VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

The Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English - Speaking Countries

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Language Culture and Society

Program:

Course title: Language Culture and Society

Course credit value: 3

Course code:

Course status: Elective

Semester:

Class hour:

1. INSTRUCTORS:

Name and title Research interests Phone Email

Hoàng Thị Hạnh Intracultural communication, group communication, teaching 0905598994 hanhhtulis@ulis.vnu.edu.vn
methodology

Đỗ Thị Mai Thanh Intercultural communication, Communication skills 0983140802 maithanhdo@yahoo.co.uk

Vũ Thị Hoàng Mai hoangmai2308@gmail.com

2. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The course examines how language functions; how it shapes and is shaped by thought; how age, ethnicity, class and gender and other social factors are constructed by language and

influence language variation. It explores how people’s identity is constructed and performed through language, and how language in the media, politics and everyday talk potentially and

creatively represent people and their cultures.

The course will offer various opportunities for learners to acquire an informed understanding and hence an appreciation of the complex and dynamic relationship between language,

culture and society through critical analysis of language in use in media, politics and everyday talk and how such language use gives rise to power. This understanding will empower

learners in the process of working with language in their further study and practice.

3. COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

- apply basic concepts and processes of language, culture and society in exploring, understanding and analysing language in use.

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- use their informed understanding to empower themselves and others in the process of language use in their study and practice.

- demonstrate their respect and sensitivity in language practice of themselves and people around them to enhance understanding, appreciation and empowerment among

people and their varied language use.

4. TEACHING MATERIALS

Core texts:

Mooney, A., & Evans, B. (2019). Language, society and power: An introduction. London and New York: Routledge.

Recommended texts:

Ahearn, L. M. (2012). Living language: An introduction to linguistic anthropology. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London and New York: Routledge.

Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power. Pearson Education.

Holliday, A., Hyde, M., & Kullman, J. (2010). Intercultural communication: An advanced resource book for students. Routledge.

Jones, R. H., Jaworska, S., & Aslan, E. (2020). Language and media: A resource book for students. Routledge.

Jourdan, C., & Tuite, K. (2006). Language, culture and society: Key topics in linguistic anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Salzmann, Z., Stanlaw, J., & Adachi, N. (2014). Language, culture, and society: An introduction to linguistic anthropology. Westview Press.

Journals:

Communication and Medicine

Critical Discourse Studies

Discourse and Society

International Journal of Speech Language and the Law

Journal of Language and Politics

Journal of Sociolinguistics

Language in Society

Language Variation and Change

Text & Talk

Database

Sage

Taylor & Francis

Science Direct

Cambridge

Proquest

Eric

Degruyter

Elsevier

Wiley

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5. COURSE STRUCTURE AND LEARNING AND TEACHING METHODS

The course will include both lectures and in-class tutorials. To facilitate learning, the course employs discussion of readings, students’ discussion and textual analysis. Students are the

centre of the learning activities and are expected to read the materials in advance to choose topics for discussion in class, to proactively make their own choice of the extra materials for

analysis, to collaboratively work with their peers, to autonomously work on their own and to actively apply what they have learnt.

There are 3 contact hours per week in the semester. The schedule includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

Weekly timetable:

Weeks TOPICS TO BE COVERED MAIN READINGS

Introduction Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch1

1 Language functions Ahearn (2012) Ch1

Socially charged life of language Ting-Toomey (1999) Ch4

2 Language thought and representation Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch1,2

3 Language and politics Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch3

4 Language and the media Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch4

5 Self-study with online consultation All issues studied during weeks before

6 Linguistic landscapes Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch5

7 Language and gender Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch6

8 Language and ethnicity Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch7

9 Self-study with online consultation All issues studied during weeks before

10 Language and age Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch8

11 Language class and symbolic capital Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch9

12 Presentation

13 Projects and consultation Mooney & Evans (2015). Ch11

14 Self-study with online consultation Preparation for final assignments

15 Final assignment submission

Extra reading materials

Introduction

Boroditsky, L. (2009, June 11). How does our language shape the way we think? Edge.org. https://www.edge.org/conversation/how-does-our-
language-shape-the-way-we-think
Samuel, S., Cole, G., & Eacott, M. J. (2019). Grammatical gender and linguistic relativity: A systematic review. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 26(6), 1767-1786.

https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-019-01652-3
Politics and media

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Nguyen, T. X. (2016). The reconvergence of Vietnamese. In M. Clyne (Ed.), Undoing and Redoing corpus planning (pp. 143-163). De Gruyter Mouton.

