Introduction to Sociolinguistics

This course will introduce students to socially patterned variation in language, bringing together the insights of sociology and linguistic anthropology in the quantitative analysis of language as social practice. With the goal of understanding the nature of meaningful variability in social practice, we will examine variability at all levels – from the macro-sociological to the micro-interactional, and from language choice to subtle phonetic variation. The focus will be on the construction of meaning through variability, with an emphasis on phonological variation.