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Home , Sociolinguistics

SYLLABUS: 01:615:381:90 SOCIOLINGUISTICS FALL 2017

Course Overview

Instructor Instructor: Prof. Crystal Akers Email address: [email protected] Office hours: Variable; check Sakai announcements for this week’s drop-in day and time. Also available by appointment.

Course Delivery This course is fully online. To access the course, please visit sakai.rutgers.edu . For more about course access or support, contact the Sakai Help Desk via email at [email protected] or call 848-445-8721.

Course Description Sociolinguistics investigates the interactions between and . Generative studies the nature of grammatical systems. This course brings the two together, introducing students with prior training in linguistic theory to a broad array of sociolinguistic issues, including the relationship between linguistic and social factors like identity, class and power, the development of pidgins and creoles, code choices in bi-dialectal and bilingual communities, and . Students will also draw connections with methods and approaches to data used in other areas of linguistics, and examine attitudes toward language and culture and their social and political consequences. The course emphasizes the insights into the use of language in society provided by a generative linguistics approach to natural language.

Prerequisites • 01:615:201 Introduction to Linguistic Theory 2

Important Dates • The course begins on 9/5/2017 and ends on 12/13/2017, and the last day to drop the course without a “W” grade is 9/12/2017. • The in-person midterm exam will be held on Monday, 10/23/2017 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm in room 1210/1220 of the Rutgers Academic Building . • The in-person final exam will be held on Tuesday, 12/19/2017 in room 1210/1220 of the Rutgers Academic Building . Two sessions are available for sign-up: 12:00 – 3:00 pm and 4:00 – 7:00 pm.

Course Learning Objectives By the end of this course, students should successfully be able to: • Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts to research and real-world examples • Identify major researchers and studies in sociolinguistics • Analyze the effects of attitudes toward language use in everyday interactions

Course Materials

Required Text

Meyerhoff, Miriam. 2011. Introducing Sociolinguistics. 2nd edition. Routledge. ISBN: 978-0415550062

Textbook companion website: http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/meyerhoff/ Other will be available on the course website.

Required Videos and/or Website Materials Lecture videos and additional resources are linked in the “Required Resources” section of each Sakai unit page.

Optional Materials Additional resources are linked below “Optional Resources” in the “Instructional Resources” section of Sakai unit pages. 3

Technology Requirements

Baseline technical skills necessary for online courses • Basic computer and web-browsing skills • Navigating Sakai

Technology skills necessary for this specific course • Collaborating on VoiceThread • Recording a slide presentation with audio narration • Recording, editing, and uploading video

Required Equipment • Computer: current Mac (OS X) or PC (Windows 7 or newer) with high-speed internet connection • Webcam: built-in or external webcam, fully installed • Microphone: built-in laptop or tablet mic or external microphone

Required Software • Microsoft • Microsoft PowerPoint

Assessment

Assignment Summary Below are the assignments required for this course and the value of each assignment to the course grade as a whole. Please refer to the course calendar (on Sakai) and/or the course schedule (below) for specific due dates.

Assignment Points

Midterm Exam 20

Final Exam 30

Discussions 30

Problem Sets 10 4

Quizzes 10

Total 100

See course schedule, below, for due dates.

Assignment Overview

Midterm Exam The midterm exam contributes 20% toward your final grade and covers the material learned in the first seven weeks of the course. The exam may include multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions. Reviewing quiz questions and problem set questions will help you prepare for the exam. The midterm exam is a 1.5 hour, in-person, closed-book exam held on the New Brunswick campus, in room 1210/1220 of the Rutgers Academic Building at 17 Seminary Place. The scheduled exam time is Monday, 10/23/2017 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Please contact me as soon as possible to discuss conflicts.

