Language choice in multilingual communities

Choosing your variety or code

 What is Linguistic Repertoire? (John Gumperz, 1960)

• It is a loan word from the French language

• All of the linguistic varieties used in the speaking and writing
practices of a speech community
• In other words, the linguistic repertoire of a speech community
includes all the linguistic varieties (registers, dialects, styles, accents,
etc.) which exist in this community.
• In monolingual speech communities this repertoire is made up of
varieties of one single language.
• In multilingual speech communities (e.g. in Switzerland or India) it
may be comprised of several languages and may include linguistic
varieties of all these languages. 
- Standard Language: a standard variety is generally one which is
written, and which has undergone some degree of regulation or
codification (in a grammar and a dictionary).

- Vernacular language: It generally refers to a language which has not

been standardized or codified and which does not have official status.
It generally refers to the most colloquial variety in a person's linguistic
repertoire.

- Lingua franca: a language used for communication between different

language users, for people whose first languages differ, such as pidgin
between European colonizers and African slaves (Swahili).
- Accent: accents are distinguished from each other by pronunciation
 
Example: American [ædvərˈtaɪzmənt], British [ədˈvɜːtɪsmənt]

- Dialects: linguistic varieties which are distinguishable by their

vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
Example: American [trash], British [rubbish]
Example 1 (p.19)

Kalala is 16 years old. He lives in Bukavu, an African city in the east of

the Democratic Republic of the Congo-Zaire with a population of about
240,000. It is a multicultural, multilingual city with more people coming
and going for work and business reasons than people who live there
permanently. Over 40 groups speaking different languages can be found
in the city. Kalala, like many of his friends, is unemployed. He spends
his days roaming the streets, stopping off periodically at regular meeting
places in the market-place, in the park, or at a friend’s place. During a
normal day he uses at least three different varieties or codes, and
sometimes more.
 Same ethnic group Different ethnic group
(Indigenous variety/ tribal
language)

Shi  Swahili
Standard Local Standard Local Local
Formal Shi Informal Shi Zairean Kingwan Indoubil
a
Weddings Family  At Local Friends
Funerals Market place  school market
Forms place
Bills
 If we list the varieties or codes he uses regularly, we find that Kalala’s
linguistic repertoire includes three varieties of Swahili (standard
Zairean, local Swahili or Kingwana, and Indoubil),

 and two varieties of his tribal language, Shi (a formal and an informal
or casual style).

 The factors that lead Kalala to use one code rather than another are the
kinds of social factors identified in the previous chapter as relevant to
language choice in speech communities throughout the world.

 Kalala’s own linguistic repertoire and the repertoire of the person he is

talking to are basic limiting factors, for instance.
Exercise: 1 (p.21)
1.Using the information provided in the section above, which varieties
do you think Kalala will use to

(i) talk to his younger brother at home?

(ii) plan the morning’s activities with his best friend?
(iii) greet a stranger from a different tribe whom he met in the street?
 Domains of language use (Fishman, 1971)

• Social domains "are sociolinguistic contexts definable for any given

society by three significant dimensions: the location, the participants
and the topic". ... Some examples of social domains include
the domains of school, family, religion, workplace, and government.

• A domain of language involves typical interactions between typical

participants in typical settings about a typical topic. Examples of these
domains are family, friendship, religion, education and employment.
Example 3 (p. 22)
In Paraguay, a small South American country, two languages are used –
Spanish, the language of the colonisers, and Guaraní, the American
Indian indigenous language. People in Paraguay are proud that they
have their own language which distinguishes them from the rest of
South America. Many rural Paraguayans are monolingual in Guaraní,
but those who live in the cities are usually bilingual. They read Spanish
literature, but they gossip in both Spanish and Guaraní.
Table 2.3 Domains of language use in Paraguay (p. 23)

Domain Addressee Setting Topic Language

Family Parent Home Planning a family party Guaraní
Friendship Friend Café Funny anecdote Guaraní
Religion Priest Church Choosing the Sunday Spanish
liturgy
Education Teacher Primary school Telling a story Guaraní
Education Lecturer University Solving a math's problem Spanish
Administration Official Office Getting an import license Spanish
 Social factors affecting code choice
1. The participants:
(a) who is speaking and (b) who are they speaking to?
2. The setting or social context of the interaction: where are they
speaking?
3. The topic: what is being talked about?
4. The function: why are they speaking?

 Social dimensions
1. A social distance scale concerned with participant relationships
2. A status scale concerned with participant relationships
3. A formality scale relating to the setting or type of interaction
4. Two functional scales relating to the purposes or topic of interaction.