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Sociolinguistics Summary 2021/2022
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A summary and notes of the lectures and chapters of the book Introducing Sociolinguistics, M. Meyerhoff (2019)
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Sociolinguistics summaryChapter 1
- Sociolinguistics pays attention to differences in how individuals say things, and the differences in
how people from different places say things, and they try to relate what they have noticed to Big
Picture problems like the fact that people think that speakers who say things one way are smarter or
more attractive or more trustworthy than speakers who say the same thing in a different way.
- Sociolinguists use a range of methods to analyse patterns of language in use and attitudes towards
language in use a major challenge that sociolinguists face is that a lot of the time speakers are
completely unaware of the ways in which language is used differently in different contexts.
- Sociolinguists are interested in both ‘social’ questions and ‘linguistic’ questions.
Social meaning: Inferences about speakers or the varietythey use and the interpretations we draw
about how those speakers are positioned in social space because of this
Interlocutor: The people who are talking together are each other’s interlocutors
Social meaning: Inferences about speakers or the varietythey use and the interpretations we draw
about how those speakers are positioned in social space because of this
Weighting: An adjustment that can be made to raw frequencies of a variant so as to take into
account any biases or skewing of its overall distribution. Expresses the probability or likelihood with
which a variant will occur in a given linguistic environment or with a given non-linguistic factor
Chapter 2
Variable: In this text, principally an abstract representation of the source of variation. Realised by
two or more variants. Cheers and chair eer and air
Variant: The actual realisation of a variable. Analogous to the phonetic realisations of a phoneme.
Constrain/constraints: If the distribution of variants is neither random nor free, and instead shows
systematic correlations with independent factors, those factors can be said to constrain the variation,
or to be the constraints on the variable.
Free/unconstrained variation The idea that some variants alternate with each other without any
reliable constraints on their occurrence in a particular context or by particular speakers.
Determinism/deterministic: The idea that there is a strong causal relationship between two factors
(i.e., one determines how the other will be). The idea that if you know the value for one factor, you
can automatically and reliably predict the value for another.
Linguistic and nonlinguistic factors: Sometimes referred to as ‘internal’ and ‘external’ factors,
respectively. The distribution of the variants of a variablemay be constrainedby or depend on other
factors in the linguistic system. (For example: Is the subject a pronoun or a full NP? Is the following
phonological segment coronal or velar?) The distribution may also be constrained by factors that lie
outside of the grammar or core linguistic system. (For example: Is the speaker talking to a close
friend or a stranger? Is there a lot of background noise?)
Dave Britain – Fens
Work by the sociolinguist Dave Britain shows how the features of different regional varieties
intersect with a range of non-linguistic features. One of his more important studies involved
studying the English spoken throughout the Fens, a low-lying part of England, north-east of London.
Britain’s study is an important one for several reasons. He reaffirms the usefulness of regional dialect
data as a resource for inducing linguistic principles and constraints on varia
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,tion and change. He also illustrates very nicely the way in which sociolinguists have to think about a
whole range of different issues when analysing data.
Regional dialectology: The identification and mapping of boundaries between different varieties on
the basis of clusters of similar and different features in particular regions, towns or villages.
Principle of maximum differentiation: An idea that there may be functional constraints on
phonological variation preventing the realisations of one phoneme overlapping or encroaching too
much on the realisations of another.
Reallocate/reallocation: Reassignment or reanalysis of forms in contact in a systematic way, e.g., as
allophonically distributed variants of a phoneme.
Intermediate forms: Forms emerging following contact between closely related varieties that fall in
between the various input forms.
Social dialectology: The study of linguistic variation in relation to speakers’ participation or
membership in social groups, or in relation to other nonlinguistic factors.
Many factors influence the diffusion of linguistic innovations through a community: communication
networks, distance, time and social structure
Le Page and Tabouret-Keller
A lot of the differences in how speakers use language depends on what kind of person we perceive
ourselves to be, or how we want to be perceived by others acts of identity: the idea that different
ways of using language (i) constitute social actions, and (ii) involve expressing social and personal
identities
Martha’s vineyard: a study of social dialects (Willian Labov)
In short, by combining the linguistic facts with the social facts he had learnt about the island, Labov
was able to argue that the variation was not free and unconstrained. He argued that the
intraspeaker variability reflected and constructed an underlying social opposition: an opposition
between locals and non-locals. Linguistic differentiation seems to serve the purpose of social
differentiation.
