Midterm exam question worksheet

Submitted to fulfill the Introduction to Sociolinguistics midterm exam

Supporting Lecturer :

Dr. Rina Marnita AS, M.A

Written by:

Adi Darmawan (2110731017)

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

UNIVERSITAS ANDALAS

PADANG

2024
1. Sociolinguistics is defined in different ways by scholars. In general, it can be said that
‘sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society’. Wardaugh
explains the relation between language and society on page 10-12.
1) After reading Wardaugh’s description, describe in your own language how
language is related to society. Write the the page number (10 points)
 There are four possible relationships between language and society. One is that
Society can influence or determine the language structure of individuals who use
a particular language. The second is in direct contrast to the first: linguistic
structures and/or behavior can influence society. The third, is that the influence is
bi-directional: language and society may influence each other. The fourth is to
assume that there is no relationship at all between linguistic structure and social
structure and that each is independent of the other. (page 10)
2) Support your description with three language use phenomena that you have
encountered/observed in a particular (your) society (English, Indonesian or
Minangkabau society) (10 points)
 phrases such as "on fleek" or "lit" are gaining popularity among young people and
are being widely adopted in mainstream discourse. This illustrates how societal
and cultural trends among teenagers can influence language use.
 My friend and I use Minangkabau language and Indonesian Language when we
explain about Traditional Music in Minangkabau such as “Talempong Pacik”
(Talempong yang dipegang)
 The “Jaksel Phenomenon” a phenomenon where people use a lot of English
fragments in everyday conversations. For example “ah, lu ga usah denial deh”.
2. Wardaugh describes the meaning of ‘variation’ on page 4-7. Write some important points
(using a list) of his description. Write the page umber for each poin. (20 points)
 Language variations are differences in linguistic forms and structures that exist among
speakers and society (Page 4).
 Language variations can occur at various levels, including phonological (sound),
morphological (word form), syntactic (sentence structure), and lexical (vocabulary) levels
(Page 4).
 Sociolinguists study language variation to understand how social factors such as age,
gender, ethnicity, and social class influence language use (Page 5).
 Variation can be systematic and regulated by rules, leading to the identification of
patterns and regularities of language use within certain social groups (Page 6).
 The study of language variation helps reveal the dynamic nature of language, showing
how language changes over time and in different social contexts (Page 7).
3. Wardaugh (2006, p 25-58) describes Languages, Dialects, and Varieties
a) what does he mean by dialect and varieties? What are his examples? Are they two same
terms or different? Mention the paragraph and the page number of the book. (5 points)
  Dialects are regional or social varieties of languages that differ in pronunciation,
grammar, and vocabulary. Variation, on the other hand, encompasses a wider range of
linguistic forms, including dialects, standard languages, registers, and styles.
examples of dialects such as Canadian English, London English, and football
commentary English to illustrate regional variations in a language. social dialect, which
reflects differences in language use based on social factors such as class, education, and
occupation.
Although dialect and variety are related terms, they are not interchangeable.
Dialect refers to specific regional or social forms of a language, whereas variety includes
broader linguistic forms and styles within a language.

b). Describe how Wardaugh prove that dialect is different from language. Mention the paragraph
and the page number of the book. (5 points)
 On page 26, Wardhaugh explains that a dialect is a subordinate variety of a
language, emphasizing that a dialect is a particular regional or social form of a language.
In contrast, language is a superordinate term that includes many dialects and varieties.
Wardhaugh illustrates this distinction by highlighting that dialects are localized
forms of a language, such as Texas English and Swiss German, which are considered
dialects of English and German respectively. These dialects are subcategories within the
broader English and German languages. By emphasizing the hierarchical relationship
between dialect and language, Wardhaugh shows that dialects are specific manifestations
of larger linguistic systems, reinforcing the idea that dialects are not stand-alone
languages but rather variations within a language.

c. Describe how to check whether two persons speak in the same dialect or different language?
Mention the paragraph and the page number of the book. (5 points)
 Wardhaugh discusses the challenges of determining whether two individuals
speak the same dialect or different languages on page 29. He highlights the ambiguity
surrounding the terms "language" and "dialect" and the difficulty in making a clear
distinction between the two. He explained that ordinary people often consider dialects to
be local languages that are not prestigious, while scholars have difficulty distinguishing
between languages and dialects in certain situations. The terms “language” and “dialect”
represent a complex dichotomy in an extremely complex linguistic landscape.

