SEL3056 : Language in the City
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Daniel Duncan
- Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
- Capacity limit: 60 student places
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The module aims to:
- Examine the role of demographics, development, and public policy in driving language variation and change in metropolitan areas
- Introduce advanced terms, concepts and premises underlying sociolinguistic research, with particular respect to the variationist paradigm
- Give a broad understanding of sociolinguistic fieldwork techniques
- Apply the terminological distinctions, principles, methods and concepts used within these sub-disciplines to actual and novel case studies that explore the inter-relationships between language and society.
- Further explore specific topics at the community and national level.
Outline Of Syllabus
This course provides an advanced study of sociolinguistics through a focus on language variation and change in metropolitan areas. Key topics include:
- Theoretical approaches to space and place
- Indexical uses of language
- Relations between urban structure and linguistic variation
- Recent theoretical and methodological developments in metropolitan areas and their linguistic consequences
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 68:00 | 68:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 22 | 1:00 | 22:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 99:00 | 99:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 5 | 1:00 | 5:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Jointly Taught With
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| SEL8676 | Metropolitan Sociolinguistics |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lecture materials will be used, primarily, to impart information and provide overall coherence for the module.
Small group teaching will be used to develop a deeper examination of lecture materials, as well as to build skills in linguistic analysis, with a focus on problem-solving/numeracy. They also aim to enhance interpretation of sociolinguistic approaches to language and society. Projects utilizing corpora will also be planned and developed in seminars.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reflective log | 2 | M | 33 | Reflective photojournal, 1000 words |
| Essay | 2 | A | 65 | 2500 words |
| Prof skill assessmnt | 2 | M | 2 | Submission of DECTE Access form |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The reflective log assignment assesses the student's ability to synthesize information concisely and present it coherently.
The essay tests written communication skills; analytical skills; critical thinking/conceptual understanding/knowledge and ability to construct a logical argument.
The DECTE corpus, which will be used in the essay, requires submission of a form to gain permission to access it.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SEL3056's Timetable