AAST 263 - Black English and Voice: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Semester Offered: Second Semester
Full Course
Credits: 4 credits
Attribute: 4HU, CD, WINT

Sociolinguistics studies the relationship between language and society and/or language variation by group and location. Given that it is a highly developed ‘dialect’ that was central to definition of the field, this course examines regularities of Black English (sometimes called Ebonics, to indicate both speaker and sound). Along the way, students will be introduced to key concepts of sociolinguistics (e.g., speech community and speech act as well as semantics, morphology, and phonetics/phonology). The course also re-visits the 1997 debates involving Oakland’s intention to feature Ebonics in English education and culminates with consideration of differently stylized ?literary? renderings of Black speech. Field trips required. Prerequisite: AAST 101, AAST 202, or equivalent.
Enrollment Limit: 25
Instructor: G. Johns
Cross List Information Cross-listed with ENGL 263