LING-420 Language in Society (3)

This course investigates how language shapes and is shaped by society at all levels, and how language makes us members of a culture. Students explore how society affects language use at all levels of linguistic structure (from pronunciations, to conversations, to entire languages), and how everyday speech and its social perception interacts with systems of power, prejudice and opportunity. They examine how language correlates with social groupings and identities, and how these are perceived and imagined, taking on a life of their own in broader society and the media. Students also examine how language is used to construct gendered and racial/ethnic identities, define social roles and power relations, and socialize children. Students become familiar with key sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological theories and methodologies, and gain experience in data collection and analysis. Crosslist: LING-620.