Time: June 04, 2020 16:30 (Bern: 10:30)

Zoom Link: https://unibe-ch.zoom.us/j/98639789916

Meeting ID: 986 3978 9916
Password: globalese

This workshop explores the burgeoning field of Critical Sociolinguistics, which studies the relationship between language and power.  Participants will watch a case study, entitled “‘Premium Power’ and the Linguistic Production of Privilege”, which examines the linguistic production of the “premium” class of air travellers, thereby addressing the intersections of language, social class, inequality, and privilege. Participants will then be given three short extracts to work on before the group reconvenes to discuss its impressions and ask questions.  

Participants who wish to gain a general introduction to Critical Sociolinguistics before the session are invited to view the following podcast:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g40ofoacsel7af0/10a_Thurlow_Critical%20Sociolinguistics.mp4?dl=0

Crispin Thurlow is Professor of Language and Communication in the Department of English at the University of Bern, Switzerland. His publications include Elite Discourse: The Rhetorics of Status Privilege and Power (2018, Routledge) and Digital Discourse: Language in the New Media (2011, Oxford). His most recent books are The Business of Words: Wordsmiths, Linguists and Other Language Workers (2020, Routledge) and Vizualizing Digital Discourse: Interactional, Institutional and Ideological Perspectives (2020, De Gruyter). He is on the editorial board of journals like Language in Society; Discourse, Context & Media; Critical Discourse Studies; Visual Communication; Linguistic Landscape; and the Journal of Language and Sexuality.