Language variation

idiolect

I. Language variation:
II. Variationist sociolinguistics:
III. Linguistic variable:
IV. Idiolect:
 I. Language variation:

- Variation is a characteristic of language.

- Language variation is defined as differences in pronunciation,

grammar, or word choice with a language.

- When we look closely, changes in the language will be detected.

 I. Language variation:
- Sometimes, we are saying the same thing but depending on the region they
will use different grammar.

For instance:
Speakers in some areas of the Midwestern United States might utter
sentences such as ‘The car needs to be washed’ while others would say ‘The
cars need to be washed’ or ‘The car needs washing.’ Further, an individual
speaker might use all three of these constructions at different times.
 I. Language variation:

- There is more than one way of saying the same thing.

For example:
When you want to compliment about appearance, there are many ways,
such as:
“You look perfect”, “You look very beautiful”, “You look very
handsome”, “I like your eyes”, “You have a lovely voice”,…
Or giving a compliment when someone does a good job, we can say:
“Good job!” , “Well done!”, “You’re such a good student!”, “You did a
really fine job!”…
 I. Language variation:

- No one can speak exactly like the other in the same way.

For example:
When someone speaks a sentence, you can speak this sentence but you
cannot speak exactly by the way he spoke. When you speak, your
expression, pronunciation,.. will be different from him.
I. Language variation:

- No individual speaker speaks the same way all the time.

For example:
A same sentence you speak will be different by the time. Because a
sentence would be changed about purpose, the time when you speak,
your expression and the meaning of sentence.
Would you mind closing the door?
Close the door, will you?
I. Language variation:

- People from different contries, from different regions in the same

country, from different social classes would vary pronunciation,
morphology, lexicon, syntax and style of speaking.

For example:
+ In UK: better - /ˈbet.ər/, city /siti/
In US: better -  /ˈbet̬ .ɚ/,/city sidi/
+ In Vietnam, some areas in the North pronounce (n) as (l) or (l) as (n)
Làm ăn – Nàm ăn
Hà Nội – Hà Lội
 I. Language variation:

- Language variation is influenced by social factors of which the most

important are participants, setting, topic and function.
Would you mind closing the door?
Close the door, will you?

- We will see that there is considerable variation in the speech of any

individual, but that variation is also limited: no individual is free to do
exactly what he or she want.
 I. Language variation:

- The variation you are permitted has limits, and these limits can be
described with considerable accuracy.

For instance:
We can say, ‘It is the fence that the cow jumped over,’ which is
comprehensible if somewhat stilted.
But most speakers would agree that ‘the fence jumped the cow over’ does
not follow English word order rules and is largely cannot understand.
II. Variationist sociolinguistics:

- Variationist sociolinguistics is one of the sociolinguistic approaches to

language variation.

- Variationist sociolinguistics is interested in accounting for linguistic

variation and change, at least partly as a product of the social
distribution of language varieties.
II. Variationist sociolinguistics:

For example:

1. How do you greet your friends, your family, your colleagues, your
professors and your acquaintances? Are there different verbal exchanges as
well as different embodied practices ?(e.g., air kisses, shaking hands, fist
bump)
II. Variationist sociolinguistics:
For example:

2. In some contexts they may not be silient social categories and we may
instead see ourselves as members of groups based on racial identification,
sexual orientation, national belonging, or membership of a particular formal
social group (e.g., a Choir, a pro- fessional association, or a fox hunting
club).
II. Variationist sociolinguistics:
According to Mesthrie the basic methods in variationist studies are as
follow:
- Identify linguistic features that vary in a community.
- Gather data from the community by selecting a suitable sample of
people.
- Conduct an interview involving informal continuous speech as well a
more formal dimensions of language use like reading out a passage
aloud.
- Analyse the data , noting the frequency of each relevant linguistic
feature.
- Select relevant social units like the age group, sex, social.
- Ascertain significant correlation between the social groups and
particular speech.
 III. Linguistic variable:

- A linguistic variable is a linguistic item which has identifiable variants,

which are the different forms which can be used in an environment.
Books, pages, dishes
- A linguistic variable is a variable whose values are words or sentences in
a natural or artificial language.

