An Introduction to Dialectology

Instructor(s): Dennis Preston

Description:
This course will begin with a survey of the European origins of dialectology and its early position within historical linguistics and continue with a discussion of the spread of dialect studies worldwide in the first two-thirds of the 20th century and the tweaking of the original methods (and goals). The last part of the course will examine late 20th and early 21st century dialectology, focusing on newer computational, sociolinguistic, social psychological, and ethnographic trends in the field. There will be three reading exams (based primarily on Chambers and Trudgill, 1998, Dialectology, 2nd Edition, CUP and a few additional readings). All students will also prepare a final sample project that outlines the hypotheses, collection procedures, and data processing and interpretation steps in a dialect project of their choice.

Prerequisites:
A basic introductory course in linguistics is necessary.

Textbook (Available at CU Bookstore):
Title: Dialectology
ISBN: 9780521596466
Author/Editor: Clark & Lappin
Edition: 1998, 2nd edition
Publisher: Cambridge University Press