Language Variation and Change
Fall 2011
Instructor: Prof. Victoria Rau
2:00-5:00 W Room 413
Email: Lngrau@ccu.edu.tw
Phone: 05-2720411 ext. 21500
Office hours: Thursday 2:00-4:00 or by appointment
Course description
This course introduces the theories, methods, and applications in sociolinguistic
variation, featuring Labovian contributions to language variation and change and its
current development in cognitive sociolinguistics. Topics include internal and external
factors in principles of linguistic change, historical sociolinguistics and
grammaticalization, sociolinguistic variation and its social significance,
sociolinguistics and social theory, style and sociolinguistic variation, language
acquisition and linguistic variation, linguistic and cultural indicators of aging,
discourse analysis of panic, cognitive sociolinguistics, VARBRUL methodology,
variation in indigenous minority languages, and applications in education issues. This
course presumes a prerequisite of an introductory course in sociolinguistics. Students
are expected to develop their own research projects in language variation and
change with the guidance of the instructor.
Required text:
Chambers, J. K. (2009). Sociolinguistic theory. Revised Edition. Cambridge, MA:
Blackwell.
Recommended texts:
Bayley, R. and Lucas, C. (eds.) (2007). Sociolinguistic variation: Theories, methods, and
applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bayley, R. and Preston, D. R. (eds.) (1996). Second language acquisition and linguistic
variation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Biber, D. (1995). Dimensions of register variation: A cross-linguistic comparison.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Capps, L. and Ochs, E. (1995). Constructing panic: The discourse of agoraphobia.
Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press.
Chambers, J., Trudgill, P. and Schilling-Estes, N. (eds.) (2002). The handbook of
language variation and change. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Di Paolo, M. and Yaeger-Dror, M. (eds.) (2011). Sociophonetics: A student’s guide.
Routledge.
Eckert, P. and Rickford, J. R. (eds.), (2001). Style and sociolinguistic variation.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Geeraerts, D. Kristiansen, G., and Peirsman, Y. (eds.) (2010). Advances in cognitive
sociolinguistics. New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Ho, M.-L. and Platt, J. T. (1993). Dynamics of a contact continuum: Singaporean
English. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Horvath, B. M. (1985). Variation in Australian English: The sociolects of Sydney.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jaspers, J., Ostman, J.-O., and Verschueren, J. (eds.) (2010). Society and language use.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Kristiansen, G. and Dirven, R. (eds.) (2008). Cognitive sociolinguistics: Language
variation, cultural models, social systems. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Labov, W. (1994). Principles of linguistic change, Vol. 1: Internal factors. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Labov. W. (2001). Principles of linguistic change, Vol. 2: External factors. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Meyerhoff, M. and Schleef, E. (eds.) (2010). The Routledge sociolinguistics reader.
Routledge.
Saville-Troike, M. (2003). The ethnography of communication. Third Edition. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Stanford, J. and Preston, D. (eds.) (2009). Variation in indigenous minority languages.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Tagliamonte, S. (2006). Analysing sociolinguistic variation. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Wodak, R., Johnstone, B. and Kerswill, P. (eds.) (2011). Sage handbook of
sociolinguistics. Sage.
Wolfram, W. and Schilling-Estes, N. (2006). American English. Second Edition.
Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Recommended journals
Language variation and change
Journal of sociolinguistics
Language in society
American speech
Website

Software for variation studies: VARBRUL (the variable rule program): the key
methodological tool of variationist sociolinguistics
(http://individual.utoronto.ca/tagliamonte/Goldvarb/GV_index.htm)
Course requirements:
Participation: Class members are expected to attend each class session, arrive on
time, come prepared, be ready to lead and/or participate in the group discussion.
Any absence will adversely affect the final grade; each excused absence may be
made up through an additional assignment in consultation with the instructor
(10%).
Classroom assignments: Four literature reviews (40%):

Students will be assigned to lead discussion on selected readings.

After reading a few selected articles on a major sociolinguistic topic, students
are expected to write a literature review (2-3 pages each), summarizing the
contents and identifying a research gap (10 points for each literature review).
Final research paper (50%): Submit a 15-20-page research paper. A research
proposal will be submitted and approved by the instructor during the mid-term
week. Students will present an exemplar article from a current journal in
language variation and change.

