Chapter8LanguageinSocialContexts.docVIP

Chapter 8 Language in Social Contexts l What is sociolinguistics？ n The sociolinguistic study of language u Language in relation to society u Diversity of language， variation between societies or within a society n The distinction between “language” and “a language” u Try to answer the following three questions： l Can language be defined in terms of geography？ l Can language be defined in terms of nationality？ l Should language be defined by mutual intelligibility？ u The answer to these questions should all be no。 All languages are equal。 If you define language in terms of these factors， you