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; CRT 368
Course Description
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. 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
