Languages and Communities - Sociolinguistics - Lecture Slides, Slides of Sociolinguistics

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Socio-linguistics Languages andcommunities

Sociolinguistics “to study the relationship between language and society”(Ferguson 1966)• possible interactionsbetween language andsociety– social structure influence– language influencesociety– mutual influence– no influence

Inter-relationship betweenlinguistic items and socialevaluationsa. butter, budder, bu’erb. fishing, fishin’etc… p.26 Wardhaugh

Okay, can we define “dialect”• Nope• But I like analogy with speciation. If it isdifferent but mutually intelligible, I’d call ita dialect. If it so different that speakers cannot understand each other, a language.• But sometimes the distinction is political.Think of Chinese: Mandarin vs. Cantoneseand conversely Swedish vs Danish

EnglishScottishAmerican English

A Scots sampler

Below is a selection of Scots/English differences in threeparts (Scots on the left, English on the right). All listed formsare in current use. As regards pronunciation, whatever theirtypical speech (more Scots, more English, or mixed), amajority of the Scottish people differ in speech from otherAnglophones in two ways that are shibboleths ofScottishness: (1) a tapped or rolled alveolar

r^ in such words as

breathe ,^ world , and

there ; (2) a voiceless velar fricative as in

the^ ch^ of such words as

ach ,^ loch ,^ Bach ,^ Munich

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(2)^ Grammar lookit, mendit^

looked, mended tell/tellt, sell/sellt^

tell/told, sell/sold gae/gaed/gan^

go/went gie/gied/gien^

give/gave/given eye/een^

eye/eyes he’ll no can come the day

He won’t be able to come today ah micht could gae the morn

I might be able to go tomorrow ah dinna(e) ken^

I don’t know we couldna(e) dae it^

We couldn’t do it he’ll no be comin^

He won’t be coming that’s me awa(e) hame

I’m going home now ah, it’s yirsel^

Ah, it’s you

(3)^ Vocabulary an ashet^

a serving dish a bairn^

a child tae blether^

to talk nonsense a brae^

a slope (of a hill) braw^

fine, beautiful, handsome tae dicht^

to clean, wipe douce^

sweet, especially in manner a dwam^

a stupor, dazed state fantoosh^

flashy glaikit^

stupid-looking

Some Scots GaelicTha mi uamhasach sgith!

Dialect at one time indicated ageographical as well as linguisticdistinction

What is “Standard English”• Variety which is:– In most print sources?– Taught in schools?– The version ESL students study?

Madonna vs. Guy Richie• Sometimes standard or RP accent is valued• Sometimes dialect is valued• Elitist impulse vs socialist impulse indialectic

Historocity

• Groups link sense of identity with language.Unifying force? Divisive as well?

Autonomy

• Speakers of a language of dialect may feeldifferent and special.