Henrike Comes
Introduction to Linguistics II
Handout: Sociolinguistics
1. What is sociolinguistics? Sociolinguistics looks at language as a social phenomenon. Central question: How do social factors influence language use and language structure? Sociolinguistics: -
geographic perspective (19th century): focus on regional dialects anthropological perspective (1920s): focus on the relationship between language, culture and thought sociological perspective (1960s): focus on the relationship between social relations and the use of different language varieties
2. Terminology: variety, language, dialect, accent Variety general term: can be used for different languages, but most frequently used for different forms of one language (the often referred to as dialects) Types of variety can be distinguished depending on the social factors which motivate them: dialects, sociolects and registers. Dialect: regional variety Sociolect: variety which is influenced by a speaker’s social background (profession, age, ethnic group, sex, education etc.). Example: jargon (e.g. special vocabulary used by linguists). Register: variety which is influenced by a specific speech situation (factors influencing the choice of a specific register are: topic, relationship between interlocutors and medium (written or spoken language). Language a collection of dialects or varieties (which share central features) >> anyone who speaks an English dialect speaks the English language Dialect a variety of a language which is different in some words, grammar, and/or pronunciation from other forms of the same language. Dialects are characteristic of social groups. There are geographical, social, ethnic, gender and age dialects. Language vs. dialect two dialects belong to the same language if they share a common grammar and vocabulary and if they are mutually intelligible (rule of thumb, there is no clear-cut distinction) Dialect vs. accent ‘dialect’ includes grammatical and lexical differences, whereas ‘accent’ only refers to pronunciation > somebody speaks English with a foreign accent Standard variety the variety of a language that has the highest status in a community or nation and which is usually based on the speech and writing of educated speakers of the language. The standard variety of a language is described and structured in dictionaries and grammars (standardisation). 3. Regional varieties / dialects Traditional dialectology (middle of 19th century – middle of 20th century) rural areas geographic variation phonology and vocabulary questionnaires, interviews
Modern dialectology (1970s – present) urban areas social variation phonology, vocabulary, grammar questionnaires, interviews, corpora, statistics
4. Social varieties focus on social differentiation in language use > different social groups use language differently basic assumption: language variation in a language community (and even in the speech of an individual) is not random but systematic. The factors influencing variation are: socio-economic status, ethnicity, sex and age. The most influential factor is the first one. William Labov = pioneer of sociological sociolinguistic research. linguistic variable (i.e. the varying linguistic phenomenon, e.g. pronunciation of /r/) linguistic variant (i.e. the concrete realisation of the varying linguistic phenomenon, e.g. either the realisation of /r/ or the non-realisation of /r/). Two famous studies by Labov: (a) African American English; (b) the use of /r/ in New York. Ad (a) Labov demonstrated the complexity and systematicity of AAE (which was previously considered as deficient) Bernstein’s Deficit Hypothesis: lower class children have language deficits and used a reduced code. > Hypothesis was transferred to AAE. Labov’s Difference Hypothesis: emphasised that AAE was different from GA, but not deficient. Ad (b) Labov focused on the pronunciation of /r/ in New York, where a non-rhotic dialect is spoken. BUT: tendency for the dialect to turn into a rhotic dialect > New Yorkers occasionally produced the rhotic variant and that this occurred systematically: (1) rhotic variant of the pre-consonantal /r/ more often when they wanted to use a correct pronunciation. (2) the higher the status the more often the prestige variant was used. (3) the prestige variant more often used by subjects who strove for a higher social status. Social network approach: focuses on micro-sociological variables: the identity, values and attitudes of certain social groups and the interaction of group members. Social network (definition taken from Bußmann, p.325): “Every person has a set of relational partners with whom he / she participates in interactional exchanges; if one considers all persons to be ‘points’ and the social relations that are realized between them to be ‘lines’; an individual ‘network’ develops. [...] In such networks social cohesion develops and culture- and group-specific systems of values, shared knowledge, shared attitudes, as well as patterns of behaviour are established, which in turn manifest themselves linguistically.” Important factors: degree of integration is important, quantity of social relations, quality of relations. Important findings: networks establish norms for language use and the members of such networks respect these norms in order to be integrated in the group (accommodation). 5. Gender studies / feminist linguistics ‘Gender’ (as opposed to biological sex): the social dimension is emphasised. Early approaches (closely linked to the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1970s): language was seen as a reflection of the social discrimination of women >> language criticism: sexist language was to be avoided > consequence: introduction of new language forms (e.g. neutral profession terms: flight attendant instead of stewardess / steward; chairperson instead of chairman etc.) investigation of gender-specific language use and discourse behaviour of men and women >>differences between male and female speech were considered as a consequence of different socialisation / cultural differences (two cultures approach). Typical characteristics of male speech: interruptions, short answers, long turns, control of the topic (conflictand status-oriented, competitive, controlling, dominating) Typical characteristics of female speech: shorter turns, indirect speech (I think, I guess); give feedback and signal interest (co-operative, harmony-oriented) Observation that female speech contains more standard forms and is prestige-oriented. Explanation: women are more mobile and hove more contact with other groups (especially groups which have a higher socio-economic status) than men (Mobility approach) 6. Sociolinguistics and language change important contributions to the study of language change came form dialectology, Labov’s work and the study of language contact (pidgins and creoles) different varieties of a language reflect different historical stages of language development: certain dialects contain old language form, whereas others contain innovations Labov’s variationist approach to language change: emphasises the external factors which cause language change, more specifically the relationship between social change and language change > speakers change language / social networks and group identity Language change usually starts with variation __________________________________________________ Handout based on: Kortmann, B. 1999. Linguistik: Essentials. Berlin: Cornelsen. (chapter 8). Bußmann, H. 1996. Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. London: Routledge.