Introduction to Semioties

I. Language variation:
Different people coming from various social backgrounds tend to speak different languages and
dialects. Any form of speaking is called a variety, and it is divided into two parts:
• Langauge
• Dialect

1- Langauge and Dialect:

Two criteria are generally used for making a distinction between language and dialect:

1.1. Mutaul intelligibility:

- Two varieties are mutually intelligible if speakers can understand each other. If they cannot, they
are considered different languages.

1.2. Possession of literature

- A language should have its own legacy and literature. However, this criterion is inadequate
because all varieties have some form of literature, whether oral or written

➢ In general,There are many dialects of a language, depending on how detailed you want to be. For
example, English has Scottish, Yorkshire, Australian, Cockney, and New York dialects. Arabic has
Moroccan, Algerian, Libyan, Iraqi, and Egyptian dialects.

2- Standardization:
- Once a dialect becomes an official language, it goes through standardization. This means the
language is codified, with its phonology, morphology, syntax, spelling, and vocabulary
standardized. A dialect is considered a language if it is standardized and made official.
- One a dialect has been accorded the status of official langauge, it becomes subject to the peocess
of
3- Vernaculars:
- Vernaculars are non-standard dialects of a language, or dialects that are historically unrelated but
functionally interact with the standard language. The dialects used in connection with Standard
Arabic, like Moroccan Arabic or other Arabic dialects, can be seen as vernaculars because they
lack standardization and codification.

4- Accent:
- The term "accent" refers to how a language is pronounced, without involving any differences in
vocabulary or grammar. It mainly involves phonological variation.
 - Moroccan Arabic speakers speak Moroccan Arabic fluently, as accent often reveals a person's
background.

5- Speech community:
- A speech community is a group of people who use the same language. However, the concept of a
speech community or language community is somewhat vague and should be understood flexibly.
Gumperz (1962) uses the term "linguistic community" to describe a small group of people who
are known for their specific way of speaking.

Arabic langauge community

Maghreb langauge community

Moroccan language community

Speech community

Speech langauge community

Different dialects

Different accent

6- Idiolect
- Idiolect refers to an individual's unique way of speaking at a certain time. It can change over time,
especially with shifts in social class. A person may have multiple idiolects, using different ones in
various social situations. Like clothing, an idiolect reflects a person's social and personal behavior.

7- Linguistic Repertoire:
- Linguistic repertoire refers to all the language skills and vocabulary that a person has mastered,
allowing them to communicate with others.

8- Register
- A register is a style of speech used by a speaker or a group of speakers who typically have the
same job or engage in the same activity. It can be spoken or written, like the specialized language
used in the media. It can also be formal, used in professional settings, or informal, like casual
conversations. A register is influenced by people's occupations or professions.
II. Language and Social Context

One's linguistic repertoire varies according to age, sex, ethnicity, social, and educational background.
Social context determines the type of variety or style an individual may use. In other words,
linguistic varieties are influenced by social factors, which we call styles. A speaker's language may
vary based on:

1. Profession:
Occupation plays a significant role in language variation. For example, the language used by
carpenters differs from that used by painters, which is distinct from the language of computer
scientists. Each profession has its specialized jargon or vocabulary.

2. Medium of Discourse:
Language also varies depending on whether it's written or spoken. Written language tends to lack
contracted forms and colloquialisms, while spoken language allows for contractions,
interjections, and slang words.
- "I have been to Paris" (written)
- "I've been to Paris" (spoken)
- "He is French" (written)
- "He's French" (spoken)

3. Topic:
Every topic has its own variety. For instance, a scientific topic like medicine requires a formal
variety and technical vocabulary, whereas a casual topic like housekeeping calls for an
informal variety and everyday vocabulary.

4. Interlocutor:
The person being addressed plays an important role in language variation. When talking to a
friend, an informal variety is usually used, and speech is relaxed. However, when the
interlocutor holds a different social status or rank, a formal variety is employed.
III. Language and the individual speaker:
1- Regional varieties:

Each area has its own regional variety, which may differ in phonology, lexicon, or even syntax. A
geographical area is associated with a certain accent, vocabulary, and perhaps grammar.

2- Social Varieties
Like regional varieties, social varieties involve differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and
grammar. Each social variety reflects the speech of a particular class. For instance, working-class
people might speak a variety considered less correct, producing sentences that do not always follow
standard English grammar:

• "She go" instead of "She goes" (dropping the -s)

• "He can't read nothing" instead of "He can't read anything" (double negation)

In contrast, upper-class people use standard English because they are educated, and their variety
distinguishes them from the working class.

3- Sex Varieties:
A speaker’s language also reflects their gender. Men's language is often different from women's.
Men's speech may include words and forms that indicate masculinity, often using taboo and vulgar
words, which are considered inappropriate for women. However, among young women, vulgar words
might be used occasionally for fun or to express closeness.

4- Ethnic Varieties:

A speaker usually adopts the linguistic forms used by their ethnic group. For example, the French
spoken in the Maghreb region includes borrowings from dialectal Arabic:

• "Tu bois bzzaf" instead of "Tu bois beaucoup"

In America, there are two major ethnic varieties: Black English, spoken by Black people, and White
English, spoken by White people. Black English is distinct because it has its own linguistic forms and
peculiarities:

• "He angry" instead of "He is angry"

• "Sometimes she be fair" instead of "She is sometimes fair"
IV. Diglossia,bilingualism and code-switching
1- Diglossia:
• Definition: Diglossia is when two varieties of a language are used in the same community.
One variety is "high" (formal) and the other is "low" (informal).
• High Variety: Codified, standard, official language used in formal settings like schools and
institutions.
• Low Variety: Spoken by everyone in the community, used in everyday conversation, and is
often unwritten and unstandardized.
• Example in Morocco: Classical Arabic is the high variety, used in religion and literature,
while Moroccan Arabic (Darija) is the low variety, spoken in daily life.

