1[G) Sociolinguistics — Language and Society el + argns estoy ean camming oman es very rrodatm et kaasnns sustaining Screven pas ween acunoe cena may mpoumttnnstocanom ocr earn eaage en thy la ocean, eee eee ae oe ete 3(G) Dialect = Whats the difference between dialect and language? a = Regional dialect / social dialect. = Geographical dialect continuum. = If we choose to place the dividing line between the two at the county boundary, we are basing our decision on social in this case local- government-poltical) rather than on linguistic facts, 1 problem with the term language. = Dutch and German - two distinct languages 1 at some places along the Netherlands-Germany border the dialects spoken on either side of the border are extremely similar. «= Scandinavian languages - Swedish, Danish and Norwegian? 1 Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian? the criterion of .mutual intelligibility’, and other purely linguistic criteria, are of less importance in the use of the terms language and dialect than are political and cultural factors: ~ autonomy (independence) ~ heteronomy (dependence). = Problems of discreteness and continuity: division of social and linguistic, phenomena into separate entities —is itreality? 7(B) Dialect and accent the term dialect refers to differences between kinds of languages - vocabulary, grammar as well as pronunciation;the term accent, on the other hand refers solely to differences of pronunciation. «= Standard variety is that variety which is usually used in print and which is normally ‘taught in schools and to non-native speakers leaming the language, e.g. Standard English f= Itis also the variety which is normally spoken by educated speakers and used in ews broadcasts and other similar situations, «© Standard variety has colloquial as well as formal variants. = The difference between standard and non-standard has nothing to do with differences between formal and colloquial language, or with the concepts as ‘bad language’. (| Standard English = Historically speaking, the standard variety of English developed out of the English Gialects used and around London as these were modified though the centuries by the speakers at the cour by scholars from the universities and later on by the public schools 1 As ime passed, the English use nthe upper classes of society inthe capt ty came to dverge significantly from that used by ofher social groups and came to be regarded asthe model for l tose who wished to speak and wife wel, x = Within standard English there are a number of regional differences, e.g Standard Scottish English, Standard British English, Standard American English. = Differences: vocabulary items (BE lift, AE elevator) etc.; grammatical differences, e.g. BE: / have got, AE: | have gotten/I have etc.) ® Generally speaking, Standard English has a widely accepted and codified grammar. = Standard English is imposed from above over the range of regional dialects — the dialect continuum — and for this reason can be called a ‘superposed variety of language. ‘© no universally acknowledged standard accent for English, one accent which only occurs together wth Standard English - the British English accent (known to linguists as RP “received pronunciation),1 RP developed largely in the residential ‘public schools’ favoured by the aristocracy land the upper-middle classes. = itis known as ,Oxford English” and .BBC English’, and is stil the accent taught to ‘non-native speakers learning British pronunciation, 1s[6) Judgements about language = Linguistically speaking, Standard English cannot legitimately be considered better than other varieties = The scientife study of language has convinced scholars that all anguages and correspondingly al dialects, are equally ‘good’ as linguist systems. Value judgements conceming the correciness and purity of linguistic varieties are ‘social ather than linguistic. » Attitudes towards nonstandard cialects are attitudes which reflect the social structure of society In other words, value judgements about language are, from a linguistic point of view, completely arbitrary. = Judgements of this kind are social judgements based on the social connotations that a particular feature has in the area in question, e.g. British and American use of //. ‘= Wiliam Labov made an investigation into the speech of New York City which showed that since the Second World War non-prevocalic/r/has been very much on the increase in the ciy in the speech of the upper middle class. 1 This research illustrated that i @ certain pronunciation came to be regarded as a prestige feature n a particular community, then it will end to be exaggerated. = Another experimental research — Martha's Vineyard: due to the incoming of many tourists, the natives were trying to keep their old-ashioned, traditional way of pronouncing words like house, mouth, loud - heus/, ‘Imeusi, loud! ete. «= For them, this kind of pronunciation was a prestigeous one, = Linguistic change does not always take place in the direction of the prestige norm, = Language can be very important factor in group identification, group solidarity and the signalling of difference, and when a group is under attack from outside, signals of difference may become more important and are therefore exaggerated, 19(5] Sapir-Whorf's hypothesis after two American anthropologists- Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf:the speakers' native language set up series of categories which act as a kind of grid through which they categorize and conceptualize different phenomena. A language can affect a society by influencing or even controlling the world-view of its speakers. = Differences in language may lead to differences in perception of the world. ' the Sapir:Whort's hypothesis is concerned with the possibly that human beings’ views of their environment may be conditioned by their language. Less controversial Js the one-way relationship that operates in the opposite direction ~ the effect of society on language and the way in which environment is reflected in language. (kinship terms) 2 [El] Taboo 2 el = The values of a society can also have an effect on its language, e.g. the phenomenon known as taboo. = Taboo - behaviour which is believed to be supernaturally forbidden, or regarded as immoral or improper; it deals with behaviour which is prohibited or inhibited in an apparently irrational manner. 1 In language, taboo is associated with things which are not said, and in particular with ‘words and expressions which are not used 1 Taboo words occur in most languages and failure to adhere tothe often strict rules {governing their use can lead to punishment or public shame. = For those who use taboo words, ‘breaking the rules’ may have connotations of ‘strength of freedom which they find desirable. ‘= Generally, the type of word that is tabooed in a particular language will be a good ‘eflection of at least part ofthe system of values and beliefs ofthe society in question = In English-speaking word, the most severe taboos are now associated with words ‘connected with sex, followed by those connected with excretion and the Christian religion. = Taboo i @ linguistic as well as sociological fact ~ such words are wrong, but powerful. Taboo words may be acceptable in certain situations, but they are not ‘generally acceptable in broadcast media. = Change in the pattern of taboo: + in egalitarian discrimination against people on the grounds of their physical characteristics, words such as nigger, cripple, are acquiring increased taboo loading ‘and their use is becoming inereasingly shocking. on the other hand, aword like bloody is not considered a taboo any longer, ‘comparing to Shaw's Pygmalion.3(B = secondary effect that taboo can have on language itself ~ because of strong reluctance of speakers to utter taboo words, or words like them, in certain circumstances words which are phonetically similar to taboo words can be lost from a language, e.g. rooster instead of cock, which today only have sexual connotations. f these are some of the ways in which society acts upon language and, possibly, in which a language acts upon society. ™ In the past 40 years or so, increasing recognition of the importance of the relationship, between language and society has led to the growth of a sub-discipline within linguisties: seciolinguistcs. = Language is a social phenomenon: a study of language without reference to its social Context inevitably leads to the omission of some of the more complex and interesting aspects of language and to the loss of opportunites for further theoretical progress. 27/0) Definition: ® Sociolinguistics is a part of linguistics which is concemed with language as a social and cultural phenomenon. It investigates the field of language and sociely and has close connections with the social sciences, especially social psychology, anthropology, human geography, and sociology.