Summary
Summary - Sociolinguistics
- Course
- Institution
- Book
Notes and as a summary for the course Sociolinguistics.
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
Seller
Follow
emmaslootmaker
Content preview
S - 01/10/23Inhoud
Introduction and Chapter 1....................................................................................................................3
Knowledge of language.......................................................................................................................3
Competence and performance...........................................................................................................3
Speakers and their groups..................................................................................................................4
Language and culture.........................................................................................................................5
Language and thought........................................................................................................................5
The Boundaries of Sociolinguistics......................................................................................................5
Methodological concerns...................................................................................................................6
Chapter 2................................................................................................................................................7
Language or dialect?...........................................................................................................................7
Standardization...................................................................................................................................9
Reginal dialects.................................................................................................................................10
Social dialects...................................................................................................................................10
Used in media...................................................................................................................................11
Style, registers and genres................................................................................................................12
Chapter 3 – defining groups..................................................................................................................13
Minimal groups paradigm.................................................................................................................13
Potential pitfalls................................................................................................................................13
Speech community...........................................................................................................................13
Communities of practice...................................................................................................................14
Social networks.................................................................................................................................15
Social identities.................................................................................................................................15
Believes in language and social groups.............................................................................................16
Chapter 4..............................................................................................................................................17
Chapter 5..............................................................................................................................................22
Lingua Francas..................................................................................................................................22
Pidgin and Creole Languages: Definitions.........................................................................................22
Pidgin and Creole Formation............................................................................................................24
Geographical Distribution.................................................................................................................25
Linguistic Characteristics of P/C Languages.......................................................................................25
From Pidgin to Creole and Beyond...................................................................................................25
Other Contact Varieties: Mixed Languages.......................................................................................26
Structural features of creoles............................................................................................................26
,Chapter 6 – language variation.............................................................................................................27
Regional variation.............................................................................................................................27
Mapping dialects..............................................................................................................................27
Methods in dialectology...................................................................................................................27
Dialect mixture and free variation....................................................................................................28
The Linguistic Variable......................................................................................................................28
Variants.............................................................................................................................................28
Types of linguistic variables..............................................................................................................28
Indicators, markers, and stereotypes................................................................................................29
Social Variation.................................................................................................................................29
Social class membership...................................................................................................................29
Data Collection and Analysis............................................................................................................29
,Introduction
Introduction and Chapter 1
Sociolinguistics is the study of our everyday lives, subfield of linguistics that examines the relationship
between language and society
- How society affect language
- How language affects society
Linguistics: scientific study of human language
Attempt to make generalizations about how people use language in different contexts and to
understand how societal norms are intertwined with language.
Central issue: how people use language
Relate and express identities
Relate to other in groups
Resist and protect
we seek to analyze data so that we can make generalizations about language in society, but also to
question both our findings and the very process of doing research.
Social behavior and generalizations.
It is a study of ideas about how societal norms are intertwined with our language use.
By society, we mean a group of people who are drawn together for a certain purpose or purposes. A
group of interdepending individuals who develop their own internal norms and values.
Language: a system of linguistic communication particular to a group; this includes spoken, written,
and signed modes of communication. Arbitrary vocal/ signed symbols
Knowledge of language
Code: way of communication (language)
Multilingual when you have access to 2 or more codes
The focus of linguistics are the rules inside the heads of speakers which constitute their knowledge of
how to speak the language.
Competence and performance
Chomsky claims that it is the linguist’s task to characterize what speakers know about their language,
that is, their competence, not what they do with their language, that is, their performance.
A real language is constantly being pushed and pulled at the margins by different speakers in different
ways.
Competence: a person’s unconscious knowledge of the grammatical rules of a language (abstract, not
amenable to observation). Recognize that grammatic is correct/incorrect.
Performance: the way individuals actually use language (physically realized, can be directly observed,
measured, recorded)
- Sociolinguitstics focuses on commonalities that bind groups of speakers together and
distinguish them from others (dialects, sociolect) (accent)
- But can also investigate idiolects (individuals’ distinctive way of speaking) (hoe jij praat, hoe
je zinnen maakt) an individual’s way of speaking, including sounds, words, grammar, and
style.
, Communicatice competence: the ability to produce and understand utterances which are adapted to
their contexts of use: knowing how to use a language appropriately (which is not the same as having
grammatical competence in a language) -> out of context
Knowing a language also means knowing how to use that language, since speakers know not only
how to form sentences but also how to use them appropriately. There is therefore another kind of
competence, sometimes called communicative competence.
Descriptive and prescriptive approach
In examining language, two approaches can be distinguished:
1. Descriptive > describe: a descriptive approach describes, analyses, and explains how people
actually speak their language (appartment instead of flat)
2. Prescriptive > prescribe (to state a rule that should be carried out): a prescriptive approach is
concerned with how a language ‘should’ be spoken (e.g. enforcing the rules of a language
what is ‘correct’) (wrong grammar)
An individual speaker might use three different constructions at different times. (These different
structures for expressing the same meaning are called variants.) For sociolinguists, this linguistic
variation is a central topic.
One claim we will be making throughout this book is that variation is an inherent characteristic of all
languages at all times, and the patterns exhibited in this variation carry social meanings.
A living language not only varies, it changes. But it is limited; You cannot pronounce words any way
you please, inflect or not inflect words such as nouns and verbs arbitrarily, or make drastic alterations
in word order in sentences as the mood suits you.
Language plays a role in how we choose to identify ourselves and how we form groups with others.
(generalizations) we draw conclusions or make assumptions about people based on their language
Identities are not fixed attributes of people groups but are dynamically constructed aspects which
emerge through discourse and social behavior.
Language is indexical
- It is indicative of one’s social class, status, region of origin, gender, age group
- Indexicality: the association of a code or linguistic form with a particular social meaning
linguistic profiling: using accent, speech and other auditory cues to identify the social characteristics
of an individual (usually fir the purpose of discriminating against them)
Speakers and their groups
social identity: ‘Identity is defined as the linguistic construction of membership in one or more social
groups or categories’
What it means to be the member of a particular social category (e.g., ‘gay,’ ‘educated,’ ‘Latino’) may
vary over time, space, and situation, and how particular speakers identify with or are assigned to
these categories may also vary.
Social economic class, gender, language background, and age are only important aspects of our
identities and groups if we choose to organize our lives in that way.
Solidarity refers to the motivations which cause individuals to act together and to feel a common
bond which influences their social actions.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller emmaslootmaker. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $6.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
66579 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now