Exam 1: Ch.1-7 Flashcards
(133 cards)
1
Q
Language
A
System of linguistic communication particular to a group (includes spoken, written and signed modes of communication)
2
Q
Society
A
Group of people drawn together for a certain purpose
3
Q
Code
A
System two people use to communicate with each other
4
Q
Prescriptive vs descriptive grammar
A
Prescriptive: outline the standard of a language and how it SHOULD be spoken
Descriptive: describes, analyzes and explains how people actually speak their languages
5
Q
Competence vs performance (Chomsky)
A
Competence: what speakers know about their language
Performance: what they do with their language
6
Q
Chomskyian linguistics
A
Ideal speaker-listener
Completely homogenous speech community
Unaffected by grammatically irrelevant conditions (distractions, memory problems, shifts in attention/interest) and errors in applying knowledge to actual speaking
7
Q
Pinker’s views of chomskyan linguistics
A
Thinks the idea of studying language as if it came from perfect speakers/homogenous community is silly because language is always being pushed and pulled by diff speakers in diff ways
8
Q
Labov’s opinion on chomskyan linguistics
A
Pointless to study asocial linguistics, must understand how community affects language
9
Q
Term for knowing how to use language appropriately
A
Communicative competence
10
Q
Variation
A
Difference between speakers in the way they use language
11
Q
Identity
A
Dynamically constructed aspects of people that emerge through discourse and social behaviour; not fixed
Has to do with membership of social groups or categories
12
Q
Power
A
Has a significant role in identity
Ability to control events to get outcome you want + control someone has over the outcome of others
13
Q
Solidarity
A
Motivation for people to act together and feel a common bond which affects their social actions
14
Q
Idiolect
A
Individuals way of speaking including sounds, words, grammar and style
15
Q
Culture
A
Consists of society’s norms for what one has to know/believe in order to be accepted by other members
Socially acquired knowledge
16
Q
Age-grading phenomenon
A
How young children speak differently than older ones, and older ones speak differently than mature adults etc) bc social organization of age groups
17
Q
Four theories on the relationships between language and culture
A
1- social structure may influence or determine linguistic structure/behaviour (age grading hypothesis)
2- opposite of 1; linguistic structure/behaviour may influence or determine social structure or worldview (whorfian hypothesis)
3- relationship is bi directional and they influence each other
4- no relationship or that our recent attempts are premature because we don’t know enough about language or society
18
Q
The whorfian hypothesis
A
By linguist Sapir and his student Whorf
Sapir believed that there is a close relationship between language and culture and Whorf took it a step further by saying that the social categories we create and how we perceive events/actions are constrained by language we speak
Ex: people who have vocab in their language to talk about a certain thing will have an easier time discussing it than people who speak a language without those vocab words
Ex: study on European languages and Hopi; they see the world differently because of the way their language communicates the passing of time
19
Q
Variationist sociolinguistics
A
Focus on scientific methods looking at variation
20
Q
Sociolinguistics vs sociology of language
A
Sociolinguistics (micro): investigating relationships between language and society to better understand function and structure of language in communication
Sociology of language (macro): goal of understanding social structure through language
21
Q
Linguistic anthropology
A
Fuzzy distinction with sociolinguistics as there is a lot of overlap in theory themes methodology and history
22
Q
Critical sociolinguistics
A
Interventionist approach
Studies the processes by which systems of social inequality are created and sustained
Focused on big issues and how to change them to create brighter future
23
Q
Correlational studies
A
Attempt to relate variables by correlation
24
Q
Discourse analysis
A
Studies of conversational structure and how speakers use language for social purposes
25
Observers paradox
Labov
Aim of sociolinguistic research= find out how people talk when not being systematically observed but data only available from systematically observational studies
26
Vernacular
Language that a person grows up using in every day life and in casual social interactions
Could be met with social disapproval
27
Ordinary persons definition of a dialect vs sociolinguistic definition
Ordinary: no more than a local, non prestigious, powerless variety of a real language
Nonstandard or sub standard speech, inferior
