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Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics

Theme N° 8
Dimensions and Explanations of the Language Community
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Index Page

8.1. Dimensions of the Language Community 3

8.2. Social Dimensions 3
8.2.1. The Solidarity-Social Distance Scale 3
8.2.2. The Status Scale 4
8.2.3. The Formality Scale 4
8.2.4. The Referential and Affective Function Scales 5
8.3. Multilinguistic Communities 6
8.3.1. Choosing your Variety or Code 6
8.3.2. Domains of Language Use 8
8.4. Diglossia and Polyglossia 9

Complementary Resources 12
References 13
Self-Evaluation 14

Theme N° 8 Dimensions and explanations of the language community

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8.1. Dimensions of the language community

Social factors are relevant in the particular way language is used by

members of a social community, and why people do not speak in the same way
all the time. Given all this, it is necessary to add that other components also
impact on language variety, and they are: social dimensions (Holmes, 2013).

8.2. Social dimensions

Holmes (2013) states that for the analysis of variation, four different
dimensions should be taken into account.

1. A social distance scale concerned with participant relationships

2. A status scale concerned with participant relationships

3. A formality scale relating to the setting or type of interaction

4. Two functional scales relating to the purposes or topic of interaction.

8.2.1. The solidarity-social distance scale

Figure 1
Social distance scale
Intimate Distant
High solidarity Low solidarity
Note. Degree of social closeness.
Source: Holmes (2013)

Formality is a relevant dimension in linguistic variation. This term refers

to the social distance (or social closeness) that exists between interlocutors in a
given context. In other words, the environment where the interlocutors operate
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will determine which is the best linguistic choice to communicate. They will
adopt a different linguistic repertoire according to the degree of confidence and
acceptance they have. If the speakers are in an informal setting, the social
distance is high, and the other way around, if the setting is formal, the social
distance is small.

8.2.2. The status scales

Figure 2
Status scale

Superior High status

Subordinate Low status

Note. Representation of sociolinguistic divisions. Source: Holmes (2013)

This scale refers to the linguistic choices that a language user can make
to find the most appropriate words or phrases when addressing someone in a
specific social context. For example, at a school setting, students are aware of
addressing their school authorities respectfully, this is a clear case of higher
status. Similarly, people’s level of education makes a difference at the time of
speaking as this reflects a high or low status. This is what Sam’s [h] dropping
signaled in figure 3.

8.2.3. The formality scale

Figure 3
Formality scale

Formal High formality

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Informal Low formality

Note. The language formality. Source: Holmes (2013)

Formality is an important dimension in communication (written or

spoken). The social setting where the act of speech is taking place is of great
stimulus for language choice in which the degree of formality will depend on the
situation that the speakers are interacting in. Thus, in a dean’s office, at a ritual
service in a church or a quiet chat with a close friend will need a different type of
formality scale.

8.2.4. The referential and affective function scales

Figure 4
Referential and affective function scales
High Referential Low
Information Information
Content Content

Low Affective High

Affective Affective
Content Content
Note. Interaction between referential and affective scales. Source: Holmes (2013)

When people communicate, two simultaneous functions occur: the

referential and affective. The referential function provides objective and precise
information about what is spoken of, while the affective function concerns with
emotions, and tells us how someone is feeling about the information shared, the
emotion that a speaker brings to an utterance: for example,

A: How did your team play yesterday?

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B: Too bad the team lost! I hope we get another chance.

In this short conversation, it can be seen that B’s utterance gives detailed
information about the question asked Too bad the team lost! I hope we get
another chance, and at the same time, it describes how B feels and expects for
the team. It is also worth mentioning that in other circumstances, one function
will dominate the other one. Thus, in the case of radio broadcasts of the
weather forecast, the referential function (information) is more emphasized.

8.3. Multilinguistic communities

8.3.1. Choosing your variety or code

Talking about multilinguistic communities, this term relates in particular to

the meaning of multilingualism, which is defined by Deumert (as cited in
Mesthrie, 2011) as “the use of more than one language by individuals, and/or
within societies and countries”. The definition implies that around the world,
there are territories where various linguistic communities coexist and the ability
of individuals to use the languages they know to communicate daily with equal
and native-like proficiency.

Multilingualism is a phenomenon that involves most societies in the

world, and it is derived from different factors such as globalization, international
immigration, geographical mobility, economic and political transformations, and
the development of technology. However, two distinct facts have always been
there; a) geographical areas in which some neighboring countries, with linguistic
diversity, (e.g. France and Germany) share a common border that makes easier
cooperation, and communication with each other so this encourages learning of
new languages, and b) international immigration which has spread
multilingualism within different countries. The languages spoken within a society
can be official or unofficial, native or foreign, and national or international (Okal,
2014).

