Sociolinguistics

How to capture variety in language as a multifaceted social phenomenon

Approaches of Theoretical Linguistics: idiolect studied under carefully controlled

circumstances idealised competence rather than

observable performance (Chomsky) biased data (educated speakers on

formal occasions)

Problems with the Chomskyan approach

Language is represented in the variable performances of individuals

Individual variation in adjusting speech to context↓

“Variable probabilistic knowledge” (Hymes, 1974)

- systemic potential - appropriateness- occurrence- feasibility

Approaches to sociolinguistics

Social as well as linguistics Socially realistic linguistics Socially constituted linguistics

Biber, Conrad & Leech, 2002: A corpus-based approach to linguistic description

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The scope of sociolinguistics

Relation between

language and society,

uses of language and social structures. Synchronic and diachronic variation Dialectal variation Social variation Age-related variation Gender-based variation

Language and speech community

Speech community:

shared language

values

verbal repertoire “third floor” (UK) = “fourth floor” (US)„God bless you” vs. „See you later”„Pá” vs. „szevasz”

How to measure variety

Central questions:Who make up a representative sample of

a region?What linguistic items are to be studied?How to analyse this data?

Requires methods different from those of TL

sampling by questionnaires – demographic data involving historians, anthropologists, etc. to

identify target region field research, ethnographic observation sociolinguistic interview non-intrusive responses (Labov) participant research – the observer’s paradox results on maps - isogloss

The line on the map of southern England separates the area where the vowel in a word such as cut is [A] (black circles) from the area where the vowel is [U] (crosses).

Dialectal variation

Language Dialect Accent Vernacular

Language = nation?- different nations, similar language (Norway, Denmark, Sweden)- blends (Spanish-Portugese in Galicia)- Chinese - Pidgin phenomenon- Creole (Indian English)

Australian Pidgin „Harim”

Indon: Gavman welkam long askim blong Australia October 2009

Indonesia i welkam long askim blong Australia Praim Minista Kevin Rudd long sapos oli ken halvim Australia long lukluk long wanpla bot i pulap long 260 pipal blong Sri Lanka husat i laik kam long Australia, em oli painim ol insait long Indonesia solwara.

Social variation

Example 1: -ing/ -in’“Learned” verbs (criticise, propose) Informal verbs (take, chew) Place names: –ing(Cushing, Flushing) Typical of men

Example 2: Labov’s study of New York City department stores

Problems: Identifying categories such as social class or levels of formalityData collection procedures quality of linguistic material

Age-dependent variation

Language development is age-graded, violations cause embarrassment or laughter („Pá”)

Child language and motherese (potty, nappy, kitty, sweetpea)

Pig Latin, Playing dozensEarly adolescence: peer group influence,

slang (rap, house, hip-hop)

Gender differences

Women MenHigher-pitched voiceMore: - careful speech (-ing)- conscious of socially - preferred forms- appeal tags (is it? will you?)- tentative (Would you mind..)- colour names Avoid emotional (beige, levander, lilac) words, etc. adorable,- intensifiers heavenly, divine (She’s so quite.)

Gender bias in languages

English – a male language Mankind and fatherland “He” as general reference He is a professional. vs She is a professional. Master vs. mistress Diminishing value of female words

(She is out with the girls.) Smith, Jones vs. Miss Smith, Mrs Jones or Mary Policeman, doctor, poet

Ethnicity

Ethnic groups in the mainstream society may introduce a special ethnic dialect

Pennsylvanian Dutch Jewish American I need it like a hole in my head.He asked me for it yet,Jerk schmerk! Hungarian Romas (csávó, lácsó)

Black English

According to US experiments, people are able to distinguish between black and white speakers on the phone in over 80% of cases.

reduced final consonant groups (test-tess, mask-mass)

interchangeable then-den, three-tree forward shifted stress (Détroit, pólice, hótel) syntax: I done told him about it. He (be) waitin’

for me every night. She don’t/ain’t say nothing. rhetoric:

- exaggeration, - wide intonation range, falsetto voice, - listener and participant encouragement (Amen, Right on), - verbal displays (rapping, playing dozens).

Playing the dozens „Yo mama”

Yo mama’s so fat, her school picture was an aerial photograph.

Yo mama's so fat, she doesn't have a doctor, she has a grounds keeper.

Yo mama's so ugly, her birth certificate was an apology letter from the condom factory.

Yo mama's so old, she DJ'd at the Boston Tea Party.

Yo mama's so old, when God said "Let there be light" she was there to flick the switch.

Yo mama's so skinny, she swallowed a meatball and thought she was pregnant.

Register variety

Different languages offer different sets of

register choice (formality-informality)Javanese- rich system of register

according to gender, kinship, occupation wealth, education, religion or family

Indonesian - more democratic, offering fewer distinctions

Cross-cultural communication problems

Martin Jooz (1962):

Five styles based on interactivity amount of

background knowledge

formality of vocabulary

clarity of articulation complexity of syntax

Frozen Formal Consultative Casual Intimate

Areas of sociolinguistic study

Focus on function: the organisation of speech and speech acts

Competence as personal ability (idiolect) Performance as variable, individual- and

context-dependent acomplishment Language as a social tool Speech communities as organisations of ways

of speaking Variation according to regional origin, social

class, age and gender