TUGAS 2 PBIS4131/Sociolinguistics

1a & 2a). What is language related to dialect? And What is dialect?

Languages can differ in many ways. They may use different sounds, they may make words
in different ways, and they may put words together to form a sentence in different ways.
Widdowson (1996) A ‘dialect’ is a variety of a language which different from other dialects of a
language and it is still totally understandable by other people who speak other dialects of the
same language. Dialects of a language may vary in terms of accents the words people use the
way people structure their speech. This happens because of geographical distance or because of
social factors. Often people who speak the same dialect will live in the same place. According to
(Cameron 1992 in Karlsson, 2007) the language differences between males and females. The
reason for possible language differences between males and females are merely a result of their
belonging in different cultures.

1b). The differences between language and dialect?

Language is a method of human communication, both oral and written, which consists of
the use of words in a structured and conventional manner (García & Sandhu, 2015). In other
word, language is also defined as the most basic communication tool in every community group.
Meanwhile dialect is a part of language or certain forms of language that are characteristic of
certain regions or social groups (Budiarsa, 2017). Dialect also can be fined as a variety of
language that varies according to the user (for example, the language of a certain area, a certain
social group, or a certain period of time). Dialect differences can be caused by differences in
regional origin and differences in social status. Thus, it can be concluded that language is the tool
for communication meanwhile dialect is the variety of the language.
 No British English American English
1 flat apartment
2 trousers pants
3 football soccer
4 shop store
5 pharmacy drugstore
6 biscuit cookie
7 soda soda
8 holiday vacation
9 lorry truck
10 tyre tire
11 postbox mailbox
12 colour color
13 catalogue catalog
14 offence crime
15 chips fries
16 Litre liter
17 favour favor
18 tap faucrt
19 biscuit cookie
20 aeroplane airplane
21 queue line
22 nappy diaper
2).

3a). Language variation and each example!

According to Nordquist (2019), the term linguistic variation (or simply variation) refers
to regional, social, or contextual differences in the ways that a particular language is used.
Variation between languages, dialects, and speakers is known as interspeaker variation. Variation
within the language of a single speaker is called intraspeaker variation. Since the rise of
sociolinguistics in the 1960s, interest in linguistic variation (also called linguistic variability) has
developed rapidly. R.L. Trask notes that "variation, far from being peripheral and
inconsequential, is a vital part of ordinary linguistic behavior" (Key Concepts in Language and
Linguistics, 2007). The formal study of variation is known as variationist (socio)linguistics.
Referring to Heidary & Barzan (2019), Variation within the language of a single speaker is
called intraspeaker variation. All aspects of language (including phonemes, morphemes,
syntactic structures, and meanings) are subject to variation. Variation in language use among
speakers or groups of speakers is a notable criterion or change that may occur in pronunciation
(accent), word choice (lexicon), or even preferences for particular grammatical patterns.
Variation is a principal concern in sociolinguistics. It has been discovered that variation is
typically the vehicle of language change."

3b). The meaning of nature, culture, and language

Nature in different word can be classified as characteristics of something. It can be human, plant,
animal, things, concept and many more. Meanwhile, Culture refers to the attitudes, values,
customs, and behavior patterns that characterize a social group (Ember 1994). In other words,
culture also defined as the ways in which a particular group of people lives, including their
shared knowledge, values, customs and physical objects. And the last thing is language.
Language is a symbol system based on pure or arbitrary conventions infinitely extendable and
modifiable according to the changing needs and conditions of the speakers (Robins 2010).

4). Explain the process of language variation!

One of the linguistic consequences of gender differentiation in language seems to be

linguistic change, where men’s and women’s language are regularly associated with changes in
language (Karlsson, 2007). It is possible to find linguistic variation in all known societies. A
great many factors affect people’s way of speech. One aspect is social variation which usually
distinguishes people’s affiliation regarding social class. There is also something called stylistic
variation which refers to the speech of a given individual in different contexts. When studying
language in its social context one focuses on linguistic variation, which is to a great extent
dependent on the environment the speaker finds him or herself in. The speech of different
individuals varies depending on age, gender, social class and ethnic groups. Regardless of
whether the speaker is a man or a woman it appears to be the right assumption to believe that the
speaker adjusts him or herself to the situation in order to ‘fit in’.

5). The differences of some aspects of language variation!

There are different levels of variation, as follows:

a. Phonological Variation

Hilpert (2020) stated that phonology is a study of sound system in a language. The
varieties of language may differ in the way their sound systems are organized. In English, there
are 24 consonants and depending on the dialect, it is about 18 vowels (Linguistics Roadshow,
2018). This is the occurrence of the word “heed”, “hid”, “head”, “had”, “hot”, “hoard”, “herd”,
“hide”, etc. Sounds in language can be put together in a word by doing specific ways called
“phonotactics”. There are words in some languages finish with a vowel, and in other languages,
it must not have two consonants together.

b. Lexical Variation

According to Hilpert (2020), Lexical variation concern on the differences in the words
that speakers use. Hilpert (2020) adds that “different words that occur only in a certain
dialect.” Besides, Fabbie (2014) and Geeraerts et all (1994) states that lexical variation is the
use of linguistics elements without changing the meaning of words or phrases. For example;
shop – store, film – movie, flat – apartment.

c. Morphological Variation

Hilpert (2020) stated that morphological variation focuses on the differences in word
internal structures. He stated that morphological variation can be seen in the way
grammatical affixes are used. For example: the word cycle and the ing in cycling. Another
view is from Linguistics Roadshow (2018) which says that morphology focuses on how a
word being put together in a language.

d. Syntactic Variation

Referring to Linguistics Roadshow (2018) and Hilpert (2020, syntactic variation focuses
how the words combine put together to make a sentence in different ways in different
languages. For example: In English, “there is a red apple”, the adjective “red” exists before
the noun “apple”. Meanwhile, in French, the sentence will be like “il y a une pomme rouge”,
the adjective “rouge” (red) comes after the noun “pomme” (apple).

e. Pragmatic Variation

According to Hilpert (2020), Pragmatics is a study of meaning in context and it focuses

on the understanding processes on what is said differs from what is meant. Referring to
Indiana University Bloomington, speakers from different regions can have variations on their
speech act production (apologizing, refusing, requesting), different perceiving of speech acts,
convey and perceive im/politeness differently, and different conversation patterns (greetings,
opening and closing sequences, turn-taking, making jokes).
References

Budiarsa, I. M. (2017). Language, Dialect And Register Sociolinguistic Perspective.

RETORIKA: Jurnal Ilmu Bahasa, 1(2), 379. https://doi.org/10.22225/jr.1.2.42.379-387

García, M. I. M., & Sandhu, A. H. (2015). Language and Dialect : Criteria and Historical
Evidence. Grassroots, 49(1), 2003–2017.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276203170%0ALANGUAGE

Heidary, B., & Barzan, P. (2019). Language : November.

https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.36761.36969

Hilpert, M. (Director). (2020). Englishes around the World - Language variation [Video file].
Retrieved October 6, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iup1gJq0dsE

Karlsson, S. 2007. Gender-related Differences in Language Us. Luleå University of Technology

Kracht, M. (2007). Introduction to Linguistics. Los Angeles, USA: Department of Linguistics,

UCLA. Retrieved October 6, 2020.

Linguistics Roadshow. (2018). How can languages differ? Retrieved October 06, 2020, from
https://lingroadshow.com/all-about-language/languages-of-the-world/how-can-languages-
differ/

Widdowson, 1996. An Atlas of English dialects. Oxford:Oxford University.