Group 10 All Report

REPORT 1
Group 10
Habibatul Amri 18018096
Hanifatul Husni 18018098
Ifani Ramadhani 18018099
Sania Tricahyati 18018106
SOCIOLINGUISTIC
LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE AND SHIFT
LANGUAGE SHIFT
Language shift Language shift is language transfer or language replacement where by
a speech community of a language shifts to speaking another language. It’s happens when the
language of the wider society (majority) displaces the minority mother tongue language over
time in migrant communities or in communities under military occupation. Therefore when
language shift occurs, it shifts most of the time towards the language of the dominant group,
and the result could be the eradication of the local language.
Language shift in different communities.

Migrant minorities. People usually switch rapidly from phrase to phrase for instance.
Reactions to code-switching styles are negative in many communities, despite the fact that
proficiency in intra sentential code-switching requires good control of both codes. This may
reflect the attitudes of the majority the monolingual group in places like in North America
and Britain. In places such as New Guinea and East Africa where multilingualism is the norm,
attitudes to proficient code-switching are much more positive. The order of domains in which
language shift occurs may differ for different individuals and different groups, but gradually
over time the language of the wider society displaces the minority language mother tongue.
This may take three or four generations but sometimes language shift can be complemented
in just two generations. Typically, migrants are virtually monolingual in their mother tongue,
their children are bilingual, and their grandchildren are often monolingual in the language of
the ‘host’ country.
Non-migrant communities. Language shift is not always the result of migration. For
this community the home is the one most under any family’s control, language may be
maintained in more domains than just the home.
Migrant majorities When language shift occurs, it is always shift towards the
language of the domain powerful group. A domain group has no incentive to adopt the
language of minority. The domain language is associated with status, prestige, and social
success. When a language dies gradually, as opposed to all its speakers being wiped out by a
massacre or epidemic, and the function of the language are taken over in one domain after
another by another.
Attitudes and values. Positive attitudes support efforts to use the minority language
in a variety of domains, and this helps people resist the pressure from the majority group to
switch their language. There are certain social factors which seem to retard wholesale
language shift for a minority language group, at least for a time. First, where language is
considered an important symbol of a minority group’s identity. Second, if families a minority
group live near each other frequently. Another factor which may contribute to language
maintenance for those who emigrate is the degree and frequency of contact with the
homeland. Factors contributing to language shift, those are economic, social, and political
factors. The most obvious factor is that the community sees an important reason for learning
the second language. The second important factor is their ethnic language. Demographic
factor are also relevant in accounting for the speed of language shift. Resistance to language
shift tends to last longer in rural than in urban areas. Shift tends to occur faster in some
groups than in other. The size of the group is sometimes a critical factor. Although the
pressures to shift are strong, members of a minority community can take active steps to
protect its language. Where a language is rated as high in status by its users, and yet also
regarded as a language of solidarity to be used between minority group members. Different
factors combine in different ways in each social context, and the result are rarely predictable.
Monolingualism is regarded as normal, bilingualism is considered unusual. Bilingualism and
multilingulism which is normal.
Factors contributing to language shift:

1. Economic, social and political factor
- The dominant language is associated with social status and prestige
- Obtaining work is the obvious economic reason for learning another language
- The pressure of institutional domains such as schools and the media
2. Demographic factors
- Language shift is faster in urban areas than rural
- The size of the group is some times a critical factor
- Intermarriage between groups can accelerate language shift
3. Attitudes and values

Language shift is slower among communities where the minority language is highly
valued, therefore when the language is seen as an important symbol of ethnic identity its
generally maintained longer, and visa versa.
LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE
Language maintenance is the degree to which an individual or grups continues to use
their language, particulary in bilingual or multilingual area or among imigrant grup whereas
language shift is the process by which a new language is acquired by new community usually
resulting with the loss of the community’s first language.
Language maintenance refers to the situation where speech commuity continues to
use its traditional language in the face of a host of condition that might foster a shift to
another language.
If language maintenance does not occur, there can be several results. One is language
death; speakers become bilingual, younger speakers become dominant in another language,
and the language is said to die. The speakers or the community does not die, of course, they
just become a subset of speakers of another language. The end result is language shift for the
population, and if the language isn't spoken elsewhere, it dies.
How can a minority language be maintained?

1) A language can be maintained and preserved, when it's highly valued as an important
symbol of ethnic identity for the minority group.
2) If families from a minority group live near each other and see each other frequently,
their interactions will help to maintain the language.
3) For emigrate individuals from a minority group, the degree and frequency of contact
with the homeland can contribute to language maintenance.
4) Intermarriage within the same minority group is helpful to maintain the native language.
5) Ensuring that the minority group language is used at formal settings such as schools or
worship places will increases language maintenance.
6) An extended normal family in which parents, children and grandchildren live together
and use the same minority language can help to maintain it.
7) Institutional support from domains such as education, law, administration, religion and
the media can make a difference between the success and failure of maintaining a
minority group language.
LANGUAGE DEATH AND LANGUAGE LOSS

When all the people who speak a language die, the language dies with them.
Sometimes this fact is crystal clear. When a language dies gradually, as opposed to all its
speakers being wiped out by a massacre or epidemic, the process is similar to that of
language shift. The functions of the language are taken over in one domain after another by
another language. As the domains in which speakers use the language shrink, the speakers of
the dying language become gradually less proficient in it. With the spread of a majority group
language into more and more domains, the number of contexts in which individuals use the
ethnic language diminishes. The stylistic range that people acquire when they use a language
in a wider range of domains disappeared.
With the spread of a majority group language into more and more domains, the
number of contexts in which individuals use the ethnic language diminishes. The language
usually retreats till it is used only in the home, and finally it is restricted to such personal
activities as counting, praying and dreaming.
Example of language loss:
Annie at 20 is a young speaker of Dyirbal, an Australian Aboriginal language. He also speaks
English which she learned at school. There is no written Dyirbal material for her to read, and
there are fewer and fewer contexts in which she can appropriately hear and speak the
language. So she is steadily becoming less proficient in it. She can understand the Dyirbal she
hears used by older people in her community, and she uses it to speak to her grandmother.
But her grandmother is scathing about her ability in Dyirbal, saying Annie doesn’t speak the
language properly.
LANGUAGE REVIVAL
Some times a community becomes aware that its language is in danger of
disappearing and takes steps to revitalises it.
Example:
In 1840, two thirds of the Welsh people spoke Welsh, but by 1980, only 20% of the
population spoke Welsh, therefore the Welsh people began a revival process of Welsh
language by using a Welsh-language TV channel and bilingual education programs that used
Welsh as medium of instruction at schools.
REPORT 2
Group 10
LINGUISTIC VARIETIES AND MULTILINGUAL NATIONS
Linguistic Varieties is the diversity of language which used by many people in the
world, and meanwhile the term Multilingual Nation can be define as variations of language or
diversity of language which used by many people in a community or in a particular domain. it
refers to the most colloquial variety in the person's linguistic repertoire. It is used to indicate
that a language is used in informal everyday interactions without implying that it is
appropriate.
Vernacular Language
The term vernacular is used in numbers of ways. It generally refers to a language
which has not been standardized and which does not have official status. Vernacular are
usually the first language learned by people in multilingual language communities, and they
are often used for a relatively narrow range of informal functions. The function of vernacular
language is to shows their identity when they talking with the other person from the other
place. There are three components of the meaning of the term vernacular, then. The most
basic refers to the fact that a vernacular is an uncodified or understandardised variety. The
second refers to the way it is acquired in the home, as a first variety. The third is the fact that
it is used for relatively circumscribed functions. The first component has been most widely
used as the defining criterion, but emphasis on one or other of the components had led to the
use of the term vernacular with somewhat different meanings.
Finally the term vernacular is sometimes used to indicate that a language is used for
everyday interaction, without implying that it is appropriate only in informal domains.
For example: like a children are talking with their friends used informal language from his
places.
Standard Languages
Standard language is the language which has undergone some degree of regulation or
codification in grammar and a dictionary. Usually standard language is used in the country
which have there so many dialect or the country which use multilingual nations. Or standard
language can be defined is a language variety used by a group of people in their public
discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of
standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and
encoded in such reference works.Typically, varieties that become standardized are the local
dialects spoken in the centers of commerce and government, where a need arises for a variety
that will serve more than local needs.
Standard varieties are codified varieties. Codification is usually achieved through
grammars and dictionaries which record, and sometimes prescribe, the standard forms of the
language. The development of standard English illustrates the three essential criteria which
characterize a standard: it was an influential or prestigious variety, it was codified and
stabilized, and it served H function in that it was used for communication at court for
literature and for administration. It also illustrates that what we refer to as a standard
language is always a particular dialect which has gained its special position as a result of
social economic and political influenced.
Standard languages developed in a similar way in many other european countries
during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In Italy, Spain, France, Romanian,
for example, there were a variety of dialects of the vernacular languages (which all derived
from varieties of colloquial Latin) which served the L functions of their communities,
alongside classical Latin, the H language. From these dialects there gradually emerged a
standard, generally based on the dialect of the political, economic and social center of the
country.
For Example: Human in their places use standard language in their places.
Pakistan persons are use urdu as in their country,
Lingua Francas
Lingua franca can be describe as a language which is serving as a regular means of
communication between different linguistic groups in a multilingual nation and used
habitually by people whose mother tongues are different in order to facilitate communication
between them. Lingua franca tend used for communication between people who has distinct
language and social interaction. This language doesn’t has standard variety.
For example:
Like in Bali, many people want to talk with other people use Balinese language.
Minang Bukittingi language can be used to Batusangkar language. Lingua franca become
officially for example is Indonesia, Indonesia is used Lingua franca officially. Lingua franca
has a strong influence.
Java language, (this language is used in trade and daily language in family interaction).
Pidgin
A pidgin is a language which has no native spekers. Pidgin language are created from
the combined efforts of people who speak different language. Pidgin develop from 2 group
are different, seems like a sign language where only them who known those language but no
one’s native language or nobody who created that language. Pidgin language do not have
high status or prestige and to those who don’t speak them, they often speak seem ridiculous
languages.
For example:
A gang who has code language to explain some things secret foer instance: police they called
cops.
Bahasa gaul (slang), this language just used by the group to group who just know this
language.
Creoles
A creole is a pidgin which has acquired native speakers. Many of the languages which
are called pidgins are in fact now creole languages. They are learned by children as their first
language and used in a wide range of domains.
Actually this language is a development from pidgin, but the different is Pidgin doesn’t has
native speaker but creoles has native speaker.
For example : if someone has a small vocabulary and he’s can be add to by creole
Pidgin and Creole Pidgin

