There is a great deal of internal variety in the language that people use every day.What is a variety?Hudson (1996) says a variety is a set of linguistic items with similar distribution. According to this definition the followings are varieties: Canadian English, London English, …..

Language or Dialect?

- Language and ethnicity - E.g. from china speaks Chinese

From Japan speaks Japanese From Korea speaks KoreanProblem ?!e.g. to be Chinese and American

Haugen (1966) says language and dialects are ambiguous terms. The GreekLanguage is used to refer either to a single linguistic norm or to a group of related norms.Dialect is used to refer to one of the norms.

The Frenchun dialecte a regional variety that has an associated literary tradition.un patois a regional variety that lacks literary tradition. The English Dialect is used both for local varieties of English, e.g. Yorkshire dialect, and for various types of informal , lower-class, or rural speech. >>>>> similar to what we usually consider a dialect.

Which language do you speak? Or which dialect do you speak?People who speak in the same manner may answer differently. Gumperz (1982a) says that sociohistorical factors play a crucial role in determining boundaries between languages and dialects.

ExamplesHindi and Urdu in IndiaSerbian and Croatian in YugoslaviaAnd many others

The Hindi-Urdu situation Hindi >>>> left to right, borrows from Sanskrit(An ancient Indic language) Urdu >>>> right to left, draws on Arabic Persian sources Large political and religious differences make much of small linguistic differences. (difference between India and Pakistan)

So far as everyday use is concerned, therefore, it appears that the boundary between the spoken varieties of Hindi and Urdu is somewhat flexible and one that changes with circumstances.There is considerable variety in everyday use but somewhere in the background there is an ideal that can be appealed to, proper Hindi or proper Urdu.

Power and solidarity

Power requires unequal relationship between entities( one is more important than others) e.g. money, status, influence, or language which is more powerful than any of its dialects. Solidarity is a feeling of equality which people have with each other. They have a common interest around which they will bond.

The Netherlands-German situation Thai – Lao situationThe Laos understand spoken Thai and hear Thai constantly on radio and television. Educated Laos can also read written Thai. However, Thais do not readily understand spoken Lao nor do they read the written variety. Lao is a low prestige language so far as Thais are concerned, in contrast, Thai has high prestige in Laos.

Unintelligible varieties of English.See page 28.

It isn’t unusual to French translations of American books described on their title pages as translations from ‘American’ rather than ‘English’.

standardizationStandardization refers to the process by which a language has been codified in some way. The process usually involves the development of such things as grammars, spelling books, and dictionaries, and possibly literature. It requires that a measure of agreement be achieved about what is in the language and what is not.

The standard variety is often regarded as the natural, proper, and fitting language of those who use or should use it. Once a language is standardized it becomes possible to teach it in a deliberate manner. It takes on ideological dimensions – social, cultural, and sometimes political- beyond the purely linguistic ones.

The Standardization process

Codification >>>> develop grammar, dictionaries…..Elaboration >>>>> the use of the standard in areas as literature, courts, education …..The community must agree on an idealized norm to become the standard of the language. >>>> problem >>>>social

Example:Serbs and Croats were unable to agree on a norm . their other differences reinforced their linguistics ones.In contrast, Malaysia and Indonesia are trying to reduces the differences between their languages >>>> common Islamic bond.

Standardization performs a number of functions:

1. It unifies individuals and groups within a larger community while at the same time separating it from other communities.2. Standard variety can give prestige to speakers, marking off those who employ it from those who do not. 3. Standardization can sometimes deliberately undertaken quite rapidly for political reasons. e.g. In the 19th century Finns developed their spoken language to make it serve a complete set of functions. They needed a standardized language to assert their independence from both Swedes and Russians.

Bell’s seven criteria of languages

Regional dialects

Regional= geographical areaRegional variation is an easy way to observe variety in language. Distinctive varieties i.e. noticeable differences in pronunciation , in the choices and forms of words and syntax when moving from one area to another are usually called regional dialects.

The difference between dialect and patois:

1. Patois usually describes rural forms of speech.2. Patois refers to a lower strata in society. 3. A dialect usually has a wider geographical distribution than a patois. Regional dialect >>>>>Village patois >>>>> acceptable vice versa >>>> not

Dialect and accent

Dialect when referring to regional variations confused with accent. Example, standard English >>> variety of accents >>>>>> associated with regional and social elements. e.g. region >>> accent of north America, Singapore, India, Boston, New York….

Different regions >> similar in grammar and vocabulary >> why? Speak standard English.Accent>> only appears in how they pronounce what they say.

Example of accent, (RP) received pronunciation >> it means the accent that allows one to be received in better parts of society. Old-fashioned, prestigious accent.Established in the United Kingdom.Known as the Queen’s English, Oxford English, BBC English.Taught to students learning English as a foreign language.

Social dialectsThe term dialect can also be used to describe differences in speech associated with various social groups or classes. Problem >>> how to define social group or social class? Many factors that determine social position e.g. occupation, place of residence, education, income, ethnic origin, cultural background, religion….

The three principal factors related to social dialects are:Social classReligionEthnicity Examples1. Caste in India (a system of social stratification or social differentiator) determines the variety of language (dialect) a speaker uses.

2. In Baghdad, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim inhabitants speak different varieties of Arabic. Each group uses their variety only within the group and use the Muslim variety as a lingua franca among the three groups.

3. African American English in USA is associated with a specific ethnic group. Also Italian, Jewish ……

Styles, Registers, and beliefs

1. Speakers can adopt different styles of speaking >>> speak formally, informally according to circumstances. 2. Registers are sets of language items associated with occupational or social groups. Hudson (1996) says ‘ your dialect shows who or what you are, whilst your register shows what you are doing’. e.g. airline pilots, bank managers, artists…… employ different registers. 3. people still hold on to rural dialects rather than urban dialects. Why? Rural dialects >>>> old, conservative.