People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research

Ibn Khaldoun University –Tiaret

Faculty of Letters and Languages

Department of Letters & Foreign Languages

English Section

Module: Dialectology

Level: 1st year Master Degree

Field: Linguistics

Dr. BELAID Louisa

Email: belaidlouiza38@yahoo.com

Academic Year: 2019/2020

 Content

1. Urban Dialectology

1.1 Social dialects

1.2 Urban dialects

2. Verbal repertoire

2.1 Individual level

2.2 The speech community level

2.2.1 Contextual varieties

2.2.1.a Register vs. Jargon

3. Bilingualism

3.1 Degrees of bilingualism

3.2 Types of bilingualism

3.2.1 Bilingual competence

3.2.2 Compound competence

3.2.3 Coordinate bilingualism

4 First language acquisition versus second language acquisition

5 Code switching

5.1 Types of code switching

5.1.1 Intersentential code switching

5.1.2 Intrasentential code switching

5.2 Code switching versus code mixing

6. The Matrix language Frame Model (Myers Scotten (1993))

7. Social Sratification

7.1 Social mobility

Urban dialectology

Urban dialectology is at the core of sociolinguistics and it is known as variationist

sociolinguistics whereby the linguistic variables are studied. Dialectology was not affected

by linguistics only; it was influenced by social sciences too. Concentrating on linguistic

variation and dissociating the societal dimension is regarded as a delinquency (Chambers &

Trudgill, 1980). Hence, social variation and regional variation share similar pervasiveness

and prominence. A dialect is a variety that is both regional and social; individuals claim

their origins and locations with regard to a particular speech community; besides this, they

have social backgrounds and a number of features which characterize them as individuals

as the social class, gender, age, ethnicity, race, educational level, or other social

characteristics.

- Social dialects

During the 1930’s, studies in the US and Canada initiated studying dialects and have taken

into consideration the social variables (factors) of the speakers. In this vein, the users of a

dialect will reflect their social backgrounds, their educational level and ethnicity. In fact,

through language (variety) people are recognized at different levels.

- Urban dialects

Traditional dialectology focused on rural dialects and how they vary according to a specific

linear or continuum; dialectologists were interested in linguistic (geographic) variation at

three linguistic levels, mainly, (grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary). By contrast,

urban dialectology has a diversified scope. In fact, this latter addresses the relationship

between language and social factors as age, gender, social status and so forth. For clarity, in

urban dialectology we shed light on variation and language change in urban areas as cities

(England, New York) with integration to individuals’ social features because these latter

have an impact on how people think. Considering the linguistic variables, not all the
linguistic levels are involved, but focus is more on phonology and grammar. To illustrate,

“I done it last night” (Cockney English); “I did it last night” (RP English).

Verbal repertoire

A group of varieties that are used in spoken discourse or written forms in a specific speech

community is identified as verbal repertoire. These varieties could be dialect, register,

jargon, or language; these aforementioned are always utilized with a style of our selection;

that is to say, it could be very formal, formal, very informal or informal depending on the

context whereby spoken or written forms take place. Accordingly, the verbal repertoire

refers to the totality of linguistic forms employed in a socially significant interaction and it

is likely to define an individual communicative competence because each person has

his/her own way to express their ideas, opinions, beliefs and customs with regard to their

origins and their speech communities.

Speech community

We cannot identify the significance of the verbal repertoire without referring to the speech

community repertoire for two reasons. First, all individuals belong to distinct speech

communities which range from small to large and they are distinguished from hard shelled

to soft shelled communities (Saville-Troike), and second, speech communities have a long

term impact on people socially and psychologically speaking besides the linguistic

competence of each speaker. In a monolingual society, the community repertoire represents

the group of varieties on one language because competence is restricted to one code;

however, when a community is monolingual as France, it is certain that individuals could

be multilingual. On the contrary, in a multilingual country as Canada, India and Ireland,

many languages are introduced and they are as well official, individuals could be

monolinguals though. In this prospect, the verbal repertoire distinguishes speech

communities and populations though each variety is still used contextually.

Register

The register refers to the way an individual uses language which differs from one

occupation to another. For clarity, a register is a variation of language based on distinct

contexts of use, and degree of formality. To illustrate, the language used in media,

university, radio, and so forth. Thus, the register of different fields is recognized with

different terminologies and vocabulary. Each person has his/her own specialty for this

reason people who are not specialized in an occupation, they are likely to fail in

understanding the meaning of its register. Actually, registers can be seen in different forms

of communication, as spoken discourse and written productions as it all depends on syntax

and grammar. The register could be either rigid or intimate, thus there are types of register.