Have no native speakers. Creoles Have native speakers. Are the result of extended
contact Develop from pidgins, they are learnt as between groups with no language in a first
language by a large number of common, they are used mostly for trade. speakers. Have
simple grammatical structures. Are more complex in structure, they also have a wider range
of vocabulary to express a wide range of meanings. Are not used for group identification.
May take on national and official functions.
REPORT 3
Group 10
Habibatul Amri (18018096)

Hanifatul Husni (18018098)
Ifani Ramadhani (18018099)
Sania Tricahyati (18018106)
National languages and language planning
1. National and Official Language

An official language is a language that is used for official/formal
purposes in a country. Government documents, legal proceedings, police
reports, business contracts, that sort of thing. A national language is a language
that is symbolic of that country, usually for historical, cultural, and ethnic
reasons. A national language is always an official language, but an official
language is not necessarily a national language.
Example :
Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and
Tamil. This corresponds to Singapore’s population make-up: the Singaporean
population generally divides into Malays, Chinese, and Indians, with some
Western foreigners in the mix. To have Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil as official
languages makes sociopolitical sense as it allows each ethnic group to conduct
official business in their own language. Having English as another official
language also makes sense as it allows communication between the three
groups, as well as with the Westerners. Also, English is the lingua franca of the
world, and Singapore was a British colony, so that plays into it too.
However, Singapore only has one national language: Malay. This is most
likely due to the fact that: 1) Malay was (and still is) the regional lingua franca
of Southeast Asia to a large extent[2], and 2) Singapore used to be part of
Malaysia, a Malay-speaking, Malay-dominated country. Therefore, having
Malay as its national language is symbolic of Singapore accepting its Southeast
Asian roots as being a large factor in its national identity, larger than its Chinese
or Indian influences. Note how Malay is one of Singapore’s official languages.
2. Planning for a National Official Language

There are four steps on planning for a national official language :
a. Selection: The term used to refer to the choice of a language
variety to fulfil certainfunctions in a given society.
b. Codification: The creation of a linguistic standard or norm for a

selected linguistic code. It is divided up into three stages which consist of
graphization, grammaticalization, and lexicalization.
c. Implementation: The promoting of the decisions made in the

stages of selection and codification which can include marketing strategy,
production of books, pamphlets, newspapers, and textbooks using the new
codified Standard.
d. Elaboration: The terminology and stylistic development of a

codified language to meet the communicative demands of modern life and
technology. Its main area is the production and dissemination of new terms.
3. The linguist’s role in language planning

Language academies have existed for centuries, but it is also true that
individuals have often had an enormous infl uence on language planning, and
especially on the standardization or codifi cation of a particular variety.
Example
“Lexicographer: a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge.”
(Johnson, Samuel (1755) Dictionary of the English Language )
Samuel Johnson’s 40,000-word dictionary was a landmarkin the codifi
cation of English, though, as example 7 demonstrates, he had few illusions about
the lexicographer’s role. Ivar Aasen in Norway created a composite variety of
Norwegian (Landsmål/Nynorsk) from a range of dialects.
More often these days, the nuts and bolts of language planning are handled
by committees, commissions or academies. Moreover, the focus of much language
planning activity has altered from the promotion of national and offi cial languages
in countries trying to establish their autonomy, to include concern for minority and
endangered languages. The Kanak Languages Academy, for example, has been
established to preserve the indigenous languages of New Caledonia. Codifi cation
and vocabulary expansion are typically of prime concern for language academies,
and in the next section, I briefl y illustrate these processes, drawingmainly on
Maori for exemplifi cation.
Language academics, commites and commissions are interested in

language planning
Individuals can be language planners too, mainly sociolinguistics and
lexicographers.
The main concerns of language planners are:

1. Language codification
2. Vocabulary expansion
Language Codification “Orthography”
 In the past, the church was the main influence on the written
forms of unwritten language when they translated the bible into them
 Missionaries were good linguists whose job was to produce a

spelling system that reflects the pronounciation of the language
 When developing the spelling system, there was some problems

like :
1. Symbols did not correspond to the pronounciation.

Is identified as a single sound and it different from /g/. in
samoan both are the same.
2. Different views on how to indicate the length of a vowel.

REPORT 4
Group 10
“Regional and Social Dialects in the World”
Dialects is a variant of a language according to the user. Unlike the variety of language
that is a variant of a language according to the user. This variation is different from each
other, but there are still many similarities indicate that not deserve to be called a different
language. A dialect differentiated by the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation
(phonology, including prosody). If the distinction is only based on the pronunciation, the
accent is the appropriate term and not a dialect.
Types of dialect
Judging from the shape is divided into three dialects, namely:
Regional dialects, the dialect whose characteristics are limited by space. Often called Dialect
Area. This dialect is usually grown in a particular area, meaning that people outside the
region will not understand the dialect in question.
Social dialects, namely the dialect spoken by a particular social group. For example, people
in the Cardboard definitely have different dialects with people outside the palace. Or people
in the community office dialect definitely different from those that exist in the market
community.
temporal dialect, which dialect different from time to time. This dialect is only growing at a
certain time and when it's time to change the dialect that is not there anymore. This can be
seen from the spelling, ways of writing and pronunciation. For example the Old Malay
dialect, dialect 1970, etc.
Differences between Regional and Social Dialects

Prioritizing regional dialect boundaries region, people in the region will understand what they
were saying to one another, while residing in another region or outside of the region will not
be familiar with the dialect in question.
Differences groups that are regional we know based on natural boundaries. In contrast to the
bias social groups that are defined by sex, age, occupation. Bias is also determined by
economic status that distinguishes the rich with the poor, or social status as we see in society
recognize caste, or any group with less educated uneducated group. Differences also occur in
due status that comes to political power that lead to the ruling groups and groups of
commoners.
All social groups that have the potential to have a language with certain characteristics that
distinguishes it from potential other. If group it really be true, then it could be a dialect of the
language of social or at the lack of variety of languages.
We also know that there are differences in the language men and women, childhood to
adulthood, the market with the factories and much more. Similarly, a variety of language that
we call dialects.
DEFINITION OF REGIONAL VARIATION

The most extensive type of language variation is regional or geographic variation.
This variation develops as a result of limited communication between different parts of a
community due to various geographical barriers, such as mountain ranges and rivers. Under
such circumstances, language of one part of the community does not spread elsewhere.
Therefore, in this case, difference in variation can develop. Such distinctive varieties are
usually called regional varieties of the language. From this explanation we can take
conclusion that regional variation is varieties of a language which is spoken in different
geographical area. The study of regional varieties is the oldest traditions in the systematic
study of intra-language variation.
The term “dialect” may be still used in this discussion. Dialect is one example of
regional variation. It is stated by Wolfram, that dialect refers to regional or ethnic varieties of
a language which is used by a community.
The example of dialect:
Ming is an old woman who lives with her son in a rural village near the town of Yinde in
Guangdong Province in southern China. The family grows vegetables for the local market.
Ming speaks her province dialects of Chinese, Cantonese. Last summer, Gong, an official
from Beijing in the north, visited her village to check on the level of rice and ginger
production. Gong also spoke Chinese, but his dialect was Mandarin or putonghua. Ming
could not understand a single word Gong said.
Languages are not purely linguistic entities. They serve social functions. In order to
define a language, it is important to look to its social and political functions, as well as its
linguistic features. So a language can be thought of as a collection of dialects that are usually
linguistically similar, used by different social groups who choose to say that they are speakers
of one language which functions to unite and represent them to other groups. This definition
reflects sociolinguistics reality by including all the linguistically very different Chinese
dialects, which the Chinese define as one language, while separating the languages of
Scandinavia which are linguistically very similar, but politically quite distinct varieties.
Then, the other kind of regional variation is explained more clearly below:
1. International varieties
Here the example of international varieties:
A British visitor to New Zealand decided while he was in Auckland he would look up an old
friend from his war days. He found the address, walked up the path and knocked on the door.
“Gidday,” said the young man who opened the door. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve called to see me old mate Don Stone,” said the visitor.
“Oh he’s dead now mate,” said the young man.
The visitor was about to express condelences when he was thumped on the back by Don
Stone himself. The young man had said., “Here’s dad now mate”, as his father came in the
gate.
To British ears a New Zealander’s dad sounds like an English person’s dead,
and bad saounds like bed. Americans Australians, as well as New Zealanders, tell of British
visitors who were givenpens instead of pins and pens instead of pens.
2. Intra-national or intra-continental variation

