OJ206 Language and society

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Aleš Bičan, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Václav Blažek, CSc.
Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 8:00–9:40 G03
Prerequisites
basic knowledge of linguistic concepts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course deals with the basic problems concerning the relationships between language and society. These relationships are illustrated on particular examples from the world's languages and societies. The student will gain knowledge of fundamental sociolingustic terminology, and will be able to apply it to real situations.
Learning outcomes
After passing the course the students will be able
- to understand fundamental sociolinguistic concepts and methods
- to apply them to concrete problems and situations in the world's languages
- to orientate themselves in the language situation in the Czech Republic
- to evaluate analogically the language situation in other societies
Syllabus
  • 1. Language and society, sociolinguistics as a linguistic discipline
    2. What is language? Language vs. dialect. Types of language from the sociolinguistic pespective
    3. Regional and social stratification of language: dialects, sociolects (slangs, argots). Varieties of Czech. Dialectology
    5. Knowledge of more languages: bilinguism and diglossia, borrowings, code-switching, borrowings
    6. Language shift, language death, language revival
    4. New languages: pidgins, creoles, and hybrid languages
    6. Language and culture, Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Language and gender. Sexisms and language taboo
    8. Changing the language: language planning and language standardization
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Nový encyklopedický slovník češtiny. Edited by Petr Karlík - Marek Nekula - Jana Pleskalová. První vydání. Praha: NLN, Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2016, 1092 stran. ISBN 9788074224812. info
  • WARDHAUGH, Ronald. An introduction to sociolinguistics. 4th ed. Malden: Blackwell, 2002, vi, 408. ISBN 0631225404. info
Teaching methods
lectures, reading of short chapters and articles (in Czech)
Assessment methods
Written examination consisting of 4-5 questions focusing on the basic notions of the discipline.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
http://www.phil.muni.cz/jazyk/kestazeni.html
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2001, Spring 2002, Spring 2003, Spring 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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