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EN52230A Varieties of English 2015-2016 Course Convenor Dr Dimitra Vladimirou Aims This course explores how and why language is used differently in a range of contexts. We will examine the variation of spoken language in relation to region, gender, ethnicity, age and social class; we will see that individuals are able to shift their style of speaking from one situation to the next and we will explore the attitudes that people have towards different varieties of English. We will also examine a range of tools and methodological frameworks that linguists use to analyse both spontaneous spoken interaction and written texts/discourses, e.g. from newspapers, magazines or advertisements. The questions that will be addressed may include the following: Do women and men speak differently? What is slang? How and why do adolescents speak differently from adults? What are the public stereotypes about speakers with “non-standard” accents? What is Standard English? How do language choices influence the representation of social groups (e.g. women, asylum seekers) in the media? What are the language strategies employed by politicians? How do speakers use language to construct their identities in interaction with others? Principal texts: Mooney, Annabelle and Evans, Betsy (2015) Language, Society and Power. 4th edition. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Books Ltd. Holmes, Janet (2013) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 4th edition. Routledge. Cameron, Deborah (2001) Working with Spoken Discourse. London: Sage. Preparatory reading: For our first session in Week 1 please read: - Mooney and Evans (2015), Chapter 1 ‘Language’ Language, Society and Power. 4th edition. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Books Ltd. - Janet Holmes (2013) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (ItS), Chapter 1 ‘What do sociolinguist study?’ Please also try to read the entire Language, Society and Power over the summer holidays. This is an introductory text and should not be a difficult read. For further preparatory reading please turn to the other two principal texts (see above). Holmes’s An Introduction to Sociolinguistics will also be used in the first part of the course and Cameron’s Working with Spoken Discourse in the second and third. Enjoy the reading and see you soon! Dimitra and Pia (If you have questions you can contact [email protected] from September 2015 and before that [email protected])