English 209-001
Language in the United States
Instr: Mattson, Jennifer
Office: CRT 697; 229-4230
e-mail: jennifr@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: MWF; 10:00-10:50am; TBA
Course Description
Why duh dey tawk so funny in Noo Yawk? Wah cay-unt Suthanas talk fastuh? Why don't all Americans speak good English, like me? For that matter, why doesn't EVERYBODY in the U.S. speak "American"? Isn't speaking English a law or something?
Purpose of course: Language in the United States (English 209) is a study of the languages and dialects of the U.S. We will discuss the social and political aspects of language use and examine issues of interethnic communication and assimilation into "mainstream culture". Topics include English-only laws, bilingual education, code-switching, Ebonics, prescriptive vs. descriptive attitudes towards non-standard dialects, slang and jargon, language change, child language acquisition, the relationship between language and thought, and political correctness.
Course requirements: 3 exams (60% of grade), one 5-7 page paper (20% of grade) OR participation in conversation partnership with international student, and class participation and metalinguistic awareness observation reports (20% of grade).
Prerequisites: Speak some form of English!
Class format: informal, lots of discussion, 25 students/class
