Variation and Change in English

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• • a good understanding of sociolinguistic phenomena which play a crucial role in the processes of linguistic variation and change;
• • a good understanding of key differences in English morpho-syntax, phonetics and lexicon around the world.
• • a good understanding of how linguistic variation may be quantified at different levels in English grammar: phonetic; morphosyntactic; discourse-pragmatic etc.;
• • a good understanding of how linguistic factors affect linguistic variation and change;
• • a good understanding of how social factors affect linguistic variation and change;

The module covers the following topics:

• Sociolinguistic variables
• Features of varieties of English
• Language change
• Age, gender, ethnicity etc. and linguistic variation
• Social networks and language variation
• The life-cycle of variation (dialect levelling; dialect death; and new dialect formation)
• The acquisition of variation by young children

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include

• 1 lecture per week
• 1 seminar per week

The lectures will serve to introduce, analyse and investigate key aspects of sociolinguistics with respect to change and variation in the English language. The weekly seminar will be mostly student-led and will offer an opportunity to discuss key themes through discussion of various activities prepared individually and in groups.

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Wolfram, W. and Schilling-Estes, N (2006). American English. Oxford: Blackwell.

Coupland, Nicholas & Jaworski, Adam, (1997). Sociolinguistics: A Reader and Coursebook. London: Macmillan.

Salikoko, M. The Ecology of Language Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mesthrie, R., Swann, J. Deumert, A. and Leap, W. L. Introducing Sociolinguistics.

Wardhaugh, R. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Blackwell.

Holmes, Janet. (1992). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman.

Milroy, J. and Milroy, L. (1993). Real English: The Grammar of English Dialects in the British Isles. London: Longman.

McMahon, A (1994). Understanding Language Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Llamas, Carmen, Louise Mullany & Peter Stockwell (2007). The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics.. London: Routledge.

Brinton, L. and Fee, M (2001). The Cambridge History of the English Language. Vol VI English in North America.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press..

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External