Talig:
• Vaker [əi] als volgende klank /t, s, p, f/ • Vaker [ai] als volgende klank /l, r, n, m/
Sociaal: up-island vs down-island, wel of niet vissen, leeftijd, houding tov Martha’s Vinyard
Als je in het landelijke boveneilandse deel van Martha’s Vinyard woont,en een traditioneel beroep
uitoefent, en tussen de 30 en 40 jaar oud bent, en het er leuk vindt vaker [əi] dan [ai] zeggen
Interspeaker variation: Differences and variation that is measured between different speakers,
individuals or social groups (sommige sprekers gebruiken de standaard vorm, laag, voor [ai])
Intraspeaker variation: Differences in the way a single person speaks at different times, or with
different interlocutors , or even within a sentence. Intraspeaker variation is a necessary corollary of
inherent variablility in grammars (sprekers gebruiken soms [əi], soms [ai])
Free variation: The idea that some variants alternate with each other without any reliable
constraints on their occurrence in a particular context or by particular speakers.
Vernacular: In this text, usually used to refer neutrally to the linguistic variety used by a speaker or a
community as the medium for everyday and home interaction. In some linguistic work, the term may
be associated with the notion of non-standard norms.
Index score: A means by which scalar variables like raising of a vowel can be converted into
quantifiable data. For example, very low variants can be assigned a score of 0, and very raised ones a
score of 3 with two intermediate levels. Aggregate scores across all tokens allow the researcher to
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,identify some speakers or groups of speakers as more or less conservative/innovative than others.
Envelope of variation: All, and only, the contexts in which a variable occurs.
Synchronic variation: Variation occurring now.
Diachronic change: Change realised over chronological time.
Stereotype: A linguistic feature that is widely recognised and is very often the subject of (not always
strictly accurate!) dialect performances and impersonations.
Marker: A variable that speakers are less aware of than a stereotype, but which shows consistent
style effects. (See also Indicator.)
Indicator: A linguistic variablewhich shows limited or no style-shifting. Stratified principally between
groups.
Group differentiation: A hypothesised function for language variation. Social (in which we can
include regional) varieties index group boundaries. In some theories of social psychology
differentiation between groups is argued to be an important basis for forming positive self-image.
Motivation: Some linguists believe there are social or psychological factors which drive or motivate
variation. Speakers of a language may be able to talk about the different goals, intentions or
motivations that are served by using one variant rather than another, but some motivations may be
subconscious and not available for such comment.
Variation in how people use language is often attributed to the following four motivations:
(i) a desire to show how you fit in with some people and are different from others;
(ii) a desire to do things that have value in the community (and associate yourself with that value);
(iii) a desire not to do things that are looked down on in the community (and have others look down
on you);
(iv) a desire to work out how others are orienting themselves to the concerns in (i) – (iii).
Lecture 1 Sociolinguistics
Variants: the different ways in which a variable can be realized
Lexical: mier / zeikleim Lexical: elevator / lift
Syntactic: zij eet / nooit / geen kaas Syntactic: I’ve already seen / I already saw
Morphological: standaardisering / -atie Morphological: learn -ed / - t
Phonological: muis / muus / moes (r) Phonological: droppin’ / dropping
Variable: abstract representation of the souce of variation
- lexical (words and their meanings)
- syntactic (combination of words to sentences)
- morphological (word formation)
- phonological (sounds)
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, - Difference in proportion of variants is relative, never absolute
- Envelope of variation / variable context
Language variation – synchronic (variation occurring now)
Gender: Male / female / transgender Age
Social class Registers & styles: Formal / informal
Etnicity: etnolects Place: Regiolects / dialects
Variation in language use
- to show how you fit in with some people and are different from others
- do things that have value in the community
- not to do things that are not appreciated
- to know how others orient themselves tot he concerns mentioned above
Language variation – diachronic (change realised over chronological time)
Variation and change
- Outcomes of change (completed stages of change) vs. The process of language change
- Source of language change is synchronic variation: A > A / B > B
- Social and regional variants might be precursors of language change
Sociolinguistics: the study of the structure and use of language in its social and cultural context
(Pride & Homes 1972: 7)
Qualitative and quantitative sociolinguistics
Observer’s paradox: ‘The aim of linguistic research in the community must be to find out how people
talk when they are not being systematically observed; yet we can only obtain these data by
systematic observations
Summary
- Language as a social phenomenon, relationship between language & society
- Language reflects / shapes social relationships between people and their positions in society
- Language use: how and with what purpose do people use language?
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