This course, sociolinguistics, provides a general introduction to the study of the relationship between language and society. Importance is given to the study of language variation and change, sociology of language, correlational sociolinguistics (how social factors like age, sex and social class influence language) and social context of linguistic diversity including dialectology, language and gender, pidgins and creoles, language and ethnicity, new varieties of English, intercultural communication and applied sociolinguistics. It will focus on language variation according to users, including regional and social dialects as well as variation by gender. It will also discuss language variation according to use. It also includes issues related to disciplines such as education, gender & cultural studies, and politics.
