Language and society

Language is central to social interaction in every society, regardless of location and time period.
Language and social interaction have a reciprocal relationship: language shapes social
interactions and social interactions shape language. Language is a tool for interact with other
human. So language can’t be separated with human. Through language we can related and
interact with other human and created communicative in the community. Sociolinguistics is the
study of the connection between language and society and the way people use language in
different social situations. It asks the question “How does language affect the social nature of
human beings, and how does social interaction shape language” It ranges greatly in depth and
detail, from the study of dialects across a given region to the analysis of the way men and women
speak to each other in certain situations. The basic premise of sociolinguistics is that language is
variable and ever changing. As a result, language is not uniform or constant. Rather, it is varied
and inconsistent for both the individual user and within and among groups of speakers who use
the same language. 'People adjust the way they talk to their social situation. An individual, for
instance, will speak differently to a child than he or she will to their college professor. This
socio-situational variation is sometimes called register and depends not only on the occasion and
relationship between the participants, but also on the participants’ region, ethnicity, s
Language has been defined as a phenomena or a systematic way to communicate effectively with
other speakers. Society is a group of people or community living together and sharing a set of
norms socioeconomic status, age, and gender.
Language and society are complimentary to each other; it’s difficult to imagine one without
considering other. The connection between language and society is tightly anchored. The
relationship of the two is deep rooted. Language performs various functions in the society and
the society does the same way. If one does not exist, the other one will be affected.
Language is the primary tool for communication purposes, for establishing peace and order in
our society, for showing authority and power, and for attaining goals and objectives. But, it can
also destruct the society if it is used inappropriately. It must follow the conformity governing the
society to avoid conflicts and to meet the boundary of individual differences. Society however
controls our language by giving us preferences as what are acceptable and not, because each one
of us has our own perception or point of view. A group of people may accept our language, but
for others, it could be kind of offence or insult. We must know how, when and where to say it
and for what purpose.
Social changes produce changes in language. This affects values in ways that have not been
accurately understood. Language incorporates social values. However, social values are only the
same as linguistic values when the society is a stable and unchanging one. Once society starts
changing, then language change produces special effects.
Class, ethnicity, and gender are three social factors that play a role in language variation. Class is
the structure of relationships between groups where people are classified based on their
education, occupation, and income. Ethnicity refers to a group of people that share cultural
characteristics and gender deals with the traits associated with men and women. This division
among groups in each factor contributes to the differences of their use of the English language.
The data collected by the researchers, which were displayed in graphs, tables, and charts, shows
how each researcher has a different approach constructing their project, but continues to focus on
the same subjects about the variation in language.

Labov’s study addresses and depicts how class, ethnicity, and gender influences language
variation. One example of how class affects language variation is evident in the New York City
study by Labov. He displays the social classes in four classes: the lower working class, the upper
working class, the lower middle class, and the upper middle class. He also displays the styles of
speech in three styles, which are casual, careful conversation, and reading. According to the data,
the upper middle class speakers almost always use the standard ing variant and the lower
working class speakers almost always use the non-standard in variant. Each class prefers the use
of one pronunciation over the other regardless, of the style of speech. However, the lower
working class shifted from using in in casual speech to using ing in the reading style.

Ethnic groups affect language variation, because they usually have to learn the language that is
prominent in an area. Although they view language as a part of their identity, they have to
compromise their languages and substitute it with another, or combine both languages. Ethnic
groups learn the dominant language in an area when the majority of the people speak that
language. Their variety of the dominant language is called the "substrate," because it shows the
differences between it and their language. Immigrants that arrive in a new location quickly learn
the dominant language. Their language is called the "adstrate," and it affects the way they speak
the dominant language. The adstrate and substrate could create a variety of the dominant
language, and would differ from the normal version of the language.

Gender affects language variation by influencing the language choice between men and women.
A man and a woman’s speech differ from one another in matters of degree. Men’s language can
be direct, non-standard, and aggressive. Women’s language can be less harsh, emotional, and
standard. Many languages have alternative forms that are used only by men or by women. In
some cases, the men and women speak different dialects, or they don't speak the same language
to each other. But I don't agree with this, because it hinders the communication process between
men and women. It also makes it difficult for each gender to fully understand the opposite sex.