The Frozen: this type includes the group of registers that do not change; they are static and

highly preserved as the language of holy books as the Quran, the terminology of

constitutions or books of history.

Formal register: this type is not as restrained as the previous one, but as the name

indicates, it is used in academic and professional contexts and all that is informal is not

used. The formal register should be respected regarding the contraction forms as “don’t,

won’t, hasn’t’’ and so forth, the usage of these forms is limited. The Encyclopedia

Britannica is an example.

Consultative: this type of register is often used in conversations with a person who is

specialized in a particular domain. Unlike the formal register, the dialect is used from time

to time to explain ambiguity. Pauses and interruptions are expected as well, for example,

interviewing a doctor on a TV show.

Casual: It is conventionally acknowledged that people, especially members who establish

close networks (kinship, friendship, colleagues), share one common register, this casual
register is restrained as well because foreigners are not able to understand the language of

two best friends.

As long as registers are specialized varieties, a doctor, as an illustration is obliged to use

his/her own dialect to explain his/her patient’s illness because this patient is not familiar

with the medical register. In this vein, dialects are acquired from the environment, whereas

registers are learned. By contrast, jargon is a specialized terminology that may be used in a

small group (e.g., professional jargon of people belonging to a particular field) until it is

utilized by larger populations and this needs time, it is as well open to change. Examples of

medical jargon: Agonal (concept used to identify a negative change in a patient’s health

condition; FX ( medical fracture); K ( the elemental symbol for potassium); RBC’s ( red

blood cells); Anomaly ( the presence of an abnormal deviation or unexpected mass in

human body). Examples of internet jargon: FAQ (frequently asked questions); WWW

(World Wide Web); BTW (by the way). Examples of police jargon: Suspect (a person

who has possibly committed a crime); FTP (failure to pay a fine); code eight (officer needs

urgent assistance).

Bilingualism
Bilingualism is a debatable topic; it is intricate to define what it is and how to identify

bilinguals. Many scholars attempted to provide a concrete definition of the concept,

however, bilingualism may encompass different meanings to different people, thus you

cannot find one clear definition (Rabanes & Velez, 2016). According to many

sociolinguists, bilingualism refers to the use of two or more languages that is why

bilingualism and multilingualism are used interchangeably. It stands for the mastery and

competence of two languages in listening, speaking, reading and writing. As clarified by

Moradi (2014):
 “A bilingual in everyday use is usually considered as an individual who can

speak ,interact, read or understand two languages equally well (which in this

case it is called a balanced bilingual), but a bilingual person usually has a

better knowledge of one language than another” (p. 107)

The four skills are necessary in language learning; however, most of the time one language

skill is absent as the case of French in Algeria whereby the majority of the population is

able to understand French, but they are not able to respond accordingly.

The Degrees of Bilingualism

It is possible to categorize bilinguals according to their skills in the language because not all

individuals are fluent in the four language skills. For this reason, we can find, first, passive

bilinguals in which some people are able to understand the language, but they are not

capable of speaking or running a conversation. Second, in society there are individuals who

master the language professionally as they are quite fluent and accurate in daily life

conversations, in this case, they have either acquired the language in a real context or they

are specialized in the language and this is what is referred to as dominant bilingual. Third,

learners are capable of reaching an equilibrium regarding languages; that is to say, a person

is able to be equally proficient in both languages in terms of communication or writing. It is

noteworthy to mention that people’s attitudes towards languages have a strong impact on

their frequent usage and competence; not all languages are socially or individually favored

but they could be disfavored especially in a multilingual society as Algeria, French is taught

at schools, but still their use is limited or disfavored especially in rural areas. Weinreich

(1963) has introduced some kinds of bilingualism as they are briefly explained as follows:

Coordinate bilinguals: this kind stands for individuals who have learnt or acquired the

codes in two separate contexts. For example, a student learning English at school and

acquiring the mother tongue at home or a person who learns English in Britain and Spanish
in Spain. Hence, this student is called a co-ordinate bilingual because s/he has internalized

two distinct systems in their minds.

