Varieties of and variation in English

6 ECTS credits
150 u studietijd

Aanbieding 1 met studiegidsnummer 1020984BNR voor alle studenten in het 2e semester met een verdiepend bachelor niveau.

Semester

2e semester

Inschrijving onder examencontract

Niet mogelijk

Beoordelingsvoet

Beoordeling (0 tot 20)

2e zittijd mogelijk

Inschrijvingsvereisten

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.

Onderwijstaal

Engels

Faculteit

Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte

Verantwoordelijke vakgroep

Taal- en Letterkunde

Onderwijsteam

Alexis Housen
Bram Bulté (titularis)

Onderdelen en contacturen

0 contacturen Exam
26 contacturen Lecture
90 contacturen Self study

Inhoud

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).

Studiemateriaal

Cursustekst (Vereist) : English linguistics III, Variation in and Varieties of English, Housen - Bulté - Declercq, VUB, 2220170000244, 2015
Praktisch cursusmateriaal (Aanbevolen) : Presented during the lectures, will be made available during class
Handboek (Aanbevolen) : Sociolinguistics, The Study of Speakers’ Choices, Coulmas, F., 2de, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 9781107675568, 2013
Handboek (Aanbevolen) : Sociolinguistics, Theoretical Debates, Coupland, N. & Jaworski, A. (eds.), Macmillan, London, 9781107635753, 2016
Handboek (Aanbevolen) : Sociolinguistics, Hudson, R.A., 2de, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 9780521565141, 1996
Handboek (Aanbevolen) : 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

Bijkomende 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:

Leerresultaten

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.

Beoordelingsinformatie

De beoordeling bestaat uit volgende opdrachtcategorieën:
Examen Mondeling bepaalt 30% van het eindcijfer

ZELF Paper bepaalt 70% van het eindcijfer

Binnen de categorie Examen Mondeling dient men volgende opdrachten af te werken:

Oral presentation met een wegingsfactor 1 en aldus 30% van het totale eindcijfer.

Toelichting: Students report on their work in (a) an oral presentation (10 minutes, in the month of May) and (b) in a written term paper (deadline: 1st week of June). Collective work (maximally 4 students) for the major assignment is recommended.

Binnen de categorie ZELF Paper dient men volgende opdrachten af te werken:

Reading assignment & Paper met een wegingsfactor 3 en aldus 30% van het totale eindcijfer.

Toelichting: For the critical reading assignment, students read a number of set publications and write a critical synthesis of the selected article(s) (1000-1500 words), supplying the main points and key issues of the article(s) as well as provide critical comments (i.e. substantiated personal comments and reflections).
Deadline for submission of the synthesis paper: week before the Spring break.

No student with less than 07/20 on components (b) or (c) will be allowed to pass.
Written term paper met een wegingsfactor 4 en aldus 40% van het totale eindcijfer.

Toelichting: The course contains one compulsory major assignment: a written critical synthesis of one of the set reading materials made available by the lecturer. Time is allotted in the curriculum to prepare this assignment.
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.

Length of the written term paper: 2500-3000 words (1 author), 3500-4500 words (2 authors), 5500-6500 words (3 authors), 6500-7500 words (4 authors).
The written term paper must be submitted in both electronic format and as a hard copy in the week following the end of the semester.

Collective work (maximally 4 students) for the major assignment is recommended.

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

Aanvullende info mbt evaluatie

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.

Toegestane onvoldoende

Kijk in het aanvullend OER van je faculteit na of een toegestane onvoldoende mogelijk is voor dit opleidingsonderdeel.

Academische context