Course Description and Outcomes

BLE 535 Sociolinguistics. 2 s.h. Current Course Description:

An advanced study of sociolinguistics phenomena, including linguistic change, language preservation, bilingualism, and socio-political issues involving language, emphasizing their application to teaching ESL and composition. Includes further linguistic field research based on study of electronic and printed professional journals. Same as ENG 535.

BLE 535 is in transition to parallel Eng 538 (Applied Linguistcs) rather than Eng 535 (Sociolinguistics). Eng 538 includes sociolinguistics materials but also covers language acquisition and historical linguistics. Here is more detail on that course:

Eng 538 Applied Linguistics.This course emphasizes the practical applications of language theory, especially the application of linguistics to other disciplines as well as the intersection of linguistics with those other disciplines. Includes topics in linguistic sub-fields such as Sociolinguistics, Language Acquisition, Historical Linguistics, and Neurolinguistics as well as the examination of language-related public policy issues. Student work will include further study of primary and secondary research methods.

Topics will include first and subsequent language acquisition as well as a variety of social issues connected to language (sexist/__-ist language, the bilingualism debate, the role and status of language variants, among others).

In general, the course has these outcomes for students to pursue:

1. Understand the fundamental principles of historical linguistics.

2. Know the connections between linguistics and "real-life" teaching, personal, and social contexts.

3. Apply the principles and techniques to those real-world contexts.

4. Be able to locate scholarly material concerning linguistics in electronic and print formats.

5. Understand the basic methods and problems of field research in linguistics and other fields.