LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY (LNGN 230-01 and LNGN 230-02)
Fall 2014
Dr. Susana M. Sotillo
Linguistics Department
CS 240 E
Monday Online: LNGN-230-Section 01
2:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
Tuesday Online: LNGN-230-Section 02
1:00 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
Online sessions will be both synchronous and asynchronous (This in includes asynchronous activities such as readings,
assignments, exercises, and synchronous sessions via Canvas’ BigBlue Button.)
Thursday (Face to Face): Section 02 - 1:00 p.m.-2:15 p.m. in Schmitt Hall 125
Section 01 - 2:30 p.m.- 3:45 p.m. in Schmitt Hall 110
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For reminders or emergencies, text me at 201-341-0319. I will reply to your text message promptly. Avoid sending
Email messages as I only read my email every two or three days.
OFFICE HOURS: In Schmitt Hall 240E Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. (Please text me for a virtual
appointment); and Fridays from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. – In case the outside door is closed, please call X7377.
Linguistics Office: CS222 – Call 973-655-4286
REQUIRED Readings
Languages and Dialects in the U.S.(2014) Edited by Marianna Di Paolo and Arthur K. Spears. Routledge – ISBN 978-0415-72860-7
Additional readings from scholarly journals will be available via Canvas and/or from various websites. Check Canvas and
your Montclair State email account the day before every class for announcements or possible changes to the assignments.
COURSE THEMES AND OBJECTIVES:
This course explores the interaction of language and society. We will study why languages have dialects and in what ways
varieties of the same language differ from each other. We will examine language prejudice and the effects of language
variation on our attitudes towards one another. We will mostly consider examples from American English but the
principles that we study are the same for all human languages. By the end of the course you will understand that all
varieties of all languages are equally well-structured and equally valuable for their speakers; our judgments about some
varieties of language are usually related to our (social) judgments about people, not language.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Semester grades will be based on:
1. Assignments, classroom presentations, online quizzes, essays
2. Informed classroom participation and attendance
3. Small-group (three students) video projects
4. A final exam
(35%)
(15%)
(30%)
(20%)
It is your responsibility to know what is due for each class. To do well in this course you will need to be familiar with the
material covered in the required and supplemental readings, video and audio resources, and PBS series Do You Speak
American? The quality and clarity of your writing will be evaluated along with the content of what you post to the
Discussions and present in class. Full participation in class discussions is expected from all students. Late work will NOT
be accepted. You may not retake an in-class or online quiz/test unless you have a valid doctor’s note. If you are sick,
please do not come to class. NOTE: Use of your cell phone, Tablet or iPad to check Email or do homework for other
classes is not permitted in this class. It is disrespectful to your instructor and classmates and will be duly noted.
COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENTS: Weekly readings and assignments are listed below. Some of these may
change so please watch for announcements. The assigned readings and assignments provide the basis for both in-class
discussions and computer-mediated exchanges (i.e., postings to Discussions and synchronous sessions). You should
complete all assignments and readings BEFORE each class whether or not you are in class the day that the assignment is
given.
DATE(S)
TOPIC
Assignments - Links
Introduction and Go to Modules and complete the required Student Information Survey
Face to
face (F2F)
Greetings
https://surveys.montclair.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1407615541443
First Week
Also read What Is 'Correct' Language? By Edward Finegan and
Grammar by Chung and Pullum.
September
Thursday,
Sept. 4th
Asynchronous Hybrid session for sections 01 and 02: Go to Modules – Readings September The
Globalization of Please Read PBS article on Slang and Jannis Androutsopoulos’ The Global Reach of
8th -01
Slang
American Slang.
section
9th 02
section
11th Face
to Face
(F2F)
September
15th 01
16th 02
Prescriptivists
In-Class Exercise – Origin of Words - Textbook Di Paolo & Spears Read Introduction and
vs. Descriptivists Chapter 1. Video Clips from Do You Speak American?
Visit the IDEA Archives: http://www.dialectsarchive.com/
What is Standard Asynchronous Discussions: Read Rickford’s “How Linguists Approach the Study of
American
Language and Dialect.” Next, describe an interview project for LNGN 230 you would
English?
like to undertake and explain how you would go about conducting a five-minute interview
using a simple questionnaire. Post your response to the Discussions. (see Canvas’ Menu.)
18th F2F
Chapter 2, Thinking about Diversity (Textbook).
To learn about different varieties of English, visit the following two websites:
“Varieties of English” http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/index.html
“The Language Varieties Web Site” http://www.une.edu.au/langnet/
Dialect and
Asynchronous Session: Visit Labov’s Web site: The organization of Dialect Diversity in
language
North America (Labov and Associates)
variation - The
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/ICSLP4.html
nature of dialects Read: What is linguistic insecurity according to William Labov?
September
22nd - 01
23rd- 02
25th F2F
September
29th - 01
30th - 02
October
2nd F2F
BigBlue Button
Synchronous
Session
American
Regional
English –
Dialects
In-Class Discussion of Chapter 6, Vernacular Dialects of English: Appalachian English
and Cajun French/English (Video clips from Do You Speak American?).
Synchronous Hybrid Session: I will go over guidelines for Assignment#1.
Assignment #1: Five- to 10-minute video recording with iPad or tablet. The informant
should be someone who speaks a variety of American English that is different from yours
(e.g., someone from a different New Jersey town or US geographic region). Please do not
use family members. Prepare a phonetic transcription of the first three minutes and
analyze the data. Due Date: October 23rd.