Example:
Rob : This wheel’s completely disjaskit.
Alan : I might could get it changed
Rob : You couldn’t do nothing of the sort. It needs dumped.
This conversation between two Geordies (people from Tyneside in England) is likely
to perplex many English speakers. The double modal might could is typical Geordis, though
it is also heard in some parts of the Southern USA. The expression needs dumped is also
typical Tyneside, though also used in Scotland, as is the vocabulary item disjasket, meaning
“worn out” or “compeletely ruined”.
Regional variation takes time to develop. British and American English , for instance,
provide much more evidence of regional variation than New Zealand or Australian English.
In the USA, dialetologist can identify distinguishing features of the speech of people from
different regions. Nothern, Midland and Southern are the main divisions, and within those
three areas a number of further divisions can be made. Different town and even parts of
towns can be distinguished: and within those the Boston dialect is different from that New
York City. Words dragonfly in the EasternStates include darning, needle. Mosquito hawk,
spindle, snake feeder, snake dactor, and snake waiter, but of these only darning needle is used
in New York.
3. Cross-continental variation: dialect chains

Dialect Chains are very common across the whole of Europe. One chain links all the
dialects os German, Dutch and Flemish from Switzerland through Austria and Germany , to
the Netherlands and Belgium, and there is another which links dialects of Portugese, Spanish,
Catalan, French and Italian. A scandinavian chain link dialects of Norwegian, Swedish and
Danish. So taht Swedes and Norwegians in adjacent areas can communicate more easily than
fellow-Swedes from Southern and Nothern Sweden.
DEFINITION OF SOCIAL VARIATION

Another type of language variation is social variation. In many localities, language
variation due connected with social classes, educational levels, or both. More highly educated
speaker and often, those belonging to a higher social class tend to use more features
belonging to the standard language, whereas the original dialect of the region is better
preserved in the speech of the lower and less educated classes. From this explanation it can
be said that social variation happened because of the social norms like social class, religion,
education, etc.
Sociolinguists today are generally more concerned with social variation in language
then with regional variation. When we turn from regional variation to social variation, things
get somewhat more complicated but also more interesting. For, whereas individual may grow
up exclusively or primarily in one region, they typically belong to many social groups
simultaneously and their speech pattern reflects the intersections of their social experiences
categories, and roles. The sociolinguist who study social dialect usually attempt to obtain
sample of spontaneous or casual speech, the way people speech who they are not relaxed and
least conscious that their speech is being observed.
Social variation in language might be considered from the perspective of differences
between speakers in a variety of dimensions including age, social class and network, race or
ethnicity, and gender.
1. Age
Variation in language according to age may reflect either age grading or change in
progress. Age grading involves features associated with specific age groups as a development
or social stage. Normally speakers abandon the features associated with a particular stage as
they grow older and they begin to speech pretty much like the members of the age group
above then as they mature.
The kind of age – related language variation which we are most likely to notice is the use
of slang which as noted above is a variety of age grading. Slang is linguistic prerogative of
young people and generally sound odd to older person. In the mouth in New Zeeland young
people currently use the terms wicked, choice & cool to describe something they approve of.
The other example of social variation related to age grading is the use of “gonna & wanna”.
2. Social status
· People can be grouped together on the basis of similar social and economic factors.
Their language generally reflects these groupings – they use different social dialects. It is
easiest to see the evidence for social dialects in places such as India and Indonesia where
social divisions are very clear-cut. In these countries, there are caste system determined by
birth, and strict social rules govern the kind of behaviour appropriate to each group. The rules
cover such matters as the kind of job people can have, who they can marry, how they should
dress, what they should eat, and how they should behave in a range of social situations. Not
suprisingly, these social distinctions are also reflected in speech differences. A person’s
dialect reflects their social background.
Javanese social status is reflected not just in choice of linguistic forms but also in the
particular combinations of forms which each social social group customarily uses, i.e. the
varieties or stylistic levels that together make up the group’s distintive dialect. In javannese,
there are six distinguishable stylistic levels.
Two javanese words at different stylistic levels

“You” “Now” Stylistic level
Pandjenengan Samenika 3a
Sampejan Samenika 3
Sampejan Saniki 2
Sampejan Saiki 1a
Pandjenengan Saiki 1a
Kowe Saiki 1
There are three distinct Javanese social groups and three associated dialects
1. The dialect of the lowest status group, the peasants and uneducated townspeople,
consists of three stylistic levels : 1, 1a and 2
2. The dialect of urbanised people with some education consists of five stylistic levels :
1, 1a, 2, 3 and 3a.
The dialect of highly educated highest status group also consists of five levels, but they
are different from those of the second social group: 1. 1a, 1b, 3 and 3a.
Ø Vocabulary
The term social class is used here as a shorthand term for differences between people
which are associated with differences in social prestige, wealth and education. Bank
managers do not takl like office cleaners, lawyers do not speak in the same way as the
burglars they defend. Class divisions are based on such status differences. Status refers to the
defences or respect people give someone-or dont give them, as the case may be- and status
generally derives in Western society from the materials resources a person can command,
though there are other sources too. Family background may be a source of status
independently of wealth. So class is used here as convenient label for group of people who
share similarities in economic and social status.
Social dialect research in many different countries has revealed a consistent relationship
between social class and language patterns. People from different social classes speak
differently. The most obvious differences – in vocabulary – are in many ways the least
illuminating from a sociolinguistic point of view, though they clearly capture the public
imagination. In the 1950s in England many pairs of words were identified which , it was
claimed, distinguished the speech of upper class English (‘U speakers’) from the rest (‘non-
U speakers’). U speakers used sitting room rather than lounge (non-U), and lavatory rather
than the (non-U) toilet.
Ø [r] Pronunciation
One linguistic form which has proved particularly interesting to sociolinguists studying
English-Speaking speech communities is the varriable pronunciation of [r] in words like car
and sard, for and form. In areas where [r] pronunciation is prestigious, sociolinguists have
found patterns like those described above for [h] dropping. The higher a person’s social
group, the more [r] they pronounce.
Ø Vowels
Example:
Sir – What is happening to the humble letter ‘i’ in New Zealand? In many mouths HIM
becomes HUM, JIM is JUM and TILL is TULL. I overheard a young girl telling her friend on
the phone that she had been to a doctor and had to take six different PULLS a day. After four
repititions, she had to spell it to be understood.
In this letter the writer is complaining about way New Zealanders pronounce their
vowels. The examples illustrate the difficulty of precisely describing differences in the
pronunciation of vowels without the aid of a phonetic script. Measuring slight differences in
the wat speakers pronounce the ‘same’ vowels is also a challenging task.
Ø Other language
Similar pattern can be found in any speech community where there is social
stratification. In Tehrani Persian, as well as in the Swahili used in Mombasa, the same
relationship is found between speech and social class. The higher social groups use more of
the standard forms, while the lowest groups use the fewest standard forms.
Ø Grammatical pattern
This pattern has been noted for a variiety of gramatical variables. Here are some
examples of standard and vernacular grammatical forms which have been identified in
several English-speaking communities.
Form Example
Past tense verb forms 1. I finished that book yesterday
2. I finish that book yesterday
Present tense verb forms 3. Rose walks to school everyday
4. Rose walk to school everyday
Negative forms 5. Nobody wants any chips
6. Nobody don’t don’t want no
chips
Ain’t 7. Jim isn’t stupid
8. Jim ain’t stupid
The higher social groups use more of the standard grammatical form and fewer
instances of the vernacular or non-standard form. With the grammatical pattern, the third
person singular form of the present tense regular verb (e.g. standard she walks vs vernacular
she walk), there is a sharp distinction between middle-class groups and the lower-class
groups. People are more aware of social stigma in relation to vernacular grammatical forms,
and this is reflected in the lower incidence of vernacular forms among middle-class speakers
in particular.
Sentences (6) in the list illustrate a pattern of negation which is sometimes called
‘negative concord’ or ‘multiple negation’. Where standard English allows only one negative
in each clause, most vernacular dialects can have two or more. In some dialects every
possible form which can be negated is negated.
Multiple negations are grammatical construction which has been found in all English-
speaking communities where a social dialect study has been done. In every community
studied it is much more frequent in lower-class speech than in middle-class speech. In fact
there is usually a dramatic contrast between the groups in the amount of multiple negations
used. It is rare in middle-class speech.
3. Race and Ethnicity

