Faculty of Humanities and Education

Department of Language, Linguistics and Literature

Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics is the study of the interaction of language and society. As a speaker of a language in your own community, you know that people can be quite opinionated about what is the proper language to speak in certain situations, the meanings of certain words, and the differences between groups of speakers. Sociolinguistics studies these things and more.
 
Core sociolinguistics – What factors influence whether we say I’m going home or I gine home? The choices we make subconsciously express more than just the meaning of sentences. They reflect our identities, our upbringings, our attitudes, and the social and linguistic contexts of the sentences. By understanding these factors, we get a more coherent understanding of language, and can fight negative language attitudes.

Language and Gender – Do men and women behave differently in conversations? Can a language be sexist? The study of language and gender studies two social phenomena that are present in every human society. When you understand the myths and realities of gender variation and bias, you can communicate more effectively and respectfully with all the members of your community.
Dialectology – How is Bajan different from what is spoken in Jamaica, Trinidad, Ireland or the US? Dialectology studies the accents, grammars and vocabularies of different places. Knowledge of the history of the Caribbean, along with the present-day language patterns in the region, helps you to identify in what ways these places diverge so much in their speech or share surprising similarities, enhancing regional understanding and cohesion.

Creole linguistics – How did Africans and Europeans contribute to the development of new languages in the Caribbean? Creole languages are the best-known linguistic feature of the Caribbean, and how exactly they emerged is one of the biggest debates in the world of Linguistics. When you look at the languages of all the people in the region during the colonial era, as well as their everyday interactions, you come away with a comprehensive understanding of language in the Caribbean.