Instructor:      Wes Collins
e-mail:          wcollins@ling.ohio-state.edu
office:          221 Oxley Hall (corner of Neil and 12th)
mailbox          "Collins" in 222 Oxley
phone:           292.7343 (office)
                 419.282.9995 (home, be circumspect)

office hours:    Tuesday and Wednesday  11:00-12:00
                 immediately after class and by appointment

Course description:

This course examines language as a social construct within the social
and regional diversity of the general United States speech community.
We will examine how individuals and social groups distinguish themselves
both positively and negatively on the basis of language decisions and
their sharing (or lack) of common norms for social evaluation and
interpretation.  Specifically, we will discuss dialect differences
based on region, social class, ethnicity, gender, religion and nationality.
We will consider the role of these language differences in the creation
of cultural stereotypes and their implication for social gain or
disadvantage.

Texts:

1.  Wolfram, W. and N. Schilling-Estes (1998) American English:
Dialects and variation.  Oxford: Blackwell.

2.  Lippi-Green, R. (1997) English with an accent: Language, ideology,
and discrimination in the United States.  New York: Routledge.

Requirements:

1.  Reading assignments: Follow the readings in the syllabus.  In-class
lectures and discussions will constitute the main (but not the only)
teaching strategy.  Please come to class prepared to summarize, comment
on and ask insightful questions regarding the readings for each class.

2.  Homework: There will be five assignments; the best four scores will
contribute to your final grade.  All assignments must be word-processed;
each will be collected as you arrive in class on its repective due date.

3.  Quizzes: Most Thursdays, at the beginning of class, there will be a
short, closed-book, in-class quiz based on that week's reading, class
discussion and panel presentations.  Your single lowest quiz score will
not count toward your final grade.

4.  Midterm: The midterm will be given on 10/24.  It will be comprehensive
in scope, creative in nature, in-class and closed book.

5.  Research paper: You are to choose a situation where two (or more)
"codes" are spoken.  These can be dialects of a single language or two
distinct languages.  You are to write 4-page paper, based on library/web
research focusing on the bilingual situation in regard to  one  of the
following: education (formal or non-formal), literacy, socio-economic
development, religion, language ideology, gender, sexual orientation,
ethnicity, style, register, variation, etc.  You must turn in a
one-paragraph proposal with at least two bibliographical references
for your paper by 11/07.  You can pre-submit your paper at any time
for my comments.  The paper is due the day you present your findings
to the class--either 12/03 or 12/05.  In-class presentations must be
limited to five minutes with an additional few minutes for comments and
questions.  More details will follow.

6.  Panel discussion: Each student will participate in a panel to discuss
one paper out of a choice of seven on the following topics:  Language
change, New York City r-lessness, Martha's Vineyard English, social
networks, Ebonics, language and gender and English/Spanish bilingualism.
These topics will coincide with class discussion and readings on the same
theme, but each panel will lead much of the discussion for that day's class.
You need to choose a topic by 10/08; no more than 5 students per panel.
The seven papers to be discussed are in the class mailbox in 222 Oxley.

7.  Final: The final will be take-home, open-book and comprehensive.
It is due in my office, 221 Oxley, by 5:18 PM on December 12.  No penalty
for early submission.

Make-up policy:

My policy is to make it worth your while to take a test or quiz when
it is offered, rather than later.  Make up tests or quizzes will be
either oral or by essay (my decision).  I won't accept late work
without prior arrangement except under the most dire of circumstances.

Evaluation:

Class participation:        5%
Homework assignments:      20%
Quizzes:                   10%
Midterm:                   15%
Research project:          15%
Project Presentation        5%
Panel discussion           10%
Final:                     20%

OSU grading scale (in percentages)

A      93-100     C+     77-79
A-     90-92      C      73-76
B+     87-89      C-     70-72
B      83-86      D+     67-69
B-     80-82      D      60-66
                  E      below 60

Students with special needs:

If you have a special need based on the impact of a disability,
please contact me to arrange an appointment as soon as possible.  We
can discuss course format, anticipate your needs and explore potential
accommodations.  I rely on the Office for Disability Services (ODS)
for assistance in verifying your special need and for developing
accommodation strategies.  If you have a special need and have not yet
contacted ODS, 150 Pomerene Hall/292-3307, I encourage you to do so.

Academic misconduct:

I will assume that work on tests, homework, quizzes and papers is your
own.  You are encouraged to discuss homework and papers (though not the
take home final) with classmates or others, but the final write-up must
be your own.  Plagiarism of any kind is a violation of the Code of Student
Conduct and, as per faculty rule 3335-31-02, must be reported to the Committee
on Academic Misconduct.  This is an autonomous committee that
thoroughly investigates alleged misdeeds; University disciplinary
measures are draconian.  Let's not go there.  If you don't get what's
going on in class, talk to me and we can figure something out.
However, I will not tolerate cheating.

Faculty Contact:       Dr. Richard Janda
e-mail:                rjanda@ling.ohio-state.edu
Office:                223 Oxley Hall
Phone:                 688.3109 (office)