General provisions

The course is given as an independent course, as a module within Linguistics A, and within semester 1 of the BA in Languages. It can also be taken within the BA in Language Technology and the MA in Language Techonology.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements and English 6 or English B

Learning outcomes

The course intends to give an introduction to theories of the social and psychological functions of language within the fields of sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics.

On completion of this course, to be given the grade Pass, the student should at least be able to:

• account for how one can identify and explain various types of linguistic variation on the basis of social and linguistic variables,
• describe the characteristics of quantitative and qualitative studies in sociolinguistics regarding both theory and method,
• use concepts of conversation analysis to describe conversations at a fundamental level,
• explain and illustrate basic terminology within bi- and multilingual research, and account for language change, pidgin and creole languages,
• describe the situation of minority languages in Sweden and account for the terminology with which language-political measures are described,
• describe the knowledge that lies behind language use and describe this in a way which is psychologically relevant and in a basic way account for the psychological mechanisms that limit how this knowledge is processed
• account for the way in which the different parts of the brain are involved in language use, and account for the importance of memory in both language use and in how we store language cognitively,
• account for the characteristics of perception and production both in speech and writing and be familiar with current models that describe this,
• based on scientific discourse criticise and defend the hypothesis of linguistic relativism.

Content

The course gives a general introduction to the two research fields Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics. The course should provide knowledge of basic terminology and current theories and methods within the respective research fields. Central fields are linguistic variation, multilingualism, linguistic interaction, language policy, production, perception and language acquisition.

Instruction

Instruction consists of lectures, workshops and assessment. The student's own learning activities are crucial for the completion of the course.

Assessment

The course is assessed through a combination of a written exam, tutorials and project work.

Other regulations

The course may not be included in a degree if equivalent parts have been studied within another course included in the degree.