LIN1256H1F Fall 2011
Sociophonetics
(Topics in Language Variation)
Schedule | Description | Assessment | Readings | Professor Naomi Nagy
Thursdays 3:10-5:00 in University College 175
Course Description
In this graduate seminar, students will engage in research to answer to some of the big questions currently under debate in the recently emerged field of sociophonetics. These include:
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Phonetic variation -- how much of it is socially predictable? What kinds are / are not?
- Social variation -- What parts of language are socially patterned, i.e. correlated to social variables like age, sex, network membership?
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Is phonetic variation which is measurable by machine, but not audible to the human ear (or not perceived by humans), relevant to sociolinguistic models?
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How does variation in perception and production at the phonetic level relate to language change?
- Do the principles of language variation and change that have been established based on large languages like English also apply to smaller and lesser-studied languages?
The course will involve reading recent work in the field and engaging in primary research, making use of newly collected data from the Heritage Language Variation and Change in Toronto project. Speakers of the languages examined in that project are especially encouraged to take the course.
Assessment
Assessment will be based on participation in discussion, in-class presentations, short assignments, and a major research paper. The paper will be built incrementally, with a proposal, abstract, and lit. review due earlier in the term. The final paper is due one week after classes end. Group work is anticipated. In fact, it is hoped that all (or most) students will work on a cohesive project.
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Participation:
Contribute productively and
thoughtfully to class discussion every day, bringing in your knowledge from
assigned readings and other resources in your background.
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10%
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Presentation: Each student will present 1 (or 2, depending on
enrollment) of the theory” papers listed in purple in the “Theory” column of
the syllabus, or other papers the class deems relevant. Presentation should
elicit discussion from the class. Presenters will be the class’s “go-to”
person for that topic throughout the semester. See presentation guidelines. |
20%
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Homework
assignments: You must submit
6 of the 10 HWs. Each is due the week after it is
listed in the syllabus. Choose assignments useful in building necessary
skills for your research project. (Start early. We may need to trouble-shoot this new textbook!)
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20%
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Research
proposal: descriptive title,
topic
of the final paper; goals & hypotheses; methodology; short reference
list. 2-3 pages (1.5 spaced). Group projects are strongly encouraged. Topics will be discussed
in class.
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15%
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Research
paper: Topics and requirements will be discussed
during the class, with the option of group projects strongly encouraged. No length maximum or
minimum will be stipulated. An outline of necessary components will be
developed in class.
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35%
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Readings for the course
A preliminary reading list is online here. Readings are available through Blackboard. (Info on access to Blackboard)
Please consider printing double-sided, using 1.5 spacing, omitting title pages, and reading onscreen when possible.
Updated
September 13, 2011
