Survey of Sociolinguistics
LIN 4600 . Fall 2021 . T5-6 R6 (MATHERLY 116)
Instructor: Dr. Fiona Mc Laughlin e-mail: [email protected]
https://people.clas.ufl.edu/fmcl/ Office: 305 Pugh Hall
Hours: Wednesday 1:00-3:00pm or by appt. Phone: (352) 392-4829
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Welcome to Sociolinguistics! This is a survey course that introduces you to the ways in which
language and society are mutually constituted, i.e.: how language is shaped by society and how
society is shaped by language. You will explore both classic and emerging studies,
methodologies, and theories in sociolinguistics, and learn to formulate hypotheses about
language in society.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives of this course are:
• To survey the different roles of language in society
• To acquire critical skills for analyzing language in society
• To gain experience in presenting oral and written arguments about sociolinguistics
• To develop a deeper understanding of the role of language in society
BROADER OBJECTIVES
These are objectives that go beyond the topic of the course to contribute to your growth as an
educated person:
• To become a better – and a more interesting – writer
• To develop your ability to make informed and articulate arguments
READINGS
The following textbooks are required for this class:
Wardhaugh, Ronald and Janet M. Fuller. 2021. An introduction to sociolinguistics. Hoboken NJ:
Wiley Blackwell. (4th edition)
Coupland, Nikolas and Adam Jaworski, eds. 2009. The new sociolinguistics reader. London:
Red Globe Press.
A few additional readings, marked by an asterisk on the schedule below, will be made available
on Canvas.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & ATTENDANCE POLICY
As part of our classroom community, you are required to attend class, complete readings and
assignments on time, and participate in class panels, discussions, and activities. I consider
these requirements to be interrelated: you cannot do one without the other. Of course, there
may be times when something such as illness, an emergency, a religious holiday, or an activity
will prevent your attendance, in which case you will be given the opportunity to make up the
missed work. This provision will not apply to non-emergencies like oversleeping or working. In
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the case of illness or an emergency, please contact me by e-mail as soon as it is feasible for you
to do so, to discuss how you will make up what you have missed. If you are participating in a
university or athletic event that requires travel, or if you will be observing a religious holiday,
please let me know in advance by e-mail so that we can make arrangements regarding readings
and assignments.
CLASS FORMAT
This course relies on a combination of lectures and discussions that will enable you to explore
the material we are considering. The format of this class demands that you, the students, be
active participants in the learning process by a) doing the assigned readings; b) coming to class
prepared and ready to contribute to conversations and activities on the day’s topic; c) listening
to your classmates, encouraging them, and sharing with them your thoughts, insights,
frustrations, and problems related to the material and topic at hand.
CLASSROOM CULTURE
Our guidelines on classroom culture reflect respect for yourself, your classmates, and your
professor. Cell phones must be silenced and put away in a backpack or purse by the time class
begins. Please do not leave them sitting on your desk as they will distract you from our lectures
and discussions. You may take notes on your laptop if you prefer that to a notebook, but please
do not engage in activities on your laptop that are not related to class because it can be
distracting to students sitting behind you. Please be punctual and arrive on time for class.
When we discuss controversial topics in class, please be respectful of other students, including
those who have points of view that may differ from your own. The university classroom should
be an open space for debate and the exchange of ideas.
GRADES
Grades calculated as follows:
Test 1 15%
Test 2 15%
Panel 1 10%
Panel 2 10%
Paper presentation 15%
Paper 15%
Classroom contribution 20%
The assignment of a final letter grade will be based on the following scale:
A 92-100 B 81-84.9 C 71-74.9 D 61-64.9
A- 88-91.9 B- 78-80.9 C- 68-70.9 D- 58-60.9
B+ 85-87.9 C+ 75-77.9 D+ 65-67.9 E Below 58
You may consult the following website to see how the final letter grade is weighted with regard
to overall GPA: https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/grades-grading-policies/
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COMMUNICATION
I communicate with students outside of class through UF e-mail. Please be sure to check your
UF e-mail on a regular basis. You should familiarize yourself with professional e-mail etiquette
here and apply it in your communications with all your professors.
