The seminar is about the study of the relationship between language and society. It aims to discuss that the use of languages in the societies are governed by gender, age, class, race etc. Therefore, these factors play an important part in maintaining social roles and creating power structures in a society. It would highlight the various functions that a language performs in a society which results in disparity of genders and promotes biases towards ageism.
Participants will learn past and contemporary theoretical approaches to the analysis of gendered linguistic practices which will enable them to examine these practices against a range of contexts. The participants will critically analyse how linguistic practices and patterns are shaped by gender, age, culture and society through the examination of issues relating to gender and language use in general and in patriarchal societies in particular. At the of the course, the participant will describe and analyse the features of linguistic patterns/ practices in relation to gender and sociocultural practices.