Race and ethnicity – correlated differences in language use reflect the effect of
bilingualism. For instance, the fact that in some varieties of Mexican, American English
voiced (z) is replaced by voiceless (s) (so that speakers say “soo” for “zoo”)may be attributed
to transfer or interference from Spanish, which does not have voiced (v) in word initial or
word final position. Similarly, Koreans learning has no similar forms; conversely, Koreans
may feel uncomfortable with the fact that English does not encode the complete honorific
distinction between addressees which are expressed by Korean verbs.
Foreign language influences of this type are more likely the more recently one’s family
or ethnic group immigrated. But ethnic varieties of English do not merely reflect passive
inheritance from a parental or ancestral language. On the contrary, ethnic varieties are often
actively maintained or developed to express the distinctive ethnic identify of their users.
The example of race and ethnic variety is African – American Vernacular
English (AAVE). AAVE is actively an excellent variety to concentrate, since it perhaps more
different from Standard English than any other American English dialect. Table below
identifier the primary phonological and grammatical features of AAVE.
4. Gender and Social Class

Example 5
Linda lives in the south of England and her dad is a lawyer. When she was 10 years old
she went to stay for a whole school term with her uncle Tom and auntie Bet in Wigan, a
Lancashire town, while her mother was recovering from a car accident. She was made to feel
very welcome both in her auntie’s house and the local school. When she went home she tried
to describe to her teacher what she had noticed about the way her uncle and auntie talked.
‘Uncle Tom is a plumber’ she told Mrs. Button ‘and he talks just like the other men on the
building site where he works – a bit broad. He says ‘ouse’ and ‘ome’ and [kup] and [bus].
When she’s at home auntie Bet talks a bit like uncle Tom. She says “Me feet are killin’ me
[luv]. I’ve ‘ad enough standin’ [up] for today”. But she works in a shop and when she’s
talking to customers she talks more like you do Mrs Button. She says house and home and
she talks real nice – just like a lady.’
The linguistic features which differ in the speech of women and men in Western
communities are usually features which also distinguish the speech of people from different
social classes. So how does gender interact with social class? Does the speech of women in
one social class resemble that of women from different classes, or does it more closely
resemble the speech of the men from their own social class? The answer to this question is
quite complicated, and is different for different linguistic features. There are however, some
general patterns which can be identified.
In every social class men use more vernacular forms than women. Figure 7.1 shows, for
instance, that in social dialect interview in Norwich, men used more of the vernacular [in]
form at the end of words like speaking and walking than women. And this pattern was quite
consistent across five distinct social groups. (Group 1 represents the highest social group.)
Notice, too that in the lowest and the highest social groups the women’s speech is
closer to that of the men in the same group than to that of women in other groups. In these
groups class membership seems to be more important than gender identity. But this is not so
true of women in group 2. Their score (of 3 per cent) for vernacular forms is closer to that of
women in group 1 than it is to that of men from their own group. This may indicate they
identify more strongly with women from the next social groups than with men from their own
social group.
SOCIAL DIALECTS
Social groups in society are not only distinguished based on the area where the group
was staying, but can also be discriminated on the basis of social conditions. Thus, social
groups within a region can still be grouped-grouped again by the social conditions of each
individual. Difference are social groups that can be defined by sex, age, occupation. The
difference can also be determined by economic status contrasted group rich and poor; or
social status as in the familiar society caste, or any group of educated and uneducated groups.
such differences also occur because of the status of power rooted in political cause the ruling
group and the group of rabble. In our pluralistic society can see their groups into one because
of heredity or ethnicity.
All social groups have the potential to have a 'variation of the language' with certain
traits that different from other groups. If the potential is really realized to be true then
'variations of the language' that is based on group This becomes a social dialect or Sociolect.
Therefore, it appears the variation of speech between different speakers, for example group
Middle Class and Working Class in England, between the Brahman caste and Shudra in Bali,
between class and class gentry farmers in Java, between Muslims, Jews, Christians in Iraq,
although they using the same language. Shape and pattern of social class stratification
between communities other diverse communities. If stratification based on employment or
income level, it is possible the displacement of speakers from members as one to the other
class members. However, if social stratification in public speaker based on caste, the social
classes will a clearly defined boundaries because they have a more assertive, namely factor
descent. Although the caste system is stable, precisely caste members sometimes necessary
know and understand various dialects at the same time.
According Trudgil (1974), the cause of the diverse dialects.
The variance due to the social constraints (social barriers) and the distance Social (social
distances). The development of linguistic features between community members hindered by
the limitations in the form of social class, age, race, religion, and factor other. Social distance
as social constraints limiting the development of features linguistic, and are the same as
geographical distance, the farther away the social level the further distinction linguistic
features. Other causes of emergence of diverse dialects is their a tendency that the elite, upper
class tend to want to differentiate themselves with the non-elite, as seen in the following
quote "Dominant social. Themselves growing niche groups to mark off symbolically as
distinct from the group they dominate and to interpret Reviews their symbols of
distinctiveness as evidence of superior moral and intellectual qualities "(Biber and Finegan,
1994). Language Standards as One Dialect
REPORT 5
Group 10
“GENDER AND AGE”
A. GENDER
S. Romaine. 1994. Language in society: the word sex has biological implications. The
word gender is more appropriate: it distinguishes people based on their social and/or linguistic
behaviour.
Women and men from the same speech community may use different linguistic forms.
1. Gender-exclusive speech differences: highly structured communities
(i) Gros Ventre (Amerindian tribe in Montana) pronunciation differences, for example:
[kja« tsa] women’s form
[dΩa« tsa] men’s form
‘bread’
(ii) Bengali (in India)

Women: initial [l]
Men: initial [n]
(iii) Yana (extinct Amerinidian language

words used by men are longer than the same words used by women
Study the Example #2, p.161.
(iv) Japanese
Vocabulary differences, for example:
Women’s form Men’s form
ohiya mizu water
onaka hara stomach
oisii umai delicious
taberu kuu eat
Pronouns also reflect gender differences in Japanese:
Study the examples on p. 161
Changes in modern Japanese: vocabulary differences reflect degrees of formality as

opposed to signaling gender!
2. Gender-preferential speech features: social dialect research
Speech styles of women and men vary in the frequencies with which they employ
particular linguistic alternatives.
-ing [˜] vs. -in’ [in] more women use the –ing form
In Montreal French, men delete [l] more often than women in phrases such as il y
a or il fait.
In Sidney (Australia) words like thing may be pronounced with initial [f] more
frequently by men!
Women tend to use more standard forms!
3. Gender and social class
Study Figure 7.1 on p. 164
In the highest and the lowest social groups women score similarly to men: social
status appears to be more important than gender identity.
Gender identity is more important in the other social groups!
Multiple negations (non-standard forms!) are used in the lower middle class group
32% by men vs. 1% by women.
Vernacular forms are used more frequently by men: a typical pattern in many
speech communities. This pattern is apparent also for young children – for
example, boys use more the in’ form, than girls; their speech contains more
frequent consonant cluster simplification in words such as [las] for last, [toul] for
told, etc.
4. Explanations of women’s linguistic behaviour
4.1 The social status explanation
Hypothesis: women are more status-conscious than men, thus they use the
standard form. Standard forms are associated with higher social status --
women want to signal social status when using standard speech.
Counter argument: working women (having social status!) employ more
standard forms than women staying home – Stay-home women reinforce
the use of vernacular forms used by those they are in social contact.
2
4.2 Woman’s role as guardian of society’s values
Study the Example #6 on p. 168
Society expects “better” behaviour from women – thus it is expected that

women speak the standard variety. Comment!
In certain social context women use more standard forms than men; in other
context they move away from the standard, for example, mother/child
conversation, see p. 168. Implications?
4.3 Subordinate groups must be polite
Women may employ rising pitch at the end of declarative sentences more
frequently, whereas men use a steady or lowering pitch.
The rising pitch variant is interpreted as a questioning contour and, according to
R. Lakoff (1975), this leads to women’s self-presentation as hesitant, uncertain,
and lacking in assertiveness.
“tag questions” (sentences in which the speaker makes a declarative statement and
adds on a tag in the form of a question about their assertion).
Examples: Jane came home, didn’t she?

It is cold here, isn’t it?
Lakoff states that women use tag questions as a signal of their reluctance to make
direct assertions. They can “avoid committing themselves and thereby avoid
conflict with the addressee”
Such a deferential style may be perceived as the speaker’s uncertainty and lack of
definite opinions.
Number of Tag Questions

Women Men
Facilitative 59% 25%
Softening 6% 5%
Softening tags: mitigating the force of command or criticism.
Examples:
Open the oven door for me, could you?
You’re driving rather fast, aren’t you?
3
Facilitative tags: they indicate the speaker’s desire to engage the
addressee in continuing conversation.
Examples:
Still working hard at your office, are you?
The hen’s brown, isn’t it?
Holmes (1984): There is a significant difference in the functional role of tags in women’s
and men’s speech. Men more often use tags for “speaker-oriented” goals, to obtain or
confirm information about themselves, whereas women more often use tags for
“addressee-oriented” goals, particularly as strategies to engage addressees in talk.
4.4 Vernacular forms express machismo
Study the example #8, p. 169.
Men may regard vernacular forms positively: covert prestige!
5. Some alternative explanations
The influence of the interviewer and the context
• women accommodate the interviewer more than men: they tend to

use more standard forms;
• men use more vernacular forms when talking to a male

interviewer;
• women use more standard forms than men in a formal interview.
In the interaction of gender with several social factors, there are speech
communities where gender is alone influences speech patterns:
Examples:
(i) Tyneside, England
(ii) Reading, England
Study Figure7.2 on p. 174.
B. AGE
1. Age-graded features of speech
(i) Pitch differences: social implications!

