Investigate the intersection of language and society. Emphasis on language viewed as negotiated meaning-making in a social context. Critically discuss theories of language, from Saussure to Chomsky, including structuralism, functionalism, and semiotics. Topics include what is meant by the scientific study of language, what all natural human languages have in common, and what external factors — geographical, technological, cultural, and political — occasion language change (e.g., new pronouns, taboo words and the euphemism treadmill).