Annotation
Sociolinguistics is the subdiscipline of linguistics in which language as a social phenomenon becomes the focus of research. It analyzes "language behavior in given situations under the aspect of social roles" (N. Dittmar). Accordingly, the seminar focuses on questions concerning the interrelations between language and society, language and social class/group, language system, language norm and usage, language standard and varieties, but also on the social justification of language consciousness and the relevance of social conditions for language change. It also deals with the linguistic construction of language community(ies), of exclusion, socially relevant ideologies, thus also with language and social identity, i.e. with language barriers yesterday and today. The main topics covered in the course are:
1. Introduction to the subject areas of sociolinguistics. Communication and society: communication models. Language and society. Standard and variation: regional and national varieties, social varieties, medial varieties.
2. social dialectology and the issues of language stratification, social and situational variation of dialect and standard variety.
3. language and social style / symptom function of language: language as social symbol. Place-bound, situation-bound varieties, role language, everyday and proximity language.
4. communication in institutions. Language and the public sphere.
5. language barriers. Language contacts. Language and migration.
6. language and age, language and gender.
7. language and identity.
8. language and politics.
9. language and violence.