4
• Lower pitch – socially expected from public figures; they
are taken more seriously (Margaret Thatcher underwent
training to lower her pitch);
Study the Example #11, p. 175
• Cultures differ with regard to expectations concerning pitch

differences.
(ii) vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar may reflect age difference: social
implications!
Study the Example #12, p.176.
Middle-class Glaswegians (a Scottish dialect around Glasgow):

pronunciation differences between 10-year olds and teenagers
(p. 176)
Slang relating to age (p. 176)
2. Age and social dialect data
Research shows that in Britain and in the US there is not much gender-related
difference in the speech of children; in Denmark, however, the difference may be
there at the age of four (the role of daycare there): girls use fewer vernacular
forms.
Vernacular use in English-speaking countries are fewer for middle-age speakers,

but again, it increases for old-age speakers: decrease of social pressure!
Study Figure 7.3 on p. 178
Middle-aged speakers, in general, use more standard forms. Explain!
Study the usage of multiple negation in different age groups, Figure 7.4, p. 179
3. Age grading and language change
Increase or decrease of a linguistic form over time: linguistic change!
When a form is on the increase, we talk about innovation.

Study Table 7.1 on p. 180
5
Higher use by younger speakers!
C. IS LANGUAGE SEXIST?
Language reflects sexism in society: language itself is not sexist.
unmarked marked
heir heiress
laundry worker laundress
poet poetess
actor actress
but: governor (governs a state)
governess (takes care of children)
French l’ami l’amie

le chanteur la chanteuse
The male form is unmarked!
Male referential forms: chairman, postman, Museum of Man
But: chairman → chairperson

postman → letter carrier
etc.
Generic ‘man’ and ‘he’ :
mankind
the man in the street
ape-man
man-made
Peking-man
Neanderthal man
riddle: If a man can walk seven miles in seven minutes...

Are these terms really generic?
??? Man, being a mammal, breastfeeds his young.
In attempting to eliminate the generic he, it is assumed that language affects thought;
research shows that generic he tends to suggest that a male referent is in mind (to be
discussed in detail later).
REPORT 4
Group 10
“ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL NETWORKS”
What is ethnicity? Ethnicity is considered to be shared characteristics such as

culture, language, religion, and traditions, which contribute to a person or group’s identity.
Ethnic Group
An ‘ethnic group’ has been defined as a group that regards itself or is regarded by
others as a distinct community by virtue of certain characteristics that will help to distinguish
the group from the surrounding community.
Ethnicity
 Many ethnic groups use a distinctive language to identify their ethnicity
 If the dominants/main language is use, speakers may incorporate linguistic signals
that identify their ethnic background
Examples
- New Zealanders use Maori linguistic signals like kia ora, eki, ne to express their
ethnic identity
- Chinese Singaporeans in Singapore use the tag la to express solidarity
- Italians in Boston and Sydney use particular high percentage of vernacular
pronunciations of certain vowels
- Scottish people in New Zealand retain the [r] sound
- Jewish people in Boston and New York use marked linguistic tags such as oy vay, and
Yiddish vocabulary items such as bagel
Example in Indonesia
Chinese Indonesian in Surabaya dominantly use Indonesian and Javanese, however
there are particular linguistic features, such as:
- Words related to the kinship system: tacik, koko, cece in ‘Ikut sama koko sana!’
- Use of pigi for ‘pergi’ (go)
- Use of Javanese affixations such as –e in Indonesian words: ‘namae’, ‘orange’
- /r/ sound becomes /l/ sound: /murah/ /murah/
- /t/ sound becomes /k/ sound: /lihat/ /lihak/
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

- It has some features which do not occur in standard American English, and some
which less frequently occur
- Linguistic differences act as symbols of ethnicity
- It exists particularly in the northern cities of the United States
Linguistic features represent cultural distinctiveness

- Absence of copula be (e.g. ‘she very nice’, ‘he a teacher’
- Use of copula be to signal recurring actions (e.g. ‘she be at school on weekdays’)
- Multiple negation (e.g. ‘I don’t have no money’)
- Consonant cluster simplification (aks in place of ‘asks’, las in place of ‘last’)
British Black English

- Members of British Black community (born in England) speak a variety of Jamaican
Creole, also known as Patois
- Patois used as symbol of ethnic identity. Those who are not fluent in Patois use
English with Patois features. This way, their English is marked as “Black” which
signals the identity of the speaker.
Patois Linguistic Features Vocabulary

 Lick meaning: ‘kick’
 Kenge meaning: ‘weak’
Pronunciation
 [den], [tin] for ‘then’ and ‘thin’ [niem] for ‘name’
Morphology, syntax
 Plural forms without /s/ suffix: ‘many cow’
 Verbs are not marked for tenses: walk, jump for ‘walked’, ‘jumped’
 Simplified pronouns: [mi] for I, me, my and [dem] for they, them, and their
Maori New Zealanders

Linguistic Features :
- Pronunciation
Use of [d] sound: then pronounce as ‘den’, the pronounce as ‘de’
- Vocabulary
Kia ora for greetings Tangi meaning ‘funeral’
Kuia meaning ‘old woman’
- Grammar
Vernacular present tense forms: with /s/
- ‘I says you wanna bet’
Vernacular past tense
- ‘She seen it happen…’
Social Networks
People’s speech reflects the types of networks they belong to.
Features of Social Networks :

- Density
It refers to whether members of a person’s network are in touch with each other
- Plexity
It refers to the type of transactions people are involved in
• Uniplex relationship: when the link to someone else is only in one area
• Multiplex relationship: interactions with others in several dimensions
Communities of practice and the construction of social identity

Communities of practice develop around the activities which group members engage
in together, and their shared objectives and attitudes. Linguistic patterns described by
sociolinguists correlate to macro-level categories such as gender, age, ethnicity and class.
The concept of community of practice is aimed at understanding the complexities of
belonging to a certain group.
“LANGUAGE CHANGE”
Studied by both historical linguists and sociolinguists

 Diachronic Change – Historical Linguists the change of languages over time e.g. Old
English  Middle English  Modern English
 Synchronic Change – Sociolinguists. the origins or the causes of language changes
how language changes with society or in particular period e.g. Punjabi in Pakistan
and Punjabi in India
According to Jean Aitchison, language change occurs in three ways

- Progress
- Decay
- Neither
Could be both Conscious and Unconscious e.g. Loss of Rhotic ‘r’ – Unconscious
Could be Natural or Social

e.g. /b/ sound lost in ‘thumb’ – natural
Types of Changes
1. Incremental : Used for inventions or items of knowledge
Become standard e.g “Selfie”, “emoji” added in dictionaries
Native
- Laantain – lanter
- TV
- Mobile
- Picnic
- Park
- Menu
2. Decremental :Words not used anymore because of the less usage of the object
E.g. words related to swordfighting are not used often ‘pary’ and ‘feint’
Native
- Zarra baktar
- Manjeek – pathar phainkne wali toop
3. Replacement : replacements of words or structures coexists in language correct both

ways e.g half – halfs – halves thievery – theft rise – rose – raised
Native
- Pistol – tamancha
- School – madrassa
- Train – gaari
- Kitaab – Kutab – Kitabain
Causes of Changes
1. Social Status
people of higher status introduce changes later considered prestigious
Native
- Burger – bun kabab
- Fries – Chips
- pronunciation of ‘career’
- Baba/’Papa– Abu
2. Interaction / Contact
Borrowing
Isolation slows process of change
Interaction increases influences on other languages
Sushi – Japan
Native
- Gulluband – Farsi – Necklace
- Bandar gah – Farsi – seaport
- Mayuun – hindi
3. Dialectal Change
Difference in vocabulary or pronunciation due to difference in dialects
e.g Autumn – fall
lift – elevator
/r/ sound at the end and ‘schedule’
Native
- Shaljam – Thippar (Hazara) – Gongloo (Lahore)
- Bahaar – Basant (Lahore)
- Piyo(Lahore) – Lala (Hazara)
4. Gender
 Difference between speech of men and women
 Women introduce more standard forms – beautiful, sweet
 Men introduce vernacular forms – cool, wicked
 Women categorize – married/teenager/mrs/miss
Native
- Gaari – Daala/car/totta/mazda/jeep
- Chacha – Uncle
- Women – picky more accurate terms
- Men – simplistic
5. Laziness
Occurs mainly because of laziness
Shortening or Combining
Become widely accepted – Standard
I am - I’m
Going to – Gonna
Native
- Assalamoalikum – Salam
- Bismillah
6. Imperfect Learning
Children learn adult forms imperfectly
Majority usage - New strandard
Native
- Mehendi – Minhadi
7. Culture / Tradition
New places, situations, objects
Does not matter where they go
Native Examples
- Lassi
- Lacha
- Charkha
- Chahti
Levels of Changes
Changes occur on the following levels
Phonological (sounds)
Syntactic (structure)
Semantic (meaning)
Lexical (words)
1. Phonological
Complex Not sudden – happens over time
Examples : Same vowel rule (~a rule) pen ~ pin in some English dialects – not necessary
‘s’ sound at the end of Spanish words como ehtas / ehtah
Native
- Sajjan – Sajan
- Minhadi – Mehendi
- Gojarwalan – Gujranwala
- Kilachi – Kirachi
2. Lexical Change
Change in the words and vocabulary used
Addition of suffixes/prefixes to make new words breakable, thinkable, touchable, etc
Addition of ‘s’ and ‘-es’ drink – drinks box – boxes
Native
- Subh – Subhu – Subha
- Sabza – Sabzazar
- Deewankhana – Bethak – Drawing room
3. Syntactic Change
Changes in word order
Double negation – no longer part of English
Old English - ne aux – not never
Contracted negatives – Old English knew not – didn’t know
Comparatives – Old English most shamefullest, more happier
Native
- Phone karo – Phone lgao
- Film lagi hui he – Film chal rahi he
4. Semantic Change
Changes related to meanings
Broadening
Dogge -– specific breed - all dogs
Narrowing deer -– any beast - specific animal
Opposite Sick – Good
Native
- Bandar/gah – Bandargah
- Sikh – foolish
- Akhrot
- Bera tar jaye
- Bala (musibat) – Every bad thing
REPORT 7
Group 10

