6.4 Domains and language use Flashcards
Plurilingual speakers and language choices
there are unwritten rules dictating what language each person should speak in a particular situation. In fact, such rules are much the same as those dictating whether we should use formal or informal language, slang, technical jargon,
regional dialect, etc. in monolingual situations. The only difference is that for plurilingual speakers, language choices include more options as they can switch not only between varieties of the same language, but from one language to another.
The factors determining language choice relate to the concept known in sociolinguistics as the ‘linguistic domain’
*** Domain
two examples of domain and defining characteristics.
A useful way of classifying social situations is to analyse them into
three defining characteristics: place, role-relationship and topic.
Together, these make up a set of typical domains.
A particular variety of language is appropriate to the domain
In a multilingual community, different languages may well be considered appropriate for different domains.
—One common domain is home.
The role-relationships associated with home (the people likely to be involved in speech events) include family members (mother, father, son, daughter, grandmother, baby) and visitors.
In a multilingual family, different role-relationships might involve different language choice. For instance, husband and wife might use one language to each other, but father and children might use another.
—Another common domain is work. The place might be a factory or an
office or a store. The role-relationships include boss, worker, colleague, customer, foreman, client, to mention just a few. The topics are work-related. Now we can understand some of the sociolinguistic complexity
that occurs when two people who have one role-relationship at home
(such as father and son) have another at work (boss and worker, for instance). When they speak, they can choose a register or language
variety to show which relationship is dominant at the time.
What are domains called for?
For a place or an activity in it
-Home
-Work
Domain
(in sociolinguistics) refers to a social situation defined in terms of place, role-relationship and topic (Spolsky’s three dimensions). Speakers are expected to use whichever language variety is appropriate for each domain.
In the case of the German plurilingual mother, which of Spolsky’s three dimensions (place, role-relationship and topic) makes them different from each other?
In this case the principal difference is the role-relationship between the
speakers (i.e. her children as opposed to her spouse). In Antje’s family a specific language is attached to each parental role: ‘mother’ speaks German to the children and is spoken to in German by them; ‘father’ speaks and is spoken to in English. In other bilingual families, the domains may not be as
clearly defined in terms of role-relationships and it may be the topic of conversation or place (home or outside) that determines which language is used instead
research subject
in research involving human participants, the subject is the person taking part in the study
*** Domain
In sociolinguistics, domain describes a specific sphere of experience in which a distinct type of language is used (i.e. differences in diction, tone, and slang). As such, language use in different domains is shaped by the context, the audience present, and the topic of communication.
An example of ‘domain’ used in a sentence: ‘The only domain where A uses colloquial English is with her siblings and her niece.’
Passive language
a language that a person is able to understand but unable to use. It may also refer to a language that a person would be able to use but chooses not to.
Active language
a language that a person can both understand and use productively, i.e. speak and/or write
Standard English
the form of the language generally accepted as correct within an English-speaking country. As such, it is one variety of English among many. The features of standard English are chiefly matters of grammar, vocabulary and spelling. Different standard Englishes exist, for example standard British English and standard American English.
