Dr. Susana M. Sotillo, DI 119                                                                                                           
Fall 2001 Office Hours

Languages of the U.S.A.
APLN 536

Fall 2001

Time and Location:  Monday 5:00 pm -- 6:15 pm, Dickson Hall 280 (Lab)
Monday 6:15 to 7:30 p.m., Dickson Hall 122
Office Hours

Course Description: 

A survey of the indigenous, colonial, and immigrant languages of the U.S.A. and how they are used in 
education and general communication. Also studied are factors affecting the maintenance or loss of 
languages and the shift from native languages to English with a discussion of the mutual effects of 
language contact.  English-only policies and recent court rulings will be examined in light of current 
immigration policies and the globalization of trade.

Electronic Resources for Languages of the U.S.A.

Required Texts:  

The Multilingual Apple. (1997).  Ofelia Garcia & Joshua A. Fishman (Eds.).    Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter.

On Reserve:

Language Education of Language Minority Students in the United States (The Six Nation Education Research Report) (Fall, 1999).  Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 15(1).  Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania. 

Caring for Patients from Different Cultures (Case Studies from American Hospitals). (1991).  Geri-Ann Galanti.  University of Pennsylvania Press.

Language in the USA (1982).  Charles A. Ferguson & Shirley Brice Heath (Eds.).  New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Requirements:

Your course grade will be calculated as follows: Web-based assignments, library research, and  class participation (30%);  midterm progress report (20%); and Web-based research paper or group resource manual (50%). No incompletes will be given.

Readings:

September 10, 2001:  Course overview.  Student input is very important to set the tone for the rest of the semester.
New York's Multilingualism -- World languages and their role in US society (pp.3-50).
Language Groups in New Jersey:
Essex County;
Morris County;
Passaic County.

September 17:  American Indian languages (Ferguson & Heath, pp. 116-144).  Oline Resources on Whorf:  the issue of linguistic determinism.  Chomsky's view on language and culture.

September 24:  Native American writing systems (Ferguson & Heath, pp. 145-174).  Rethinking Diglossia (Pedraza, Attinasi & Hoffman, pp. 75-97)

October 1:   We will meet in DI280 from 5:00 to 6:16 p.m.  Readings: Sapir, Whorf, Boas, Hymes (Readings in Language and Culture, 1964, Dell Hymes, editor).  Please go to the Reference Section, 1st floor, room 110, Sprague Library, at 6:30 p.m.  We will meet with Pat Sanders, Head of the Reference Section and learn how to use databases and online resources to do research.   Creating a database.   Census database: race by county.

October 8:  Historical evolution of contrastive rhetoric, and writing as an activity embedded in a culture (Ulla Connor) 

October 15:  Hymes' selections from In Vain I Tried to Tell You  (Poem to be read by Serena Williams).  Languages and cultures in the US (Galanti, pp. 1-33).  

October 22:  Languages of early arrivals in the 18th and 19th centuries (pp. 53-116).  Languages of the USA in the 20th and 21st centuries (pp. 119-227).  The languages with the newest sounds and newest faces in NYC (pp. 231-255).

October 29:  Midterm progress report:  student presentations (Web-pages, PowerPoint Slides, video presentations).

November 5:   Student presentations (continuation).  American language policy and compensatory opinion (Thomas Donahue, pp. 1121-141). 

November 12:   Overview of major immigrant languages in the Multilingual Apple:  What are some common factors that facilitate language maintenance?  Elite competition and official language movements (Selma Sonntag, pp. 91-111). 

November 19:  Language and gender in a US multicultural society (pp. 65-93).  Ethnic differences in communicative style (Ferguson & Heath, pp. 430-445).  Making gender relevant: conversation analysis and gender categories in interaction (Discourse & Society, 2001, 12(2), 2001, 217-244).

November 26:  The languages of India and Haitian Creole in NY (pp. 257-299).  Language, religion, belief systems and family (Galanti, pp. 35-61).  English Caribbean Creole in New York (pp. 301-337); ethnics and culture (pp. 341-353).

December 3:  Course overview and progress report on research projects.

December10:   Individual or group research project final draft due.