In-Class Exercises to be completed in small groups. Visit and explore the IDEA Archives:
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/
The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy http://www.popvssoda.com/
Learn how to recognize American accents.
Explore the DARE website: Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE). Listen
October
6th - 01
7th- 02
Native
Americans
9th F2F
October
13th - 01
14th -02
16th F2F
October
20th- 01
21st - 02
African
American
Vernacular
English (AAVE)
–
What is
Ebonics?
Chicano English
– Hispanicized
English
23rd F2F
October
27th -01
28th -02
30th F2F
November
3rd -01
4th -02
6th F2F
November
10th - 01
11th - 02
Online MidTerm Exam
BigBlue Button
Other Varieties
of English
BigBlue Button
Census Exercise
13th F2F
Ethnolinguistic
Diversity
November
17th-01
18th-02
Language,
Gender and
Science
20th F2F
Gender and
Communication
to some of the audio files from American Languages: Our Nation’s Many Voices.
Asynchronous Session: Read Chapter 3, Navajo English and American Indian Education:
Criminal Injustice and Demonizing Indian Students.
Complete Navajo exercises 1, 8, and 10. We will discuss these in class. Visit the Navajo
Language site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2RijYltiFg&list=UUBi4pBKbNYHWRxZXWYU0CA
Asynchronous Session: Please watch the following video clips: Linguistic
Discrimination in School - African American English (PBS) and Walt Wolfram (NC State
University). What do you understand by the term Ebonics? The Ebonics Controversy in
my backyard (Rickford). Post your answers to questions posed to the Discussions.
Read: Academic Ignorance and Black Intelligence by William Labov (1972); Labov’s
Testimony on the validity of the AAVE; Chapter 7, African American English (Spears).
Read Using the Vernacular to Teach the Standard (Rickford); Chapter 8, Chicano English;
Chapter 11, Dominican Spanish. Complete chapter 8 exercises (Part A-Table 8.1, 1
through 4 (a) and (b).
Assignment #1 Due - Discussion of in-class exercises for chapter 8. Video clip of gifted
instructor teaching Latino and African American children how to code switch. PBS Series.
Asynchronous Session: Mid-Term Quizzes and Essay deployed via Canvas.
Small-Group Student Presentations based on Assignment #1 (Please limit your
presentation to six minutes so that every group has an opportunity to present.)
Synchronous Session via BigBlue Button: Continuation of Student Presentations –
Upload PP Slides Read: Chapter 9 Jamaican Creole; Also, Linguistic and Discourse features of New
Englishes: Huber, Magnus & Joybrato Mukherjee,
http://www.helsinki.fi/varieng/journal/volumes/13/introduction.html Bernaisch, Tobias:
The verb-complementational profile of offer in Sri Lankan English
http://www.helsinki.fi/varieng/journal/volumes/13/bernaisch/ (see abstract)
Video clips: The New Englishes: Indian English, Pakistani English, Singapore English,
and Malaysian English.
Asynchronous Session: Complete Census Exercise on Native American Languages.
Tentative: Invited Census of Population Regional Coordinator.
ALL: Please go to the 2010 U.S. Census of Population and find the latest figures on
Native American languages for the years 2010-2012. See if they have updates on 2014
figures. How many of these languages remain viable?
Assignment #2: TBA (based on survey results) Due December 11th.
Asynchronous Session: - Watch and Analyze: The Science of Gender and Science
Pinker vs. Spelke A Debate.docx Be prepared to answer questions in our face-to-face
session.
Read: Is There a Language Barrier.pptx; Bucholtz2002-UPWPL.pdf;
Polite Behavior and Gender Meng Xuemei, Jinling, Binhong.pdf
Read excerpt from Deborah Cameron on Gender Differences
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/oct/01/gender.books
November
24th-01
25th-02
Technology and
Language
Varieties
Thanksgiving Break
SMS Texting
December
and Language
1st - 01
2nd -02
The Language of
Cyberspace and
4th F2F
Mobile
Communication
December
BigBlue Button
8th -01
Online
9th-02
The Linguistic Society of America Guidelines for Nonsexist Usage
http://www.lsadc.org/info/lsa-res-usage.cfm
Asynchronous Session:
Watch PBS Series Part III- Do You Speak American? (Available at both CS Language
Lab and Sprague’s Non-print Media Section.)
November 27th-30th
Synchronous Hybrid Session: Overview of SMS texting and its effect on Standard
English. PP Presentation.
Read: Texting versus txtng: reading and writing text messages, and links with other
linguistic skills go to http//dx.doi.org/10.1093/wsr/wsq002
Are the new technologies (text messaging, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) having a
negative impact on formal writing? Provide evidence for your statements.
Asynchronous Session: Answer questions posted to the Discussions based on readings
and videos assigned. Submit questions for final exam based on readings, chapter exercises,
and videos/video clips related to the topics covered in this course.
Overview of Language and Society. Short in-class presentations - Assignment #2
discussions.
Examinations Period: December 12-18, 2014
Monday – Dec 15 For Classes with First or Only Meeting on R at 01:00 pm.................. 03:15pm-05:15pm LNGN 230-01
and Dec 18 for Classes with First or Only Meeting on R at 2:30 pm……………………. 03:15pm-05:15pm LNGN 230-02
11th F2F