Compound bilinguals: in this type, language learning is not done in different contexts, but

two languages or varieties are learnt in the same environment. These languages would not

be internalized as separate systems though their syntax is different as the case of MSA and

Classical Arabic, or French and English who could be studied in parallel. (Klein, 1986)

We cannot disregard that languages could be acquired at home or in an informal setting as

society and a formal setting like school or college. In fact, acquisition and learning control

the degree of bilingualism and the extent to which individuals are fluent and accurate

respectively. It is conventional that acquisition is a subconscious process by which varieties

are acquired without efforts; hence, competence is developed in the four skills. This is not

the case for second language acquisition or learning which takes place in a formal context.

To illustrate, many parents in Algeria are bilinguals, the case of Berber, they use French,

Arabic and Berber (different varieties). As long as acquisition is raised, it is mandatory to

understand the significance that each type displays.

First language acquisition VS. Second language acquisition

Differences

First Language Acquisition (FLA) Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

1) Mother tongue (first language) 1) A code that a person learns to

2) Is like an instinct which is triggered by communicate with native speakers
birth and developed with the experience 2) A personal choice of a person.
of being exposed to it. 3) There are many alternatives to a second
3) A person cannot decide his/her first language. A person/community can choose
language. It comes to him/her as an a second language among other languages
inheritance/legacy/birthright (no 4) The learning process depends on the
 alternative) language and the person. (slow)
4) The acquisition process is rapid 5) Learned (“to gain knowledge or skill by
5) Acquired (abstract property study, instruction, or experience”)
(possession) 6) A second language can never be learned
6) A first language is completely as efficiently as a first language
acquired with 100% proficiency within 6 (competence can be achieved but very
years old. slow)
7) Natural; no need for instruction. 7) Not natural; it needs guidance and
8) It begins with telegraphic speech instruction.
(Roger Brown, 1963) (two words a child 8) It begins with a full sentence (A child
can utter between 18-24 months as mom cannot start learning the second language
milk, dad go) without being fully efficient in the first
9) The acquisition process is language.)
subconscious. 9) The learning process requires a constant
10) This input does not have to be conscious to internalize the structures of
ordered: children make sense of what SLA
they hear and create the order needed to It is like a chess game( pieces are moved
stored knowledge of their first language consciously)
themselves. It is not necessary to speak 10) In the strict sense bilinguals are those
to young children in a babyish way: individuals who have acquired two
children do not end up speaking like this languages simultaneously in early
anyway childhood. Normally, one of these
11) You cannot forget your first languages will be dominant, but the degree
language, although it may become of competence in the non-dominant
inactive if you spend many years language is still very high and far exceeds
speaking just a second language. that of a second language learned after
puberty.

Code Mixing and Code Switching

The co-existence of many codes in speech communities may urge individuals to use their

varieties in order to express their ideas, this usage leads to language contact, bilingualism

and multilingualism. As an outcome of language contact, individuals will unintentionally

mix back and forth between languages for different purposes. Though some scholars use

the terms code mixing and code switching interchangeably; socio-linguistically speaking

they have some disparities.

Code Switching Code Mixing

- A process by which bilinguals shift back and - A process in which the speakers shift back
forth between one language or a dialect and and forth between two languages with such
another another language/dialect within the rapidity and density.
same conversation. (Trudgill, 2003)
- Mixing between linguistic elements as
- Switching between linguistic units including morphemes, words, clauses or sentences.
words, morphemes, sentences, phrases or
- Modifications occur intrasententially
clauses.

- Used to describe stable situations without

- Modifications occur intersententially
pragmatic effect.
- It is associated with pragmatic effects.
- It is unintentional
- It is done in a specific setting and it is
- We mix between codes when we do not
purposeful.
know the correct translation or the equivalent
- Individuals switch languages while speaking of words in the target language.
in a certain style with another person.
- Frequent use of mixed words may become
- It is almost intentional. part of the language as loan or borrowed
words.
-switching depends on the situation and the
participants. From French to English or from - Individuals mix when they forget words in
Algerian dialect to French. their language or when they do not know
them at all.
As an illustration, a French women working in
a British company, she uses her language but - The purpose behind mixing codes is to fill
once she meets her boss who is using English, gaps in order not to stop the conversation.
she is likely to switch to English.
Code switching could also vary with respect

to the position of the language switches that

occur at the level of utterances or sentences.