Sociolinguistic: refers to one norm of a language, every variety is a dialect including standard variety of a language
28
Language
Refers to single linguistic norm or a group of related norms
Whether dialects belong to same language or different one is a sociopolitical identity, not linguistic similarity or difference
Has to do with standardization
Ordinary definition: super ordinate category and standard variety (not true)
29
Standard language ideology
When a dialect or language has inferior connotations and that inferiority is carried over to the speakers of that dialect or language
30
Mutual intelligibility
Common criterion: if two speakers can understand each other = dialects of same language
If they cannot understand each other = speaking different languages
PROBLEMATIC BC
-not objectively determined fact
-dialect continuums exist (like in German and Dutch)
-many named distinct languages that are mutually intelligible (like Hindi and Urdu)
-exists unintelligible dialects that are identified by speakers as same language (like Mandarin and Cantonese are both considered Chinese)
31
Standardization
Process by which a language has been made into a code (involves creation of grammars, dictionaries, etc)
Requires agreement between people about what is in a language and what's not
32
Standard language
Standardization is inevitable
Fixed end point therefore change is resisted
Natural proper fitted language of those who use it
Part of history and identity and protected
Takes on social political cultural dimensions
Used to give prestige in some cases
33
The issue with standardization
Languages are constantly going through natural change therefore academics are constantly trying to fix the consequences of changes they can't prevent
34
Features of standard English (Trudgill)
```
1- usually used in print
2- normally taught in schools
3- learned by L2 speakers
4- spoked in academia
5- used in the news
***a variety!!
```
35
History of standard English
Based on dialect of English
After Norman conquest resulted in permanent removal of the court from Winchester to London
Preferred by the educated and promoted as norm/model for society
Now worldwide
36
Regional dialects
Different dialects based on geographical regions
| Differences in pronunciation, choice/form of words and syntax
37
Dialect continuum
Gradual change in language across geographical regions
| Over large distances, the dialects at each end of the spectrum could be mutually unintelligible
38
Classifying dialects into languages is based on...
Social identity
| Political boundaries
39
Dialect geography
Attempts made to map the distributions of different linguistic features to show where they are geographically
40
Linguistic variable
Varied and changing ways of expressing something
| Ex: drink drank drunk
41
Isoglosses
Maps drawn to show boundaries of linguistic variables
42
Accent
Has regional and social associations
| Based on pronunciation
43
Social dialects
Originate among social groups
Related to factors like social class, religion, and race/ethnicity
Ex: in Baghdad, different religions once spoke different varieties of Arabic
Study of this is called social dialectology
44
Neighbourhood German (dialect)
Also called Kiezdeutsch
A way of speaking associated with multiethnic neighbourhoods
Dialect that received a lot of resistance and included labels
Characteristics:
-some lexical items from other Langs like Turkish but have their roots in German so not a mixed language
-multiethnic youth language
A lot of people think it's lazy sloppy speech and the fault of immigrants
Intertwined with identity of speakers
45
Ethnic dialects (ethnolects)
Don't arise because members of a certain ethnicity are born to speak a certain way; learned by exposure
Link between linguistic variety and ethnicity/race/nationality is socially constructed
Used to construct identity
46
AAVE (African American vernacular English)
From northern US (Detroit, NY, Philadelphia, etc)
| Result of recent migrations of blacks to the south and patterns of racial segregation only slowly changing
47
Features of AAVE
Phonological
- cluster reduction
- r less ness
- /ai/ monophthongization
- /th/ sounds pronounced as t, d, etc
- verbal s marking
- zero copula (no be) or habitual be (we be going)
48
Development of AAVE
Argued that all characteristics of AAVE are found in other varieties of English; just another dialect of American English (anglicist hypothesis)
-----
Neoanglicist hypothesis (wolfram)
Africans brought parts of their own Lang while accommodating to local dialects of English
-----
Creole origin
Features of typical creole languages
-----
Divergence hypothesis
AAVE diverging from other dialects of English
49
Features of Latino Englishes
```
(Ex: Chicano english)
Multiple negation
Regularization of irregular past tense verbs
Absence of past tense marking
More phonological though...
