Lesson D Language and society e Reading A Prepare When you study a language, what kinds of things do you leam? Make a list. B [Al Read for main ideas Read the course outline are two extra tit space provided. Ther Language and Social Roles Language and Education a eee LANGUAGE and SOCIETY Accent and Dialect Language Change Write the title of each course in the Right or wrong? Can technology help? What is bilingualism? Participants should gain an understanding of how language reflects social structure and social change. Course 101: = 1 Language is constantly in development, and this course looks at one aspect of this: neologisms, ie, new words. New words enter the language, sometimes pushing old words out of use. New words are very seldom completely new and are typically rmade up of existing words or segments of them. Scientific terms such as nanotechnology and psychotherapy combine Classical Latin and Greek roots in new ways. Computer and Internet terminology reuses familiar everyday words, giving them novel meanings (mouse, friend, memory stick, paste), and new words are formed from the initial letters of existing words (RAM, USB). Sometimes names such as trade names form new words (to Google), or words change word class (a big ask, a ‘must-have). On other occasions, English simply borrows from other languages (pizza, sushi). Such developments reveal a great deal about changes in society Course 102: 2 The purpose of this course is to examine styles of speaking and their social and professional consequences. Everyone speaks with an accent. When we say someone “has no accent,” we usually mean the person is using the one associated with people of high social status or education. The term ‘non-standard accent refers to geographical / regional varieties cof speech, none of which is either inherently superior or inferior to any other. Even so, research shows that people do evaluate regional accents as being more, or less, friendly and pleasant, even judging whether people are suitable for certain types of jobs on the basis oftheir accent. Additionally, ‘geographical regions and social groups frequently possess their ‘own distinct grammar and vocabulary. However, accents and dialects are increasingly coming under pressure from mass ‘media and centralization, threatening their very existence Course 103: 3 Correct grammar is usually seen as the grammar employed by educated people (of higher social status, such as great writers, or those in power. In this course, we use a corpus (a large computer database of recorded conversations and written texts) and dedicated software to investigate thousands of examples of people from every social and educational background speaking and writing. We find there is consensus in that people generally follow the same rules of grammar. Nevertheless, we can also observe numerous cases where everyone seems to “break the rules” without comment. When everyone ignores a grammatical convention, is the rue still valid ~ or should we rethink it? Course 104 4 Many languages utilize different forms, titles, and names to address people who are friends and intimates, as compared to strangers, superiors, or people with whom a more formal relationship is appropriate. In this course, we examine how English creates, reflects, and maintains social relations. We ask: What is politeness? What is the status of titles and forms of address such as Professor, Sir, Ma'am? How do changes in English mirror shifts in social perceptions and relationships? For instance, using gender-marked vocabulary such as fireman, Waitress chairman is now regarded as outdated and even offensive by many, and neutral alternatives such as firefighter, server, and chair(person) are considered more acceptable, What kinds of social structures, therefore, does contemporary English reflect?