AJ22092 Current Topics in American Linguistics

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2014
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
prof. Mgr. Jan Chovanec, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each odd Tuesday 14:10–15:45 G32
Prerequisites
Not applicable.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 11 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
appreciate the development of linguistics in the USA
understand the current situation in linguistics in the USA
interpret some of the current issues dealt with in American linguistics and apply select metodologies of modern American linguistics to other materials (mostly in the area of sociolinguistics - language and gender, language and law, language and humour)
understand the specific nature of communication in North America with respect to the theory of intercultural communication
Syllabus
  • The following topics will be covered during the course:
  • 1. Linguistics in the USA – historical overview (anthropological linguistics)
  • 2. Linguistics in the USA – current approaches and paradigms (conversation analysis and sociolinguistics)
  • 3. American English – origins and developments
  • 4. Regional variation and American English dialects
  • 5. Social and ethnic dialects, AAVE
  • 6. Language and gender, communities of practice
  • 7. Language and gender – case studies
  • 8. Language and law – trademark linguistics
  • 9. Language, media and politics
  • 10. Language and humour
  • 11. Intercultural pragmatics
  • 12. Intercultural communication – North American patterns of communication
Literature
    required literature
  • Wolfram, Walt and Natalie Schilling-Estes (2006) American English: Dialects and Variation, 2nd ed. Malden MA/Oxford: Blackwell
  • Finegan, Edward and John Rickford (2004) Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    recommended literature
  • Duranti, Alessandro (2006) A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology
  • Eckert, Penelope and John R. Rickford (2002) Style and Sociolinguistic Variation
  • Wolfram, Walt, Ben Ward (2005) American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast
  • Schneider, Edgar W. (2008) Varieties of English: The Americas and the Caribbean
  • Bayley, Robert and Ceil Lucas (2007) Sociolinguistic Variation. Theories, Methods, and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Teaching methods
seminar work, class discussion, homework readings, lectures
Assessment methods
The course is terminated with an exam. The exam has a written form: a test and/or an essay. Active participationin the seminars forms a part of course assessment (attendance and active involvement). Students are expected to work on a class-by-class basis.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Předmět si nemohou zapsat studenti Bc. studia AJ
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2012.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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