LANGUAGE CHANGE
It is very easy to demonstrate to English speakers that Languages change

over time. At the point where English spelling became relatively fixed by printing,
the printers recorded the pronunciations current at the time. In reality it is not so
much that language itself changes, as that speakers and writers change the way
they use the language. Speaker innovation is a more accurate description than
language change. Speakers innovate, sometimes spontaneously, but more often by
imitating speakers from other communities.
Variation and Change
Language varies in three major ways which are interestingly

interrelated – over time, in physical space, and socially. Language change –
variation over time – has its origins in spatial (or regional) and social variation.
The source of change over time is always current variation. So the regional and
social variants described in the previous three chapters provide the basis for
language change over time.
How do changes spread?
 From group to group
Many linguists have used the metaphor of waves to explain how

linguistic changes spread through a community. Social factors such as age, status,
gender and region affect the rates of change and the directions in which the waves
roll most swiftly. The wave metaphor is one useful way of visualizing the spread of
a change from one group to another.
 From style to style
In the speech of a particular individual it suggests the change spreads from

one style to another (say from more formal speech to more casual speech), while at
the same time it spreads from one individual to another within a social group, and
subsequently from one social group to another.
 From word to word
It seems to be the case that sound changes not only spread from one person
to another and from one style to another style, they also spread from one word to
another. Sound changes spread through different words one by one. This is called
lexical diffusion. When a sound change begins, all the words with a particular
vowel don’t change at once in the speech of a community.
How do we study language change?
Apparent time studies of language change

A great deal of linguistic variation is stable but some is an indication of
linguistic change in progress. A steady increase or steady decline in the frequency
of a form by age group suggests to a sociolinguist that a change may be in progress
in the speech community, whereas a bell-shaped pattern is more typical of stable
variation.
Language change in real time

Sometimes, however, it is possible to build on the work of earlier linguists
when studying change. Dictionaries which provide a date when a form was first
noted can assist in tracing changes in vocabulary over time.
Reasons for language change
Social status and language change

There is still a great deal of research and discussion about which social
groups introduce linguistic changes. One answer seems to be that a linguistic
change may enter a speech community through social group, but that different
types of change are associated with different groups.
Gender and language change

Differences in women’s and men’s speech are another source of variation
which can result in linguistic change. Sometimes women are the innovators,
leading a linguistic change, and sometimes men. Women tend to be associated with
changes towards both prestige and vernacular norms, whereas men more often
introduce vernacular changes.
REPORT 8
Group 10

STYLE, CONTEXT, AND REGISTER

Language varies according to its uses as well as its users, according to where
it is used and to whom, as well as according to who is using it. The influence of the
addressee on the speaker’s language exemplify from less formal contexts where the
solidarity between participants is an important influence on speech style.
Addressee as an influence on style
The better you know someone, the more casual and relaxed the speech style
you will use to them. People use considerably more standard forms to those they
don’t know well, and more vernacular forms to their friends. The speaker’s
relationship to the addressee is crucial in determining the appropriate style of
speaking.
Age of addressee
People generally talk differently to children and to adults – though some
adjusts their speech style or accomodate more than others. Many speakers also use
a different style in addressing elderly people, often with features similar to those
which characterise their speech to children – a simpler range of of vocabulary and
less complex grammar.
Social background of addressee
This is strong support for the view that the addressee or audience is a very
important influence on a speaker’s style. The most convincing evidence of all
comes from the behaviour of the same newsreader on different stations. Where the
stations share studios, a person may read the same news on two different stations
during the same day. In this situation newsreaders produce consistently different
styles for each audience. The news is the same and the context is identical except
for one factor – the addressees.
Accommodation Theory
Speech convergence
In other words each person’s speech converges towards the speech of the
person they are talking to. This process is called speech accommodation. It tends to
happen when the speakers like one another, or where one speaker has a vested
interest in pleasing the other or putting them at ease. Converging towards the
speech of another person is usually a polite speech strategy, it implies that the
addressee’s speech is acceptable and worth imitating.
How do speakers accommodate?
When people simplify their vocabulary and grammar in talking to foreigners
or children, they are converging downwards towards the lesser linguistic
proficiency of their addressees. In multilingual countries with many varieties to
choose from, people may accommodate to others by selecting the code that is most
comfortable for their addressees.
Speech divergence
For obvious reasons, the respondents deliberately diverged from the speech
style, and even the language, of the person addressing them. Deliberately choosing
a language not used by one’s addressee is the clearest example of speech
divergence. Speech divergence does not always reflect a speaker’s negative
attitudes towards the addressees. Where the divergent forms are admired,
divergence can be used to benefit the diverger.
Accommodation problems
Reactions to speech convergence and divergence depend on the reason
people think the convergence or divergence is going on. If divergence is perceived
as unavoidable, for instance, then the reaction will be more tolerant then when it is
considered deliberate. When people come from different backgrounds or have
different experiences this may cause occasional problems. An accurate
interpretation of a person’s speech behaviour in such cases obviously involves
considering more than just the influence of the addressee. The best way of solving
an accommodation problem will depend on the context.
Context, Style, and Class
Formal context and social roles
The choice of appropriate form is influenced not by the personal relationship
between the participants, but by the formality of the context and their relative roles
and statuses within that setting.
Different styles within an interview
The basis for the distinctions between the styles was the amount of attention
people were paying to their speech. In a situation which involved two strangers, an
interview schedule of questions to be answered, and a tape recorder as another
member of the audience, it was relatively easy to elicit more formal styles.
Colloquial style or the vernacular
Taping groups of eople rather than ndividuals, for instance, and choosing a
very comfortable or informal setting are strategies which have been found to shift
people’s speech towards the vernacular.
The interaction of social class and style
When we combine information about the way people from different social
groups speak with information about the way people speak in different contexts.
When they shift styles, people often adopt the linguistic features of a different
group.
Hypercorrection
Hypercorrect usage goes beyond the norm; it involves extending a form
beyond the standard.
Style in non-Western societies
Knowledge of the complexities of stylistic variation in countries reflects a
person’s educational level and social status. Better educated people have greater
control of the various styles.
Register
Styles are often analysed along a scale of formality. Register, on the other
hand, when they are distinguished from styles, tend to be associated with particular
groups of people or sometimes specific situations of use. The term register here
describes the language of groups of people with common interests, or jobs, or
language used in situations associated with such groups.
REPORT 9
Group 10

Speech Functions, Politeness and Cross-cultural
Speech function
Language serves a range of functions. It is usually adjusted the speech to suit the
social context of speech. The language we talk to a child may be different from the language
we talk to our customer or colleague though the purpose is the same. The different purposes
of talk can also affect the form of language and the variety of ways. Why do we say the same
thing in different ways? The answers to the question basically imply the speech functions.
There are a number of ways of kinds the functions of speech. The following list has proved a
useful one in sociolinguistic research.
1. Expressive. Utterances express the speaker’s feelings,

e.g. I’m feeling great today, I am afraid.
2. Directive utterances attempt to get someone to do something,
e.g. Clear the table, wash the clothes, close the door.
3. Referential utterances provide information,
e.g. At the third stroke it will be three o’clock precisely, the second presenter will
be Mrs. Hanna.
4. Metalinguistic utterances comment on language itself,
e.g. ‘Hegemony’ is not a common word.
5. Poetic utterances focus on aesthetic features of language, a poem, an ear-
catching motto, a rhyme,
e.g. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
6. Phatic utterances express solidarity and empathy with others,
e.g. Hi, how are you, lovely day isn’t it!
POLITENESS & ADDRESS FORM
Politeness is best expressed as the practical application of good manners or etiquette. It is a

culturally defined phenomenon, and therefore what is considered polite in one culture can
sometimes be quite rude or simply eccentric in another cultural context.
ADDRESS FORM
The address form is a word or words used when politely speaking or writing to someone.
MN - multiple names, found among the intimately well acquainted; names of food and small
animals seem to be especially popular. E.g : honney, sweetie, darling.
FN - first name, used among friends or acquaintances. E.g : Jhon, Anna.
TLN - title plus last name, used to address those higher in rank or older. E.g : Prof. Anderson.
Dr. Smith.
LN - last name, a less formal address used by superiors or coworkers to show either. E.g : Ms.
Smith.
T - title, used especially in the military, less formal than TLN. E.g : my lord, Mister.
TT - title plus title, used in very formal settings or with people of very high rank. E.g : Mr.
President.
Types of politeness
a. Positive politeness is solidarity oriented. It emphasises shared attitudes and

values. When the boss suggests that a subordinate should use first name (FN) to
her, this is a positive politeness move, expressing solidarity and minimising status
differences.
E.g: Could you take my bags up, please?
How about letting me to use your pen, please?
b. Negative politeness involves expressing oneself appropriately in terms of social

distance and respecting status differences. Using title + last name (TLN) to your
superiors, and to older people that you don’t know well, are further examples of
the expression of negative politeness.
E.g: Could you take my bags up?
Hey, buddy, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me use your pen.
CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
The domain of cross-cultural communication is defined by interaction (spoken and

written) between participants who have significantly different linguistic and cultural
backgrounds.
Effective communication with people of different cultures is especially challenging.

