Varieties of and variation in English

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1020984BNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

Om Varieties of and variation in English te kunnen opnemen, moet je geslaagd zijn voor The Morphosyntax of English, of dit vak tenminste opnieuw registreren. Geef steeds voorrang aan vakken uit de laagste fase van je opleiding. Als je een verkort programma volgt, kan je dit vak zo opnemen.

Taught in

English

Faculty

Faculty of Languages & Humanities

Department

Linguistics and Literary Studies

Educational team

Alexis Housen
Bram Bulté (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
90 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

The topic of the course English Linguistics III is "Variation in and Varieties of English". In this course, the emphasis shifts from the purely structural approach adopted in the courses English Linguistics I & II to a more sociolinguistically oriented examination of structure in context by focusing on the ways in which English speakers use the linguistic choices available to them in context to achieve their communicative goals.
The first part of the course outlines the theoretical background to the study of linguistic variation and explains key terms and concepts (e.g. dialect, accent, register, idiolect, common core, jargon, slang, code marker).
The second part discusses several of the major varieties of contemporary English, focusing on their linguistic properties and their extralinguistic correlates.
In the third part, additional varieties of English will be presented by the students as part of their major assignment.

Course outline:
1.    Theoretical Background - Sociolinguistic variation
2.    Social Varieties: Standard and Non-Standard English
3.    Regional varieties (I): British English and American English
4.    Regional varieties (II): dialectal variation in British and American English
5.    Spoken and Written varieties of English
6.    Formal and Informal varieties of English
7.    The Legal register
10. Additional varieties (assignments).

Course material

Course text (Required) : English linguistics III, Variation in and Varieties of English, Housen, VUB, 2220170000244, 2015
Practical course material (Recommended) : Presented during the lectures, will be made available during class
Handbook (Recommended) : Sociolinguistics, The Study of Speakers’ Choices, Coulmas, F., 2de, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 9781107675568, 2013
Handbook (Recommended) : Sociolinguistics, Theoretical Debates, Coupland, N. & Jaworski, A. (eds.), Macmillan, London, 9781107635753, 2016
Handbook (Recommended) : Sociolinguistics, Hudson, R.A., 2de, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 9780521565141, 1996
Handbook (Recommended) : The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction, Chapter 3, 'Varieties of Language', pp. 49-106 (not pp. 60-70), Saville-Troike, M., 3de, Wiley, 9780631228424, 2002

Additional info

The course contains two compulsory assignments: (i) an individual critical written synthesis of a number of set readings and (ii) a collective major assignment with an oral presentation and a written term paper.

Study materials
A printed course is available from the University Bookshop, VUB.
Copies of the slides presented during the lectures and handouts will be made available during class.

COMPLEMENTARY STUDY MATERIAL:
An annotated bibliography with complementary background readings is included in the printed course (end of chapter 1).will be made available in class.
Coulmas, F. 2005. Sociolinguistics – The Study of Speakers' Choices, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coupland, N. & Jaworski, A. (eds.) (1997). Sociolinguistics: A Reader and Coursebook. London: Macmillan.
Davies, D. 2005. Varieties of Modern English - An Introduction, London:

Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

The general goal of this course is to promote students' awareness of the diversity of English as determined by the nature of the contexts in which it is used.
By the end of the course, students are able to:
• analyze variation in English in a scientific way and apply theoretical models of analysis, using the appropriate linguistic terminology and concepts
• to recognize and manipulate a number of key varieties of English (dialects, registers) and to transpose them as a function of the situational properties of the language event.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 30% of the final mark.
SELF Paper determines 70% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Oral presentation with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

Within the SELF Paper category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Reading assignment & Paper with a relative weight of 3 which comprises 30% of the final mark.
Written term paper with a relative weight of 4 which comprises 40% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

First session

(a) Critical synthesis: 30%

For the critical reading assignment, students read a number of set publications and write a critical synthesis of the selected article(s), supplying the main points and key issues of the article(s) as well as provide critical comments (i.e. substantiated personal comments and reflections).

(b) Major assignment part 1: Oral presentation: 30%

Students form teams to investigate in their own time (a) a particular variety of English not discussed in class or (b) the variation shown by a particular linguistic feature across two or more varieties of English. Collective (team) work for this major assignment is compulsory.

For the first part of the major assignment, students report on their work in an oral presentation.

(c) Major assignment part 2: Written term paper: 40%

For the second part of the major assignment, students integrate the feedback received on their oral presentation into an extensive written term paper.

No student with less than 07/20 on components (b) or (c) will be allowed to pass.

Second session

(a) Critical synthesis: 30%

For the critical reading assignment, students read a number of set publications and write a critical synthesis of the selected article(s), supplying the main points and key issues of the article(s) as well as provide critical comments (i.e. substantiated personal comments and reflections).

Students who score 10/20 or more on the critical synthesis in the first session can choose to transfer their score to the critical synthesis in the second session.

(b) Major assignment: Written term paper: 40%

Students investigate in their own time (a) a particular variety of English not discussed in class or (b) the variation shown by a particular linguistic feature across two or more varieties of English. Students report on their work in a written term paper.

Students who score 10/20 or more on the written term paper in the first session can choose to transfer their score to the written term paper in the second session.

(c) Oral examination on the contents of the course: 30%

Students must take part in an oral examination covering the content of the lectures and course book.

Students cannot transfer their score on the oral presentation in the first session to the oral exam in the second session.

No student with less than 07/20 on components (b) or (c) will be allowed to pass.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context