Jones, R. H., Jaworska, S., & Aslan, E. (2020). Truths, lies, and propaganda. In Language and media: A resource book for students (pp. 48-54). Routledge.

Yến-Khanh, N., Phelan, S., & Gray, E. (2022). Neoliberalism and authoritarian media cultures: A Vietnamese perspective. Media, Culture & Society, 44(2), 230-

246. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211060200
Approaches to studying Language, Culture, and Society

Baldwin, J. R., Coleman, R. R., González, A., & Shenoy-Packer, S. (2014). How can we do responsible cultural research? In Intercultural communication for everyday life (pp. 35-41).

John Wiley & Sons.

Social scientific approach

Labov, W. (1973). The social motivation of a sound change. In Sociolinguistic patterns (pp. 1-41). University of Pennsylvania Press.

Labov, W. (1973). The social stratification of (r) in New York City department stores. In Sociolinguistic patterns (pp. 43-54). University of Pennsylvania Press.

Interpretive and critical approaches

McKee, A. (2003). What is textual analysis? In Textual analysis: A beginner's guide (pp. 1-33). SAGE.

Dhaenens, F. & Van Bauwel, S. (2017). ‘Sex in sitcoms: Unravelling the discourses on sex in Friends.’ (p.300-308), In F. Attwood, D. Egan, B. McNair & C. Smith (Eds.), Routledge

Companion to Media, Sex and Sexuality. Routledge.

van Dijk, T. A. (2007). Ideology and discourse analysis. Journal of Political Ideologies, 11(2), 115-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569310600687908
Baker, P., & McGlashan, M. (2020). Critical discourse analysis. In S. Adolphs & D. Knight (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English language and digital humanities (pp. 220-241).

Routledge.

Linguistic landscapes

Lee, C. L. (2022). Singapore hawker centres: A linguistic landscape of identity, diversity, and continuity. Journal of Asian Pacific

Communication, 32. https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00078.lee

Phan, N. (2021). Memories and semiotic resources in place-making: A case study in the Old Quarter in Hanoi, Vietnam. Linguistic Landscape, 7(1), 86-

115. https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.19005.pha
Phan, N., & Starks, D. (2020). Language in public space and language policies in Hanoi Old Quarter, Vietnam: a dynamic understanding of the interaction. Language Policy, 19, 111–

138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-019-09526-z
Theng, A. J., & Sum Tse, V. W. (2022). Complicating solidarity: The Hong Kong Covid-19 landscape. Linguistic Landscape, 8(2-3), 264-

280. https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.21036.the
Language and gender

Krijnen, T. V., & Bauwel, S. V. (2021). Empowered audiences. In Gender and media: Representing, producing, consuming (pp. 158-170). Routledge.

Levon, E., & Mendes, R. B. (2016). Language, sexuality, and power: Studies in intersectional sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press.

Yu, Y., & Sui, H. (2022). The anxiety over soft masculinity: A critical discourse analysis of the “prevention of feminisation of male teenagers” debate in the Chinese-language news

media. Feminist Media Studies, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2022.2046124

Dhaenens, F. (2013). Teenage queerness: Negotiating heteronormativity in the representation of gay teenagers inGlee. Journal of Youth Studies, 16(3), 304-

317. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2012.718435
Horton, P., & Rydstrom, H. (2019). Reshaping boundaries: Family politics and GLBTQ resistance in urban Vietnam. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 15(3), 290-

305. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428x.2018.1518739
Language and ethnicity

Dao, N. (2021). ‘Nói thì học Mỹ, học rặt Mỹ luôn’: Language ideologies in a Vietnamese restaurant in south Texas. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1-

15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1945068
Nguyen, T. T., & Hamid, M. O. (2017). Language choice, identity and social distance: Ethnic minority students in Vietnam. Applied Linguistics Review, 10(2), 137-

161. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2017-0037
Language and age

Tagliamonte, S. (2016). Teen talk: The language of adolescents. Cambridge University Press.

Tagliamonte, S. A., & Denis, D. (2008). Linguistic ruin? LoL! Instant messaging and teen language. American Speech, 83(1), 3-

34. https://doi.org/10.1215/00031283-2008-001

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 6. COURSE POLICY:

Students are expected to:

Attend at least 80% of the total class hours if she/he wants to do the end-of-term assignment.
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Actively prepare for the class by reading and reflecting on what they have read for each class meeting
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Actively participate in the class activities

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Work cooperatively and collaboratively with peers.

