Expressing meanings

- Study the relation between language and society, language and social structure
- How language is used
- Social factors that influence linguistic choice
o Participants, setting, topic and function
- Diglossia – a stable linguistic situation in which a H & L variety of language coexist
for different social functions (Germany: High German vs Swiss German; HK:
Mandarin/English vs Cantonese)
o H: literary or literacy purposes, official uses (formal, more prestigious and stable)
o L: informal conversation and everyday use (localised, subject to regional
variation and change over time)
- Bilingualism – an individual person’s ability to speak two or more languages
- Code-mixing/switching – inclusion of linguistic units from one language into
another
o A result of the contact of both Cantonese and English
o Reasons: availability, specificity, lack of equivalent, principle of economy,
influenced by the medium of education (academic vocabulary) etc.
- Language vs Dialect
o Dialect: a variety of a language (but not always clear)
o Problems with classification; try mutual intelligibility
o Norwegian/Swedish (different languages but mutually
intelligible/comprehensible)
o Cantonese/Shanghainese (different dialects but not mutually intelligible)
- Standard Language – language undergoing standardisation (through books, media,
etc.)
o Recognised as prestigious variety
o Codified and stabilised
o Serves formal functions
- Social variation – language varieties used by groups (class, age, sex, etc.)
- Regional variation – language varieties used by different geographical areas
- Dialect vs Accent – accent affect pronunciation ONLY; dialect affect a greater degree
of the language (grammar, sounds, words)
- Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
o Strong claim: language determines thought (linguistic determinism)
o Weak claim: language influences thought (linguistic relativity)