Vowel reduction
Monophthongization
```
50
Styles, registers and genres and how they relate to dialects
These complicate the study of dialects because speakers can choose different registers and styles, and spoken and written language can be viewed as being different genres of language
Have to do with context, not social or regional identity
51
Style
Differences in formality
52
Register
Specific ways of speaking associated with a particular profession or social group
Ex: legalese or personal ads
53
Genre
Set of co-occurring language features associated with particular frames
Related to meaning of register but associated with particular linguistic features
54
Reasons people would form a social group
```
Political
Religious
Social
Cultural
Familial
Etc
```
55
Essentialism
Where stereotypes come from; the idea that people can be placed into fixed social categories and that all members will share certain qualities that we see as detrimental to being a member of this group
56
Chomsky's idea of speech community and why it's wrong
Homogenous
Not purpose we want, real life not theoretical construct
We need to be able to identify groups in real life society
Must not forget that every speaker in a group has complex and unique identities
57
Lyons idea of speech community and why it's problematic
He says its people who use the same language or dialect
Back to problem of how to define what's a language/dialect
Can't just be linguistic criteria
58
Speech community
Can be defined by having the same norms (labov) (also same local knowledge beliefs and values)
All members share the same communicative competence
Don't have to be speakers of the same language
Ex: Czech, Austrian German and Hungarian
Group of people who interact regularly
59
Community of practice
People come together with the same goal in mind and shared practices emerge in their joint activity around that endeavour
Shapes individuals, gives them identities and limits what they can do within the group
Defined by all social practices, not just language
Ex: nerd girls
60
Social networks
How people are linked to each other through kinds, frequency and constellation of social interactions
61
Three types of social network
Dense: if people you know and interact with also know and interact with one another
Loose: if people you know and interact with DONT know and interact with each other
Multiplex: if people in your social network are connected in multiple domains such as work, school, etc
62
What does a multiplex social network indicate?
Strong social cohesion
Feelings of solidarity
Encourage members of network to identity with each other
Ex: working class in Belfast
63
Social identities
Identity can be constructed through linguistic means (ex: use of certain lexical forms or language varieties)
Identity: something you DO, not something you HAVE
Idea that social practices produce/reproduce the social world including identities
Not fixed
64
Crossing
People who are not accepted members of a group associated with the second language that they are using switching codes while speaking
65
Language ideologies
Rubric for dealing with ideas about language structure and use in relation to social contexts
Ex: idea that certain languages are better than others, accepted by everyone including speakers of "deficient" language (hegemonic ideologies)
Related to poverty, lack of education, personal characteristics such as laziness
66
Perceptual dialectology
Study of non linguists ideas about the regions, features and values of dialects
Regional differences are often intertwined with ideas about other social groups
67
Language shift
Speakers shift to speaking the dominant language
68
Language maintenance
Both languages (dominant and lesser) continue to be spoken in a place
69
Ethnolinguistic vitality
How likely a language is to be maintained
Must consider these 3 factors:
-its status (economic, social and historical)
-territorial distribution/concentration and population demographics (death/birth rate, numbers, migration, etc)
-institutional support or lack of, formally (media education and gov) and informally (workplace and social cultural and religious activities)
-
70
Multilingualism
Normal in many parts of the world where it's necessary to know different languages for home, village, trade, church, etc (India for example)
Often learned by exposure or sometimes in school
Here it has positive associations but in other places negative (ex: Americans speaking indigenous varieties of spanish)
Long history in western societies of looking down on multilinguals unless they spoke classical languages or languages of high culture like French English Italian and German
Pushed immigrant languages down
71
Code-switching
Old term to describe speaking different languages or dialects (general)
Now called multilingual discourse
72
Linguistic landscapes
Display of languages in public spaces of multilingual societies (signs billboards ads and graffiti)
Shows underlying ideologies about the codes and speakers in the community
Ex: German and Turkish in Berlin (Turkish seen more in Turkish background residents)
73
Matched-guise experiments
Tests how speakers are perceived when speaking their L1 and their L2
Shows that code influences how we are perceived by others
74
Monoglossic ideology
Belief that languages should be kept separate
Causes derogatory labels to describe what they hear like franglais Spanglish etc
Misunderstanding of laziness/ignorance, actually just speakers having sophisticated knowledge of both languages and awareness of community norms
75
Pluralist ideology
Multiple ways of speaking are valued
| Spanglish for example as a source of pride
76
Diglossia
Situation with two distinct codes with clear functional separation (one code used in one circumstance and the other in another)
77
Diglossia: why?