*Special COVID information for Fall 2021
As of July 26, 2021, the Center for Disease Control issued new guidance for protection against
contracting COVID-19. The CDC’s recommendation is that vaccinated (and unvaccinated)
people resume masking indoor in parts of the country where transmission is high. As of August
2021 Florida is experiencing extremely high transmission rates of the virus. The CDC
emphasizes that COVID-19 vaccines remain effective at preventing severe illness,
hospitalization, and death. Please take this information into consideration and act responsibly
by wearing a mask in class. COVID vaccines are available at the UF Student Health Center and
at many other venues in Gainesville, and masks are widely available throughout campus.
For more information, please see the August 6 Campus Brief:
https://coronavirus.ufl.edu/university-updates/august-6-campus-brief-.html
*Please note that if you come to my office for office hours, you will be required to wear a mask.
GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
Access
Students who require academic accommodation to access the full benefits of this class may
apply through the Disability Resource Center https://disability.ufl.edu. You should share your
accommodation letter with me as early as possible so that I can make appropriate
arrangements.
Academic honesty
As a UF student you have subscribed to the Student Code of Honor. Academic dishonesty,
including plagiarism, is a violation of that Code. Any student engaging in such activities will be
dealt with in accordance with University policy and receive a failing grade for the course.
https://sccr.dso.ufl.edu/policies/student-honor-code-student-conduct-code/
Course evaluation
Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of
instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on
how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at
https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/ . Students will be notified when the evaluation period
opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their
Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/.
Class recording
Pursuant to Florida House Bill 233, which you can see here, please note the following:
Students are allowed to record video or audio of class lectures. However, the purposes for
which these recordings may be used are strictly controlled. The only allowable purposes are (1)
for personal educational use, (2) in connection with a complaint to the university, or (3) as
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evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding. All other purposes are
prohibited. Specifically, students may not publish recorded lectures without the written
consent of the instructor.
A “class lecture” is an educational presentation intended to inform or teach enrolled students
about a particular subject, including any instructor-led discussions that form part of the
presentation, and delivered by any instructor hired or appointed by the University, or by a
guest instructor, as part of a University of Florida course. A class lecture does not include lab
sessions, student presentations, clinical presentations such as patient history, academic
exercises involving solely student participation, assessments (quizzes, tests, exams), field trips,
private conversations between students in the class or between a student and the faculty or
lecturer during a class session.
Publication without permission of the instructor is prohibited. To “publish” means to share,
transmit, circulate, distribute, or provide access to a recording, regardless of format or medium,
to another person (or persons), including but not limited to another student within the same
class section. Additionally, a recording, or transcript of a recording, is considered published if it
is posted on or uploaded to, in whole or in part, any media platform, including but not limited
to social media, book, magazine, newspaper, leaflet, or third party note/tutoring services. A
student who publishes a recording without written consent may be subject to a civil cause of
action instituted by a person injured by the publication and/or discipline under UF Regulation
4.040 Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code.
Campus resources
Health and Wellness
U Matter, We Care: If you or someone you know is in distress, please contact [email protected],
352-392-1575, or visit U Matter, We Care website to refer or report a concern and a team
member will reach out to the student in distress.
Counseling and Wellness Center: Visit the Counseling and Wellness Center website or call 352-
392-1575 for information on crisis services as well as non-crisis services.
Student Health Care Center: Call 352-392-1161 for 24/7 information to help you find the care
you need, or visit the Student Health Care Center website.
University Police Department: Visit UF Police Department website or call 352-392-1111 (or 9-1-1
for emergencies).
UF Health Shands Emergency Room / Trauma Center: For immediate medical care call 352-733-
0111 or go to the emergency room at 1515 SW Archer Road,
Gainesville, FL 32608; Visit the UF Health Emergency Room and Trauma Center website.
Academic Resources
E-learning technical support: Contact the UF Computing Help Desk at 352-392-4357 or via e-
mail at [email protected].
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Career Connections Center: Reitz Union Suite 1300, 352-392-1601. Career assistance and
counseling services.
Library Support: Various ways to receive assistance with respect to using the libraries or finding
resources.
Teaching Center: Broward Hall, 352-392-2010 or to make an appointment 352- 392-6420.
