16.1806, Qs: Lang/Power/Politics Course; Dialect Identification

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LINGUIST List: Vol-16-1806. Wed Jun 08 2005. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 16.1806, Qs: Lang/Power/Politics Course; Dialect Identification

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===========================Directory==============================

1)
Date: 08-Jun-2005
From: Richard Epstein < repstein at camden.rutgers.edu >
Subject: Language, Power and Politics Course

2)
Date: 08-Jun-2005
From: Louis Janus < lctl at umn.edu >
Subject: Dialect Self Identification

	
-------------------------Message 1 ----------------------------------
Date: Wed, 08 Jun 2005 17:09:34
From: Richard Epstein < repstein at camden.rutgers.edu >
Subject: Language, Power and Politics Course



I'm planning on teaching a course called ''Language, Power and Politics''
next spring semester.  The students will be mostly undergraduate English
majors with no background at all in Linguistics, and for most of them, this
will be the only Linguistics course they ever take.  I intend to cover
topics such as standard/non-standard dialects, political discourse,
language and advertising, language and gender, political correctness
(perhaps also language endangerment and some ecolinguistics, if time permits).

I know there are many textbooks that cover each of these individual areas.
 My question is - does anyone know of any textbooks that cover several of
these areas at the introductory level (and that draw examples mostly from
the USA and American English)?  I'd especially welcome suggestions from
folks who have already taught a similar sort of course (other outside
readings? syllabi?).  Thank you very much.

I'd be glad to post a summary, if there's interest.

Best regards,
Rich Epstein

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics


	
-------------------------Message 2 ----------------------------------
Date: Wed, 08 Jun 2005 17:09:37
From: Louis Janus < lctl at umn.edu >
Subject: Dialect Self Identification

	

I give an informal talk on June 7 (the 100th anniversary of the
dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden) about the role of
language in national identity. Since Norway is so rich in dialects
(and 2 standard languages), it's definitely a huge aspect of
Norwegian society. So I want to discuss this with Americans this week.

I know it's a complicated (and well-documented) aspect of
sociolinguistics and other subfields, so I'm not really searching for
academic research.

I am looking for a few pithy and personal comments about the role and
importance of language use.

Any thoughts will be appreciated!

Thanks, Louis Janus
--
Louis Janus
Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL) Project
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)
University of Minnesota

Linguistic Field(s): Sociolinguistics




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