Variation in language is an important topic in sociolinguistics, because it refers to social factors

in society and how each factor plays a role in language varieties. Languages vary between ethnic
groups, social situations, and specific locations. From Labov’s study, people can determine that
variation is a characteristic of language that can be influenced by class, ethnicity, and gender.
People notice these variations by interacting with people from different ethnic backgrounds and
people with different social standings. According to his research, Labov realized that there are
many ways of speaking, and each way of speaking is influenced by social factors in a society.
Language and culture
Culture is the characteristics and thought patterns of a people group. Generally, we define culture
using the obvious, external categories: language, religion, cuisine, arts and traditions. However,
culture goes much deeper than that. Culture teaches us how to think, interact with those around
us and how to view our world.
Language interacts with every aspect of human life in society, and it can be understood only if it
is considered in relation to society. Therefore, true understanding of a language requires an
understanding of the surrounding culture. Wenying Jiang beautifully compares the relationship
between language and culture to an iceberg. Language, and some aspects of culture, are at the tip
of the iceberg, the part you see above the water. Yet, the majority of what forms the iceberg,
culture, hides below the surface. Language is used both as a means of communication as well as
a carrier of culture. Language without culture is unthinkable, so is human culture without
language. (Wei, 2005)
Another analogy for the relationship between language and culture is that of a person. Language
is the flesh and culture is the blood. You put the two together and you have a whole person.
However, one without the other results in death.
Linguist Ken Hale from Massachusetts Institute of Technology agreed, “When you lose a
language, a large part of the culture goes, too, because much of that culture is encoded in the
language.”
Culture influences our values, traditions and methods of interaction while language facilitates
those interactions. Language allows you to interact and culture tells you how to do so correctly.
Culture and language both shape a person’s identity. Culture dictates how we interact with and
react to the world around us. It binds us to like people groups and gives us a sense of belonging.
Language, on the other hand, is one way to express culture. Language allows us to pass down
cultural stories and ideas as well as communicate our own thoughts and beliefs.
Every language has embedded cultural overtones. These, of course, vary from country to
country, not just language to language. So the culture of a country will be expressed through the
language. Sometimes the culture can be harder to pick up than the language itself. Of course,
there is the culture of a country but also within that, there is a multitude of variations within each
one. We all can recognize that even in our own countries when we go to a place or situation
where there is an unfamiliarity.
If you are learning a new language, culture must be an integral part of your journey. You can
only effectively communicate if you understand with whom you are interacting with and how to
address them properly.
The components of culture are closely interrelated as language is the primary vehicle for
expressing cultural perspectives and participating in social practices; and culture is expressed
through that language.
Could you think of any language without culture? Kramsch (1991, p. 217) holds that culture and
language are inseperable» Language and culture are twins, and one can’t tell who is who (they
look very much like each other). They are two sides of a coin and you can’t tell which is which;
what we say (language) influences what we think, what we feel and what we believe (culture).
So, there is an intricate relationship between language and culture, and yet being its vehicle.
Culture is the « way of life for an entire society» (Jary,1991), which means that aspects of human
life such as codes and manners, dressing, religion, ritual norms, behavior, belief systems and
language are subsumed under culture.
In short, Culture is lived and language, through all its manifestations, projects that living, giving
it form and texture. Language, therefore, expresses the patterns and structures of culture, and
consequently influences human thinking, manners and judgment.
Language and culture are both integral parts of human life. Language determines and influences
thought and culture: Sapir-worf hypothesis. (Sapir,1929) Culture influences peoples’language.
Language and culture influence each other. So, there is a mutual influential between language
and culture, they are mutually influential. Languages can’t be studied in isolation from the
cultures in which they are spoken.
Additionally, many languages are used by different cultures. That is, the same language can be
used in several cultures. Cultures come up with new ideas, they develop language components to
express those ideas.
It is commonly accepted that language is a part of culture, and that culture plays a very important
role in it. That language without language, culture would not be possible. Language
simultaneously reflects culture, and is influenced and shaped by it. In the broadest sense, it is
also the symbolic representation of a people, since it comprises their historical and cultural
backgrounds, as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking.