In the light of all that has been mentioned

two types of code switching are worthy to be

identified:

Inter-sentential code switching:

It refers to the language switches at the level of clauses, sentences or discourse which occur

at the boundaries (outside the sentence) this type entails equitable fluency is both languages

and full mastery of the grammatical norms of both codes. As an illustration:

-Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in English y termino en español (sometimes I’ll start a
sentence in English and finish in Spanish’).

- Are we eating chez ta mère demain? (English + French)

- Gracias for the lovely gift.

Intra-sentential code switching:

It exhibits a shift in language within the clause (inside the sentence). This type of switching

needs to be performed with no pause or interruption and individuals who intend to switch

must respect the rules of the language whereby loan words are involved in between.

Usually it is acknowledged that this type is common between Spanish-English bilinguals

(Zirker, (2007). To illustrate:

- You are sleepy coğu zaman, because you spend a lot of saat in your bed.

- I should not behave as such, mais things are out of control.

The Matrix Language Frame Model (Myers Scotten (1993))

Myers-Scotton (1993) came up with a theory of intrasentential code switching which she

named the "Matrix Language Frame Model" of code switching, and she has suggested some

works in analyzing code-switching data from any language. The aim of this study was to

check the extent to which the MLF Model would indeed work for data involving code

switching between Kiswahili and English in Kenya. The study hypothesized that the key

principles of the Matrix Language Frame Model would help us determine which of the two

languages involved in code-switching is the dominant language (basic), and which is the

embedded language. In code switching, languages could have unequal status. In fact, the
matrix language provides the main grammatical structure, whereas the embedded language

provides constituents to be inserted in the matrix language base. To illustrate: Je dois me

lever tôt pour voir my friend (French is a Matrix); (English is embedded)

Social stratification

Social stratification comes from the word strata; as long as it categorizes people into classes

or groups it raises problems of social inequality. All societies arrange their members in

terms of superiority, inferiority and equality. Stratification is a process of interaction or

differentiation whereby some people come to be ranked as higher or lower than others. “…

any hierarchical ordering of groups within a society especially in terms of power, wealth

and status” (Trudgill, 2000, p. 25) For clarity, when individuals and groups are ranked,

according to some commonly accepted basis of valuation in a hierarchy of status levels

based upon the inequality of social positions, social stratification occurs. Social

stratification stands for the division of society into different layers. It involves a hierarchy

of social groups. The members of a particular layer who share common identities, values

and life styles are divided on the basis of wealth, status or power. At the bottom of the

pyramid, the least powerful people are ranked while the top of the pyramid represents the

most powerful people who are rare in comparison to the aforementioned layer. These strata

vary from one country to another and from one system to another. The sources of social

stratification in both countries are different; however, in China for instance, the division of

people is based on socio-economic status, whereas in the U.S. it is influenced by other

social factors such as gender disparities, ethnicity, religion, race and other variables.

Another difference between these countries is in how social stratification has an impact on

political discourse and how institutions have a position vis a vis social immobility.
There are two main types of stratification, open systems and closed systems. Societies

which follow a closed system are quite strict and do not tolerate change in social positions,

it is not even possible to get married with women who belong to higher ranks as it is the

case of India. Conversely, open systems allow changes or mobility from one lower rank to a

higher class due to people’s potentials. In this prospect, social mobility refers to the shift of

social positions with regard to the strata that co-exist in a particular speech community.

This shift could be from higher to lower layers, from lower to higher or at the level of the

same layer. In a nutshell, social stratification is based on social categorization of people in

distinct positions according to their socio-economic income and power, while social

mobility stands for the ability to proceed from one social position to another horizontally or

vertically.
References

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Blackwell Publishing.

 Chambers, J. K., & Trudgill, P. (1980). Dialectology, (2nd edition). United

Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

 Klein, W. (1986). Second Language Acquisition. United Kingdom: Cambridge

University Press.

 Moradi, H. (2014). An Investigation through Different Types of Bilinguals and

Bilingualism. International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies, 1(2),

107-112.

 Rabanes, S. D., & Velez, T. (2016). Mutliple Dimensions of Bilingualism: A

theoretical overview. Reykjavík, Ísland.

 Wardhaugh, R. (2006). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (5th edition). Oxford:

Blackwell Publishing.

 Yule, George. "The Study of Language." Cambridge University Press, 2014,

Cambridge.

 Zirker, K. A, H. (2007). Intrasentential vs. Intersentential Code Switching in Early

and Late Bilinguals. All Theses and Dissertations. 927.