Language in Society

Sociolinguistics

› the area of language and society

› shows how our use of language is governed by such factors as
age, class, gender, race, etc.
 Idiolect
› individual speakers of English do not speak exactly alike
› differences are the result of age, gender, social situation, and
where and when the language was learned
› differences are reflected in word choices, the pronunciation of
words, and grammatical rules

The linguistic system of one person, differing in some details

from that of all other speakers of the same dialect or language.
 Dialects
› different groups of people who speak the same language speak it differently
› mutually intelligible forms of a language that differ in systematic ways =
dialect
› not an inferior or degraded form of a language
› when dialects become mutually unintelligible, these dialects become
different languages
› however, languages are officially recognized and determined by political and
social considerations
› e.g.
– Danes – Danish, Norwegians – Norwegian, Swedes – Swedish but different languages
– Hindi and Urdu (Pakistan and India) –mutually intelligible “languages” but different
writing systems
– Mandarin and Cantonese – mutually unintelligible but considered as dialects of Chinese
 Dialect
› dialects and languages reflect the underlying grammars and
lexicons of their speakers
› not easy to draw a distinction between dialects and languages on
strictly linguistic grounds
› there is no sudden major break between dialects
› dialects merge into each other, forming a dialect continuum
– e.g. state borders of Malaysia
 Regional Dialect

› a distinct form of a language spoken in a particular geographical

area
› also known as a regiolect or topolect
› signals where a person comes from
› differentiated by features of linguistic structure—i.e., grammar
(specifically morphology and syntax) and vocabulary
› phonological differences are also prominent feature of regional
dialects
https://www.slideshare.net/EkaAndriyani/15-dialect-of-english
http://www.csstoday.com/Item/3816.aspx
Enjoy the video
Quick Task
› Work in groups.
› Find examples of differences in English dialect across the world.
› Note the category of the differences i.e. vocabulary, grammar and
phonology
 Social Dialects

› social boundaries and class differences often define regional

dialects
› different dialects of a language evolve within social groups
› social boundaries may be based on socioeconomic status,
religious, ethnic, and racial differences, country of origin, and
even gender
 Social Dialects
› middle-class American and British speakers - distinguishable from
working-class speakers
› in Baghdad, the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish groups - speak
different varieties of Arabic
› in India, different dialects of a standard regional language such as
Hindi, Gujarati, or Bengali are used depending on the social caste
they belong to
› in America, many speakers of African descent speak a different
dialect than those of European, Asian, or Hispanic descent
› women and men each have their own distinguishing speech
characteristics
 The “Standard”

“A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has

no right to be anywhere— no right to live. Remember that you are
a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech:
that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and
Milton and the Bible; and don’t sit there crooning like a bilious
pigeon.”

Prof. Higgins (Pygmalion)

 Standard English
› Standard English is the variety of English which is used, with
minor regional and national variations, as a world language.
› Standard English may also be referred to as 'correct' English.
› language purists consider the dialect used by political leaders and
national newscasters as the correct form of the language.
– the “superior” English
– Standard American English (SAE) & Received Pronunciation (RP)
– has social function – upper class vs non upper class
 Standard English

› No dialect is more expressive, less corrupt, more logical, more

complex, or more regular than any other dialect or language.
› They are simply different.
› Dialects reflect a different set of rules or lexical items
represented in the minds of their speakers.
› “Superiority” or “inferiority” of a particular dialect or language
are simply social judgments which have no linguistic or scientific
basis.
https://www.slideshare.net/cmcgoun/standard-english-debate
https://www.tes.com/lessons/lPgeEuFvFWo4QQ/language
 Genderlects
› a number of features were identified that occurred more
frequently in women’s speech than in men’s
– women “hedge” their speech more often than men do, with expressions
like I suppose, I would imagine, This is probably wrong, sort of, but . . .
– use tag questions more frequently - He’s not a very good actor, is he?
– use words of politeness (e.g. please, thank you)
– use intensifying adjectives such as really and so (It’s a really good film,
It’s so nice of you)

Are these features signs of uncertainty or lack of confidence?

