What do Sociolinguists do?

“Sociolinguists study the relationship

between language and society. They are
interested in explaining why we speak
differently in different social contexts, and
they are concerned with identifying the
social functions of language and the ways
it is used to convey social meaning.”

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 2nd edition. London: Longman, 2001, p. 1.

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 What do Sociolinguists do? 2
1. “Identify clearly the linguistic variation involved
(e.g. vocabulary, sounds, grammatical
constructions, dialects, languages)”

2. “Identify clearly the different social or non-

linguistic factors which lead speakers to use
one form rather than another (e.g. features
relating to participants, setting or function of
the interaction).”

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 2nd edition. London: Longman, 2001, p. 11.
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 Sociolinguistic Relativity
“The patterns and conventions of language
behavior, known as sociolinguistic rules or
rules of speaking…are far from universal
across cultural groups…. The norms and
values which inform speakers’ knowledge as to
what is appropriate to say to whom, and under
which conditions, show considerable variation
from community to community around the
world, not only from one language group to
another but within language groups as well.”

Wolfson, Nessa. Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL. Boston: Heinle & Heinle 3/8
Publisher, 1989, p. 14.
 Factors in Sociolinguistic
Variation (Alternative to SPEAKING
Model)
1. Participants: Who is speaking to whom?
2. Setting: Where are they speaking?
3. Topic: What is being talked about?
4. Function: Why are they speaking?

5. When
6. How

Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 2nd edition. London: Longman, 2001, p. 8.

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 Social Dimensions

 Social Distance Scale—high/low

solidarity
 Status Scale—high/low status
 Formality Scale—high/low formality
 Functional Scales
Referential—high/low information
content
Affective—low/high affective content
Holmes, Janet. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 2nd edition. London: Longman, 2001,
pp. 9-10. 5/8:6
Learner’s Responsibility

 Learn EXPLICITLY about YOUR OWN

culture's Sociolinguistic Rules so you can
become more sensitive to others.

 Learn / Internalize the Sociolinguistic Rules

of TARGET culture so maybe you can avoid
GIVING Offense AND TAKING Offense.

 Learn about CULTURE SHOCK (at least

some aspects of it) better
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 Language Teacher's
Responsibility 1
“It is not the responsibility of the language
teacher [as] linguist to enforce Anglo-Saxon
standards of behavior, linguistic or
otherwise. Rather, it is the teacher's job to
equip the student to express her/himself in
exactly the way s/he chooses to do so—
rudely, tactfully, or in an elaborately polite
manner. (Thomas 1983:96)”
Wolfson, Nessa. Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL. Boston: Heinle & Heinle
Publisher, 1989, p. 31. 7/8
 Language Teacher's
Responsibility 2
“What we want to prevent is her/his being
unintentionally rude or subservient. It
may, of course, behoove the teacher to
point out the likely consequences of
certain types of linguistic behavior.
(Thomas 1983:96)"

Wolfson, Nessa. Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL. Boston: Heinle & Heinle
Publisher, 1989, p. 31. 8/8