) 1995. Language and Peace. Aldershot, UK: Dartmouth.
Schmid, C. 2001. The Politics of Language: Conflict, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism in Comparative Perspective. NY: OUP.
Scollon, R. 1998. Mediated Discourse as Social Interaction: A Study of New Discourse. London: Longman.
Sperber, D. & D. Wilson. 1995. Relevance: Communication and Cognition. Oxford: Blackwell.
Urciuoli, B. 1996. Exposing Prejudice: Puerto Rican Experience of Language, Race and Class. New York: Westview Press.
van Dijk, T. 1987. Communicating Racism. London: Sage.
van Dijk, T. 1998. Ideology: A Multidisciplinary Approach. London: Sage.
Woolard, K. 1989. Double Talk: Bilingualism and Politics of Ethnicity in Catalonia. Stanford: StanfordUP.
Some Useful Journals
Language in Society
Journal of Sociolinguistics
Discourse and Society
Journal of Pragmatics
Pragmatics
Language and Communication
Applied Linguistics
International Journal of Applied Linguistics
American Anthropologist
American Ethnologist
World Englishes