An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
by Janet Holmes
by Janet Holmes
What do sociolinguists study?
Sociolinguistics is a term that refers to the study of the relationship between language and society. Sociolinguists also study how language is used in multilingual speech communities.
Dr. Clamons:
We look at English and other languages to explore how we talk both similarly and differently with and about one another, in order to investigate how language variation correlates with power and status, class, network, race and ethnic group affiliation, religion, personality, gender, sexuality, and disability.
What aspects of language are Sociolinguists interested in?
Sociolinguists are interested in explaining why people speak differently in different social contexts. They are concerned with the way people signal aspects of their social identity through language. Sociolinguists study the effect of social factors -- such as social distance, social status, age, gender and class -- on language varieties (dialects, registers, genres, etc). Sociolinguists are also concerned with identifying the social functions of language and the ways it is used to convey social meaning.
Language can be viewed as a formal system that can be profitably studied independently from the people who use it. This type of approach is often referred to in the field as the study of "formal" linguistics. However . . . if we can gain insight into how language works by studying its formal grammatical properties, we must also realize that language, as a "thing" to be studied, is necessarily a kind of simplification, because language isn't a "thing" external to human beings, but rather, something that makes up a part of who we are. Language must also be profitably studied in its social context. In so doing, we learn both about language and about ourselves, the people who use it, live with it, and live in it. (www.unc.edu)
video explaining some subtleties of the
New Zealand dialect and "NZ lingo and phrases"
video from the Regional Dialect Meme: New Zealand
Languages provide a variety of ways of saying the same thing. Linguistic variation can provide social information for analysis.
Areas of variation areas include vocabulary, sound, pronunciation,word-structure (morphology) and grammar (syntax). These provide linguistic styles for use in various social contexts. Choices may involve different dialects or quite different languages.
A variety or code is a set of linguistic forms used under specific social circumstances (domains).
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. Using the language of one domain that is typically associated with another is sometimes known as "leakage."
Areas of variation areas include vocabulary, sound, pronunciation,word-structure (morphology) and grammar (syntax). These provide linguistic styles for use in various social contexts. Choices may involve different dialects or quite different languages.
A variety or code is a set of linguistic forms used under specific social circumstances (domains).
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. Using the language of one domain that is typically associated with another is sometimes known as "leakage."
The reasons for the choices involve social considerations: participants, social settings and topic (or purpose) of interaction. There are four dimensions for analysis which relate to these social factors:
- Social Distance scale [relates to participant]
- Status scale [relates to participant]
- Formality scale [relates to setting]
- Functional scale [relates to purpose]
There are two basic function scales: Referential (informational) and Affective (emotional)
Diglossia -- refers to communities in which two languages or language varieties are used, with one being a high variety for formal situations and prestige, and one a low variety for informal situations (everyday conversation). Diglossia is a characteristic of speech communities. Individuals may be bilingual -- societies or communities are diglossic.
In the narrow or 'classic' sense, diglossia is a stable situation that has three factors:
- Two distinct varieties of the same language are used in the community, with one regarded as high (H) variety and the other as low (L) variety.
- Each variety is used for quite distinct functions; H & L complement each other.
- No one uses the H variety in everyday conversation.
Diglossia, in a broader sense, gives most weight to criterion #2, the complementary functions of two codes in a community.
Polyglossia -- the use of many codes for many purposes
Displacement may happen between varieties.
Code Switching or Code Mixing
In the Given Names Study, University of Minnesota researchers used a simple, stressed and unstressed syllable categorization system for an analysis of names from 1987-1997 sociolinguistics class lists. Using this system, the stress pattern for my given name, Vance Cameron, is “s + sww.” This represents an unusual pattern, observed in about 1% of females and 3% of males. However, this pattern is in line with the study's finding that, among males -- very few were given names beginning with a weak syllable.
The name Vance is of English origin and the meaning of Vance is "marsh dweller."
The name Holmes is of English origin and the meaning of Holmes is "from the river island."
The name Cameron is of Scottish origin and the meaning of Cameron is "crooked nose."It is also of English origin, where it means "crooked nose."
The name Vance is of English origin and the meaning of Vance is "marsh dweller."
The name Holmes is of English origin and the meaning of Holmes is "from the river island."
The name Cameron is of Scottish origin and the meaning of Cameron is "crooked nose."It is also of English origin, where it means "crooked nose."
