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UNIVERSITY OF ALGIERS 2 Thursday 20 October 2022

SOCIOLINGUISTICS Gps 1 -4-5 N.BAKIRI
WEEK 3 /CHAPTER III

LANGUAGE VARIATION AND LANGUAGE VARIETIES

( adapted from different sources)

CONTENT:
- Language vs dialect - standard vs non standard dialect- official language – national
language

( key words : variation – language vs dialect – standard dialect vs non standard dialect-
official –national)

1 VARIATION
Language is a tool of communication which changes, dies but is not passive. The term
variation refers to regional/social/contextual differences in the ways that a particular language
is used. All aspects of language ( phonemes, morphemes, syntactic structures, vocabulary )
are subject to variation. In the variation of language we study different topics. Among them:
standard language / non standard language / dialect, official language , national language ….

In sociolinguistics a variety is called a –lect ( dialect, sociolect, idiolect…) It is a form of a

language . This may include : dialects, accents, registers, styles….

2 LANGUAGE VS DIALECT : they are different but their difference is nuanced

If for the linguist ‘language’ and ‘dialect’ are equal (since both have a grammar/ phonology/
semantics) for the sociolinguist there is a difference between them because their status is
different in society .
In society and for the layman ‘ language’ is a variety which is standardized with a codified
grammar/ vocabulary/ when ‘dialect’ is a regional variety - most of the time not written ( i.e.
non standard with a non codified grammar / regional vocabulary / regional accent). But today
sociolinguists have agreed on a more homogeneous definition of language and dialect . Let’s
take English for example:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE: is a superordinate which includes all English dialects and varieties
of the same language. eg: Norfolk English, Birmingham English, Scottish English ,etc… and
American English, Canadian English AND standard English. They are all genetically related.
In summary: the regional non written varieties are non standard dialects, those that are
written are standard dialects but they are all varieties of the same language: English.
( English was first a standardized dialect which became the official national language when
the British politics gave it this unifying status)
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FRENCH LANGUAGE: For the French the distinction ‘language vs dialect’ is more clear
cut:
Language: is a standardized form. FRENCH is the standardized dialect , official and national
Dialect: is a regional written variety with a literature: eg: Britton, Corsican
Patois: is a non written, limited regional variety spoken by minorities , eg: Provencal
To summarize:
French is a standard dialect with the status of LANGUAGE because it is the official and
national language of France. But Corsican is a standard dialect without the status of
‘language’ because it is neither official nor national in France.

3 STANDARD VS NON STANDARD VARIETY

THE STANDARD VARIETY with the status of LANGUAGE
English, German , French have the status of ‘languages’ : they are used by the politics, the
media, in education and for international communications
THE NON STANDARD VARIETY : has the status of DIALECT. A British dialect e.g
Lancashire English is a dialect variation in grammar and vocabulary in addition to sound
variations. For eg, if a person utters: ‘John is a farmer’ and another pronounces ‘ fahmuh’
(instead of ‘fahme) then it is a difference of accent only. But if a person says ‘You shouldn’t
do that’ and another says: ‘Ya hadn’t oughta do that’ then this is a dialect difference because
too far from standard English (not only a matter of accent but of sentence structure
convention).The extent of dialect differences is a continuum. Some British dialects are very
different from Standard English , others less.

4 PRESTIGE: LANGUAGE /DIALECT

The notion of prestige is important in the distinction language/dialect. Socially speaking a
language has more prestige. Languages have prestige of those who have prestige: the
intellectuals, the educated. They are considered as correct, they are the NORM. Consequently
the dialects are out of the norm. But the truth is that all non written dialects can become
standard dialects. And all standard dialects can become national official languages

5 STANDARD /OFFICIAL / NATIONAL LANGUAGE

These three terms can qualify the same dialect but it is the politics of each country which
decides if a standard dialect will become official and national or not.
What happens is that the official language of a country was first a regional non standard
dialect (one among others) which was standardized. At one moment in the history of this
country, and for the sake of unity it was necessary to select one common dialect. English and
French were the dialects of London and Paris (prestige dialects). When they were selected
they were taught in all Great Britain and France , spoken and written by the majority. Hence
their status as official and national languages.
Official language : has a legal status and is accepted by the country’s government
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National language: represents the national identity of the country. It brings the nation
together and creates a sense of unity. Speakers of the same language identify themselves in
their national language.