Final Exam The final exam contributes 25% toward your final grade. The exam is cumulative and questions may be like those seen on the weekly quizzes or problem sets. In addition, the final exam will ask you to demonstrate your ability to Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts, interpret graphs, and discuss sociolinguistics research by asking questions about an assigned research article. The kinds of questions asked about this article will be like those seen on problem sets. The in-person final exam is a 2.5 hour, in-person, closed-book exam held on the New Brunswick campus, in room 1210/1220 of the Rutgers Academic Building at 17 Seminary Place. The exam time will be held on Tuesday, 12/19/2017 in room 1210/1220 of the Rutgers Academic Building . Two sessions are available for sign-up: 12:00 – 3:00 pm and 4:00 – 7:00 pm. Use the Sakai sign-up to register for an exam session.

Discussions Your weekly class participation will be evaluated through ten group discussions, which contribute 30% toward your final course grade. I will provide a grading rubric for evaluating your individual discussion responses.

Problem Sets For some units, you will practice applying concepts in problem sets, which will contribute 10% toward your final grade. For example, you may be asked to interpret or explain graphs of linguistic variation, or identify examples of variation and provide an account for them. For these problem sets, I encourage you to discuss the assignments 5

with others in the class; however, you must complete the assignments individually, in accordance with the Academic Integrity Policy.

Quizzes Ten short quizzes covering units’ required instructional resources will contribute 10% toward your final course grade. You will have 20 minutes to answer most quizzes, which include computer-gradable responses (T/F, multiple choice, fill-in-the blank). The exception is in Week 5, which includes a free-response question. You will have the opportunity to retake each quiz one time during the quiz availability period, with the higher grade recorded.

Grading Scale (Source: Rutgers standard undergraduate grade scale)

Grade Range

A 90 – 100

B+ 85 – 89

B 80 – 84

C+ 75 – 79

C 70 – 74

D 60 – 69

F Below 60

Student Participation Expectations Because this is an online course, your attendance is based on your online activity and participation. The following is a summary of everyone's expected participation: • Logging in: AT LEAST TWICE PER WEEK Be sure you are logging in to the course in Sakai each week, including weeks with minimal online course activity. (During most weeks you will probably log in many times.) If you have a situation that might cause you to miss an entire week of class, discuss it with me as soon as possible. • Time Commitment To be successful in this course, you should plan to dedicate approximately 8-10 hours per week. 6

• Midterm Exam: REQUIRED, IN-PERSON The midterm exam is a 1.5 hour, in-person, closed-book exam held on the New Brunswick campus, in room 1210/1220 of the Rutgers Academic Building at 17 Seminary Place. The scheduled exam time is Monday, 10/23/2017 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Please contact me immediately if you have a conflict. • Final Exam: REQUIRED, IN-PERSON The in-person final exam is a 2.5 hour, in-person, closed-book exam held on the New Brunswick campus, in room 1210/1220 of the Rutgers Academic Building at 17 Seminary Place. The exam time will be held on Tuesday, 12/19/2017 in room 1210/1220 of the Rutgers Academic Building . Two sessions are available for sign-up: 12:30 – 3:00 pm and 4:00 – 7:00 pm. Use the Sakai sign-up tool to register for an exam period, or contact me immediately if you have a conflict. • Office hours and live sessions: OPTIONAL Other than the midterm and final, any live, scheduled events for the course, including my office hours, are optional. If you are required to discuss an assignment with me, please contact me at the beginning of the week if you need a time outside my scheduled office hours. • Participating in discussion forums: 2 OR MORE TIMES PER DISCUSSION As participation, during a week with an assigned discussion you can expect to post at least two times as part of our substantive class discussion on the week's topics.

