LANGUAGE IN ITS SOCIAL

SETTINGBy Betz Lund

LANGUAGE IS A SOCIAL PHENOMENON

Language expresses solidarity or group identity, separating insiders and outsiders, creating those in and out of the language loop.

Groups can be determined by geographyNortherners put groceries in a bag but

Southerners use a sack Groups can be small

families, friends, roommates, colleagues, couples

Larger social groups have dialects based on class, ethnicity, gender, or age

EXAMINING SOCIAL ISSUES WITH SOCIAL DIALECTS

African-American Vernacular English Also called Ebonics or Black EnglishMainly used by African Americans from

working class or inner-city areas. Not strictly used by African Americans, those

living in inner cities or in opposition to mainstream culture will use it.

Some find Ebonics as ignorant, others see is as a symbol of pride and some see it as a language separate from English.

With enough exposure anyone can pick up the lingo of a new context

GENDER DIFFERENCES Gender roles not gender influence language 1970’s- US Department of Labor tried to

eliminate gender bias Use “flight attendant” not “stewardess”

Users adapt a word to mean something different from original intent

Ms was meant to be female equivalent of Mr where marital status is not identified

It is used as trendy alternative to “Miss” or by widowed or divorced women

“Guys” is gender neutral though guy is usually masculine, the plural can refer to a group of all females

DO YOU SPEAK AMERICAN?

US is founded on diversity in religion and ethnicity, but diversity gives way to one language: English Some believe if you don’t speak “American” you

are not an American Government policy tried to end Native

American languages Trying to preserve them now-too little to late?

Loss of language is common for immigrants Schools during 1900s focused only on English

More than 50% dropped out of high school during the height of Eastern European immigration

BILINGUAL EDUCATION OR ISOLATIONISM?

1970s-court ordered bilingual education tried to help speakers of minority languages Idea to teach core subjects in native language

Effective when done well yet controversial California rejected bilingual education for

English immersion projects Supporters fear that this is a step backwards towards

isolationism

Americans still face issues of assimilation and minority language rights