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Gather information from different sources, and become better informed about language culture and society through collecting and analysing language in use
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Complete all the assignments by the due dates

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7. ASSESSMENT

Form Weighting Task Purpose Due date

Active and regular 10% - Students participate in class discussions and/or -To assess students’ understanding of the required texts Weeks 1-15

participation and attendance + presentation topics assigned by their lecturer; and their ability to critically reflect on what they have

reflection writing write reflection after the class read and listened to.

- To assess students’ proactive individual and group

study skills

Option 1: Group discussion and presentation - To assess students’ understanding of the topics Weeks 13-15

Students read at relevant quality published covered throughout the course and their ability to read

papers on one topic and present a literature and review relevant literature to prepare for their own

review synthesising the findings of the relevant studies of relevant topics

Mid-term 30% studies. - To assess students’ ability to work in group.

Option 2: Individual annotated bibliography Students choose 5-10 articles published during the last 5 Week 15

years on a related topic of research and write an

annotated bibliography + a summary essay synthesising

the articles.

End-of-term assignment 60% report on their analysis of the representation of a To assess students’ understanding of the topics covered 2000 words

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 group of people or an issue in the media or a in the course and their ability to apply this

linguistic landscape understanding to analyse linguistic data to see the

relationship between language, culture and society.

To assess students’ research ability

To assess students’ understanding of the topics covered throughout the course and their ability to apply this understanding to analyse linguistic data to see the relationship between

language, culture and society

Other assessment information

Consult your lecturer if you have requests for further information about the assessments

7.1 Reflection: To reduce the workload, this assessment is not compulsory this semester. You can replace it with active participation in class interaction.

You need to submit at least three reflections on either the whole class sessions or your classmates’ presentations. Don’t worry about being wrong or too informal. The minimum length

is 200 words, no maximum. It can be quite informal, 1-3 paragraphs. Roughly, it answers all or some of the following questions:

1. Have you learnt something today?

2. Does it change your perspectives, or does it reinforce any current perspectives?

3. How are you going to apply it?

4. Have you got any further comments or suggestions for the next lesson?

Your entries should be submitted BEFORE the next lesson (I encourage you to do it as soon after the chosen lesson as possible). What lessons to reflect on are up to you, but make sure

you have at least three entries before the end of the semester.

7.2 Group presentation

The students in charge of a seminar give a 20-30-minute group presentation on one of the topics indicated in the course plan. They may choose to extensively present on and

discuss the topic, or they may scale the topic down to intensively elaborate on one or some particular aspect(s) of it. The presentation should provide essential background

information, explain necessary concepts and theories, and discuss the subject at hand. The core texts of the course and other academic sources are to be consulted for key concepts

and theories; examples used to demonstrate certain arguments should be relevant, updated, and intellectually stimulating.

7.3 Written report

The written report should include:

● a clear statement of the group of people, issue, or discourse of choice and a rationale for conducting the research (Rationale/Introduction)

● research question(s)

● definition of the concepts essential to your own analysis, such as “soft masculinity” and a review of previous works to situate the research within one or more traditions or

fields within media, communication, and cultural studies. Use at least ten academic sources (academic articles, books, book chapters). (Literature review)

● a description of data collection and analysis methods (Methodology)

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 ● a presentation of findings and discussion in light of the research question(s) and hypotheses (if applicable) and in relation to the themes and theories discussed in class

and previous works. Aim for a structured discussion with clear arguments rather than a description of what is heard or seen. (Findings and discussion)

The paper should be at least 2,000 words in length, excluding references and appendices. At the end of your paper, provide the word count.

Throughout your assignment, use formal, academic English. Avoid verbosity, redundancy, and ambiguity.

Formatting:

● Include the cover sheet at the front of the submission.

● Pages should be numbered, title page not included.

● Alignment = left. Font = Times New Roman size 14. Line spacing = 1.5. First line indentation.

● Do not add space between paragraphs of the same style.

● Each paper ends with a reference list. In-text references and the reference list should be formatted according to APA (7
th
edition) guidelines. Please check https://apa-

style.apa.org/.

Paragraphs are built around one idea and contain at least three sentences but not more than one full page.

Plagiarism is strictly prohibited

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8. UNIVERSITY PLAGIARISM POLICY:

• Cheating is an offence of university disciplinary procedures.

• Plagiarism in oral, written or visual presentations is the presentation of the work, idea or creation of another person, without appropriate referencing, as though it is one’s

own.

• Failure to acknowledge the use of another person’s work or ideas may result in charges of academic misconduct which carry a range of penalties including cancellation of

results and exclusion from your program

• Works detected plagiarism will be marked down to 0.