to express friendliness and solidarity, a sharing of attitudes and

values
 Genderlects
› women talk more and also that they tend to interrupt more than
men in conversation
› serious studies of mixed-sex conversations - men dominate the
talking, particularly in non-private conversation e.g. television
interviews, business meetings, and conference discussion where
talking can increase one’s status
› male dominance in speech started at an early age (e.g. classroom
behaviour)
› women typically have a more standard speech style
– less likely to use vernacular forms and h-less pronunciation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpLlT-c0zrA
› 'Genderlect' refers to the different ways of conversing that men
and women have. Neither style is right or wrong, nor more
superior or inferior than the other. These differences are
comparable to the different cultural styles of a Taiwanese and a
French conversing with each other.
› gender-based variation as concerns specific female and male
ways of speaking (i.e. conversational styles and connected
discourse features: structuring conversation; lexical differences)
Why do you think women speak more “properly” than men?
Discuss this video
Remember:
› Language
– the method of human communication, either spoken or written,
consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way
› Accent
– the manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location,
or nation / the ways in which people pronounce words
› Dialect
– a regional or social variety of a language that is different in
pronunciation, grammar, and/or vocabulary from the standard variety of
language.
 Language in Use
› Styles
– “situation dialects”
– Informal styles, although permitting certain abbreviations and deletions
not permitted in formal speech, are also rule-governed.
– For example, questions are often shortened. You can ask:
› Running the marathon? or You running the marathon? but you cannot shorten the
question to *Are running the marathon?
– use of styles is often a means of identification with a particular group
– speakers are often competent in several styles, ranging between the two
extremes of formal and informal
 Language in Use

› Slang
– metaphorical, playful, elliptical,
vivid, and shorter-lived
– recombining old words into new
meanings e.g. right on, hang-up,
and rip-off
– introduces entirely new words
e.g. barf, flub, hoodie, and dis
– ascribes entirely new meanings
to old words e.g. rave, ecstasy,
crib, weed, pot, cool

https://englishwithatwist.com/2013/10/21/10-british-slang-expressions-you-will-hear-when-visiting-london/
Language in Use

› Jargon
– specific slang terms
used in science,
profession, trade,
and occupation uses
– specialized
terminology used
for clarity of
communication
Taboo

http://sites.millersville.edu/bduncan/221/syllabus/syllabus.html
 Euphemism

› a word or phrase that replaces

a taboo word
› serves to avoid frightening or
unpleasant subjects
› a very nice way of saying
things

https://reginajeffers.blog/2015/07/09/euphemisms/
Language and Sexism

reporterindia.com
 Social attitudes
› dictionary definitions:
– doctor, n. . . . a man of great learning.
THE AMERICAN COLLEGE DICTIONARY, 1947
– “manly courage” and “masculine charm”
– “womanish tears” and “feminine wiles”
› “My cousin is a professor (or a doctor, or the chancellor of the
university, or a steelworker)” - the cousin is a man
› “My cousin is a nurse (or elementary school teacher, or clerk-
typist, or house worker),” – the cousin is a woman.
 Social attitudes

› words for women with abusive or sexual overtones abound

– dish, piece, piece of ass, piece of tail, bunny, chick, pussy, bitch, doll,
slut, cow
› fewer such sexual terms exist for men
– boy toy, stud muffin, hunk, and jock
 Gender discrimination in language
a pronoun that denotes a single sex when the Every student should have his notebook with
information being conveyed pertains equally him in class.
to either or both sexes

a job title that links the job to a single sex fireman, mailman, policeman
when either sex can perform the job

a single sex pronoun in conjunction with a The nurse awoke her patient at five a.m.
neutral job title, so that the implication is that
the job “belongs” to a single sex

any other use of language that unnecessarily early man used a system of gestures to
and arbitrarily makes gender distinctions communicate
 Efforts in creating gender-neutral / gender
inclusive language
avoiding use of a pronoun when words like “each” or “every” is used e.g. Each student must hand
in the assigned homework on Thursday

prescribing the use of words like actors for persons of any gender instead of actors and actresses

indicating the gender by using words like he or she and hero and heroine

replacing gendered title such as businessman, businesswoman, chairman, chairwoman, steward

and stewardess with business person, chairperson and flight attendant

avoiding the use of man when referring to both man and woman

eliminating the use of pronoun when using a job title e.g. The truck driver changes the travel route