Methaphorically, some people say that language is the mirror of culture, in the sense that people
can see a culture through its language. . Another metaphor used culture to symbolize language
and culture is the iceberg. The visible part is the language, with a small part of culture; the
greater part, lying hidden beneath the surface, is the invisible aspect of culture.
This author’s (Brown) understanding of language and culture is conveyed through the following
metaphor. From a philosophical view: Language and culture makes a living organism; language
is flesh, and culture is blood. Without culture, language would be dead; without language, culture
would have no shape.
The intimate relationship between language and culture is strikingly illustrated by the survey of
word associations. People of different cultures can refer to different things while using the same
language forms. For example, when one says lunch, an Englishman may be referring to
hamburger or pizza, but a Chinese man will most probably be referring to steamed bread or rice.
The relationship between language and culture is that of “Part to whole”. Every language is part
of a culture. As such, it can’t but serve and reflect cultural needs. It is language in its cultural
context that creates meaning. The language we speak influences what we see and think, and what
we see and think, in part, influences our culture.
Language varieties
Sociolinguistics: Sociolinguistics is the branch of Linguistics which deals with the study of
language used in society and in sociocultural context. In addition, it is the study of the linguistic
indicators of culture and power (Schmitt, 2011). It describes language varieties between different
ethnic, religious, status, and gender groups; and explains how educational level, age etc., may
influence the language differences, and categorizes individuals in social or socioeconomic
classes.
Specific language or specific form of language used by a particular community is called
language variety. Each language exists in a number of varieties and is in one sense the sum of
those varieties. Hudson defines a variety of language as ‘a set of linguistic items with similar
distribution,’ a definition that allows us to say that all of the following are varieties: Canadian
English, London English, the English of football commentaries, and so on.
In sociolinguistics a variety is also called a lect. It is a specific form of a language or language
cluster. This may include languages, dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic
variation, as well as the standard variety itself.
In study of language variation we’ll study the following topics: Standard language, nonstandard
language, dialect, register, pidgin, creole, lingua franca, diglossia and Style.
Effects of language varieties
1. Borrowing of vocabulary,
2. Adoption of other language features (Romanian was influenced by the Slavic languages
spoken by neighboring tribes in the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire not only in
vocabulary but also in phonology and morphology).
3. Language shift.
4. Creation of new languages (creole, pidgin).
5. Linguistic hegemony.
Factors/Causes of language variation
Different factors affect how a language is spoken within a country. They can be regional
(geographical), ethnic (national and racial), and social (class, age, gender, socioeconomic status
and education). All these factors are interconnected. They are reflected in every language
variety’s pronunciation, vocabulary, grammatical constructions and syntax. Language variations
are 3 types: 1. languages vary from one place to another, Geographical variation, 2. from one
social group to another Social variation, 3.from one situation to another, Contextual variation.
Factors of language variation:
Social variation of language: Language and society are strongly connected to each other and
both of them affect the other one equally. People living in the same region but with different
social class, education etc. speak language differently. Differences in way of speaking, implicitly
or explicitly, work as indications of membership in different social groups or speech
communities. A speech community is a group of people who share a set of norms and
expectations regarding the use of language.
1. Recognition of standard and non-standard language: It refers to a mode of usage of most
educated speakers of a language and established as the prestigious form of that language. This
term is also used for that variety of a language which is considered to be the norm. To give a
language, name of a standard language, planning and policies are made by the elite class and
government officials. These planning and policies depend upon ideology. This process of
standardization is historical and remains in progress all the time. Standard language strictly
follows the grammar and pronunciation rules of the language concerned. It is the variety of used
by educated users, e.g. those in the professions, the media, and so on. It is the variety defined in
dictionaries, grammars, and usage guides. It is regarded as more correct and socially acceptable
than other varieties. It enjoys greater prestige than dialects and non-standard varieties. It is used
in important functions in the society – in the government, the parliament, courts, bureaucracy,
education, literature, trade, and industry.
The term nonstandard was originally used by linguists to refer to language varieties that had
previously been labeled with terms such as vulgar. Nonstandard English differs from Standard
English at the level of grammar (it does not follow the grammar or pronunciation rules of
standard language).
