230466 Social Networks and Language Change (S) (WiSe 2019/2020)

The power of social networks affects every aspect of our lives. The people who surround us, and the people we surround ourselves with, largely drive our behaviors and beliefs. The way we socialize, communicate and speak are just some of the aspects that shape and change our communities and cultures. Communities and all types of social groups are in turn partly defined by such habits and behaviors.

The study of social networks in sociolinguistics investigates and describes the structure of speech communities. Social network theory suggests that the relationships and ties in a certain community are the predominant forces behind language change in that community.
In this seminar, we will follow the development of social network theories and their applications. More recently, studies on social networks also started investigating online networks and language change within virtual speech communities. This seminar also has a special focus on the study and analysis of online social networks and platforms with regard to language contact and language change.