Multilingualism in the USA
seminar for 2nd through 5th year students
Instructor: Dr. Anna Fenyvesi
Prerequisite: Introduction sociolinguistics
Course description:
This course provides a survey of the main language varieties and linguistic situations found in the USA from a sociolinguistic and contact linguistic perspective.
It examines the status of English (American English as distinct from other Englishes, its regional varieties, and its social varieties like Black English Vernacular), the role of Native American languages (the various Amerindian language families and Native American lingua francas) and mixed languages, and characteristics of immigrant bilingualism (and, specifically, features of American Hungarian).
These US linguistic phenomena are discussed in detail through linguistic notions such as language vs. dialect, regional and social variation, majority vs. minority languages, creole, lingua franca, language maintenance vs. language shift, assimilation, bilingualism, language contact, codeswitching, borrowing, and interference.
Requirements:
- 2nd and 3rd yr students
- - reading report (20%)
- - research project (30%)
- - final exam (40%)
- - attendance and participation (10%)
- 4th and 5th yr students
- - 2 reading reports (30% total)
- - extensive research project (25%)
- - final exam (w/ extra q's; 40%)
- - attendance and participation (5%)
Readings:
- Ferguson, Charles, & Shirley Brice Heath. 1981. Language in the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Referred to as F&H below)
- Grosjean, François. 1982. Life with two languages: An introduction to bilingualism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Kálmán, Béla. 1970. Amerikai magyarok. Magyar Nyelvõr, 94:377-385.
- Kontra, Miklós. 1984. Virág Roza jött Amerikába. Magyar Nyelv, 80:344-349.
- Kövecses, Zoltán. 2000. American English: An introduction. Toronto: Broadview Press.
- Spissák, Ferenc. 1906. Az amerikai magyarság nyelve. Magyar Nyelvõr, 2:259-263.
- Wolfram, Walt, & Natalie Schilling-Estes. 1998. American English: Dialects and variation. Oxford: Blackwell.
(Copies are available at the Institute library and the Irinyi copy center)
Grading:
- 89 - 100%: excellent (5)
- 76 - 88%: good (4)
- 63 - 75%: average (3)
- 51 - 62%: pass (2)
- 0 - 50%: fail (1)
Schedule:
- Week 1: Introduction
- Week 2: American English - Reading: Kövecses 2000, Chs 2 & 3
- Week 3: Regional and social variation in American English - Reading: Walt Wolfram "Varieties of American English", Ch. 3 F&H
- Week 4: Black English - Readings: Elizabeth Whatley "Language among Black Americans", Ch. 5 F&H - Wolfram & Schilling-Estes 1998 (pp. 169-181)
- Week 5: Bilingualism in the United States - Reading: Grosjean 1982 (pp. 42-66) - Due: reading report
- Week 6: Native American languages - Readings: William L. Leap "American Indian languages", Ch. 6 F&H - Allan R. Taylor "Indian lingua francas", Ch. 8 F&H
- Week 7: The Creoles of the United States - Reading: Patricia C. Nichols "Creoles of the USA", Ch. 4 F&H - Due: 2nd reading report (only for 4th and 5th year students)
- Week 8: Immigrant bilingualism - Reading: Vera M. Henzl "Slavic languages in the new environment", Ch. 14 F&H
- Week 9: American Hungarian - Reading: Spissák 1906, Kálmán 1970, Kontra 1984 - Due: Research project
- Week 10: Final exam
- Week 11: Conclusion
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