Course description: This module gives students the opportunity to consider how language operates within social settings, and how language use is influenced by factors including age, sex and social class. Students will develop an appreciation of sociolinguistic theory, explore how linguistic variation can be measured and gain skills in conducting empirical investigations. Teaching Block 1 includes: variationist sociolinguistics, sociolinguistic variables and variants, and regional, social and stylistic variation. Teaching Block 2 includes: phonological theory, formant measurements, sociophonetics, chain-shifting, data collection, & data analysis techniques.