General study skills and tutoring.
Writing Studio: 2215 Turlington Hall, 352-846-1138. Help brainstorming, formatting, and writing
papers.
Student Complaints On-Campus: Visit the Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code
webpage for more information.
On-Line Students Complaints: View the Distance Learning Student Complaint Process.
SCHEDULE of TOPICS This is a roadmap for our course, subject to minor changes according to class
rhythm, interests, and needs. Textbook refers to the Wardhaugh & Fuller textbook, while Reader
refers to the Coupland & Jaworski reader. Readings marked by an asterisk will be available on
CANVAS.
Week 1 Introduction to Sociolinguistics
8/24-26 Introduction to the class
Readings: Textbook Chapter 1: ‘Introduction’
Reader Chapter 1: ‘Social worlds through language’
Week 2 Languages, dialects, varieties…
8/31-9/2 Readings: Textbook Chapter 2: ‘Languages, dialects, and varieties’
Reader Chapter 2: ‘Dialect in society’ by Walt Wolfram
Week 3 Social groups, language attitudes and ideologies
9/7-9 Readings: Textbook Chapter 3 : ‘Defining groups’
Reader Chapter 26: ‘Language-ideological processes’ by Judith T. Irvine &
Susan Gal.
PANEL 1
Week 4 Language in context: Pragmatics
9/14-16 Readings: Textbook Chapter 4: ‘Language in context: Pragmatics’
*‘The pronouns of power and solidarity’ Brown & Gilman (available on
Canvas)
TEST 1 9/16
Week 5 Language variation and change
T 9/21-23 Readings: Textbook Chapter 5: ‘Language variation and change’
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Reader Chapter 3 ‘The social stratification of (r) in New York City
department stores by William Labov
PANEL 2
Week 6 Language variation and change
T 9/28-30 Readings: Reader Chapter 6 ‘Be like: The new quotative in English’ by Sali Tagliamonte
Reader Chapter 9 ‘Syntactic variation and beyond’ by Jenny Cheshire
PANEL 3
Week 7 Style and identity
T 10/5-7 Readings: Reader Chapter 18 ‘Language style as audience design’ by Allan Bell
Reader Chapter 19 ‘The process of communication accommodation’ by
Howard Giles
Reader Chapter 20 ‘Crossing, ethnicity and code-switching’ by Ben Rampton
PANEL 4
Week 8 Multilingualism, diglossia, and linguistic landscape
T 10/12-14 Readings: Textbook Chapter 8 ‘Languages in contact: Multilingual societies and
multilingual discourse’
Reader Chapter 31 ‘Diglossia’ by Charles Ferguson
*’Towards a material ethnography of linguistic landscape: Multilingualism,
mobility and space in a South African township’ by Christopher Stroud and
Sibonile Mpendukana (available on Canvas)
PANEL 5
Week 9 Multilingual discourse, from codeswitching to languaging
T 10/19-21 Readings: Reader Chapter 33 ‘Code-switching’ by Carol Myers-Scotton
*’The monolingual bias in bilingualism research, or: why bilingual talk is
(still) a challenge for linguistics’ by Peter Auer (available on Canvas)
Week 10
T 10/26-28 TEST 2
October 28 no class (I will be presenting a paper at the Middle Eastern Studies Association
Annual Meeting in Montreal)
Week 11 Contact varieties
T 11/2-4 Readings: Textbook Chapter 9 ‘Contact varieties: Structural consequences of social
factors’
Reader Chapter 38 ‘A sociolinguistics of globalization’ by Jan Blommaert
PANEL 6
Week 12
T 11/9 Pidgins and creoles, legacies of colonialism and racism
Readings: *Mufwene TBA (available on Canvas)
*Deumert, Storch & Shepherd TBA (available on Canvas)
Th 11/11 Holiday
Week 13 Presentations and feedback on final papers
T 11/16-18
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Week 14 Reading day
T 11/23
Week 15 Presentations and feedback on final papers
11/30-12/2
Week 16 Moving forward
12/7 Readings: *‘Disinventing and (re)constituting languages’ by Sinfree Makoni and
Alastair Pennycook (available on Canvas)
