As a fundamental question in linguistics is "How do languages of the world differ?", questions that follows from that is "How do we demarcate one language from another?" and "How do we account for language variation?" While some chalk variation up to mistakes, others look at the way that variations of a language are systematic, and sometimes name these variations accents, dialects, or varieties. In this class, we will explore potential answers to these questions, focusing specifically on English. We will look at the external history of English--i.e. the events that lead to English becoming spread across the globe and the factors that lead to the development of different Englishes. We will look at the grammar of different Englishes to examine how they vary systematically with respect to phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. We will also discuss external consequences of the spread of English, such as its influence on some languages, and the loss of other languages entirely.
- DozentIn: Kurt Erbach