The course falls within the area of general linguistics and aims at developing the students' knowledge in the field of the relations between language and society.

More specifically, the objective of the course is providing the students with:

•     the theoretical basis of sociolinguistc analysis;
•     the methods and the investigative tools relating to the variation of languages depending on social (i.e. diatopic, diaphasic, diastratic) factors.

The course is divided into two parts, the first one dealing with the history and development of sociolinguistics, its basic notions (sociolinguistic variable, dimension of variation, variety of language, communicative competence, repertory and so on) and its categories. More specific examples of sociolinguistic varieties dating to ancient times (Latin, Greek) or taken from contemporary Italian will be examined in depth in the second part.

Knowledge and understanding

On completing this course the student must be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding relating to the following subjects: notions, phenomena connected to the presence of different languages and to linguistic contact; peculiarities connected to oral and written communication; the linguistic differentiation, standard language, varieties, dialect; language politics.

Applying knowledge and understanding

By applying acquired knowledge and understanding, the student must demonstrate that he can apply notions, categories, methods and tools of sociolinguistics to the description and analysis of linguistic data.

Making judgements

On completing this course the student must be able to demonstrate that he can autonomously analyse linguistic phenomena comparable to those introduced during the course. He must moreover demonstrate that he is able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, formulate judgements with incomplete or limited information.

Communication skills

On completing this course the student must demonstrate that he can communicate his knowledge to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously by applying the terminology pertaining to sociolinguistics and by using appropriate examples supporting the theoretical description of the various linguistic phenomena.

Learning skills

On completing this course the student must demonstrate to have acquired the learning skills to allow him to continue to study in a manner that may be largely self-directed or autonomous.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching material and communications can be found, together with support activities, on the Moodle platform› blended.uniurb.it.

For further inquiries please contact the professor during the office hours or by email (mariarosaria.zinziATuniurb.it).

Teaching

Lectures (36 hours); course notes, electronic resources.

Attendance

Student not attending at least 27 hours/course are kindly invited to come anyway to the first lesson of the course or to inform the professor. They must prepare for a specific program.

Course books

The set text for the course is:

Gaetano Berruto - Massimo Cerruti, Manuale di sociolinguistica, Utet Università.

Further learning resources will be suggested during the course

Assessment

Oral assessment, i. e. an interview, involving questions linked to the topics of the course. The student will also be asked to analyse a text (speech transcription) from a sociolinguistic point of view by applying acquired knowledge and understanding.

Students’ assignments, when planned, must be delivered at the latest one week before the exam. The grade given for the task will be taken into account for the general assessment of the exam.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

Students not attending at least 27 hours/course are warmly invited to come anyway to the first lesson of the course or to inform the professor. They must prepare for a specific program.

Course books

The set text for the course is:

Gaetano Berruto - Massimo Cerruti, Manuale di sociolinguistica, Utet Università

Moreover, the student must read two out of the following essays/articles, depending on her/his curriculum:

Curriculum moderno:

- Berruto, Le varietà del repertorio, in Sobrero (a cura di), Introduzione all'italiano contemporaneo. volume: La variazione e gli usi, pp. 3-36

- Grassi, Italiano e dialetti, in Sobrero (a cura di), Introduzione all'italiano contemporaneo. volume: La variazione e gli usi, pp. 279-310

- Berruto, Sociolinguistica dell'italiano contemporaneo, cap. 4: La dimensione diafasica, pp. 139-168.

- Aueer, Europe's sociolinguistic unity, or: a typology of European dialect/standard constellations, in Nicole Delbecque, Johan van der Auwera, Dirk Geeraerts (eds.), "Perspectives on variation. Sociolinguistic, historical, comparative", pp. 7-42.

- Weinreich, The socio-cultural setting of language contact, in id. “Languages in contact”, pp. 83-110. (per chi preferisse, esiste anche una traduzione in italiano)

Curriculum classico:

- Clackson-Horrocks, The Blackwell History of the Latin Language, cap. 2: The languages of Italy, pp. 37-76.

- Poccetti-Poli-Santini, Una storia della lingua latina, paragrafi da concordare.

- Consani, C. La dialettologia greca oggi: acquisizioni, problemi, prospettive, ILing XXIX (2006), pp. 11-38

- Morpurgo Davies A., The Greek notion of dialect, Verbum X/1-3 (1987), pp. 7-25.

- Weinreich, The socio-cultural setting of language contact, in id. “Languages in contact”, pp. 83-110. (per chi preferisse, esiste anche una traduzione in italiano)

Assessment

Oral assessment, i. e. an interview, involving questions linked to the topics of the course. The student will also be asked to analyse a text (speech transcription) from a sociolinguistic point of view by applying acquired knowledge and understanding.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.