Language & Society

Sujani Balasooriya
 Introduction
• Introduction to Linguistics

• Introduction to Sociolinguistics
 Introduction to Linguistics
Definition:

“Linguistics is scientific and systematic study of

language.”
 What is Linguistics ?
• Language in general is considered.

• Learning about language – not learning a language.

• ‘Linguist’ – Person who studies language at a deeper level.

• Focus – Natural spoken languages (not written languages)

• Concern of modern linguistics – To describe language, to study

its nature and to establish a theory of language.
Levels of Linguistic Analysis
• Phonetics

• Phonology

• Morphology

• Syntax

• Semantics

• Pragmatics
 What is studied about language ?
There are many areas :
• History (Historical Linguistics)
• Comparison of languages (Comparative Linguistics)
• Study of language in terms of its real life application (Applied
Linguistics)
• Structure of language (Structural Linguistics)
• Relationship between society & language (Sociolinguistics)
• Relationship between human mind & language (Psycholinguistics)
• Relationship between geography & language (Geographical
linguistics)
• Relationship between language & the structure and function of the
brain (Neurolinguistics)
 Sociolinguistics
What is Sociolinguistics?

The word sociolinguistics is a combination of three words:

• Socio (means company/society)

• Lingua (means language)

• Istics (means scientific study)

 Sociolinguistics
So we may say that sociolinguistics means:

Scientific study of language in its social context.

• Sociolinguistics is the branch of linguistics which deals with
the relationship between language and society.
According to Oxford dictionary:

“The study of language in relation to social factors.”

Sociolinguistics is based on the fact that language is not a
single homogeneous entity yet it is a social phenomenon.
Sociolinguistics is relative to the newcomers which entered in
the linguistic field. It was not recognized till 1960s. It was a
result of William Labov‘s work in America and Peter Trigill’s in
Britain. So it developed into a recognized branch of
linguistics.
Ray’s description of his teacher would have been expressed
differently if he had realized his grandmother could hear him. The
way people talk is influenced by the social context in which they are
talking. It matters who can hear us and where we are talking, as well
as how we are feeling. The same message may be expressed very
differently to different people. We use different styles in different
social contexts.
Leaving school, Ray had run into the school principal. This response
indicates Ray’s awareness of the social factors which influence the
choice of appropriate ways of speaking in different social contexts.
Sociolinguistics is concerned with the relationship between
language and the context in which it is used.
Every afternoon my friend packs her bag and leaves her Cardiff office
in southern Wales at about 5 o’clock. As she leaves, her business
partner says goodbye Margaret (she replies goodbye Mike), her
secretary says see you tomorrow (she replies bye Jill), and the
caretaker says bye Mrs. Walker (to which she responds goodbye
Andy). As she arrives home, she is greeted by hi mum from her
daughter, Jenny, hello dear, have a good day? from her mother, and
simply you’re late again! from her husband. Later in the evening the
president of the local flower club calls to ask if she would like to join
the club. Good evening, is that Mrs. Billington? she asks. No, it’s
Margaret Walker, but my husband’s name is David Billington,
Margaret answers. What can I do for you? Finally a friend calls Hello
Meg, sut wyt ti?
Languages provide a variety of ways of saying the same thing
– addressing and greeting others, describing things, paying
compliments. Our choices provide clues to social factors, such
as the relationship between the people in the particular
situation, and how the speaker feels about the person
addressed. Margaret’s friend’s use of sut wyt ti? (‘how are
you?’) as a greeting indicates her Welsh ethnicity.

Linguistic variation can provide social information.

How a Language is changed…

According to Labov, if speech of young people within a

particular social group is different from that of old people in
the same group, then it is very likely that changes occur.
There are some factors that cause change in a language:
• Change in Social Conditions
• Social Class
• Gender
• Regional Groups
• Cultural Groups
1.Change in Social Conditions
There are different social situations in different places of world so a
language can not maintain its real shape. Because of different
situations in history of England, for the first people used to speak
Latin later French and now they speak English language as well. It is
all cause of different situations in society.
2.Social Class
As different classes of society use different type of words because
they have different standards of life, i.e. people used forgiveness and
pardon in a one sense, treat and feast.
3.Gender
As male persons use different worlds in their links and female
different.
4.Regional Groups
Regional groups like Asians use different language and Europeans
used different language.
5.Cultural Groups
Every society has different customs. So they use different words in
one sense. So language changes.

Living languages are always changing, as they respond to changes in

social structure. Language reflects society; it also serves to pass on
social structure.