29403 - Sociolinguistics (1) (LM)

Course contents

The course is mainly addressed to students with background knowledge of linguistics.

The course is divided into two parts:

Part I - Introduction to sociolinguistics and the sociolinguistic scenario of contemporary Italian:

- Areas of study of sociolinguistics;

- Basic notions (linguistic community, linguistic repertoire, etc.);

- Sociolinguistic variables;

- The notion of continuum;

- Range of variation;

- Sociolinguistic variation of Italian and Architektur der Sprache;

- Some Italian varieties: neo-standard Italian, italiano popolare.

Part II - The relationship between typology and sociolinguistic variation:

- Spoken data and language variation;

- The relevance of spoken corpora;

- Case studies.

Readings/Bibliography

The course has been designed for students with a basic background in linguistics (i.e. with competences like those that are developed in General Linguistics classes, or in classes on the History of various languages). The students who believe not to have this background knowledge are advised to refer to a basic handbook of linguistics, as. e.g Berruto, Gaetano & Massimo, Cerruti (2017), La linguistica. Un corso introduttivo, Torino, UTET

Program for students who attend the lectures

Part I

a) Berruto, Gaetano, 2007 [1995], Fondamenti di Sociolinguistica, Bari, Laterza.

Chap. 1: La collocazione della sociolinguistica tra le scienze del linguaggio

Chap. 3: Nozioni fondamentali e unità di analisi

Chap. 5: L’analisi della variazione interna alla lingua

b) Berruto, Gaetano, 2012, Sociolinguistica dell’italiano contemporaneo. Seconda edizione, Roma, Carocci.

Part II

c) Ballarè, Silvia & Massimo Cerruti (2023), Sociolinguistic variation in spoken Italian: An introduction [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/soci-2023-0004/html], Sociolinguistica 37(1): 1-15.

d) three papers published in Ballarè, Silvia & Massimo Cerruti (2023) (eds.), Sociolinguistic variation in spoken Italian - Sociolinguistica 37(1) (special issue).

 

Program for students who do not attend the lectures

Part I

a) Berruto, Gaetano, 2007 [1995], Fondamenti di Sociolinguistica, Bari, Laterza.

Chap. 1: La collocazione della sociolinguistica tra le scienze del linguaggio

Chap. 3: Nozioni fondamentali e unità di analisi

Chap. 5: L’analisi della variazione interna alla lingua

b) Berruto, Gaetano, 2012, Sociolinguistica dell’italiano contemporaneo. Seconda edizione, Roma, Carocci.

c) Ballarè, Silvia, Eugenio Goria e Caterina Mauri, 2022, Italiano parlato e variazione linguistica. Teoria e prassi nella costruzione del corpus KIParla, Bologna, Pàtron.

Part II

c) Ballarè, Silvia & Massimo Cerruti (2023), Sociolinguistic variation in spoken Italian: An introduction, Sociolinguistica 37(1): 1-15.

d) three papers published in Ballarè, Silvia & Massimo Cerruti (2023) (eds.), Sociolinguistic variation in spoken Italian - Sociolinguistica 37(1) (special issue).

Teaching methods

Lectures

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral examination on the program in order to evaluate the acquisition of the basic notions of sociolinguistics and the ability to critically re-elaborate what was addressed during the course.

During the assessment, will be appreciated the correct use of the terminology of the discipline, the rigor in the presentation and argumentation, the achievement of a global vision of the topics addressed during the course and the ability to propose links between the different topics. On the other hand, the mnemonic exposure of the contents and the presence of logical leaps and gaps will be evaluated negatively.

It is absolutely mandatory to register for the exam through Almaesami. If many students sign up, the instructor will communicate a time plan for the oral exams as soon as the lists close.

Teaching tools

The material (readings, slides used in class, etc.) will be uploaded on the "Virtuale" e-learning platform (https://virtuale.unibo.it/ ).

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Ballarè