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SociolinguisticsSociolinguistics

Exercises for Chapter 14: 2 & 7 due 6/3Problem Set 5 due 5/29

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SociolinguisticsLike Pragmatics, it’s the study of the use of languageThe study of language in its social contextsSpeech community - group of people who share some set of social conventions (socioling norms) regarding language use - EXAMPLES?Accent - pronunciationDialect - includes pronunciation (phonological/phonetic), but also includes grammatical, lexical and usage - MFL exampleSome examples of homophones for some -- hock/hawk, caller/collar, cot/caught, calm/com, Don/Dawn Variety - used as a more neutral term for dialect or language

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1) Mary = merry = marry 2) Mary = merry marry3) Mary merry = marry4) Mary = marry merry???


SociolinguisticsDialects in North America are mutually intelligible - the differences do not impede communication totallyDialect continuum – go village by village, from northwestern France to southern Italy and each adjacent village can understand each other, although Parisians cannot understand Romans.

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SociolinguisticsLinguistic variation and change

Social Factors:StyleREGION - what are the major dialects/accents spoken in America?Sex/GenderSocial classAgeEthnicity

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SociolinguisticsStyle or register - what does this mean? Formal/informalJargon is specific vocabulary tied to a specific event or setting (snowboard jargon, linguistic jargon, computer jargon, etc)Slang - helps to show in- and out-group membership. Fad new words or new meanings on old words - EXAMPLES?

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Sociolinguistics - regionWhat are the different regional accents in your opinion?

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Regional varieties described in terms of lexical choices done through Linguistic Atlas creationDialectologists looked at NORMs =

old men in the sticks! (non-mobile old rural men)

Asked what is the word you use for...Plotted variation on a map and drew lines – isoglosses (see image )Now sociolinguists look at urban populations and exam different regions in terms of what is happening in the cities

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SociolinguisticsLinguistic variation and change – cot vs. caught

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Regional difference is post-vocalic r (car, card, guard, etc)William Labov - NYC - listen to a New YorkerStyle – attitudes about varieties

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Remember this???Coffee shop with a sign:“We’re sorry - no blended drinks today.The blender is broke.”

This sign was in Portland area – where would you expect to see it (based on stereotypes – not your opinion if they’re real) [stereotypes based on class/education/income]



Style and ling change interacts with social class William Labov’s department store study

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There are many different varieties - what is correct?Standard English is just one of many different varietiesLinguistics try to describe these varieties and all the varieties are equal in linguistics termsWhat would happen if I said that Standard English meant that you have to distinguish between cot~caught, tot~taught, hock~hawk, Don~dawn, collar~caller? How would that make you feel?

Are other dialects mutually intelligible – here some sounds here from the Northern Cities area: Northern Cities Shift (not #5)

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Regional difference by vowel production shifts (language change) over timeNorthern Cities Shift (play Chicago sample - 3mins)

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The Southern Shift (Play Arkansas 2mins; play Eng 3mins;

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The California/Canada Shift (Play Cali - 1:45; Ontario 2:15)

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Ethnicity - Chicano English, African American Vernacular English, Native American English; etc.AAVE - shares features with other English dialectsTables 15.13 and 15.14 on p. 517 shows AAVE featuresPhonological features part of other varietiesHabitual be, copula deletion - more elaborate than standard English The coffee cold today. The coffee be cold here.

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Ethnicity - African American Vernacular English,

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Ethnicity - African American Vernacular English,

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SociolinguisticsGender variable - different degree of usage for men and womenDo men and women speak differently?What are the assumptions here...

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SociolinguisticsSome say... women use more hedges in their speech - EXAMPLES? TRUE OR FALSE?Grammatical gender - not directly related to real men and women, but most langs with gram gender do use the masc forms as generic (ellos vs. ellas)The switch from he as “neutral” pronoun to they

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SociolinguisticsSex differences of linguistic behavior: DiscourseHedgesInterruption - men have been found to interrupt women more than vice-versa (even when woman is a doctor and power is involved)In a review article looking at 63 studies investigating the amount of talk by sex (studies from 1951-1991) - only 2 of these studies found women to talk more overall, but there are differences with respect to topic and formality of situation See here for more details

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SociolinguisticsRobin Lakoff, 1975, “women’s language”

Tag questionsRising intonation for declarative statements “Empty” adjectives (divine, lovely)Specialized women’s vocabulary (color terms)Frequent use of emphasis (“speaking in italics” - What a beautiful hat)Intensive so (You are so fired)Politeness devices and hypercorrect grammar (women use more standard language; more indirect requests)Hedges (well, like, sort of)Women don’t tell jokes

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SociolinguisticsContact linguistics – when languages come into contact

Pidgin – a language created by people to communicate (usually for commerce). Usually uses the lexical items from the dominant language (superstrate) (colonizing language like English, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, French) and uses other aspects of grammar from the native languages where the pidgin occurs (substrate languages). Always acquired as a second language, and is relatively transparent and simplistic. Where pidgins are used are limited – usually in the marketplace.

Creole – the development of a pidgin when spoken as a first/native language by children. At this point, the language becomes more complex as it evolves. The use of creoles are expanded to all aspects of social life (at home, in the church, as well as in the marketplace).

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Pidgin Creole

Contact language that arose naturally Yes Yes

Has native speakers Not usually Always

Linguistic form and grammar are... Reduced* Expanded*

Restricted in contexts of use Yes No

Stable and independent norms No Yes

Fully adequate natural language No Yes

Pidgins and Creoles

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Pidgins and Creoles

2. Steretwe taem Jisas i go soa, 2. When he had stepped out of the boat,

wanfela man wea i stap long berigiraon i kamaot fo mitim hem.

immediately a man out of the tombs met him.

Desfala man ia devol nogud i stap long hem. This man was possessed by an unclean spirit.

3. Ples bulong hem nao long berigiraon. 3. He lived in the cemetery;

Bikos hem i karangge tumas, and no-one could restrain him any more, even with chains,

no man i save taemapim. because he was too strong.

4. Plande taem olketa i hankapem han an lek bulong hem,

4. For he had often been restrained with shackles and chains on his arms and legs,

bat hem i smasing olketa nomoa. but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces,

No man i storong fitim fo holem. and no one had the strength to subdue him.

Solomon Islands Pidjin

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“Do You Speak American” – use video for examples of linguistic variation for final

Watch clips of video in class – the website here:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/

My article on Portland speech is here:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/pacificnorthwest/

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