This module surveys the sociolinguistic history of North America. It explores the historical experience of multilingualism, language contact, dialect development, language conflict, and language variation and change in the USA, with some attention to Canada. Four themes recur across the arc of historical developments, and are highlighted for each variety: language variation, contact, attitudes and conflict. The survey's progress is initially historical in orientation (from European contact with Native Americans to modern American English), then regional (the South, Southwest, Northeast, Quebec, Great Lakes) and ethnic (Hispanic, Francophone, Deaf, African American). Besides American English, its colonial origins and regional dialect, attention is given to European competitors - Spanish, French, and English dialects influenced by them - and indigenous contact varieties (African American English - AAE, and American Sign Language - ASL) whose users are discriminated against. Variation and contact involving all these non-dominant varieties is related to language attitudes and developing ideologies that underlie and explain language conflicts in North America. We conclude with a look at recent language policies and nativist movements.
It is hoped students with interests in N America, but no linguistics background, will enrol. Extra readings in the first 3 weeks are designed to give non-linguists enough working knowledge of basic sociolinguistic principles and concepts to achieve the course aims and objectives.