- sizeable body of literature in a language closely related to or identical with natural language of community
- literacy is limited to small elite in community
- over a long period of time
78
Domains
```
Circumstances under which different varieties are used in diglossia (H and L varieties)
H: media, politics/gov, academia, writing
L: low class workplace, market, casual social situations, soap operas/popular radio programs, cartoons and folk literature
Example of changing from L to H: English vs Norman French in England (Chaucer)
```
79
Language attitudes and ideologies associated with diglossia domains
H: power, prestige, feeling that it's more beautiful/logical/expressive (therefore used for church and literature)
L: so little prestige that some speakers deny knowing it
80
How do people know H and L varieties?
H is taught (in classrooms/religious settings as teaching requires grammars, dictionaries, standardized texts, and widely accepted view about nature of what is being taught and how it should be taught)
L is learned at home
81
Problems when diglossia
- statues of languages might not be accurate
- the labels are too strict
- stable bilingualism can happen
- many examples of bilingualism that don't fit diglossia
82
Multilingual discourse
In most multilingual setting= no strict guidelines for what language to speak
People selects codes when speaking and may mix them, even in short utterances
Used to be called code-switching
83
Code-switching constraints
Structural features of multilingual discourse
84
Situational code-switching vs metaphorical code-switching
Situational: languages are used depending on what situation the speaker is in
Metaphorical: choice of code carries symbolic meaning aka language fits the message
85
Accommodation
One way of explaining how speakers and groups may be seen to relate to each other
Trying to fit to listeners expectations of their speech, can be conscious or unaware
Can decrease distance between them and listener by sacrificing something in order to gain social approval or reducing differences (convergence behaviour)
Distance yourself from listeners by being too formal, or using slang/non standard speech (divergence behaviour)
Also used for mockery
86
Audience design
Orienting speech towards others through choice of code
Requires a fine tuned skill
Involves speakers style and other parts of language repertoire
87
Referee design
When speech of an absent group influences language choices
88
The markedness model
In any conversation, there is an unmarked choice aka code that is expected in a certain context (ex: using H variety in a formal situation)
Doesn't predict when unmarked codes will be used, but used to analyze code-switching (multilingual discourse)
89
Stancetaking
Part of Communication Accommodation Theory; speakers use language to position themselves with/against their interlocutors including social values and ideologies about language speakers and social norms
90
CRAAVE
Cross race African American vernacular English
91
The three main theoretical approaches to the study of multilingual discourse
Communication Accommodation Theory
The markedness model
Study of language choices as part of social constructing of identity
92
Lingua franca
When people who speak different languages come in contact with each other and need a way to communicate, a lingua Franca is used
93
Superstrate vs substrate
Superstrate: socially/politically/economically dominant language in the multilingual context in which the pidgin or creole develops; usually provides vocab for pidgin/creole=lexifier language
Substrate: two or more native languages of speakers who contribute to creation of pidgin/creole by providing vocab/phonological systems/grammatical structures
94
Life cycle model (of pidgin/creole development)
Says that pidgin languages develop in situations where speakers have no common language other than the superstrate, but lack access to it this because of limited input in the superstrate, they only acquire a pidgin form of it to use among themselves
Model itself: jargon to stable pidgin, and then to expanded pidgin (which splits into creole, or post-continuum creole -> lexifier) OR post-pidgin continuum -> lexifier
95
Two most common situations for pidgins to develop
Situations where there is made migrant labour or increased trade
96
Difference in goals of pidgin and creole
Pidgin: simplified for specific context
Creole: complex and people want to expand it, elaborated and native
97
Language bio program hypothesis
Argues that humans are programmed to create languages, and given only input in a simplified pidgin language, create an elaborated, full-fledged language
Claimed to explain similarities of Creoles (universal principles of first language acquisition are involved)
98
Bio program hypothesis: problematic?
