1. Choose a problem to discuss in sociolinguisitics.

2. Describe the problem.

3. Discuss different scholars approaches to the problem.

4. Use at least three sources.

5. Come to a conclusion of YOUR OWN.

6. Include a full BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALL YOUR SOURCES.

7. Footnote all citations.

Every writing program contains a tool to create a “footnote” (English)= snoska (Russian). If you need help doing this, please let me know. I WILL HELP YOU. Here is an example of a footnote:

…While his views changed over time, it seems that towards the end of his life Sapir came to believe that language did not merely mirror culture and habitual action, but that language and thought might in fact be in a relationship of mutual influence or perhaps even determination. Whorf gave this idea greater precision by examining the particular grammatical mechanisms by which thought influenced language. He argued his point thus: We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages. The categories and types that we isolate from the world of phenomena we do not find there because they stare every observer in the face; on the contrary, the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organized by our minds—and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way — an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language.1 Whorf's formulation of this “principle of linguistic relativity” is often stereotyped as a "prisonhouse" view of language in which one's thinking and behavior is completely and utterly shaped by one's language. Whorf himself sought merely to insist that thought and action were linguistically and socially mediated. In doing so he opposed what he called a “natural logic” position which he claimed believed, "talking, or the use of language, is supposed only to 'express' what is essentially already formulated nonlinguistically."2 On this account, he argued, "thought does not depend on grammar but on laws of logic or reason which are supposed to be the same for all observers of the universe."3

Lecture 1. What is sociolinguistics? What is culture? What is society? What is language?

These are some really big questions. But it is necessary to start with definitions of these important words, so that we know what we mean when we use them.

If we start with the first question first, I think you will understand what I mean. What is sociolinguistics?

Definition from your book:

“The study of language in relation to society” [repeat twice and slowly for everyone to hear]

Fine, but how can we discuss sociolinguistics without first knowing what we mean by “society”, and since society is part of a “culture” we need to know what that is, and moreover, what do we mean by “language”? We will define these three things by the end of the class and discuss their relationships to one another.

Let’s talk first about that sticky subject “CULTURE”

DEFINING CULTURE:

Culture is so infamously difficult to define that we will not be too definite in our definition. I do want to talk about it though.

*ASK STUDENTS: WHAT IS CULTURE?

The best and simplest definition I found was this.

Culture:

1. The arts, customs, and habits that characterize a particular society or nation.

2. The beliefs, values, behavior and material objects that constitute a people's way of life.

DEFINING SOCIETY:

Society is also difficult to define, but we know it’s a part of our culture, right?

The best and simplest definition I found was this:

Society:

People in general living together in organized communities, with laws and traditions controlling the way they behave towards one another.

They may not all have the same original culture, but they are a part of a given culture—for example the United States. People come to the society of the United States from all over the world. They come with an original culture, but as citizens of the United States they adopt “American” culture, however, loose a culture it is.

DEFINING LANGUAGE:

Let’s talk what we mean by language? What is language?

-ASK STUDENTS TO DEFINE LANGUAGE

Language is a system for communication. It is sometimes also called a “code” because it has a set of rules that both people communicating must follow and understand to communicate well.

Language is a way of communicating. And, until the 1950’s linguist thought that the study of language should be devoted to a purely descriptive explanation. The analysis of language took place over the course of several stages:

1. Phonology—the study of a languages sounds.

2. Morphology—the study of a languages forms and morphemes. For example, cats would be described as containing two morphemes. Cat, the name for a kind of animal and –s a morpheme indicating plurality.

3. Lexicon—the study of the words of a language and their meanings.

4. Syntax—the study of the arrangement and order of words in phrases and sentences.

Certainly, all these things are an important part of any language as well, but looking at language ONLY descriptively can give the impression that none of these elements of a language are connected—which is obviously not true. Worse, it gives the impression that language has no relationship to our culture and how we think.

**LANGUAGE IS CULTURAL—WHAT DO YOU THINK I MEAN BY THAT?

**PUT ANSWERS ON BOARD.

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