Fall 2020 - LING 160 D100
Language, Culture and Society (3)
Class Number: 2469
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 9 – Dec 8, 2020: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Ivelina Koleva Tchizmarova
ikt1@sfu.ca
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
An introduction to language in its social and cultural dimensions. Students who have taken LING 260 prior to Fall 2008 may not take LING 160 for further credit. Breadth-Social Sciences.
COURSE DETAILS:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will introduce you to sociolinguistics. We’ll study the relationship between language and society, and uncover some of the ways in which we convey social meaning or signal aspects of our social and cultural identity through language. We’ll discuss how language is used in multilingual and monolingual speech communities, and explore the reasons for language change, and the social and contextual factors conditioning various linguistic responses. The main topics in this course include:
- national and official languages,
- language use, solidarity/distance, and power relationships,
- diglossia, bilingualism, multilingualism, and code-switching,
- language shift, language death, language revival,
- standard and vernacular varieties,
- regional and social dialects,
- the effects of gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic class, and social networks on language use,
- politeness, and cross-cultural communication.
You will learn about sociolinguistic methods through illustrations from a variety of languages, as well as applications within your own speech community.
COURSE DELIVERY:
Remote (online), Blended delivery: 2/3 synchronous 2:30-4:30 pm on Tuesdays (via Canvas and Zoom) and 1/3 asynchronous (approx. 1 hour recorded lecture per week).
Blended: Instruction takes place through pre-recorded lectures and all materials available on Canvas, but there are also online meetings for which participation is mandatory.
Sample weekly module: approx. 1 hour of listening to a pre-recorded lecture (asynch); approx. 30 minutes going over main points of weekly topic (on Zoom, synch); approx. 1 hour interactive discussion and small in-class project (on Zoom, synch), approx. 20-30 min. questions, reminders about forthcoming projects, etc.
Platform(s) used: Canvas & Zoom.
Tech required: Laptop, Internet, microphone.
This course will have a Reading Break during the week of October 12 (Thanksgiving week).There will be no synchronous (in real time) classes or tutorials, recordings, exams, or assignments due this week.
Grading
- Exam 1, 2 and 3 (timed Canvas quiz, synch) worth 15% each 45%
- Two Group assignments (asynch) 20%
- Three smaller assignments (asynch) 15%
- Weekly participation 20%
- Exams/assignments may require data collection, and online research, etc.
- No Final Exam
NOTES:
NOTE: This course may be applied towards the Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language.
Linguistics program students cannot count this course towards their breadth requirements unless in joint or double majors, extended minor or double minors program.
Students should familiarize themselves with the Department’s Standards on Class Management and Student Responsibilities at http://www.sfu.ca/linguistics/undergraduate/standards.html.
Please note that a grade of “FD” (Failed-Dishonesty) may be assigned as a penalty for academic dishonesty.
Student requests for accommodation of their religious practices must be made in writing by the end of the first week of classes or no later than one week after a student adds a course.
Students requiring accommodation as the result of a disability must contact the Centre for Accessible Learning (778.782.3112 or caladmin@sfu.ca).
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Holmes, Janet and Nick Wilson. (2017). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (5th Ed.) London and New York: Routledge. Be sure to obtain the correct edition. Older editions will not be used!
• Additional materials, e.g., article downloads from the SFU library, highlighting sociolinguistic issues in Canada.
ISBN: 978-1-138-84501-5
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2020
Teaching at SFU in fall 2020 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.
Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).