Cultures provide people with ways of thinking—ways of seeing, hearing, and interpreting the
world. Hence the same words can mean different things to people from different cultures,
even when they talk the "same“ language. When the languages are different, and translation
has to be used to communicate, the potential for misunderstandings increases.
Non Verbal Communication Actions Speaking Louder Than Words
Non Verbal Communication Actions Speaking Louder Than Words
Non Verbal Communication are messages that are conveyed through body movements, facial
expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and receiver. Non-verbal
Communication Cultures may be either Low-‐context or High‐context:
a. Low‐context cultures rely more on content rather than on context. They give value to the
written word rather than oral statements.
b. High‐context cultures infer information from message context, rather than from content.
They rely heavily on nonverbal signs and prefer indirectness, politeness &ambiguity.
Example :
In the UK however, the British communication culture is very different. You need to listen to
much more than the words in the UK. People say one thing but mean another. Saying
something is “fine” in the UK really means it is not fine – it’s the exact opposite.
REPORT 10
Group 10

“GENDER, POLITENESS AND STEREOTYPES”
WOMEN’S LANGUAGE AND CONFIDENCE
-Women were using language which reinforced their subordinate status; they were ‘colluding
in their own subordination’ by the way they spoke (Robin Lakoff).
-She identified linguistic features which used more often by women than by men expressed
uncertainty and lack of confidence.
WOMEN’S LANGUAGE
Example :
• Oh dear, the telephone is broken
• Would you please close the door for me?
• My goodness, what happened to him?
• Well, I think that is a bit harsh.
• It was a brilliant performance.
FEATURES OF WOMEN’S LANGUAGE
• Lexical hedges or fillers (you know, well, sort of)

• Tag questions (she’s very nice, isn’t she?)
• Rising intonation on declaratives (it’s really good?)
• “Empty” adjectives (divine, charming, cute)
• Precise color terms (magenta, aquamarine)
• Intensifiers (so, just)
• Hypercorrect grammar
• Superpolite forms (indirect request)
• Avoidance of strong swear words (my goodness)
• Emphatic stress (it was a BRILLIANT performance)
LAKOFF’s LINGUISTIC FEATURES TAG IS USED TO:
• Express uncertainty
• As positive politeness devices
• To provide a topic of conversation
• To soften a directive or criticism
• Used as confrontational
Interruptions
• Interruption is an interval or intermission which usually happens in the middle of

conversational interaction or an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity of our
words.
Feedback
• Feedback is the return of information about the result of a process or activity. Woman
as cooperative conversationalists -> provide more encouraging feedback than men do
Explanations
• Why men do more interruption than woman and why men give less encouraging
feedback to their conversational partners than woman do?
GENDER
In interruption
For instance:
Woman doctors were consistently interrupted by their patients, while male doctors did
most of the interrupting in their consultations. The position of women reflected in these
patterns has more to do with gender than role or occupation.
Gossip
 Gossip describes the kind of relaxed in group talk that goes on between people in
informal contexts.
 Gossip is defined as ‘idle talk’ in Western community.

The Construction of Gender
 Approaching gender identify as a construction, rather than as fixed category, is also

useful in accounting for examples where women adapt to “ Masculine “ contexts, and
men adapt to “ Feminine “ contexts.
 Women in the police force , for instance, are sometime advised to portray a masculine
image – to wear bulky sweaters suggesting upper-body strength, and well-worn boots
to suggest they are used to hard work.
 Men who work in clothing shops and hairdressing salons, on the other hand, often
construct a more ‘ feminine ‘ identify in these contexts then when they are in the pup
or the sports club changing room.
Sexist Language
 Sexist Language is one example of the way, a culture or society conveys its values
from one group to another and from one generation to the next.
 Sexist language encodes stereotyped attitudes to women and men. In principle, than,
the study of sexist language in concerned with the way language expresses both
negative and positive stereotypes of both women and men.
 In practice, research in this area has concentrated on the ways in which language
conveys negative attitudes to women.
Can a Language be Sexist ?
Feminists have claimed that English is a sexist language.
At first sight it may seem odd to suggest that a language rather than its speakers are sexist.
Sexism involves behavior, which maintains social inequalities between women and men.
Can a language contribute to the maintenance of social inequalities between women and
men ?
There are a number of ways in which it has been suggested that the English language
discriminates against women. Most obviously, perhaps, in the semantic area the English
metaphors available to describe women include an extraordinarily high number of
derogatory images compared to those used to describe men.
“Language, Cognition and Culture”
Language and Perception: (How can language affect perception and behavior?)
Most sociolinguists believe that language influences our perception of reality.
(Explanation of example 2):
This is a text written by a male medical doctor to his students. It talks about a surgery
that is done to women. It says that the doctors should explain to the women that it has no side
effects, because women wrongly believe that such an operation undermines their sexual
urge. the most obvious feature to be noticed in such a text is its impersonal and detached tone
which is achieved by the use of agentless passive constructions such as “surgery is indicated”,
and impersonal nouns like “the doctor, the patient”, and formal devices like nominalization.
The opening sentence of the text presents an insulting saying as a common knowledge.
Such a text affects the perception of the students, and influences their behavior towards their
women patients.
Verbal hygiene:
· A term used by Debora Cameron.
· It describes how people discuss matters of language.
· It covers a wide range of activities from writing letters of complain over the abuse of
language to prescribing what is regarded as acceptable, correct and proper in different
contexts. It also covers how language can be used as political weapon.
· The discussion of sexist language is a proof that women engaged actively in verbal hygiene
that reflected their belief that making a change in language use is worthwhile.
· The deliberate adoption of non-sexist forms like “chairperson” often leads to accusations of
political correctness. The debate of political correctness has often focused on linguistic terms.
For example, the term “crippled” is not acceptable any more to the extent that the Crippled
Children Society in New Zealand is now being referred to by its acronyms only. The term
was then substituted with disabled, and now to the phrase “person with a disability”.
Therefore, linguistic interventions challenge taken-for-granted offensive assumptions.
· Maoist China is also an example of the co-option of language as a political purpose. Mao
paid attention to language to widen his revolutionary goals. He controlled public
communication and the education system. “Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong” was
published in 1964, and the quotations dominated everyday life. Quotation and counter
quotation became heard in good-bargaining in the markets, and newspapers were also full of
extracts from Mao’s works. Mao believed in the role of language in educating people, and
shaping their values attitudes. To achieve this goal, powerful groups were established called
Mao Zedong Thought Propaganda Teams. Critics suggest that Mao’s quotations provided an
ideal method of brain-washing huge populations of illiterate people. They consisted of short
formulae which were easy to remember and repeat. They encoded a particular position which
was that of the dominant party, and which were reinforced by material used in the educational
system, making it difficult to take or express an opposite position. Mao’s revolution was due
to his skills as a propagandist as well as his military and political prowess. He also used
formulaic language to promote conformist attitudes and thinking. (This approach also
suggests that here is a relation between language and thought.)
Vocabulary and cognition: (how the use of certain words affect the behavior of people’s
thinking and attitude).
The relationship between language, thought and reality has fascinated linguists. The
linguist whose name was associated with such investigation was Benjamin Lee Whorf. He
was an anthropological linguist who worked for a fire insurance company. He investigated
the American English as a hobby at the beginning. In processing insurance claims, he noticed
that particular words influenced the behavior and perception of people. for example, a person
may throw cigarette butts near a gasoline barrel just because he/she finds the label “empty”
on it.
Linguistic determinism:
This term is made by Sapir-Whorf.
It means that people of different cultures think differently because of their language
differences. A native speaker of Hopi would perceive reality differently than a native speaker
of English because they use different languages.
Linguistic relativity:
A claim that is less strong than linguistic determinism.
It means that language influences thought, perception and at least behavior. The main
problem in assessing Whorf claim is the danger of inescapable circularity. Languages and
thoughts of their speakers as well differ. But the only evidence we have for this difference in
thought is the fact that the languages used are different. This is why investigating the
relationship between thought and language is very challenging, because we want to know
how language can influence thinking without taking language as an evidence of thought
processes. Many experiments were devised to test this Whofer-Sapir hypothesis. If this
hypothesis is right, then the colors which are not identified in one’s language shouldn’t be
having names. (Why it is wrong?)
· But this was not the case in Dani, a tribe in New Guinea, where the people used only two
color terms corresponding to Dark and Light, but they could distinguish between subtle
shades of colors that their language had no names for (pale blue VS turquoise). This means
that the hypothesis is wrong.
· Other experiments suggest that people remember colors which are coded in their language
more easily than those which are not.
· Some languages have linguistic categories which take account of the shape of the
object. E.g. The form of Navaho verbs is sometimes determined by the shape of the object.
Navaho children are therefore faster than the English speaking children in categorizing blocs
by shapes, and also ten to group them according to shape, whiled English speaking children
group things according to color.
Grammar and Cognition:

