spring 2021
ENG-2070 Language and Society - 10 ECTS

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Application deadline

Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 June for courses offered in the autumn semester and 1 December for courses offered in the spring semester.

Exchange students and Fulbright students: 15 April for courses offered in the autumn semester and 1 October for courses offered in the spring semester.

Type of course

This course may be taken as a single course. A good command of oral and written English is recommended. Students who wish to take the course should have some basic knowledge of linguistics.

Admission requirements

Higher Education Entrance Qualification (generell studiekompetanse) or prior learning and work experience (realkompetanse).

A good command of oral and written English is recommended. Students who wish to take the course should have some basic knowledge of linguistics.

Application code: 9199 - Enkeltemner (ikke realfag), lavere grad (Nordic applicants).

Course content

This course is a first introduction to sociolinguistics and variation, using case studies from English to illustrate the various different phenomena and results.  Students will learn  about the basic questions and methods of sociolinguistic research including variation conditioned by socioeconomic class, region, age, gender and register.  On the way, we will also learn to distinguish different regional varieties of English, and explore how English, specifically,  is used in actual modern English speech communities. A common theme of the course will be the fact of variation, both within and across speakers. We will examine ways to think about variation formally, and discuss its relationship to language change. 

Objectives of the course

Knowledge:

  • knowledge of the main research questions and methodologies of sociolinguistic study
  • knowledge of the major results of sociolinguistic study, and what it tells us about (i) society on the one hand and (ii) language competence on the other.
  • knowledge of important regional and social variants of English
  • knowledge of different ways of explaining linguistic variation
  • understanding of the close nature of the relationship between language variation and language change
  • knowledge about the proper linguistic terminology for describing linguistic variation

Skills:

  • ability to describe and explain linguistic variation using appropriate grammatical terminology
  • ability to identify factors that characterize important regional and social variants of English, and communicate that using appropriate linguistic terminology.
  • improved  language skills, with respect to different varieties of English.

Language of instruction and examination

Language of instruction and examination: English.

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars, exercises, discussions. The teaching is distributed over the whole semester with intervals of teaching-free periods when the students work on their own.

Assessment

Coursework requirements: A 10 minute oral presentation based on a chosen sociolinguistic study. 

Assessment method: A 4-hour written (digital) school exam (in WISEflow).

Performance in the course will be assessed with the grades A-F. Grades are A-E for passed and F for failed. A re-sit examination is offered in the event of an F-grade. The deadline to register for a re-sit examination is 15 January for courses offered in the autumn semester and 15 August for courses offered in the spring semester.

  • About the course
  • Campus: Tromsø |
  • ECTS: 10
  • Course code: ENG-2070
  • Earlier years and semesters for this topic