2- Bilingualism:
• Definition: Bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages. Multilingualism is the ability
to speak more than two languages.
• Example: In Canada, people speak both French and English. In Morocco, people may speak
Tamazight, Darija, English, French, and Standard Arabic.
• Types of Bilingualism:
o Compound Bilingualism: Both languages are learned together and are equally
strong. For example, a child learning Moroccan Arabic and Standard Arabic
simultaneously.

If you asked him about a plate he will say "ktab" and if you asked him to say it in the
other variety (Standard one) he will say "‫"كتاب‬

Something if his parents are coming from different countries he will acquire those two
varieties by heart and equally. (Book= ktab) in case one of his parents is Moroccan and
the other is Britain...

o Co-ordinate Bilingualism: The two languages are used in different contexts and are
kept separate in the mind. For example, speaking English with a professor and
Moroccan Arabic with family.

o Subordinate Bilingualism: One language is dominant, and the other is secondary.

The dominant language is often the mother tongue, and the second language is
translated through it.

When I write an essay in one those two languages, my mother tongue since I acquire it
becomes dominant, and I think in that variety, or I find a specific vocabulary in this
 variety before the other languages I learned, it means that my mother tongue affect
English/French, this is due to mastering one language more than the other.

3- Bilingualism without Diglossia:

• Definition: Both languages are used equally, with no one being higher or lower.
• Example: In Canada, both French and English are used in formal situations equally

4- Bilingualism with Diglossia:

• Definition: Two languages are used, but one is high (formal) and the other is low (informal).
• Example: In Morocco, Standard Arabic and Standard Tamazight are high varieties, while
Moroccan Arabic, Tarifit, Tamazight, and Soussi are low varieties.

5- Diglossia without Bilingualism:

• Definition: One high variety and one or more low varieties are used, but without equal
bilingualism.
• Historical Example: Languages like Spanish, French, and Italian were considered high varieties
due to the power of their countries, while people also spoke their native languages in informal
settings.

6- Code-switching
• Definition: Switching between two languages or dialects within a conversation, often within a
single discourse or sentence. This is common among bilinguals.
• Code-switching:lexical or pharasal, adding morphemes from M.A

Borrowing: inserting words from english or french

- lexical borrowing only

- No modification for the words being borrowod
V. Pidgins,Creoles and Lingua Frances:
1- Pidgins
Pidginization is the process of creating a new language or variety from two existing languages or
varieties. Pidgins are practical languages used for trade and communication between people from
different communities.
They have specific characteristics:

• They are not native languages for anyone and will disappear if not developed into independent
languages through creolization.
• They lack inflectional morphology, meaning they often don't have inflectional morphemes.
• Pidgins are based on widely spoken or trade/colonial languages. For example, during French
colonization, Moroccans spoke a pidginized version of French to communicate with French
administrators and military officers.

2- Creoles:
Creoles are considered normal languages with unique origins in pidgins. A creole forms when
children start learning a pidgin as their native language. A creole can become an official language
after standardization, or it might be considered a patois, an unwritten regional variety.
3- Linga Francas:

Lingua francas are languages or varieties widely used for trade and communication in a community
where many languages and dialects are spoken. Any language can function as a lingua franca.
VI. Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning in language, a subfield of linguistics. It can be divided into lexical
semantics and compositional semantics.
Lexical semantics: the meanings of word
1- Dictionary Definitions: Dictionaries explain word meanings using other words and their
meanings.

2- Word Senses: Words are connected to senses, which are mental representations of their
meanings. This is how humans store word meanings in their minds.
a. Dictionary-Style Definitions: Dictionaries are practical tools for people who already speak
a language. They do not make theoretical claims about meaning. Dictionary definitions
provide paraphrases without explaining meanings in simpler terms.

b. Mental Image Definitions: We have mental images in our heads to help us understand
reality. However, mental images alone cannot fully explain a word's meaning because
different people may have different mental images for the same word.

c. Usage-Based Definitions: Knowing a word means knowing when it is appropriate to use

that word to convey a particular meaning or grammatical relationship.

3- Word reference: Another part of a word's meaning is its reference. Proper names refer to
specific entities, like "China" refers to the country China, and "Barack Obama" refers to the
person Barack Obama.
Common nouns like "cat" or "woman" refer to categories of things. Intransitive verbs, like
"swim," refer to sets of actions, while ditransitive verbs, like "offer" or "give," accept two
objects.

4- Meaning relationships: Words can be related in various ways, including phonologically,

morphologically, syntactically, and semantically.
• Hyponymy: When word X (like "kitty") is a type of word Y (like "cat"). For example,
"kitty" is a hyponym of "cat."
• Synonymy: Two words that have the same reference, such as "start" and "begin" or
"sofa" and "couch."
• Antonymy: Two words with contrasting meanings.
o Complementary Antonyms: Existent vs. non-existent, alive vs. dead.
o Gradable Antonyms: Wet vs. dry, easy vs. hard.
o Reverses: Put together vs. take apart, ascent vs. descent.
o Converses: Lend vs. borrow, send vs. receive.