Discussion and Guidelines The following are my expectations for how we should communicate as a class. Above all, please remember to be respectful and thoughtful. • : While there is no need to participate in class discussions as if you were writing a research paper, you should remember to write professionally, with appropriate , spelling, and punctuation. Informality (including an occasional emoticon) is fine for non-academic topics. Please also refrain from using all CAPITAL LETTERS, as this is often interpreted as shouting. • Citing your sources: When we have academic discussions, please cite your sources to back up what you say. For the textbook or other course materials, list at least the title and page numbers. For online sources, include a link. • Tone and civility: Let's maintain a supportive learning community where everyone feels safe and where people can disagree amicably. Remember that sarcasm doesn't always come across online. Treat your instructor and fellow students with respect at all times, and in all . • Backing up your work: Consider composing your academic posts in a word processor, where you can save your work, and then copying into the Sakai discussion. 7

Support and Policies

Late Work and Make-up Exams Because all work will be completed asynchronously for this course, there is no formal attendance policy; however, regular class engagement will be assessed through the quizzes, discussions, and problem sets. All quizzes are available for multiple days, and there are multiple sessions available for the final exam. The midterm has one scheduled exam period; please contact me early if you need to arrange for an alternative time for any exam. Please take note of the availability periods on the attached schedule and plan accordingly. Except for documented cases of illness or religious observance, no credit will be awarded for late work on quizzes or discussions. For other assignments, see the assignment’s instructions for specific penalties applied to late work.

Faculty Feedback and Response Time I am providing the following list to give you an idea of my intended availability throughout the course. (Remember that you can email [email protected] or call 848-445-8721 if you have a technical problem.)

Grading and Feedback For quizzes, discussions, problem sets, and other graded items, you can generally expect feedback within 7 days.

E-mail I will reply to e-mails within 24 hours during the work week and by the next business day on weekends and holidays.

Discussion Board I will check discussion messages in the discussions every 24 hours on weeknights; however, I may not post a response every night. I view discussions as your opportunity to talk amongst yourselves, and I will generally be a lurker.

Academic Integrity

The consequences of scholastic dishonesty are very serious. Please review the Rutgers’ academic integrity policy .

Academic integrity means, among other things:

• Develop and write all of your own assignments. 8

• Show in detail where the materials you use in your papers come from. Create citations whether you are paraphrasing authors or quoting them directly. Be sure always to show source and page number within the assignment and include a bibliography in the back. • Do not fabricate information or citations in your work. • Do not facilitate academic dishonesty for another student by allowing your own work to be submitted by others.

If you are in doubt about any issue related to plagiarism or scholastic dishonesty, please discuss it with your instructor.

Other sources of information to which you can refer include: • Rutgers’ Academic Integrity website • Code of Student Conduct • Eight Cardinal Rules of Academic Integrity

Academic Support Services • Rutgers has a of resources for academic support. For more information, check the Academic Support website . • Rutgers has Learning Centers on each campus where any student can obtain tutoring and other help. For information, check the Learning Center website . • Rutgers also has a Writing Center where students can obtain help with writing skills and assignments. Learn more at the Writing Center website . • Many library resources are available online. Assistance is available through phone, email, and chat. For information, check the Rutgers Libraries website .

Rutgers Health Services • Rutgers Health Services is dedicated to health for the whole student body, mind and spirit. It accomplishes this through a staff of qualified clinicians and support staff, and delivers services at a number of locations throughout the New Brunswick-Piscataway area. For more information, check the Rutgers Health Services website .

Counseling, ADAP, and Psychiatric Services • Undergraduate and graduate students experience a great many stresses in their lives - sorting out one's identity, establishing and maintaining important relationships, coping with anxiety and depression, working on changing relationships with parents and other family members, dealing with losses, handling new academic demands, and dealing with reactions to one's differentness. To help with these tasks, Counseling, ADAP & Psychiatric Services (CAPS) provides a variety of psychological counseling services for 9

all students of Rutgers University in New Brunswick/Piscataway, undergraduate and graduate. Services are free, and confidentiality is guaranteed within legal and ethical guidelines.

Accommodations for Accessibility

Requesting accommodations Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. More information can be found in the Documentation Guidelines section of the Office for Disability Services website. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the Registration Form on the Office for Disability Services website. Go to the Student section of the Office of Disability Services website for more information.

