Ateneo - UPO

Introduction to sociolinguistics; multilingual speech communities; language choice in multilingual communities; the ‘pragmatics’ of English; cultural relationships and linguistic choices/opportunities; institutional multilingualism; geographical and social issues; the function/ of social networks; style, context, register/s; identity and linguistic stereotypes; discourse patterns, culture, and language; cross-cultural communication; cross-cultural linguistics.

COMPULSORY HANDBOOKS (all the students):

- Holmes, Janet and Nick Wilson, 2017 (5th) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, Routledge.
- Peterson, Elizabeth, 2019, Making Sense of ‘Bad English’. An Introduction to Language Attitudes and Ideologies, Routledge.

Analysis and discussion of primary sources (newspapers, magazines, webpages, etc.) in a sociolinguistic perspective. The texts will be selected and made available during the course.

READING LIST (compulsory), choose one out of three:

- Murphy, Lynne, 2018, The Prodigal Tongue. The Love-Hate Relationship between British and American English, Penguin Books.
- Evans, Vyvyan, 2014, The Language Myth. Why Language is not an Instinct, Cambridge University Press.
- McColl Millar, Robert, 2012, English Historical Sociolinguistics, Edinburgh University Press.
- Wright, Laura, 2023, The Social Life of Words. A Historical Approach. Wiley Blackwell

FURTHER READING (optional for self study)

- Heller, Monica, Sari Pietikäinen, Joan Pujolar, 2018, Critical Sociolinguistic Research Research Methods. Studying Language Issues That Matter, Routledge.
- Biber, Douglas and Susan Conrad, 2009, Register, Genre, and Style, Cambridge University Press.
- Mair, Christian, 2006, Twenty-Century English. History, Variation, and Standardization, Cambridge University Press.

English Linguistics Specialistica B, which considers both the aims and needs of LM37+LM49, can be considered as the second level and continuation of the more specific English Linguistics Specialistica A (there are two specific editions of this first level, one for LM 37, the other for LM 49). This second level aims at a wider perspective in English Linguistics, and at an in-depth discussion of the main linguistic phenomena in society.
The main interest and the methodological perspective are those of sociolinguistics, and related phenomena. Sociolinguistics is a field of study that includes any communicative activity, at different levels, in different contexts (private, professional, institutional, etc.). This implies the ability for the speaker(s)/writer(s)to encode, and select the most appropriate language form/contents to make the message clear and perspicuous for the recipient/s. This is also true when decoding a message. Different forms, registers, ‘kinds of’ language items, combinations, according to different contexts, cultures, interactants.
English Linguistics Specialistica B will focus on the main aspects of English sociolinguistics: both on the most up-to-date perspectives in contemporary studies, and on their pragmatic function/s.

The course general contents and specific topics, language skills and activities, the end-of-course examination, as well as the assessment criteria applied, refer to B2+ level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference).

Language skills at an advanced level: min. B2, but B2+ is preferred (CEFR).

Please check the prerequisites for admission to the MA Lingue, Culture, Turismo:
https://www.disum.uniupo.it/tutto-studenti/offerta-formativa/lauree-magistrali/lingue-culture-turismo/lingue-culture-turismo-0

Lectures

The course will be held in the first semester, between September and November-December 2023.

The use of handbooks for the theoretical approach will be supported by authentic materials for the analysis of the sociolinguistic features and the communicative strategies under scrutiny.

ASSIGNMENT:
critical writing (book review) on the selected book (see Testi di Riferimento, Reading List). The writing will count about 750 words, and highlight (explaining, exemplifying, and discussing in detail) the selected book key points and contents.
Concepts and notions treated in the book will be the starting point for further in-depth discussion at the oral exam: these concepts/notions have to be related to the course contents/topics (handbook resources, academic articles, slides). The book review general features will be discussed and exemplified during the course.

The written assignment (book review) will be uploaded to D.I.R. webpage for preliminary assessment in due time, that is no later than one week before the selected date to sit the oral exam (data dell’appello).

The book review is worth 30% of the assessment process, course contents are worth 70%. Students will pass their exam if they get 18/30 in both their book review and the oral discussion of course contents. The final grade is calculated on a weighted assessment basis.
With reference to the 'Intended learning objectives' (see below), the following grades correspond to different skills: 18-22/30-sufficient, 23-25/30-satisfying, 26-28/30 good, 29-30 lode-very good.

ORAL EXAM:
oral interaction and discussion on the course contents, concepts, notions, texts, starting from the individual written task previously uploaded to D.I.R.

ORAL EXAM ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: 1. appropriate presentation and discussion of topics, notions, and concepts; 2. discourse organisation; 3. lexical richness and accuracy; 4. lexical propriety; 5. lexical variety; 6. detailed text analysis (especially related to text and discourse construction in synchronic/diachronic sociolinguistic perspective); 7. discourse skills.

See 'Contenuti'/'Contents' and ‘Obiettivi formativi’/ ‘Aims of the course’

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
English Linguistics Specialistica B will provide students with the main methodological perspectives, and the main objectives of contemporary sociolinguistic studies, and fields of research/application.
Students will be fully aware of the metalinguistic (theoretical) and linguistic (practical) components in the complex process of interaction between different speech communities, different social groups, different contexts, and different registers.

APPLIED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS
They will be able to select the most appropriate forms and functions, and culture-bound elements to achieve the specific communicative goals in interaction, in a cross-cultural perspective as well. They will be provided with a sociolinguistic competence.

Linguistic knowledge and language understanding will be used at a practical level, and applied to the many disciplinary research and professional contexts.