Introduction to Sociolinguistics

• What is sociolinguistics?
• What do sociolinguists study?
• Why does someone use one language instead
of another?
• What are varieties?
• Can a language become extinct?
• What can we do to keep a language alive?
• Do men and women talk differently?
 Macrolinguistics and microlinguistics
• Microlinguistics deals with phonetics, grammar,
etc. on the individual example level;
• Macrolinguistics deals with comparative studies
among languages, language families, large
influences on language development.
• Microlinguistics refer to phonetics, phonology,
grammar and semantics, whereas
• Macrolinguistics covers sociolinguistics, discourse
analysis and other related discipluines.
 Linguistics and Sociolinguistics
• In pure linguistics, the object of the study is
the language alone, independent of the
speakers and other social factors.
• Pure linguistics is about learning the grammar
and how the language works.
 What is sociolinguistics?
• Sociolinguistics is the study of the complex
relationship between language and society
1. Explaining why we speak differently in
different social contexts
2. Identifying the social functions of language
and the ways it is used to convey social
meaning.
Sociolingustics vs. sociology of language
• Sociolinguistics
Investigating the relationships between language and
society with the goal of a better understanding of the
structure of language and how languages function in
communication.
• Sociology of language
To discover how social structure can be better
understood through the study of language, e.g. how
certain linguistic features serve to characterize particular
social arrangement.
Sociolingustics vs. sociology of language

Hudson, 1980: 4-5

a. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in
relation to society
b. Sociology of language: the study of society in
relation to language
Similarity:
a. Both require systematic study of language.
 In short…
• Sociolinguistics: it’s main focus is “society on
language”
• Sociology of language: it’s main focus is
“language effects on society”
 The relationship between language and
society
• Social structure -> linguistic structure and/or
behavior