Accessibility and Privacy Links

Accessibility Statements Sakai VoiceThread

Privacy Policies Sakai VoiceThread 10

Course Schedule and Deadlines

Week Topics & Objectives Instructional Resources Assignments Due Sun. 11:55 pm Course Introduction 1. Course Intro quiz 1 1. Identify important dates and 2. Sociolinguistics Tues course policy information • Syllabus Pre-test

9/5 2. Identify and practice using tools 3. Student that will be used throughout the introductions on course VoiceThread (VT) 4. Final exam sign-up Variation and language 1. Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts to research and real-world examples • Read Ch 2. “Variation and language” a. Identify linguistic • View: 2.1 Introduction Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: variables to Variation and 1. Ch 2 quiz b. Identify factors that can Language 2. Initial discussion 2 explain linguistic • View: 2.2 Regional post variation Mon Variation c. Discuss how 9/11 • View: 2.3 Social Due Sun. 11:55 pm: sociolinguists study Variation 3. Follow-up variation, including the • View: 2.4 Calculating discussion posts factors that may explain Index Scores variation d. Calculate index scores for a variant 2. Identify major researchers and studies in regional and social 11

Week Topics & Objectives Instructional Resources Assignments Variation and style 1. Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts to research and real-world examples a. Identify instances of style-shifting b. Analyze style-shifting as • Read: Ch 3 “Variation and style” attention to Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: • View: 3.1 Intro to c. Analyze style-shifting as 1. Ch. 3 quiz 3 audience design Variation and Style

d. Identify techniques used (6:33) Mon • View: 3.2 Attention to Due Sun. 11:55 pm: 9/18 to study intraspeaker variation Speech (16:27) 2. Ch 2,3 Problem e. Identify some of the • View: 3.3 Audience Set obstacles to Design (12:19) understanding the underlying causes of intraspeaker variation f. Identify linguistic variants g. Calculate index scores 2. Identify major researchers and studies in intraspeaker variation Attitudes toward language use • Read: Ch 4, “Language Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: attitudes” 1. Apply sociolinguistics 1. Ch 4 quiz • View: 4.1 Introduction terminology and concepts to 2. Initial discussion to Language research and real-world post 4 examples Attitudes (8:55) • View: 4.2 Perceptual Mon 2. Identify major researchers and Dialectology (7:11) Due Sun. 11:55 pm: 9/25 attitudes • View: 4.3 Identities and and the perception of variation 3. Follow-up Accommodation (14:39) 3. Analyze the effects of attitudes discussion posts • Read: Purnell, Idsardi, toward language use in and Baugh everyday interactions 12

Week Topics & Objectives Instructional Resources Assignments Being polite as a variable in speech 1. Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts to research and real-world examples Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: o Identify terminology 1. Ch 5 quiz • Read: Ch 5, “Politeness used in the study of 2. Initial discussion politeness 5 • View: 5.1 Introduction post o Identify the causes for to Politeness (13:14) Mon different forms of 10/2 • View: 5.2 Practice politeness Exercises for Due Sun. 11:55 pm: 2. Identify major researchers and Politeness (4:04) 3. Follow-up studies in politeness discussion posts 3. Analyze the effects of attitudes toward language use in everyday interactions o Analyze the different forms of politeness used in everyday interactions & language choice 1. Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts to research and real-world Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: examples 1. Ch 6 quiz 2. Initial discussion a. Identify terminology • Read: Ch 6, post related to “Multilingualism and multilingualism and language choice” Mon language vitality Due Sun. 11:55 pm: • View: Multilingualism 10/9 2. Analyze the effects of attitudes and a. Follow-up toward language use in discussion everyday interactions a. Analyze how values, posts beliefs, and identity are reflected in real-world debates on language policies 13

Week Topics & Objectives Instructional Resources Assignments Research Article & Review Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: 1. Apply sociolinguistics • Read: “Code-Switching 1. Initial discussion terminology and concepts to in Gapun: Social and answers posted in research and real-world the discussion 7 Linguistic Aspects of examples group Mon Language Use in a

