LANGUAGE

VARIATION
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O L A N G U A G E V A R I A T I O N

V A R I A T I O N A T D I F F E R E N T L E V E L S O F L I N G U I S T I C
STRUCTURE

L A N G U A G E A N D S O C I O E C O N O M I C S T A T U S

L A N G U A G E A N D R E G I O N

L A N G U A G E
AND ETHNICITY: THE CASE OF
AFRICAN-AMERICAN ENGLISH
 Language Variation

 No two speakers of a language speak exactly the

same way; nor does any individual speaker speak the
same way all the time. Variation is a natural part of
human language, and it is influenced by such factors
as socioeconomic status, region, and ethnicity
 Introduction to Language
Variation
Most people are aware of the fact that systematic
differences exist among languages–for example, that
English is different from Spanish, which is different
from Arabic, which is different from Russian, and so
on.

I n t e r n a l v a r i a t i o n – r e f e r s t o t h e p r o p e r t y t h a t i s
inherent to all human languages and to all speakers
of a language.
 Varieties, Dialects, and Idiolects
 Language Variety – is used among linguists as a cover term to refer to
many different types of language variation.
 A Dialect – is any variety of a language spoken by a group of people that is
characterized by systematic differences from other varieties of the same
language in terms of structural or lexical features.
 Accent – systematic phonological variation.
 Slang – has to do more with stylistic choices in vocabulary rather than
systematic lexical differences between dialects.
 Idiolect – the form of a language spoken by one person.
 Mutual Intelligibility – if speakers of one language variety can understand
speakers of another language variety and vice versa, we say that these
varieties are mutually intelligible.
 Dialect Continuum – this is a situation where, in a large number of
contiguous dialects, each dialect is closely related to the next, but the
dialects at either end of the continuum (scale) are mutually unintelligible.
 Speech Communities
 Speech Community – is a group of people speaking the same dialect.
 Communicative Isolation – results when a group of speakers forms a
coherent speech community relatively isolated from speakers outside of that
community.
Consider, for example, the following utterances: (Appalachian English)
(a) I used to could dance.
(b) I ain’t no girl now.
(c) He had a broken back ________ was never set.
(d) Put some bakin’ sody on it.
(e) I fell upside of the building.

Note the underlined parts of each sentence: (a) a double modal, (b) multiple
negation, (c) relative pronoun deletion, (d) substitution of [i] for [ ] in
soda, and (e) lexical substitution of upside of for up against the side of.
 Variation at Different Levels of
Linguistic Structure
1. PHONETIC LEVEL
a. In most American dialects, the sounds [t, d, n, s,
z] are produced with alveolar articulation, but
some New York City dialects have dental
articulation whereby the tongue tip touches the
top teeth.
b. Some British and Scottish dialects of English
produce a trilled r, [r], while most American
dialects have either a retroflex[ ] or a“bunched”[ ]
 2. PHONOLOGICAL LEVEL

a. Most American dialects have one vowel, [ ], in caught, dawn, and hawk
and another, [a], in cot, Don, and hock.
b. In southern England, words like flood, but, cup have the vowel [ ] and
words like full, good, put have the vowel [u].
c. Standard British English does not permit sequences V-r-C or V-r-#. This is
similar to Bostonian English, where the sentence Park the car is
pronounced [pak õ ka].
d. Some African-American English dialects do not permit sequences of C-r or
C-l, especially in unstressed syllables, so that the word professor would be
pronounced [p f s ].
 3. MORPHOLOGICAL LEVEL

a. Some rural British English dialects use the possessive morpheme with
pronouns but not with nouns, e.g., my life, his dog, but Tom car, the
old lady purse.
b. In parts of northern England and southern Wales -s is not just a third
singular present tense marker, but a general present tense marker.
These speakers say sentences like I likes him, We goes, etc.
c. Many dialects of English have hisself and theirselves where Standard
English has himself and themselves.
d. Appalachian English has past tense forms for various verbs that are
different from the past tense forms found in other American dialects,
e.g., Appalachian English has [kl m], [ t], and [h t] where other
dialects have climbed, ate, and heated, respectively.
 5. SYNTACTIC LEVEL

a. For many southern speakers of American English, done can function as

an auxiliary, as in She done already told you rather than She has
already told you.
b. For many Appalachian speakers right can function adverbially, e.g., a
right good meal.
c. In some dialects combinations of auxiliaries like might could, might
would, may can, and useta could are permitted and form a single
constituent.
d. Many midwestern dialects have the construction The crops need
watered as a variant of The crops need to be watered.
 5. SEMANTIC LEVEL (Vocabulary Choice)

a. Knock up means ‘rouse from sleep by knocking’ in British English but

‘make pregnant’ in American English.
b. Words for carbonated beverages differ from place to place. Soft drink,
soda, pop, soda pop, are all different ways of expressing the same
meaning.
 EXERCISES

