The sociolinguistic interview

modelled on the format developed by William Labov, is one of the most common techniques
for gathering samples of language. In the interview, the sociolinguist talks to the subject,
attempting to elicit examples of various kinds of speech.

Interviul sociolingvistic

Ethnographic observation

is an important part of sociological and anthropological studies, allowing researchers to

closely observe and study a particular culture or group in order to better understand the
customs, social structure and habits of the people.

Observarea etnografică

Language variation

language use varies in many dimensions. Three major types of variation are the following: •
regional: dialect variation,

• social: sociolect or class dialect variation,

• functional: register or style variation.

Variație de limbaj

Regional language variation

provides a geographical answer to the question ‘Where are you from in the English-speaking
world?’

Variația de limbă regională

Social language variation

provides an answer to a different question: ‘Who are you?’ or ‘What are you in the eyes of
the English-speaking society to which you belong?’.

Age, sex and socio-economic class have been repeatedly shown to be of importance when it
comes to explaining the way sounds, constructions and vocabulary vary.

Variația limbajului social

Formal language variation

a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular communicative

situation. In different situations we use different forms of language.
Variația limbajului formal

A speech community

is all the people who speak a single language and so share notions of what is the same or
different in phonology or grammar. Can consist of members of a profession with a
specialized jargon, distinct social groups like high school students or hip-hop fans, or even
tight-knit groups like families and friends. Speech community tend to involve varying degrees
of emphasis on the following:

• shared community membership,

• shared linguistic communication.

O comunitate de vorbire

A person's idiolect

is his or her own personal language, the words he or she chooses and any other features
that characterise their speech and writing.

Idiolectul unei persoane

Esperanto

One prominent artificial language, was created by L. L. Zamenhof. It was a compilation of

various elements of different languages, and it was intended to be an easyto-learn language.

Limba esperanto

A 'regional dialect'

is a variety associated with a place, such as the Yorkshire dialect in England or the Bavarian
dialect in Germany. Dialects of a language tend to differ more from one another the more
remote they are from one another geographically.

Dialenctul regional

Social dialects

say who we are, and regional dialects where we come from. The number of speakers, and
the area itself, can be of arbitrary size.

Dialect social

Anthropological linguistics
defines dialect as the specific form of a language used by a speech community. The
difference between language and dialect is the difference between the abstract or general
and the concrete and particular.

Lingvistică antropologică

Cockney English

offers a typical example of such a regional and social dialect. It is a traditional non-standard
East London workingclass dialect that is confined to certain city districts.

Engleza Cockney

Standard dialect

is a dominant dialect used in school, print, mass media, taught to the non-native speakers as
a foreign language, and associated with wealth, education, literature, political leadership and
high social status. The standard dialect is the dialect which is associated with those who
hold prestige and power in the society it is spoken in. Is a dialect that is supported by
institutions

Dialectul standard

A non-standard dialect

like a standard dialect, has a complete vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, but is not the
beneficiary of institutional support.

(The difference between standard and non-standard dialects has nothing to do with
differences between formal and colloquial language, or with concepts such as ‘bad
language’. Standard English has both colloquial and formal variants, and Standard English
speakers swear as much as others do.)

Dialectul non-standard

A dialect continuum

is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly
between areas that are geographically close to each other, and gradually decreasing in
mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater.

Un continuum dialectal

Slang

a type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are
more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or
group of people.
Argou

Genderlect

a dialect associated with a particular gender.

Dialect de gen(în conformitate cu genul căruia i se tribuie)

Social Stratification

refers to a ranking of people or groups of people within a society.

Stratificare sociala

Style shifting

is defined as the alternation of one speech style with another in the context of the same
communicative event, towards the same or another addressee.

Schimbere de stil(în care se vorbește)

Multilingualism

the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of
speakers.

Multilingvism

Personal bilingualism

the capacity of a person to speak two languages.

Bilingvism personal

Official bilingualism

refers to the policy adopted by some states of recognizing two languages as official and
producing all official documents, and handling all correspondence and official dealings,
including Court procedure, in the two said languages.

Bilingvism oficial

Early bilinguals

arises when young children start to regularly hear two languages instead of just one.
Children may hear these languages from birth, or they may start to hear a second language
at a somewhat later age.
Bilingvi timpurii

Late bilinguals

refers to bilingualism when the second language is learned after the age of 6 or 7; especially
when it is learned in adolescence or adulthood. Late bilingualism is a consecutive
bilingualism which occurs after the acquisition of the first language (after the childhood
language development period).

Bilingvi târzii

Simultaneous bilinguals

is a form of bilingualism that takes place when a child becomes bilingual by learning two
languages from birth.

Bilingvi simultani

Sequential bilinguals

any individual who acquires a second language after gaining initial exposure and
understanding of a first language

Bilingvi secvențiali

A coordinate bilingual

acquires the two languages in different contexts (e.g., home and school), so the words of the
two languages belong to separate and independent systems. In a sub-coordinate bilingual,
one language dominates.

O coordonată bilingvă

A compound bilingual

is an individual who learns two languages in the same environment so that he/she acquires
one notion with two verbal expressions.

Un bilingv compus

Societal multilingualism

refers to countries or communities where languages have different functions and often a
different status.

Multilingvism societal
Lingua franca

a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native

languages are different.

Limba francă

The verbal repertoire

is 'the set of language varieties used in the speaking and writing practices of a speech
community'

Repertoriul verbal

Language rights

are to be found in various human rights and freedoms provisions, such as the prohibition of
discrimination, freedom of expression, the right to private life, the right to education, and the
right of linguistic minorities to use their own language with others in their group.

Drepturi lingvistice

Language contact

occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact and influence each
other.

Contact lingvistic

Diglossia

a situation in which two languages (or two varieties of the same language) are used under
different conditions within a community, often by the same speakers. The term is usually
applied to languages with distinct ‘high’ and ‘low’ (colloquial) varieties, such as Arabic.

Diglosie