2. Education and Occupation: Time spent in schools and educational institutes change the way
we speak. Similarly the occupation of a person also influences his/her way of speaking. Though
we have individual differences in speech or personal dialects (idiolects). But generally we tend to
speak as our colleagues or class fellows speak. Sometimes people tend to refine their
pronunciation to pose themselves more educated.
3. The speaker's socio-economic status
The social variable of socio-economic status was found to influence the realization of, for
example, the (-ing) variable at the end of present progressive verb-forms. In his 1974- Norwich-
study, Peter Trudgill investigated the occurrence of either [-ing] or [-in‘] with a number of
speakers. Dividing the group of speakers into social classes, he found out that the higher the
socio-economic status of the speaker (and the more formal the style), the more probable the
occurrence of the standard variant [-ing]. In casual style, the least formal speech style, the
speakers who were related to the lowest class did use the non-standard variant [- in‘] in virtually
one hundred percent of the cases.
Trudgill's procedure was designed to find evidence for how speakers' social status and the degree
of formality in their speech relate to the use of the (-ing) variable. Before starting to conduct this
investigation, Trudgill had to divide his selection of speakers into groups which were to
represent five different social classes. According to their occupation, income, education, place of
residence and their father's occupation he assigned the participants either to the middle class, the
lower middle class, the upper working class, the middle working class or to the lower working
class. The question often raised in this context is, if it is appropriate to stratify society in this
way, reducing various social factors to a single scale and assuming that the resulting concept of
socio-economic status is universally valid. It is obviously difficult to define groups of people on
the basis of their social background in general. William Labov who established social
stratification in his New York study argued that different social factors are relevant to different
linguistic variables.9 Scientists agree that the criteria taken into consideration to provide a
representative stratification of society must be chosen with regard to the variable under
investigation. The second complex of Trudgill's study was the aspect of speech style. As he was
looking for evidence for the relation between formality in speech and the use of the (-ing)
variable, he had to elicit different degrees of formality. The participants used the most formal
style while reading prepared wordlists paying most attention to their pronunciation. The most
casual speech was produced in natural conversation, talking to, for example, family members or
friends. The two intermediate speech styles were produced while reading out a reading-passage
respectively while talking to the interviewer. This style stratification, too is one of the methods
developed by William Labov.
Vocabulary as a social marker: setting room—lounge, lavatory---toilet, sofa---settee.
Grammar as a social marker: I finished that book yesterday-------I finish that book yesterday.
4. Gender
5. Age
6. Power
7. Religion: Particular language choices can come to be associated with particular religions,
which is why Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian are three separate standardizations of what is
basically the same language, and what’s more the same (originally regional) dialect of it. They
can also be used as religious shibboleths. In Northern Ireland during the Troubles, it’s said that
militant groups on both sides sorted out Catholic from Protestant Irish by their pronunciation of
the name of the letter H: haitch vs. aitch. Beyond that, the meaning of vocabulary can shift when
a new religion is introduced, especially in very basic things: the word god originally applied in
English to various pagan gods (and still can, in the right context), but is now normally applied to
the One God of the Abrahamic religions (and capitalized). Likewise, bless originally meant
‘offer as a blood sacrifice’. But the vast majority of religious words in English from anoint to
vigil are borrowed words, sometimes surprisingly so: cross is originally from Latin crux, but its
particular shape shows that it was brought in by Irish-speaking missionaries, or possibly via Old
Norse rather than directly. There was a native name for the Cross, namely rood (related to rod)
but this has now been lost except as a deliberate archaism.
Ethnicity: An ethnic group is a group of people who are identified by a number of factors, being
cultural, racial, economic, political, linguistic, religious…and may be more or less. Among these
factors, we have language which is a primary characteristic that separates groups of humans from
others. Language is always an important part of cultural identity and group affiliation. Trudgill
(1995:41) notes that:
Language may be an important or even essential concomitant of ethnic group
membership. This is a social fact, though, and it is important to be clear about what sort of
processes may be involved. In some cases, for example, and particularly where language rather
than varieties of a language are involved, linguistic characteristics may be the most important
defining criteria for ethnic-group membership.
