120067 SE Shibboleth! The dark side of language (2007W)

Language bridges gaps between people, and facilitates cooperation. In that sense, the evolution of English into a global lingua franca raises hopes of world-wide harmony and understanding. However, languages are also terribly divisive. The have always diversified into different varieties of all kinds: group jargons, sociolects, dialects, and indeed different languages. Such linguistic diversity helps people to establish their identities as insiders of specific cultural, social, or ethnic sub-groups, but it always, and automatically, also creates outsiders, who are recognized by the way they speak, and often despised and discriminated against.
In this seminar we shall look at the various ways in which diversity in the English language has been, and still is being employed for such sinister functions. We shall discuss what features have been picked out as indicators of 'bad', and/or socially stigmatized English, by whom, when, under what circumstances, and for what purposes.
Students will be assessed on the basis of short oral presentations and written research papers. All presentations will take place during a seminar conference on a Friday afternoon and all day Saturday (date to be announced). Full participation in the conference is mandatory, so please bear this in mind when registering for the course.