Language, Culture and Communication in Sweden, 7.5 credits

The course aims at introducing basic cultural concepts and theories, focusing on relationships between language, culture and communication. Specific goals of the course Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• describe how language use embodies cultural values
• evaluate how communication constructs identity
• discuss how language use is culturally situated
• use simple Swedish to exemplify communicative differences

The course focuses on how cultures have an influence on language by analyzing frequently occurring linguistic phenomena in Swedish. Language uses in Sweden are compared to language uses in other countries. A further focus is on the construction of identity and national stereotypes. Special attention is paid to the analysis of language use, but pictures and digital representations will also be discussed.