For example the differences that can be found in the English of black and white speakers in the
USA. Speakers choose consciously their own dialect in order to display their belonging and
membership. The majority of black speakers tend to use the AAVE African American
Vernacular English to exhibit their ethnic identity. In a similar way, Irish speakers in Belfast
prefer to interact in their own English vernacular to differentiate themselves from others.
Geographical variation:
Dialect: A dialect is a regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation,
grammar, and/or vocabulary. The term dialect is often used to characterize a way of speaking
that differs from the standard variety of the language. Nonetheless, as David Crystal explains
below, "Everyone speaks a dialect." The scientific study of dialects is known as dialectology,
commonly regarded as a subfield of sociolinguistics. Dialect comes from the Greek, "speech."
Dialect, a variety of a language that signals where a person comes from. The notion is usually
interpreted geographically (regional dialect), but it also has some application in relation to a
person’s social background (class dialect) or occupation (occupational dialect). Latin, over time,
evolved into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, Romanian, and so on. These daughter
languages of Latin can effectively be called “linguistic dialects”.
Edward (2009) define dialect as a variety of a language that differs from others along three
dimensions: vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation (accent) because they are forms of the
same language.
Dialect is of the following types: Regional dialect, Social dialect, Individual dialect.
Regiolect: The most widespread type of dialectal differentiation is regional, or geographic. As a
rule, the speech of one locality differs at least slightly from that of any other place. Differences
between neighbouring local dialects are usually small, but, in traveling farther in the same
direction, differences accumulate. Every dialectal feature has its own boundary line, called an
isogloss (or sometimes heterogloss). A regional dialect, also known as a regiolect or topolect, is a
distinct form of a language spoken in a particular geographical area. If the form of speech
transmitted from a parent to a child is a distinct regional dialect, that dialect is said to be the
child's vernacular. In the USA, regional dialects include Appalachian, New Jersey and Southern
English, and in Britain, Cockney, Liverpool English and 'Geordie' (Newcastle English).
Sociolect: Another important axis of differentiation is that of social strata. In many localities,
dialectal differences are connected with social classes, educational levels, or both. More-highly
educated speakers and, often, those belonging to a higher social class tend to use more features
belonging to the standard language, whereas the original dialect of the region is better preserved
in the speech of the lower and less-educated classes.
A social dialect or sociolect is spoken by the people of a specific society. It can have its own
distinctive accent, vocabulary, grammar and so on. For example, among older European-
American speakers in Charleston, South Carolina, the absence of r in words such as bear and
court is associated with aristocratic, high-status groups (McDavid 1948) whereas in New York
City the same pattern of r-lessness is associated with working-class, low-status groups (Labov
1966).
Idiolect: An idiolect is the distinctive speech of an individual--a linguistic pattern regarded as
unique among speakers of a person's language or dialect. Although the unique circumstances of
every life result in each of us having an individual way of speaking, a personal dialect or idiolect,
we generally tend to sound like others with whom we share similar educational background
and/or occupations. For example: people who went to college speak different than those who
didn’t. Accent: Every speaker has an accent or a way of pronunciation which is influenced by
his/her region, social class and gender. An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers
reside. (Geographical or regional accent).It can indicate the socio-economic status of its
speakers, their ethnicity or social class.
Situational variation:
Register
A register is a conventional way of using language that is appropriate in a specific context, which
may be identified as situational (e.g. in church), occupational (e.g. a lawyer’s language) or
topical (talking about a specific topic e.g. linguistics, psychology, literature). Every native
speaker is normally in command of several different language styles, called registers, which are
varied according the formality of the occasion, and the medium used (speech, writing, or sign).
The concept of linguistic register has been described by Trudgill as follows: “Linguistic varieties
that are linked to occupations, professions or topics have been termed registers. The register of
law, for example, is different from the register of medicine, which in turn is different from the
language of engineering and so on. Registers are usually characterized solely by vocabulary
differences; either by the use of particular words, or by the use of words in a particular sense.”