d) Describe things that can be done to standardize a dialect according to Wardaugh. Mention the
paragraph and the page number of the book. (5 points)
 On page 35, Wardhaugh outlines seven criteria proposed by Bell that can be
useful in discussing various types of languages and dialects. These criteria include
standardization, vitality, historicity, autonomy, reduction, mixing, and de facto norms.
Standardization, as Wardhaugh explains, involves the codification of a language
through the development of grammars, spelling books, dictionaries, and literature.
Certain events and things, such as the translation of religious texts and the founding of
 printing presses, are associated with the process of standardization. Reaching agreement
on linguistic norms and dialect boundaries is essential for standardization.

3. Wardaugh (2006, p.118) describe the meaning of speech community in the following text:
For Hymes, the concept of ‘speech community’ is a difficult one to grasp in its entirety, for it
depends on how one defines ‘groups’ in society. He also distinguishes (pp. 50–51) between
participating in a speech community and being a fully fledged member of that community:
To participate in a speech community is not quite the same as to be a member of it. Here
we encounter the limitation of any conception of speech community in terms of
knowledge alone, even knowledge of patterns of speaking as well as of grammar, and of
course, of any definition in terms of interaction alone. Just the matter of accent may erect
a barrier between participation and membership in one case, although be ignored in
another. Obviously membership in a community depends upon criteria which in the given
case may not even saliently involve language and speaking, as when birthright is
considered indelible.
However, he reaffirms (p. 51) an earlier (1962, pp. 30–2) definition of speech community: ‘a
local unit, characterized for its members by common locality and primary interaction.’ He is
prepared to ‘admit exceptions cautiously.’ Brown and Levinson (1979, pp. 298–9) point out that:
Social scientists use the word ‘group’ in so many ways, as for example in the phrases
small group, reference group, corporate group, ethnic group, interest group, that we are
unlikely to find any common core that means more than ‘set’. Social scientists who adopt
the weak concept of structure . . . are likely to think of groups in relatively concrete terms,
as independently isolable units of social structure. . . . On the other hand, social theorists
who adopt the stronger concept of structure are more likely to think of groups as relative
concepts, each group being a unit that is relevant only in relation to units of like size that
for immediate purposes are contrasted with it. Thus for a man who lives in Cambridge,
his territorial identification will be with Cambridge when contrasted with Newmarket,
with Cambridgeshire when contrasted with Lancashire, with England when contrasted
with Scotland, with the United Kingdom when contrasted with Germany, and so on.

‘Group’ is therefore a relative concept and ‘speech community’ must also be relative. You are a
member of one speech community by virtue of the fact that on a particular occasion you identify
with X rather than Y when apparently X and Y contrast in a single dimension. This approach
would suggest that there is an English speech community (because there are French and German
ones), a Texas speech community (because there are London and Bostonian ones), a Harvard
speech community (because there are Oxford and Berkeley ones), a Chicano speech community
(because there are Spanish and English ones), and so on. An individual therefore belongs to
various speech communities at the same time, but on any particular occasion will identify with
only one of them, the particular identification depending on what is especially important or
contrastive in the circumstances. For any specific speech community, the concept ‘reflects what
people do and know when they interact with one another. It assumes that when people come
together through discursive practices, they behave as though they operate within a shared set of
norms, local knowledge, beliefs, and values. It means that they are aware of these things and
capable of knowing when they are being adhered to and when the values of the community are
being ignored . . . it is fundamental in understanding identity and representation of ideology’
(Morgan, 2001, p. 31).
1) After reading the text above, write your comprehension about ‘speech community’? use
examples from the script and support your answer by citing/stating relevant parts of the
text (10 points).
 According to Hymes, "membership in a community depends on criteria that in
certain cases may not even involve only language and speech, as when birthright is
considered," because a speech community is a community in which people use
related languages to communicate with each other. indelible. People don't need to
talk to each other; they can become parts or speech communities simply because they
have the same language structure.
2) Are you a member of a (more) speech community? Describe your reason(s). (5 points)
 Yes, because my language uses the same grammar as other languages, has the
same pronouns, verbs and nouns as other languages, and my language has the same
word relationships as other languages.
3) Name the speech community (ies) in which you belong to and describe why you think
you belong to that speech commuity (5 points)
 Malaysia, because my language, namely Jambi Malay, has many of the same
words and has almost the same grammar and structure.
5. Wardaugh (2006, p.149-152) describes studies of linguistic variation and social variation by
some sociolinguistis. Describe the study by Trudgill and Shuy below in terms of the following
aspects:
a. aims/objectives of study (5 points)
 Trudgill : to differentiate social classes
 Shuy : To determine social class using speech examples