All written assignments should be submitted electronically via email and are
graded based on a process-oriented approach. One revision to address the
instructor’s feedback and/or peer review is required for each assignment.
Grade
Mark
A+
96-100
A
91-95
A-
86-90
B+
81-85
B
76-80
B-
71-75
C+ or
below
70 or below
Description
Outstanding: The level of research, thinking, and communication are
outstanding.
Very good: The level of research, thinking, and communication are
superior. Well done!
Good: The level of research, thinking, and communication are very
good.
Satisfactory:
The level of research, thinking, and communication are
satisfactory.
Acceptable but average at best: The level of research, thinking, and
communication are acceptable.
Acceptable but definitely below average: The level of research,
thinking, and communication are barely acceptable.
Not acceptable: The work is not appropriate for this class.
Reading list:
Bayley, R. and Lucas, C. (eds.) (2007). Sociolinguistic variation: Theories, methods, and
applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 8.
Biber, D. (1995). Dimensions of register variation: A cross-linguistic comparison.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 5, pp. 85-140.
Capps, L. and Ochs, E. (1995). Constructing panic: The discourse of agoraphobia.
Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press. (Chapters 4-7)
Chambers, J., Trudgill, P. and Schilling-Estes, N. (eds.) (2002). The handbook of
language variation and change. Malden, MA: Blackwell. pp. 3-14, 17-19,
115-116, 203-205, 309-311, 373-374, 473-474, 601-602, 705-706.
Di Paolo, M. and Yaeger-Dror, M. (eds.) (2011). Sociophonetics: A student’s guide.
Routledge. Chapter 13.
Eckert, P. and Rickford, J. R. (eds.), (2001). Style and sociolinguistic variation.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapters 8, 10.
Geeraerts, D. Kristiansen, G., and Peirsman, Y. (eds.) (2010). Advances in cognitive
sociolinguistics. New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Jaspers, J., Ostman, J.-O., and Verschueren, J. (eds.) (2010). Society and language use.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. N. Dittmar’s “Correlational
sociolinguistics” pp. 140-151. Lakoff’s “Gender” pp. 152-168. Saferstein ‘s
“Cognitive sociology”, pp. 113-126.
Kristiansen, G. and Dirven, R. (eds.) (2008). Cognitive sociolinguistics: Language
variation, cultural models, social systems. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Pp.
91-233.
Meyerhoff, M. and Schleef, E. (eds.) (2010). The Routledge sociolinguistics reader.
Routledge. Chapters 8-9, 11, 18, 20, 23-25, 27, 29, 31.
Saville-Troike, M. (2003). The ethnography of communication. Third Edition. Oxford:
Blackwell. Chapters 4-8.
Wodak, R., Johnstone, B. and Kerswill, P. (eds.) (2011). Sage handbook of
sociolinguistics. Sage. Chapters 2, 6-7, 13-20, 28.
Schedule:
Topic 1: Correlations
1.
9/14
Introduction (Hazen, Chapter 2 in WJK 2011; CTS: introduction to methodologies,
linguistic structure, social factors, contact, language and societies) Individuals and
communities (Mendoza-Denton, Chapter 13 in WJK 2011), Correlational
sociolinguistics (Dittmar’s chapter in JOV 2010)
2.
9/21
Correlations (Chambers 2009, Chapter 1), grammaticalization (Ito & Tagliamonte,
Chapter 20 in MS 2010), Traugott (Chapter 8 in ER 2001)
Topic 2: Class
3.
9/28
Class, network, and mobility (Chambers 2009, Chapter 2), social class (Dodsworth,
Chapter 14 in WJK 2011), social network (Vetter, Chapter 15 in WJK 2011)
4.
10/5
Milroy & Milroy (Chapter 24 in MS 2010), Kerswill and Williams (Chapter 25 in
MS 2010), Saville-Troike (Chapter 8), Assignment 1 due
Topic 3: Gender
5.
10/12
Expressing sex and gender (Chambers 2009, Chapter 3), Lakoff (in JOV 2010),
Pavlidou (Chapter 28 in WJK)
6.
10/19
Vowels and nail polish (Eckert, Chapter 27 in MS 2010), a linguistics innovation of
women (Chapter 29 in MS 2010), power and the language of men (Kiesling,
Chapter 31 in MS 2010)
Topic 4: Age
7.
10/26
Accents in time (Chambers 2009, Chapter 4), aging and gendering (Cameron,
Chapter 23 in MS 2010), working with children (Khattab & Roberts, Chapter 13 in
D & Y 2011), constructing panic (Capps & Ochs, Chapters 4-7)
Topic 5: Toward a sociolinguistic theory
8.
11/2
Adaptive significance of language variation (Chambers 2009, Chapter 5),
Saville-Troike (Chapters 4-5) , Assignment 2 due
9.
11/9
Communicative competence (Saville-Troike, Chapters 6-7), Mid-term proposal
due (presentation of an exemplar article)
Topic 6: Linguistic change
10.
11/16
Sociolinguistic approaches to language change: phonology (Kerswill, Chapter 16
in WJK 2011), Social structure, language contact and language change (Trudgill,
Chapter 17 in WJK 2011), Sociolinguistics and formal linguistics (Guy, Chapter 18
in WJK 2011)
11.
11/23
Historical sociolinguistics (Nevalainen, Chapter 20 in WJK 2011), Labov (Chapter
19 in WJK), Sankoff and Blondeau (Chapter 21 in WJK), TBA, Assignment 3 due
Topic 7: Perceptions and language attitudes
12.
11/30
Language with an attitude (Preston, Chapter 7 in MS 2010), Attitudes, ideology
and awareness (Kristiansen, Chapter 19 in WJK 2011), The globalization of
vernacular variation (Meyerhoff & Niedzielski, Chapter 18 in MS 2010),
13.
12/7
Written representations of speech, (Preston, Chapter 8 in MS 2010), American
English dialect identification (Purnell, Idsardi & Baugh, Chapter 9 in MS 2010),
attitudes towards the new quotatives (Bushstaller, Chapter 11 in MS 2010)
Assignment 3 due
Topic 7: Social theory and Cognitive linguistics
14.
12/14
Sociolinguistics and social theory: social stratification (Mallison, Chapter 6 in WJK
2011), social constructionism (Irwin, Chapter 7 in WJK 2011), semiotics
(Kockelman, Chapter 12 in WJK 2011)
15.
16.
12/21
Cognitive sociology (Saferstein’s chapter in JOV), Cognitive sociolinguistics (KD,
91-233), Register variation (Biber, Chapter 5), variation and modality (Lucas
Chapter 8 in BL 2007)
Topic 8: Style and register
12/28
Style: audience design (Bell, Chapter 2 in MS 2010 ), Oprah and /ay/ (Hay,
Jannedy & Mendoza-Denton, Chapter 3 in MS 2010), style and register
(Yeger-Dror, Chapter 10 in ER 2001), Assignment 4 due
17.
1/4
Working towards your final projects
18.
1/11
Final presentation and paper due