chapter 9 Sociolinguistics.ppt

Chapter 9 SociolinguisticsStudy of language and society Introduction to Linguistics Identify the conversational implicatures A: How do you like the hamburger? B: A hamburger is a hamburger. A: Where is Bill? B: There is a black Cadilac out of Susan’s house. 9.1 Scope of Sociolinguistics often defined as the study of language and society studies the uses of language and the social structures in which the users of language live. Sociolinguists are interested in language differences and especially in variation within a particular language 9.1.5 Approaches to sociolinguistic studies A bird’s eye view look at society as a whole and consider how language functions in it and how it reflects the social differentiations. A worm’s eye view look at society from the point view of an individual member within it. macro-sociolinguistics vs micro-sociolinguistics Ethnic dialect A social dialect of a language that cuts across regional differences Mainly spoken by a less privileged population that has experienced some form of social isolation Black English Halliday’s register theory 9.2.3 Degree of formality Language used in different occasions differs in the degree of formality Formality is determined by social variables such as who we are talking with and what we are talking about American linguist Martin Joos distinguished five stages of formality: Intimate Casual Consultative Formal Frozen 9.3 Standard dialect A superimposed, socially prestigious dialect Not a dialect a child acquires naturally. It is a variety imposed from above over the range of regional dialects. Employed by the government and judiciary system, used by the mass media and taught in schools Based on a selected variety of the language, usually the local speech of an area which is considered the nation’s political and commercial centre. 9.4 Pidgin and Creole Pidgin: a special language variety that mixes or blends languages and used by people who speak different languages for restricted purposes