10/16 2. Identify major researchers and Language Shifting studies in sociolinguistics Community” Due Sun. 11:55 pm: 3. Analyze the effects of attitudes 2. Follow-up toward language use in discussion posts. everyday interactions 8 1. Midterm Exam: Mon MIDTERM Mon 6:00 – 8:00 10/23 pm Real time and apparent time • Read: Ch 7 "Real time 1. Apply sociolinguistics and apparent time" terminology and concepts to • View: 7.1 Introduction research and real-world to Real and Apparent examples Time (4:31) Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: • View: 7.2 Interpreting 1. Ch 7 quiz a. Distinguish between real Apparent Time Data 2. Initial discussion time and apparent time (5:01) answers posted in studies. • View: 7.3 Real time the discussion b. Synthesize knowledge of 9 tests of the apparent group language change with time construct: Mon prior topics such as Montreal French (6:07) 10/30 research methods and • View: 7.4 Real time Due Sun. 11:55 pm: intraspeaker variation to tests of the apparent propose a plan to 3. Follow-up time construct: investigate language discussion posts. Martha's Vineyard (5:35 change in a given • View: PDF: Age-grading fictional speech and conclusion slides community. • View: PDF: Age-grading c. Interpret trends in language change from and conclusion graphs transcript 14

Week Topics & Objectives Instructional Resources Assignments Social class 1. Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts to research and real-world examples a. Identify characteristics that have been used to evaluate social class Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: b. Apply terminology 1. Ch 8 quiz 10 related to social class to • Read Ch 8, “Social Mon given scenarios or class” Due Sun. 11:55 pm: descriptions 11/6 • View: Social Class c. Analyze graphs and 2. Ch 7,8 Problem Set tables for evidence of variation associated with social class 2. Identify major researchers and studies in variation associated with social class 3. Analyze the effects of attitudes toward language use in everyday interactions Social networks and communities of practice • Read: Ch 9, “Social networks and 1. Apply sociolinguistics Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: communities of terminology and concepts to 1. Ch 9 quiz practice” research and real-world 2. Initial discussion 11 examples • View: 9.1 Introduction post to Social Mon a. Distinguish between Networks (9:53) 11/13 different kinds of • Read: “Mobility and Due Sun. 11:55 pm: membership in a social versus social class in network 3. Follow-up levelling: discussion posts 2. Identify major researchers and Evidence from new and studies in the sociolinguistics of old towns in England” social networks

Mon Thanksgiving Holiday 11/20 15

Week Topics & Objectives Instructional Resources Assignments 1. Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts to research and real-world examples

a. Apply terminology to Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: descriptions of 1. Ch 10 quiz characteristics, 2. Initial discussion scenarios, or 13 post phenomena associated 1. Read: Ch 10, “Gender” Mon. with how gender 2. View: Gender 11/27 manifests in language Due Sun. 11:55 pm: b. Evaluate the reasoning 3. Follow-up and studies used to discussion posts support generalizations about language variation associated with gender 2. Identify major researchers and studies in language variation associated with gender 1. Apply sociolinguistics terminology and concepts to research and real-world examples a. Identify terms associated with Due Thurs. 11:55 pm: variation based on 1. Ch 11 quiz language contact 2. Initial discussion b. Interpret a graph for 1. Read: Ch 11, “Language post 14 information about Contact” Mon. variation associated 2. Read: Wardhaugh – 12/4 Due by Sunday 11:59 with language contact AAE. Pdf PM: 2. Analyze the effects of attitudes toward language use in 3. Follow-up everyday interactions discussion posts a. Discuss how linguistic and social constraints, including attitudes toward variation, affect the use and maintenance of language varieties 16

Week Topics & Objectives Instructional Resources Assignments Wrap-up & Review Due Wed. 11:55 pm: 1. Course post-test 15 1. Apply sociolinguistics 1. Review previous 2. Initial discussion terminology and concepts to Mon materials post research and real-world 12/11 3. Follow-up examples discussion post 1. Final exam: Tuesday, 12:00 – Mon Final Exam 3:00 pm OR 4:00 – 12/18 7:00 pm.