English 452 Language, Culture, and Society Clai Rice HLG 204 M&W, 1:00-2:15 University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Office: Griffin 357 Phone: 482-1327 Email: crice@louisiana.edu Office Hours: M W 11:00-1:00,   4:00-6:00, and by appointment

Course Description: 

Some wit humorously observed that Great Britain and the United States are two countries divided by a common language. This course will examine how language can unite and divide us, how our perceptions about language shape and are shaped by the society and culture in which we live and move. Specific topics to be discussed include American regional dialects, ethnic-, gender-, and economic-based variation, pidgins and creoles, code-switching, World Englishes, linguistic landscapes, linguistic bias, and language in the media. We will learn how linguists have adapted sociological research methods to investigate language variation and change. This course will appeal to students interested in linguistics and TESOL, and to those interested in dialect representation in print or film.

Texts: 

Several readings will come from Coupland and Jaworski, so if you can find it at a good price you might get a copy; other readings will be made available in class or on Moodle. The advantage to using this book is that most of the articles are excerpted or adapted so they are briefer and easier to follow for beginners.

Attendance 
As with any upper level class, students are expected to attend and participate in every meeting, hand in all assignments on time, and pursue independent lines of research beyond the readings required for the course. As per university guidelines, missing more than 10% of class meetings will cause your grade to suffer.

Americans With Disabilities Act Compliance Statement
It is the policy of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to afford equal opportunity in education to qualified students. If you have a disability that may prevent you from meeting course requirements, contact the instructor immediately to file a student disability statement and to develop an accommodation plan. Course requirements will not be waived but reasonable accommodations will be developed to assist you in meeting the requirements.

Points for Each Assignment:

Useful Linguistics Links: (see Moodle)