b. method use (the subject involved, the number of the subjects and the way they collected the
data) (5 points)
 Trudgill : using ten speakers from each of Norwich's five selected districts, as well
as ten primary school students from two schools, for a total of 60 people. He chose
boundary points between his classes to collect data. In doing so, he demonstrated
certain characteristics of circulation. Those who use certain linguistic features (such
as, he's gone) more than 80 percent of the time are referred to as lower class workers.
Those with a score of 6 or less fall into this category out of a total possible score of
30 on the combined scale.
 Shuy : Questionnaires were administered for ten weeks to 702
respondents. Each respondent was given a rating on a six- or seven-point scale,
multiplied by 5 for education, 9 for employment, and 6 for residence, and each
respondent was assigned a social class assignment.

c. and the results (5 points)

  Trudgill : Trudgill always uses "he goes", and this habit is common for those with
a score of 19 or above. He used linguistic behavior to determine social class membership
in his research, which aimed to link linguistic behavior to social class. He found that
there were differences in linguistic behavior between people ranked at the top and bottom
of Trudgill's 30-point scale, but the underlying circularity prevented these differences
from forming independently.
 Shuy : Four terms for social class were used: upper middle class, which had a
score of 20–48; lower middle class, which had a score of 49–77; upper working class,
which had a score of 78–106; and the lower working class, which had a score of 107–
134.

2) Describe in what ways the studies are similar and different (5 points)
1) In his study of linguistic variation in Norwich, England, Trudgill (1974) distinguishes
five social classes: middle middle class (MMC), lower middle class (LMC), upper
working class (UWC), middle working class (MWC), and lower working class (LWC).
Trudgill interviewed ten speakers from each of five electoral wards in Norwich plus ten
school-age children from two schools. These sixty informants were then classified on six
factors, each of which was scored on a six-point scale (0–5): occupation, education,
income, type of housing, locality, and father’s occupation. Trudgill himself decided the
cut-off points among his classes. In doing so, he shows a certain circularity. His lower
working class is defined as those who use certain linguistic features (e.g., he go) more
than 80 percent of the time. Out of the total possible score of 30 on his combined scales,
those scoring 6 or less fall into this category. Members of Trudgill’s middle middle class
always use he goes, and that behavior is typical of those scoring 19 or more. His study is
an attempt to relate linguistic behavior to social class, but he uses linguistic behavior to
assign membership in social class. What we can be sure of is that there is a difference in
linguistic behavior between those at the top and bottom of Trudgill’s 30-point scale, but
this difference is not one that has been established completely independently because of
the underlying circularity.

2) Shuy’s Detroit study (Shuy et al., 1968) attempted to sample the speech of that city using
a sample of 702 informants. Eleven field workers collected the data by means of a
questionnaire over a period of ten weeks. They assigned each of their informants to a
social class using three sets of criteria: amount of education, occupation, and place of
residence. Each informant was ranked on a six- or seven-point scale for each set, the
rankings were weighted (multiplied by 5 for education, 9 for occupation, and 6 for
residence), and each informant was given a social-class placement. Four social-class
designations were used: upper middle class, those with scores of 20–48; lower middle
class, those with scores of 49–77; upper working class, those with scores of 78–106; and
lower working class, those with scores of 107–134

 Similarties
o to differentiate between social classes
 o using a variety of informants

 Differences
o Shuy divides the social classes into four groups, but Trudgill divides them
into five.
o Trudgill determines the factor based on the father's occupation, the type of
home, the neighborhood, education, and income. Shuy calculates the
factor based on factors such place of residence, occupation, and level of
education.