WRD 264: Language, Self, & Society

Course description

The way we talk and use language reveals a great deal about who we are--our identities, our beliefs, and our social affiliations. It also shapes our interpersonal interactions and connects us to larger belief systems. In this course we explore the interplay of language, self, and society, with special emphasis on linguistic diversity in the US, including the importance of multilingualism. By the end of the class, students develop new perspectives to help understand the role of language in the world around them.

Course goals

• Explain key concepts on a range of sociolinguistic topics, including language variation, language ideology, language change, and multilingualism; 

• Describe how language practices intersect with factors such as race, class, and identity;

• Evaluate and critique popular beliefs about language with the support of academic perspectives; 

• Reflect on arguments about the contemporary world with the help of theory, methods, and empirical evidence from the field of sociolinguistics.

Selected themes

Language variation; language & race; language, identity, & community; multilingualism & education; language contact & change; Native American languages.

Selected readings

Baugh, J. (2018). Linguistics in pursuit of justice.  Cambridge University Press.

Davis, J. (2018). Talking Indian: Identity and language revitalization in the Chickasaw renaissance. University of Arizona Press. [one chapter]

Rosa, J. (2019). Looking like a language, sounding like a race: Raciolinguistic ideologies and the learning of Latinidad. Oxford University Press. [one chapter]

Schneider, K., & Jarmel, M. (2009). Speaking in tongues. Patchworks Productions.

Tamasi, S., & Antieau, L. (2015). Language and linguistic diversity in the US: An introduction. Routledge. [primary textbook]