University “Goce Delchev” – Stip * Faculty of Philology * English Language and literature

Sociolinguistics Essay - Homework * PhD Sashka Jovanovska

Short Essay Questions - Homework

General Instructions

Write the essay item below with a precise answer of no less than one page and no more than
three pages. The essay must have Cover page. All answers must be typed with a #12 font,
double-spaced, and contain one inch margins.

Essay 1: Study in Varying Speech – Simeoncho Todosiov

As speakers of a language, we vary our speech depending upon whom we are speaking to.
Try this simple experiment. Find a person that you are close to--spouse, child, or significant
other--and in your next conversation speak in complete and grammatical sentences. You
should observe a reaction of some sort in a short period of time. Keep up this behavior for a
little while.
After you finish, tell your subject what you were doing and ask him/her to explain the
reaction that he/she had.
Write up the results of your study and include the following:

 How long did you speak the way that you did?
 Describe the setting you were in when you did the study ( for example, at the dinner
table).
 What was your subject's reaction?
 What explanation did your subject give for his/her reaction?
 Is your subject's explanation adequate?
 Why do you think that your subject reacted the way he/she did?
 What have you learned about the way that you normally speak to people that you are
close to?

Essay 2: Standard and Non-standard Dialects – Dragana Stankovski

Address each of the statements and questions below about standard and non-standard
dialects.

 Define standard dialect.

 Define non-standard dialects.
 Provide a few examples of how any non-standard dialect of American English differs
grammatically from Standard American English.
University “Goce Delchev” – Stip * Faculty of Philology * English Language and literature
Sociolinguistics Essay - Homework * PhD Sashka Jovanovska
 How are the two types of dialects evaluated by society?
 In general what social characteristics distinguish the speakers of the two types of
dialects?

Essay 3: Networks - Tea Krsteska

List the six people with whom you communicate most frequently. Designate yourself "A" and
draw lines from A to the other six people. Now draw lines between those of the six who
communicate frequently with each other.

Are you a member of a dense or loose network?

Are you involved in a simplex or multiplex network?
Briefly describe your network.

Essay 4: Language Variation – Iva Mileva

Studies in quantitative sociolinguistics are correlational. In such studies the dependent

variable is always the linguistic variable.

What are some of the independent variables used by sociolinguistics? Explain why the same
independent variables are not of equal importance in all societies.

What are some of the consistebt patterns of variation that have been found? For example,
what is the relationship between the prestige variant of a variable and socio-economic class?

Essay 5: Explaining Language Differences Based on Gender – Anastazija Gerasimova

This prompt has three sections:

 What are some of the grammatical differences between the language of men and
women that have been revealed in linguistic research?
 In your own words briefly describe two of the possible explanations for these
grammatical differences.
 In your opinion, is one of them more plausible than the other? Why?