E/LIN 321L American English

Instructor

Hinrichs, L

Unique

36055 (E); 40375 (LIN)

Semester

Spring 2021

Flags

Cultural Diversity in the US; Independent Inquiry; Writing

Timeline

TTH 9:30-11a, online

Instructional mode

Internet (Web-based)

Prerequisites

Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description

We will begin by looking at the development of American English since colonial times. The major part of the course will be devoted to different varieties of English in the U.S. and Canada. We will consider linguistic variation according to factors such as region, social status, ethnicity, age, and gender. Students will be asked to perform their own case studies of a variety of English spoken in Texas.

The basic text for the course will be American English by Wolfram and Schilling-Estes (third edition, Oxford/Malden: Blackwell, 2015). Additional readings will be made available electronically.

Textbook

Wolfram, W. and N. Schilling. American English. 3rd edition (2016). Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-118-39022-1.

Requirements & Grading

Throughout the semester, students will work on the following graded components:

• Weekly assignments

• Intro to Sound Description module

• Research project

  • • Topic proposal

    • Data capsule

    • Oral presentation

    • Written report

• Final exam