- It is a variable made up of a number of words (linguistic terms) with

associated degrees of membership.
 III. Linguistic variable:

- There are linguistic variables in the phonology, morphology, lexicon and

syntax of a language.

For example:
- Words like “singing” and “fishing” are sometimes pronounced as singin’ and
fishin’.
- The final sound in these words may be called the linguistic variable (ng) with
its two variants:
+ [ŋ] in singing
+ [n] in singin’
 III. Linguistic variable:

- Another example of a linguistic variable can be seen in words like

“farm” and “far”.
These words are sometimes given r-less pronunciations; in this case we
have the linguistic variable (r) with two variants [r] and Ø (example:
‘zero,’ or ‘null’).
 III. Linguistic variable

Types of linguistic variables:

- Linguists who have studied variation in this way have used a number of
linguistic variables, many of which have been phonological.

- The (ng) variable has been widely used; Labov (2006, 259) says it ‘has
been found to have the greatest generality over the English-speaking world,
and has been the subject of the most fruitful study.’
 III. Linguistic variable:

- The (r) variable mentioned above has also been much used. Labov (1972)
has also distinguished among what he calls indicators, markers, and
stereotypes.

- A marker can be quite noticeable and potent carriers of social information.

On the other hand, a marker can be quite noticeable and potent carriers of
social information.
 III. Linguistic variable:

- An indicator is a linguistic variable to which little or no social import

is attached. Only a linguistically trained observer is aware of indicators.

For example:
- Some speakers in North America distinguish the vowels in cot and
caught and others do not; this is not salient to most non-linguists.
 III. Linguistic variable:

- You do not always have to drop every g, that is, always say singing as
singin’. Labov says that ‘we observe listeners reacting in a discrete way. G-
dropping is a marker everywhere English is spoken.

- People are aware of markers, and the distribution of markers is clearly

related to social groupings and to styles of speaking.
IV. Idiolect:

- An idiolect is an individual's distinctive speech. A language pattern that is

considered unique to those who speak a person's language or dialect.

- Idiolects which comes from the Greek idio meaning "one'sown" and the
common linguistic ending "lect". So an idiolect is essentially the specific
way an individual speaks.
IV. Idiolect:

- This includes their vocabulary ,grammar, pronunciation and anything else

that affect the way they talk.

- Your idiolect is constantly changing as you learn new words, move to

different regions and even as you age.

- Like your fingerprint, your idiolect is unique. It’s kind of like a micro-
dialect.
IV. Idiolect:

Example:
- Idiolect is the term that is sometimes used to refer to the individualised
dialect (and accent) that speakers use.

- For example, when we use a more prestigious accent in formal situations

(eg 'telephone voice') or when we try to be accepted by younger members of
society by using modern slang expressions (Yo dudel).
IV. Idiolect:

- According to e2f, the language or languages spoken by each individual.

For example: if you are multilingual and can speak in different registers
and styles, your idiolect comprises several languages, each with multiple
registers and styles.
IV. Idiolect:

- An idiolect is an individual’s way of speaking, including sounds, words,

grammar, and style.

- The first author of this book, Wardhaugh, speaks in such a way that he is
regarded as North American almost everywhere he goes but in certain
aspects shows his origins in the north of England.

- He pronounces grass and bath with the vowel of cat, does not pronounce
the r’s in car and cart, and distinguishes the vowels in cot and caught (and
pronounces the latter word exactly like court).
IV. Idiolect:

- Directions of influence There are several possible relationships between

language and culture.

+ For instance, given the evidence of the age-grading phenomenon (i.e.,

young children speak differently from older children, and, in turn, children
speak differently from mature adults), we could argue that the social
organization of age groups influences the language used in these groups.
IV. Idiolect:

+ Another possible piece of evidence for this direction of influence is

studies which show that the varieties of language that speakers use reflect
such matters as their regional, social, or ethnic origin and possibly even
their gender.

+ In vocabulary he knows Geordie dialect words like bumler ‘bumble bee,’

canny ‘nice,’ gob ‘mouth,’ hinny ‘honey,’ lug ‘ear,’ plodge ‘wade,’ and
tettie ‘potato’ but no longer uses them. His grammar, both written and
spoken, is that of Standard English.