SOCIOLINGUISTIC : Introduction

INTRODUCTION TO

SOCIOLINGUISTIC

1.    Definition of Sociolinguistic

            Sociolinguists is the study of the relationship between language and society. They are interested in explaining why we speak differently in different social contexts, and they are concerned with identifying the social functions of language and the ways it is used to convey social meaning. Examining the way people use language in different social contexts provides a wealth of information about the way language works, as well as about the social relationships in a community, and the way people convey and construct aspects of their social identity through their language.

            Sociolinguistics is concerned with the relationship between language and the context in which it is used.

a.      Definition Sociolinguistic by Expert

1)       William Labov has called sociolinguistics secular linguistics, "in reaction to the contention among many linguists working in a broadly Chomskyanframework that language can be dissociated from its social functions" (Key Thinkers in Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language, 2005).

2)      Rubén Chacón-Beltrán  In An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (2013),  observes that in sociolinguistics “the stress is placed on language and its role within communication. Sociology of language, however, centers on the study of society and how we can understand it through the study of language."

3)      Hudson (1996), Sociolinguistics is “The study of language in relation to sociey…”

There are  two type of  Sociolinguistic (Sociolinguistics and Sociology of Language), are:

-          Sociolinguistics: It’s main focus is “Society on Language”

-          Sociology of Language: It’s main focus is “Languages effects on society”

b.      Expert of Sociolinguistic

1)      William Labov (1972- US)

            American linguist, widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology" of sociolinguistics. He is employed as a professor in the linguistics department of the University of Pennsylvania, and pursues research in sociolinguistics, language change, and dialectology.

2)      Basil Bernstein (1924 - 2000)- UK)

            British sociologist and linguist, known for his work in the sociology of education. Basil Bernstein made a significant contribution to the study of communication with his sociolinguistic theory of language codes.

2.      Concept of Sociolinguistic

a.      Main Concepts in sociolinguistics

1)      SpeechCommunity:Discrete group of people who use language in a unique and mutually accepted way among themselves.

2)      High/LowPrestigeVarieties:Speech habits are assigned a positive or a negative value which is then applied to the speaker.

3)      Social Network:A particular speech community in terms of relations between individual members in a community.

4)      I-Language and E-Language:Internal language applies to the study of syntax and semantics in language on the abstract level; External language applies to language in social contexts, i.e. behavioral habits shared by a community.

b.      Other important concepts in Sociolinguistic

1)      Standard Language

Standard language refers to mode of usage of most educated speakers of a language and established as the prestigious form of that language. This term is also used for that variety of a language which is considered to be the norm.

2)      Non Standard Language

The term nonstandard was originally used by linguists to refer to language varieties that had previously been labeled with terms such as vulgar.• Non standard English differs from Standard English at the level of grammar ( it does not follow the grammar or pronunciation rules of standard language ).

3)      Accent

It is a pattern or manner of pronunciation

• An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside. (geographical or regional accent)

• It can indicate the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity or social class.

• Accent can also allow to determine the speaker’s native language.

• Accents typically differ in quality of voice, pronunciation of vowels and consonants, and stress pitch ( ex: intonation in Spanish and English questions and the speech of people from Ecuadorian Coast and Sierra regions )

4)      Dialect

Dialect can be defined as standard language, or Prestige Dialect used in business, education, and media. Dialects can be described at different levels according to variations

• Phonological ( differences in pronunciation , ex: in Spanish llave ( llave) – llave (shave)

• Morphological (word structure)

• Syntactic ( it can be represented by different word order in sentences,)

• Semantic (differences in meaning, ex:football – soccer )

• Grammatical ( differences in grammar structures may depend on social status of speakers, age , gender)

5)      Jargon

      Jargon is defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. Jargon: the language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest. "Jargon" can be technical language, for instance, the language used in a given profession (medical jargon, nautical jargon, etc.)

      Jargon is used with these purpose : provide speakers of specialized domains with clear, well-defined, unambiguous terms to refer to their activities and provide speakers od a sub gruop  with a means of marking ingroup membershhip and exclude outsiders

6)      Slang

It refers to the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. It may refer to things considered taboo or euphemisms “( The substitution of an inoffensive terms such as "passed away" for "died”) .

     

3.      Subfields and Branches of Sociolinguistics

            Sociolinguistics includes some branches, they are :

1)      Anthropological Linguistics,

2)      Dialectology,

3)      Discourse Analysis,

4)      Ethnography Of Speaking,

5)      Geolinguistics,

6)       Language Contact Studies,

7)      Secular Linguistics,

8)      The Social Psychology Of Language And

9)      The Sociology Of Language

4.      Languages in contact (contact linguistics)

            Language contact occurs when two or more languages or varieties interact. The study of language contact is called Contact Linguistics, forms of influence of one language on another:

a.          Borrowing of  Vocabulary: The most common way that languages influence each other is by exchange of words.

b.          Adoption of Other Language Features: The influence can go deeper, extending to the exchange of even basic characteristics of a language such as morphology and grammar.

c.          Language Shift: The result of the contact of two languages can be the replacement of one by the other (superstratum over substratum).

d.         Stratal Influence: when people retain features of the substratum as they learn the new language and pass these features on to their children, leading to the development of a new variety.

e.          Pidginization & Creolization: People with no common language interact, developing a pidgin, which may eventually become a native language.

5.      Sociolinguistic Methods

            The standard way in which sociolinguists investigate [language] use is by random sampling of the population. In classic cases, like those undertaken in New York by William Labov, or in Norwich by Peter Trudgill, a number of linguistic variables are selected, such as 'r' (variably pronounced according to where it occurs in a word) or 'ng' (variably pronounced /n/ or /ŋ/). Sections of the population, known as informants, are then tested to see the frequency with which they produce particular variants. The results are then set against social indices which group informants into classes, based on factors such as education, money, occupation, and so forth. On the basis of such data it is possible to chart the spread of innovations in accent and dialectregionally.  (Geoffrey Finch, Linguistic Terms and Concepts. Palgrave Macmillan, 2000).

6.      Sociolinguistic Competence

            Sociolinguistic competence enables speakers to distinguish among possibilities such as the following. To get someone's attention in English, each of the utterances

1. 'Hey!',
2. 'Excuse me!', and
3. 'Sir!' or 'Ma'am!'

            That  are grammatical and a fully meaningful contribution to the discourse of the moment, but only one of them may satisfy societal expectations and the speaker's preferred presentation of self. 'Hey!' addressed to one's mother or father, for example, often expresses either a bad attitude or surprising misunderstanding of the usually recognized social proprieties, and saying 'Sir!' to a 12-year-old probably expresses inappropriate deference.