3 credits
Requires departmental authorization

The topic for this year's course is variation. For over 30 years now,
we have known that linguisttic variation is not really "free", but
rather influenced in very systematic ways by social and linguistic
factors. While these findings have convinced many sociolinguists that
theories of grammar should take into account such variable patterns
in developing rules and models, others still attribute variation
patterns to dialect mixing and performance and exclude such questions
from their research.

In this course, we will examine and discuss the methodology and
theory which underly variation studies, as well as the main
questions and controversies which divide sociolinguists among
themselves and oppose them to "theoretical" linguists. We will also
put into practice the methodology and theory of variation studies in
a research paper in which each student will design their own study,
analyze the data, and interpret them.