Sociophonetic Project Module

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• The ability to define, present and exemplify theoretical concepts regarding English phonetic and phonology
• The ability to select and collect suitable variables from empirical data in order to test, analyse and present specific hypotheses
• The ability to relate knowledge from sociolinguistic theory to broader debates within the field of English linguistics and sociolinguistics
• The ability to select, synthesise and focus pertinent data; to select, synthesise and focus information from theoretical and methodological source material
• The ability to engage with subject matter and received opinion in breadth and depth
• The ability to formulate and defend personal opinion clearly and persuasively and with recourse to appropriate evidence
• The ability to apply and evaluate appropriate methods to the study of English dialects in order to study testable hypotheses

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Develop skills in analysing and presenting various genres of data both cogently and concisely
• Gain skills in abstracting and synthesising complex information and data and organising the results appropriately
• Gain skills and expertise in working with others to collect, analyse and present appropriate data
• Gain skills in communicating effectively in a long and complex piece of academic writing
• Gain skills in producing academic writing to required conventions
• Gain skills and expertise in reflecting on your own learning processes and using feedback cumulatively

Knowledge and Understanding

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

• The phonological and phonetic structure of contemporary English, including reference to morphological items
• The relationship between language and the mind in terms of dialect and accent acquisition
• Current sociolinguistic theory; phonetic, dialectal difference between regional and global varieties of English
• The analysis of spoken discourse, including orthographic conventions and phonetic variation
• Social differentiation and variation (class, gender, age etc.) in spoken discourse

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Gain skills and expertise in phonetic coding of sociolinguistic data
• Gain skills and expertise in multivariate analysis of sociolinguistic data
• Develop competencies with a range of general computer software, such as Excel and Audacity, as well as with specialist phonetics software such as Praat, DARLA and advance statistical programming software such as R.

The module is likely to cover the following topics:

• Quantitative linguistic variation
• Sociolinguistic analysis methodology
• Language and identity
• Gender
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Language change
• Language across the lifespan

Key theoretical concepts reviewed and methodological skills developed include:

• The linguistic variable
• Quantifiable variation
• Principle of accountability
• Social and variable constraints
• Multivariate analysis
• Identifying a variable and circumscribing the variable context
• Constructing research questions
• Data collection, coding and transcription
• Analysing variation and interpreting and embedding this within wider literature

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include:

• Weekly lab session consisting of lecture or demonstration followed by practical exercises which will contribute towards final project.
• 5 lab workshops
• 4 milestone, assessed assignments to ensure project workload is well managed

Learning activities include:

• Independent and group preparatory reading and study
• Individual and group oriented practical activities and tasks

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Praat software. free computer program. Already installed on university network. http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/

Transcriber free computer software. Free - may need to be downloaded onto uni network. http://trans.sourceforge.net/en/presentation.php

Textbooks

Sali Tagliamonte (2006). Analysing Sociolinguistic Variation. Cambridge: CUP.

Jack Chambers (2008). Sociolinguistic Theory. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.

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

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External