LANGUAGE

AND
SOCIETY
LET’S HAVE AN
ACTIVITY!
 “
“Language is a process of free creation; its
laws and principles are fixed, but the manner
in which the principles of generation are used
is free and infinitely varied. Even the
interpretation and use of words involves a
process of free creation.”
-Noam Chomsky Father of Modern Linguistics
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Definition of
Terms
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Culture
- is the characteristics and the knowledge
of a particular group of people,
encompassing language, religion, cuisine,
social habits, music and arts.

Source: Oxford Dictionary

5
Ethnic
- is someone or something associated with
a particular subgroup that has a shared
national, original, cultural identity or race.

Source: Collins Dictionary

6
National Identity
- a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole,
as represented by distinctive traditions,
culture and language.

Source: dictionary.com

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Linguistic Identity
- is basing one’s own identity on the
language they commonly use, especially
their native language.

Source: quora.com

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Social Identity
- perception of self and others based on
the social groups that one belongs to.

Source: quora.com

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Social Context
- a discussion of language that is focused
on language acquisition and language
learning, significance of language in a
community, and relation of language and
society.

Source: Oxford Dictionary

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linguistics
- the scientific study of language and its
structure, including the study of grammar,
syntax and phonetics.

Source: Oxford Dictionary

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What is society?
Linguistics?
Sociolinguistics?
Sociolinguistics
- the branch of linguistics that analyzes
the effects of social and cultural factors
within a speech upon its language pattern.

Source: Collins Dictionary

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society
- the community of people living in a
particular country or region and having
shared customs, laws and organizations.

Source: Oxford Dictionary

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Language
- the method of human communication
either spoken or written consisting with
the use of words in a structured and
conventional way.

Source: Oxford Dictionary

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4 Assumptions of
Relationship
between Society
and Language
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Language Language

Society Society

Language Language

Society Society
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 The influence of
social context and language
changes neutral.
 Relationship of
Social Factors and
Language
 Gender
Differences
Community
Differences
Culture
Differences

Economical
Differences
 Gender Differences

Social norms influence people’s

perception, both male and female.
 Culture Differences

Language is an important canoe for the

exchange of thoughts and emotions
around people.
 Community Differences

Different views may involve different

specialized terminologies in different
parts of the community.
Economical Differences

Economic status determines huge part

of the country’s prosperity- that is,
they invest in language development.
 Social Functions of
Language in terms of:
Geography
Ethnicity
National Identity
 Geography
The geography of languages studies the
relationship between languages and
geographic areas. Indeed, the geographer
analyzes the relationship among language,
culture and territorial organization.
Attention is turned to the overall use of
the linguistic codes and how languages
represent communities.
 Ethnic Group
The function of language in ethnic group
is that, it provides a flexible and
convenient criterion by which an ethno-
national group is identified in the
society.
 National Identity
Language gives a nation a certain
identity whereas it is a medium of
interaction. It also strengthen the
nationality of the people within the
nation.
Aspects of Social
Identity that
correlate with
Linguistic Identity
 Geography
Nationality

Ethnicity
Sexuality

Social Class
Education
Nationality
The status of belonging to a particular
nation. It is a legal relationship
between an individual person and a
state.
Nationality
Language represents the nationality of
an individual, thus defends the cultural
heritage of a certain place or country.
Your nationality is the country you come
from. A person's nationality is where
they are a legal citizen, usually in the
country where they were born.
Ethnicity

Ethnic groups have general traditions in

particular area that shares similarities
in norms, practices and language.
Social Class
Class is the structure of relationships
between groups where people are
classified based on their education,
occupation, and income.
Social Class
- Born in 1927
- American linguist who
was concerned about the
study of sociolinguistic
variation.
- Investigated the
English language of New
York City, published as
The Social Stratification
of English in New York
Mr. William Labov City (1966).
Social Class
The social classes are grouped into four
classes: the lower working class, the
upper working class, the lower middle
class, and the upper middle class.

He also displays the styles of speech in

three styles, which are casual, careful
conversation, and reading.
 Sociolect
A distinct variation of a language that is used
by members of a specific social class.
Hierarchical Societies
High degree of difference
between social classes
Flatter Societies
Low degree of
difference between
social classes
 Geography
Geographic locations plays an
essential role in language variation
and the emergence of dialects- that
is, when speakers of the same group
are geographically apart, it is more
likely that they use language
differently.
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Sexuality
Cameron, (2003) stated that most of the
people will think about the collocation,
“language and sexuality” will be divided
into two: the argot and slang used in
sexual subcultures and/or the
distinguishability of gay, men and lesbians
from heterosexuals for they are having an
identifiable style of speaking.
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Education
People can be easily educated using
the native language that is
introduced by the society that they
belong to.

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 CONCLUSION:

The relationship between

language and society
is a two-way process.
Thank you!