For each example below, identify the level of linguistic structure at which the
variation exists.
P=Phonetic S=Syntactic
Ph=Phonological Sm=Semantic
M=Morphological

___ Some Caribbean English dialects do not have the sounds [–] or [õ];
instead the sounds [t] and [d], respectively, are substituted, e.g., both
[bout], there [d r].
___ Many dialects of English have multiple negation, as in I didn’t see
nobody take no pictures.
___ Many American dialects have the mid back lax vowel [ ]. However, this
vowel is produced very differently in different dialects—some are more
rounded, some less so; some are higher or lower than others.
___ Names differ from place to place to refer to an insect that glows in
the dark, including firefly, lightning bug, glowworm, and firebug.
___ Some African-American English dialects do not mark the third
person singular present tense with a suffix, e.g., he kiss, she see, it
jump.
___ In some southern and midwestern dialects of American English there
is no distinction between [I] and [ ] before nasals; only [I] occurs. So in
the words pen and pin, which are pronounced [p n] and [pIn],
respectively, in many other American English dialects, the
pronunciation is [pIn] for both words.
 Language and Socioeconomic
Status

1. STANDARD VS. NONSTANDARD VARIETIES

-The popular notion persists that every language
consists of one “correct” dialect from which all other
“inferior” or “substandard” dialects diverge. This
misconception has arisen from social stereotypes and
biases. It is not a linguistic fact. It is important to realize
that a person’s use of any particular dialect is not a
reflection of his or her intelligence or judgment.
Linguistically speaking, no one dialect or language is
better, more correct, or more logical than any other.
 2. STANDARD DIALECTS

Descriptively speaking:
The standard dialect is the variety used by political leaders, the media, and
speakers from higher socioeconomic classes. It is also the variety taught in
schools and to nonnative speakers in language classes.
Socially speaking:
The standard dialect is the dialect of prestige and power.

The multiple negatives were once commonly used by speakers of standard Old
English and Middle English.
Example: Geoffrey Chaucer’s description of the Knight in the General Prologue of
the Canterbury Tales
He nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde
He never yet no villainy not said
In al his lyf unto no maner wight
In all his life to no kind of creature
Today, however, speakers who most commonly employ multiple-negative
constructions are not members of the higher socioeconomic (i.e.,
prestige) group.
Prescriptive standard – the standard by which we make judgments of
“right” or “wrong.”
Examples:
1. Kim and me went to the store. (Few standard English speakers use object
pronouns in subject position.)

2. This is a matter between Kim and I;

and
3. Give the books to Kim and I.
(Media spokespeople, political leaders, and others of higher socioeconomic
status are more and more frequently observed using subject pronouns in
object position.)
According to the prestige standard, sentences (1), (2), and (3) should all
be “corrected” as follows:
4. Kim and I went to the mall.
5. This is a matter between Kim and me.
6. Give the money to Kim and me.

Hypercorrection – the act of producing nonstandard forms by way of

false analogy.

This example shows us that even violations of prescriptive rule (such as

sentences 2 and 3 above) can be perceived as standard if they are used
by members of the prestige group.
 2a. STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH (SAE)

When we speak of SAE we usually have in mind features of grammar

more than pronunciation. In the United States, where class
consciousness is minimal, pronunciation is not terribly important.
Thus, there are varieties of SAE that are spoken with northern accents,
southern accents, coastal New England accents, etc., but that are still
considered standard.

In Britain, on the other hand, where class diversions are more clearly
defined and social mobility is more restricted, standard pronunciation
or Received Pronunciation (RP), also known as BBC English or the
“Queens English,” takes on the importance of standard grammar and
vocabulary. Thus in Britain both pronunciation and grammar are
markers of social status.
 3. NONSTANDARD DIALECTS

STANDARD NONSTANDARD
I like myself I like myself
You like yourself You like yourself
He likes himself He likes hisself
She likes herself She likes herself
We like ourselves We like ourselves
You like yourselves You like yourselves
They like themselves They like theirselves
All dialects that are not perceived as varieties of the standard are called
nonstandard. It is important to understand that nonstandard does not
mean “substandard” or “inferior,” although this is the perception held by
many. Just as standard dialects are associated with the language of the
“powerful” and “prestigious,” nonstandard dialects are usually associated
with the language of the lower socioeconomic classes.
 3a. OVERT VS. COVERT PRESTIGE AND ACTS OF IDENTITY