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These languages are commonly acquired by simple exposure to the

language, but they may also be learned using schooling or in an instructional
setting (Whardhaugh & Fuller, 2015). The way how these variety of codes are
used depends on each social context in which the speaker is interacting, that is
to say, one or more languages may be spoken at home, another at work, or one
for purposes of trade, as the example below about Mohanty´s context of talk
shows:

I use Oriya in my home, English in my workplace, Hindi for

television viewing, Bengali to communicate with my domestic
helper, a variety of Hindi-Punjabi-Urdu in marketplaces in Delhi,
Sanskrit for my prayer and religious activities, and some
conversational Kui with the Konds for my research in their
community. These languages fit in a mutually complementary and
non-competing relationship in my life. (Mohanty 2006, p. 263, as
cited in Whardhaugh & Fuller, 2015, p.83)

In this example, Mohanty describes the different languages or varieties

(codes) he uses in particular sets of situations (or domains) according to his
communicative needs. The domains or situations constitute an essential
element of linguistic choice.

8.3.2. Domains in language use

The social context or domain in which the interlocutors operate involves

certain social factors that will help to choose the appropriate code for
communication: participants, setting and topic of the discussion are the factors
that should be taken into account (Holmes, 2013).

Example

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In Paraguay, a small South American country, two languages are used –

Spanish, the language of the colonizers, and Guaraní, the American Indian
indigenous language. People in Paraguay are proud that they have their own
language which distinguishes them from the rest of South America. Many rural
Paraguayans are monolingual in Guaraní, but those who live in the cities are
usually bilingual. They read Spanish literature, but they gossip in both Spanish
and Guaraní.

Table 1
Domains of language use in Paraguay
Domain Addressee Setting Topic Language
Family Parent Home Planning a family party Guaraní
Friendship Friend Café Funny anecdote Guaraní
Choosing the Sunday
Religion Priest Church Spanish
liturgy
Primary
Education Teacher Telling a story Guaraní
school
Education Lecturer University Solving a maths problem Spanish
Administration Official Office Getting an import licence Spanish
Note: Urban bilingual Paraguayans selected different codes in different situations. Source:
Holmes, 2013.

8.3. Diglossia and polyglossia

Diglossia is a term coined by the American linguist Charles Ferguson

(1959) to refer to a multilingual speech community that uses “two or more
languages or variants of the same language, used for different purposes, in
different contexts with different interlocutors” (Areiza, Cisneros, & Tabares,
2012).

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As it has been mentioned before, speakers use variants of speech of a

language when they face different domains that generate linguistic functions
required for day-to-day situations. This variation does not affect the grammatical
structure (the abstract formal system) which means that variations only occur in
phonetic, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and pragmatic matters.

Sociolinguistics distinguishes two types of diglossia: “narrow” (or

“classic”) and “broad” diglossia (Deumert, as cited in Mesthrie, 2011). In the
narrow sense, Holmes (2013) explains that diglossia has three crucial features:

1. Two distinct varieties of the same language are used in the community,
with one regarded as a high (or H) variety and the other a low (or L)
variety.

2. Each variety is used for quite distinct functions; H and L complement

each other.

3. No one uses the H variety in everyday conversation.

On the one hand, the “L” (low) variety is simply the mother tongue of the
member of the speech community. It is used in informal spoken settings. On the
other hand, the “H” (high) variety is always used in formal spoken interactions. It
is learned in formal education.

An example can be seen in Arabic-speaking countries where Classical

Arabic ('al-fusha), “H” variety, is used in religious and official contexts, while the
different varieties of colloquial Arabic (aljamía), “L” variety, are used in family
and daily communication.

In broad diglossia, certain speech communities use two different

languages rather than two varieties of the same language. They exist as stable

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elements in the society in which they are used. Each language plays a concrete
functional, and complementary role in the speech community; thus, one
language could be for “H” functions and the other one for “L” functions. The
choice of “H” and “L” varieties will depend on the domains and social
characteristics such as ethnicity, religion, and/or class. For example, in Africa
and Asia where the former colonial language (English, French, or Portuguese)
functions as the “H” variety and the local languages as “L” varieties.

A similar situation occurs with polyglossia which refers to communities

that use more than two languages where a variety of codes can serve many
communicative purposes. This is the case of Mandarin and formal Singapore
English as “H” varieties and Cantonese and Hokkien “L” varieties in China.

Theme N° 8 Dimensions and explanations of the language community

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Complementary resources
• Video about Diglossia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pv-bqtjSkE

Theme N° 8 Dimensions and explanations of the language community

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References
Areiza, R., Cisneros, M., & Tabares, L. (2012). Sociolingüística: enfoques
pragmático y variacionista (2a. ed.). Ecoe Ediciones.
Deumert, A. (2011). Multilingualism. In R. Mesthrie, (Ed.) The cambridge
handbook of sociolinguistics, (pp. 261-282). Cambridge University Press.
Holmes, J. (2013). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Routledge.
Okal, B. (2014). Benefits of multilingualism in education Universal Journal of
Educational Research, 2(3), 223-229. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2014.020304
Wardhaugh, R. & Fuller, J. (2015). An introduction to Sociolinguistics. Wiley
Blackwell.

Theme N° 8 Dimensions and explanations of the language community