Grammatical categories such as tense, aspect, and gender encode aspects of reality differently
in different languages.
In studying the Hopi verb system, Whorf found out that Hopi conception of time is different
than that of the western culture.
Hopi European languages
They conceive time as cycles of events and They conceive time as a road with future
sets of processes rather than units of time. ahead and past behind.
Conjugating Hopi verbs requires an
analysis of events in terms of dynamic
motion expressed by aspect markers rather
than tense markers.
Hopi was better equipped to deal with indo-European languages have tense
processes and vibrations of modern systems.
physics. These concepts of physics were
coded in the verb morphology of Hopi, and
this forced the Hopi to notice the vibratory
phenomena.
Later studies showed that Hopi has tenses
and words for time units, most
sociolinguists consider Whorf suggestion is
an interesting one to indicate how speakers
of different languages filter reality.
The areas of experience which are important to cultures tend to be grammaticalised in

their languages. Something is grammaticalised when it s functions less and less like an
independent item, and more and more in the grammatical system such as an affix or an
auxiliary verb.
Linguistic categories and culture

Language provides a means of encoding a community’s knowledge, believes, values.
(culture). It was believed that the primitive languages are simple in grammar, but this is not
true. Dyirbal, an Australian aboriginal language is a very grammatically complex language.
The culture of this region goes back to thousands of years. Every noun belongs to one of four
classes. Particular types of experience establish associations which determine the class
membership of some items. The system can be summarized to the following categories,
which are unlike the western tradition.
· (Human) males, some animals.
· (Human) females, birds, water, fire, fighting
· Non flesh food.
· Everything else.
Even at the lexico-semantic level aboriginal languages challenge western
preconceptions about primitive languages. In Kunwinjku, there are more terms to distinguish
the kangaroos and wallabies than English. This is because the fact that kangaroos are a very
important factor in the environment of the aboriginal people.
Tahitians don’t make a distinction between sadness and sickness. Both words can indicate the
same meaning. However, western medical practice regards depression as an illness, and
expresses it with terms that may sound odd to the non-European speaker such as he is feeling
blue, in low spirits, and so on.
In Maori:
- the word “mate” covers a wide range of meaning that begins with sick and reaches to dead.
- Maori kinship terminology is also different as it distinguishes between siblings in different
ways.
- In Maori culture relative age is very important. Even the status of the tribe “iwi” which you
belong to will be identified in “teina” and “tuakana” terms relatives to other tribes.
- The importance of the extended family as an important social unit is also reflected in the
kinship system. Kinship labels reflect the mutual rights and obligations of different members
of the family towards each other. In rural areas of New Zealand, Maori children grow up in
close contact with their grandparents, aunties and uncles. They use the same term for the
mother and the mother’s sister “whaea” and they use the same term for the father and the
father’s brothers “papa”. The same pattern holds for terms used to refer to the child’s siblings
and cousins. In these cases, gender and relative age are semantically marked, but degree of
kinship is not lexically distinguished. So the lexical labels identify those with similar social
rights and obligations in relation to the speaker. Clearly, linguistic terminology reflects
cultural relationships.
Discourse Patterns and Culture

The intertwining of language, culture and perception is evident when we examine
research on patterns of interaction too. Cultural differences between the majority and the
minority cultures can lead to serious consequences as a research by Diana Eades clarifies
when comparing aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australians. When both groups use the same
language culturally different patterns of interaction can be a source of misunderstanding.
Aboriginal societies in Australia place a great importance on indirectness: it is important to
avoid being intrusive. This is done by giving people interact- ional privacy which is a crucial
mechanism in a society where there is frequently little physical privacy. In discourse, this
socio-cultural norm is reflected in a number of ways:
1- If you want info from an aboriginal person regarding factual information like location, time,
and how people are related, you must use a statement with a rising intonation like: “you were
at the store?”
2- To have substantial information, less direct statements are used to gather the info. Direct
questions are not used, and they are likely to be responded with “I don’t know” or “I don’t
remember”. The information seeker volunteers some of his/her knowledge on the topic and
then waits patiently for the other speaker to answer. Ex: “I heard there was a big argument at
the store”.
3- In aboriginal societies some kinds of information are not freely shared, and silence is much
more acceptable as a component of interaction.
Since Non aboriginal norms dominate the Australian society, aboriginal people are often
disadvantaged and misunderstood or misinterpreted as evasive or as evidence of guilt.
Cultures described as “positive politeness” or “solidarity oriented cultures” value
involvement with others, while negative politeness cultures emphasize respect and minimize
intrusion. On such a basis, aboriginal society seems a negative politeness culture. In fact
however, aboriginal society is characterized by high international involvement, on-going
serial, open-ended conversations, and places great value on group activities which build
solidarity. The analysis of interaction patterns in aboriginal communities raises questions
about the adequacy of the simple negative/positive politeness framework.
Research on aboriginal communities suggests that a feature such as preference of indirect
ways of conveying information reflects a distinctive perception of socio-cultural relationships.
Aboriginal interactions give personal relationships priority over information-oriented goals.
They prioritize the affective over the referential dimension. Indirectness is an obligatory
aspect of respect, and long non-intrusive silences are tolerated.
It seems that preferred discourse patterns and linguistic usages may reflect and even influence
a particular view of society reality and socio-cultural relationships.
Language, social class and cognition

Basil Bernstein was interested in the fact that there are possible cognitive implications
where groups use different varieties of the same language. Bernstein was concerned with the
British students who belong to the working class who were not progressing in school. But
rather than deducing that school teachers preferred student who used more standard varieties,
the researchers began to examine the features of the working class students’ speech, and they
mistakenly assumed that the kind of language they used in the interviews represent their
actual linguistic competence, where they used short monosyllabic responses, the thing that
made the researchers think that their linguistic resources are restricted.
Bernstein also suggested that a restricted code would constrain the cognitive ability of
the working class students, and argued that the language they used have affected their
perception and thinking abilities. There is no evidence to support this claim but unfortunately
it had great appeal in accounting for the failure of low class students in school, and placed the
blame on the children rather than on the teachers.
Benefits of Bernstein’s hypothesis: It made the sociolinguists examine Whorf’s claims
of the relationship between language, thought and society more thoroughly, leading to a more
detailed study of vernacular varieties and a very clear recognition that dialect differences
were comparatively superficial aspects of language which could not lead to thinking
differences.
His research however was simplified and mis-interpreted, as the linguistic variation
like choosing from the pronouns (me-i) in “between you and i/me” or marking explicitly the
past tense in sentences can not be taken as evidence of linguistic or cognitive deficit in
speakers.

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REPORT 1

Language shift in different communities.

Factors contributing to language shift:

3. Attitudes and values

How can a minority language be maintained?

LANGUAGE DEATH AND LANGUAGE LOSS

LINGUISTIC VARIETIES AND MULTILINGUAL NATIONS

Pidgin and Creole Pidgin

Habibatul Amri (18018096)

National languages and language planning

1. National and Official Language

2. Planning for a National Official Language

b. Codification: The creation of a linguistic standard or norm for a

c. Implementation: The promoting of the decisions made in the

d. Elaboration: The terminology and stylistic development of a

3. The linguist’s role in language planning

Language academics, commites and commissions are interested in

The main concerns of language planners are:

Language Codification “Orthography”

 Missionaries were good linguists whose job was to produce a

 When developing the spelling system, there was some problems

1. Symbols did not correspond to the pronounciation.

2. Different views on how to indicate the length of a vowel.

“Regional and Social Dialects in the World”

Differences between Regional and Social Dialects

DEFINITION OF REGIONAL VARIATION

2. Intra-national or intra-continental variation

3. Cross-continental variation: dialect chains

DEFINITION OF SOCIAL VARIATION

Two javanese words at different stylistic levels

3. Race and Ethnicity

4. Gender and Social Class

“GENDER AND AGE”

1. Gender-exclusive speech differences: highly structured communities

(ii) Bengali (in India)

(iii) Yana (extinct Amerinidian language

Study the Example #2, p.161.

Pronouns also reflect gender differences in Japanese:

Study the examples on p. 161

Changes in modern Japanese: vocabulary differences reflect degrees of formality as

2. Gender-preferential speech features: social dialect research

Women tend to use more standard forms!

3. Gender and social class

Study Figure 7.1 on p. 164

4. Explanations of women’s linguistic behaviour

4.1 The social status explanation

4.2 Woman’s role as guardian of society’s values

Study the Example #6 on p. 168

Society expects “better” behaviour from women – thus it is expected that

4.3 Subordinate groups must be polite

Examples: Jane came home, didn’t she?

Number of Tag Questions

Softening tags: mitigating the force of command or criticism.

4.4 Vernacular forms express machismo

Study the example #8, p. 169.

Men may regard vernacular forms positively: covert prestige!

5. Some alternative explanations

The influence of the interviewer and the context