Bidialectal speakers – having a mastery of two dialects – one a

standard variety, the other a nonstandard variety.
Overt prestige – this is the prestige that is attached to a particular
variety by community at large, which defines how people should speak
in order to gain status in the wider community.
Covert prestige – the reason why in many ways nonstandard varieties
persist, despite their stigmatized status. The desire to “belong” to a
particular group often becomes the overriding factors. In this sense
language becomes a marker of group identification.
 Language and Region
1. THE STUDY OF REGIONAL DIALECTS
Regional dialects – are language varieties that are
defined in terms of geographical boundaries.
Dialectology – the study of regional dialects.
Isoglosses – are lines used to mark the boundaries of
areas where a particular linguistic form is used.
2. REGIONAL VARIATION IN THE UNITED STATES
 3. APPALACHIAN ENGLISH

The term Appalachian English is used primarily to refer to nonstandard

varieties of English spoken in the southern Appalachian mountain range,
including mid and southern regions of West Virginia, western North
Carolina and Virginia, eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, northwest
Arkansas and southern Missouri.
The ff. description is intended to give you a sense of some of the features that
are said to be characteristic of Appalachian English, but it is not in any
way an exhaustive description.
a. Phonological Features
1. Vowel correspondences: the ff. list illustrates some of the differences
in vowel distributions between Appalachian English varieties and varieties
of Standard English.
2. Metathesis: Instances of metathesis (i.e., sound reversals) are
found in AE varieties as well as in other varieties of English.

3. Syllable-initial stress: AE places primary stress (‘) on the first

syllable of certain words where SE varieties place the primary stress
elsewhere.
b. Morphological Features
1. a-prefix: Appalachian English has preserved the prefix a- (used
commonly in the twelfth to seventeenth centuries) in certain verbal
constructions.
ex.: He come a-running
I knew he was a-telling the truth
I was a-washing one day
2. Retention of irregular verb conjugations: AE has preserved
certain irregular verb conjugations in constructing the past tense where SE
varieties now use the regular past tense suffix –ed.
Present tense AE past tense SE past tense
climb clumb climbed
heat het heated
rake ruck raked
drag drug dragged
c. Syntactic Features
1. Double modals
He musta didn’t hear me.
I might could make one up.
I useta couldn’t swim
2. Multiple negation
He ain’t never done no work to speak of.
There ain’t never none on the shelf.
I can’t hardly make it out.
 Language and Ethnicity: The Case
of African-American English
It is African-American English (AAE) that has been of
primary interest to linguists for a number of years.
 1. AFRICAN-AMERICAN ENGLISH

African-American English (AAE) – is a cover term used by linguists

to refer to a continuum of varieties whose features (depending on which
end of the continuum you consider) may be very similar to or very
different from those of Standard American English (SAE).
The name African-American English is used in acknowledgment of the
fact that that these varieties are spoken primarily by and among
African-Americans.
However, it is very important to note that not all African Americans are
speakers of AAE and not only African Americans speak AAE.
 2. THE STUDY OF AAE

 Linguists interest in AAE may have first been sparked by a desire to

reeducate society about the nature of AAE and other nonstandard
varieties of English that have been stigmatized as “bad English” or
“broken English.”

 By researching varieties of African-American English, linguists are able

to prove that AAE is not a collection of random deviations from
standard English, as many have said it is. Instead, it is both systematic
and rule-governed, just like all language varieties, standard or
nonstandard.
 3. THE ORIGIN OF AAE

 The origin of African-American English has been, and to some extent

still is, an issue of great debate among sociolinguists. There are two
main theories:
1. Dialectologist View: AAE traces its roots back to the
varieties of English spoken in the British Isles, just like other
regional varieties of American English.
2. Creolist View: AAE developed out of a creole language used
during the times of slavery, which ultimately traces its origins
back to the various West African languages of the slaves who were
transported to the New World.
 3a. THE DIALECTOLOGIST VIEW

 AAE should be analyzed in terms of regional differences just like any

other variety of English.
 3b. THE CREOLIST VIEW

 AAE derived from creole and ultimately West African origins.

 3c. A UNIFIED VIEW

 For many years, sociolinguists were radically divided between these two
opposing theories concerning AAE’s origins. Today it is still an issue
that has not been fully resolved.
 However, it appears that sociolinguists are moving toward an
understanding of AAE that accepts some reasoning from both points of
view.
 In other words, the dialectologist and creolist positions may not be
mutually exclusive, but instead both may contribute to our
understanding of the origins, history, and development of African-
American English in the United States.
 4. STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF AAE

4a. Monophtongization: In AAE there is a phonological process by

which diphthongs get reduced to monophthongs word-finally or before
voiced consonants.
4b. Word-Final Consonant Cluster Reduction
4c. Absence of 3rd Person Singular -s
4d. Multiple Negation
4e. Habitual be