Sociolinguistics Spring semester 2015 What is sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics Spring semester, 2015

What is sociolinguistics? Example 1: Ray: Hi mum. Mum: Hi. You’re late. Ray: Yeah, that bastard Sootbucket kept us in again. Mum: Nana’s here. Ray: Oh sorry. Where is she? Example 2: Ray: Good afternoon, sir. Principal: What are you doing here at this time? Ray: Mr. Sutton kept us in sir. Example 3: Every afternoon Meg packs her bag and leaves her Cardiff office at about 5 o’clock. As she leaves, her business partner says goodbye Margaret, (she replies goodbye Mike), her secretary says Bye Mrs Walker (to which she responds goodbye Andy). As she arrives home she is greeted by Hi mum from her daughter Jenny. Hello dear, have a good day? , from her mother, and simply you’re late again! from her husband. Later in the evening the president of the local flower club calls to ask if she would like to join. Good evening, is that Mrs. Billington? she asks. No, it’s Ms. Walker, but my husband’s name is David Billington, she answers. What can I do for you?

What are the different ways we say things? Example 4: Sam: You seen your ‘enry’s new ‘ouse yet? It’s in ‘alton you know. Jim: I have indeed. I could hardly miss it Sam. Your Henry now owns the biggest house in Halton. Example 5: (a) (b) (c) (d) Refuse should be deposited in the receptacle provided. Put your rubbish in the bin, Jilly. Please tender exact fare and state destination. Give me the right money and tell me where you’re going. Example 6: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. Do you think it’s cold in here? The airport, as fast as you can. I do. I leave my house to my son George. Do you love me? Keep to the right, please. Can we have some silence at the back? What a beautiful dress! Damn!

Social factors relevant for each situation: some relate to the users of the language – the participants; others relate to its uses – the social setting and function of the interaction. In any situation linguistic choices will reflect the influence of one or more of the following components: 1. The participants: who is speaking and who they are speaking to? 2. The setting or social context of the interaction: where are they speaking? 3. The topic: what is being talked about? 4. The function: why are they speaking? Social dimensions 1. social distance between interlocutors 2. Status & power of interlocutors

Sociolinguistics versus The sociology of language • Social influences on language, or the structure of language in relation to the society • The role of language in society, or the study of society in relation to language • Goal: to give a better understanding of the social structure through the study of structure of language and how it functions in language communication by: a) Identifying clearly the linguistic variation involved (e. g. vocabulary, sounds, grammar, dialects, languages) b) Identifying clearly the different social or non -linguistic factors which lead speakers to use one form rather than another

Ronald Wardhaugh: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (2 nd edn. ) Blackwell 1992, pp. 10 -11 ‘Sociolinguists are interested in the relationships between language and society. If we start off by defining ‘society’ as an organized group of people and ‘language’ as the way they communicate with each other, we have already set up one relationship between the two concepts. A society speaks a language. But there are other more complex relationships that might result. ’ He suggests four possible relationships between the two: 1. Social structure may either influence or determine linguistic structure and/or behaviour. (e. g. children speak differently from adults…the varieties that speakers use reflect their regional, social, ethnic origin, even their sex). 2. Linguistic structure and/or behaviour may either influence or determine social structure. (languages rather than speakers who speak these languages can be ‘sexist’) 3. This influence is bi-directional: language and society may influence each other. (Marxian view put forward by Dittmar: ‘speech behaviour and social behaviour are in a state of constant interaction’ 4. There is no relationship at all between linguistic structure and social structure.

Fieldwork Collect data by: 1. recording speech 2. interviewing people (elicit specifically what speech you need) 3. collecting non-intrusive responses (ask questions and focus on one answer. E. g. ‘second floor’ – focus on the use of /r/)

Peter Trudgill: Sociolinguistics, An introduction. Ch. 1 Language and Society • • 1. 2. Imagine two Englishmen who meet in a railway compartment. What do you think they will talk about first? There are two aspects of social behaviour: The function of language in establishing social relationships The role played by language in conveying information about the speaker Dialect versus Language Dutch vs. German (people living near the border speak very similar …what distinguishes the speech are social and political rather than linguistic factors) Standard language (used in print, taught in schools, learned by non-native speakers), RP (received pronunciation; British English accent, spoken in schools and by BBC announcers) “Judgments concerning the correctness and purity of linguistic varieties and features are social rather than linguistic” Consider the use of the postvocalic /r/ in words like cart and car Britain, RP – those without are more prestigious NY City – those with are more prestigious