A register is simply a rather special case of a particular kind of language being produced by the
special social situation. A given register often distinguishes itself from other registers by having
a number of distinctive words as well as situation. For example love in tennis, duck in cricket.
Jargon: One of the defining features of a register is the use of jargon, which is special technical
vocabulary (e.g. plaintiff, suffix) associated with a specific area of work or interest. Jargon is a
type of language that is used in a particular context and may not be well understood outside of
that area of interest. The context is usually a particular occupation that is a certain trade,
profession or academic field. Basically this is a language used by the people who work in a
particular area or who have a common interest. The jargon helps professionals talk about their
subject matter easily, and maintain relationship with each other. Additionally it helps exclude
‘out siders’ e.g. when doctors discuss patient’s condition in front of him without letting him
know, they use their jargon or subject specific terminology.
Slang: Slang: A kind of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very
informal are more common in speech than writings and are typically restricted to a particular
context or group of people. These are words or expressions which are informal and not a
standard language. The abuses in any language are considered to be slang. Another way of using
slang is the use of taboo words which are socially prohibited but teens use them. Often,
vernacular language is mixed with slang by some people. But slang is totally a different
phenomenon. Vernacular is basically a native language or native dialect of a specific population
(mostly Africans’ language is called vernacular in which double negation is involved)
distinguished from a national or standard language. Slang describes the words or phrases that are
used instead of normal language among youngsters.
Pidgin language: Pidgins are “on-the-spot” languages that develop when people with no
common language come into contact with each other. Nobody speaks a pidgin as their first
language. Usually a pidgin language is a blend of the vocabulary of one major language with the
grammar of one or more other languages. The major languages are usually the languages of the
former major colonial powers, such as English, French, and Portuguese. For example, the
establishment of plantation economies in the Caribbean, with large groups of slaves from
different language backgrounds who came from West Africa, gave rise to a number of pidgins
based on English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese. However, there are also pidgins
spoken in parts of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia that are based on languages other
than those of the colonial powers. A good example of a non-European pidgin is the Chinook
Jargon that was once used by American Indians and European traders in the Pacific Northwest.
The term pidgin has nothing to do with birds. The word, first attested in print in 1850, is thought
to be the Chinese mispronunciation of the English word business. There are other theories about
the origin of the term.
Status of Pidgin: Because of their limited function, pidgin languages usually do not last very
long, rarely more than several decades. They disappear when the reason for communication
diminishes, as communities either move apart, one community learns the language of the other,
or both communities learn a common language (usually the official language of the country). For
instance, Pidgin Russian spoken in Manchuria disappeared when Russian settlers left China after
World War II. The same is true of Pidgin French which disappeared from Vietnam after the
French left the country. However, this is not always the case. Chinese Pidgin English
(Chinglish), developed in the 17th century in Canton (Guandong), China,and survived for almost
three centuries. Its use spread from master-servant relationships to those between English and
Chinese traders and bureaucrats. It continued in use until about the end of the 19th century, when
the Chinese started to switch in Standard English.
Reasons of pidgin:
1. Trade: Pidgin is created where two (or more) communities with languages incomprehensible
to each other start trade and business. Here, the need to communicate with members of other
community arise, resulting in a PIDGIN- mixture of two different languages of both trading
communities.
2. General Communication: Pidgin may be created especially for the purpose of
communicating with some other group, and not used by any community for communication
among themselves. e.g. There are a large number of pidgins spread all over the world- where
migrants have developed pidgin varieties based on national languages for example in Germany.
Characteristics of Pidgin:
1. Each pidgin is specially constructed to suit the needs of its users. i.e. The terminology and
constructions developed are according to the kind of contact among the communities. e.g. if the
contact is restricted to the dealing of cattle only, then only linguistic items to do with this are
needed and there will be no way of talking about vegetables, emotions.
2. It should be as simple to learn as possible (especially for those who benefit least from learning
it). That is why vocabulary is generally based on the vocabulary of dominant group. e.g. in
colonial situation, vocabulary is based on colonial power. That is the reason a very large number
of pidgins spread round the globe, are based on English, French, Portuguese and Dutch.
3. Syntax and Phonology is based on sub servant languages. It makes the pidgin easier for other
communities to learn, than the dominant language in its ordinary form.
4. Pidgins lack Morphology. Differences of tense, number case etc are marked by the addition of
separate words. An example from Tok Pisin- an English based Pidgin spoken in Papua New
Guinea. Bai em I no lukim mi----He will not see me.
5. Grammar
Pidgins usually have smaller vocabularies, a simpler structure, and more limited functions than
natural languages. Some typical features include of pidgin languages are as follows:
Subject-Verb-Object word order
Absence of grammatical markers for gender, number, case, tense, aspect, mood, etc.
Tenses are expressed lexically, i.e., by using temporal adverbs such as tomorrow, yesterday, etc.
Grammatical relations are usually expressed through simple juxtaposition.
Use of reduplication to represent plurals and superlatives, e.g., Hawai’ian Pidgin wiki-wiki ‘very
quick’.
6. Exists for several years – rarely more than a century - Remains if the need exists For example
In Vietnam: Pidgin French disappeared – French left; used for trading – disappear when trading
between the group members comes to an end.
Process of pidginization & creolization:
The development of a pidgin, which a simplified form of speech that is usually a mixture of two
or more languages, is called the pidginization. This is usually a temporary stage in language
learning.The creation of a pidgin usually requires:
Prolonged, regular contact between the different language communities.
A need to communicate between them.
An absence of a widespread, accessible interlanguage.
Also, Keith Whinnom suggests that pidgins need three languages to form, with one (the
superstrate) being clearly dominant over the others.
It is often posited that pidgins become Creole languages when a generation whose parents speak
pidgin to each other teach it to their children as their first language. Creoles can then replace the
existing mix of languages to become the native language of a community (such as Krio in Sierra
Leone and Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea). However, not all pidgins become creole languages;
a pidgin may die out before this phase would occur.
Creole:
In linguistics, a creole is a type of natural language that developed historically from a pidgin and
came into existence at a fairly precise point in time. English creoles are spoken by some of the
people in Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, and parts of Georgia and South Carolina.
The term creole comes from the French creole, from Spanish criollo ‘person native to a locality’.
The word was coined in the 16th century and applied to people born in the colonies, to
distinguish them from European-born immigrants. In the Portuguese-speaking world, the term
referred specifically to people of mixed European and non-European ancestry.
Bahamian Creole, English Creole spoken in The Bahamas, Kristang language, spoken in
Malaysia and Singapore, Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole, spoken in Sri Lanka.
Characteristics of creole:
1. Pidgins adopted as the native language.
2. Nativization is when pidgin passed onto new generations and became a mother tongue which
is acquired by children.
3. Often classified as English/French/Spanish… based.
4. Expansion of morphology and syntax.
5. Expansion of phonology.
6. Expansion of the lexicon.
Pidgin vs creole: Pidgins and creoles are both the result of what happens when you blend two or
more languages, but they’re not the same.
1) Pidgin is a linguistic communication that comprised of components of two or more other
languages and is used for communication among people. It can also be called business language.
It is not a first language. Whereas, creole is a language that was at first a pidgin but has
“transformed” and become a first language.
2) Structural difference: Creole languages have the “Subject Verb Object” word order whereas
Pidgin can have any possible order. Also, reduplication is a common and general process in
Creole languages but it’s very not very often found in Pidgins.
3) One important difference between Pidgins and Creoles is that pidgins do not have first
language speakers while creoles do. However, this is not easy to make out because there are
more and more extended pidgins beginning to acquire native speakers. Extended pidgins refer to
when a pidgin becomes a creole. The cultural “side” of a pidgin usually defines this. This means
that more pidgins are becoming first languages.
4) Another difference is that creoles may originate through abnormal transmissions but as
children acquire them, they must, therefore, comply with the ‘blueprint’ of language that can also
be referred to as how the language is going to constructed and formed. Blueprint here is
comparable to how we relate to a blueprint of a house. However, for pidgins, as they are a result
of a second language, although they have to be learnable by adults, they do not have to be
acceptable by children. This means that pidgins do not have to comply with the ‘blueprint’ of
language. Pidgins before they become accomplished languages in a community, are always
second languages and usually after teenage.