Yes! In many creole languages, elaboration seems to happen when non native speakers are speaking expanded pidgins (before nativization occurs)
Gradualist model=assumption in research since late 1980s because that's when they started using historical documents to look at Creoles true history
Not native speakers but communicative context that causes elaboration
99
Two issues involved in P/C languages and second language acquisition
1-similarities between both processes
•learners of English showing simplification that looks like pidginization but isn't
•inter language (pidgin can be a target language and it is a conventionalized system of communication so not the same)
2-role of second language acquisition in the development of PC languages
•fossilization
•transfer in SLA: learners use features of their native language in the language they are learning (distinction of transfer in each case?)
100
Pidgin vs creole formation
Pidgin:
- simplified code
- involves simplification of language aka reduced morphology and syntax, tolerance of phonological variation, reduction of uses and borrowing of words from mother tongues
Creole:
- full-fledged language
- expansion of morphology and syntax
- increase in uses
- development of larger vocab
101
Theories of creole genesis (1-5)
- early perspective=Creoles are structurally similar (linguistic universals in creole genesis); involved bickerton's language bio program hypothesis but no one denies influence of the superstrate, want to study other factors
- substratist position=substrate languages hold important role in creole genesis
- relexification hypothesis=idea that the phonological form of the superstrate language is used while keeping the syntactic/semantic features of substrate language
- afrogenesis hypothesis=concerns origin; thought pidgins came from African slaves (monogenetic view= single source accounts for similarities among varieties)
- today: opposition of universals vs substrate influence= false; must recognize that PC language formation is complex and has many factors that influence it, only one of which being language contact
102
Geographical distribution of PC languages
Mainly in the equatorial belt around the world in places with easy access to the oceans (Caribbean, South America/Africa coasts, across Indian and pacific oceans)
103
Phonology of PC languages
- Less complicated sounds
- No complicated morpheme relationships between words
- more variation in pronunciation
104
Morphosyntax of PC languages
Lack of inflection
Verbs lack tense
Use of periphrastic constructions
Uncomplicated clause structure
105
Vocabulary in PC languages
Many similarities to superstrate language
Use of reduplicative patterns to express repetition or intensification
Could draw from vocab resources of more than one language
106
Does a pidgin always become a creole?
No, it's rare. But pidgins are usually lingua Francas. Dies out when no longer needed.
107
When does elaboration of a pidgin occur?
```
When pidgin becomes the language of the speech community
Ex: Tok Pisin (expanded into a creole)
-first just an extended pidgin
-nativized in 1960s
-children started acquiring it as an L1
```
108
Time it takes for pidgin vs creole formation
Pidgin: can happen "overnight"
Creole: two or more generations
109
Creole continuum
Can occur when creole is related to another dominant language (aka Decreolization, but inaccurate because changes in creole languages are not just a reversion to a past or more standard form)
Can only arise when the two varieties are of the same language
110
Three levels of creole continuum
Acrolect: close to standard
Mesolect: blend together to form the "in-between"
Basilect: least like the standard
A speaker can be able to speak over a span of the spectrum, not just one level!
111
Contact varieties
Contact varieties can refer to many kinds of phenomena, for example immigrant languages taking on features of majority languages (cultural borrowing)
112
Mixed language
Just two languages involved
| It's a language whose lexical and grammatical structures cannot be traced back to a single source language
113
When do mixed languages develop?
Among widespread bilingualism and so, unlike pidgins, don't develop because of need for lingua franca
114
Diachronic/historical linguistics
Study of how languages change over time
115
Dialect geography
Related to historical linguistics
Take their assumptions and methods and many of its results used to confirm findings taken from historical sources like archeological findings, population studies and written records
View: languages differentiate internally as speakers distance themselves from one another over time and space, and this creates dialects in languages
116
Isoglosses
Lines that attempt to show geographical boundaries of the distribution of a specific linguistic feature on a map
117
Dialect boundary
When Isoglosses overlap and create a bundle
| Often coincides with geographical or political factor like a mountain ridge, river, boundary of old principality, etc
118
Focal vs relic area (dialect boundaries)
Focal area: the area from which linguistic features spread
Relic area: area unaffected by changes spreading out from neighbouring areas
119
Remnant dialect
Dialect of an area that has not changed a linguistic feature, whereas all other areas have
120
Methodological issues in dialect studies
- sampling based on assumptions of who represented the dialect best
- social class was not looked at enough
- marginalization of women speakers (true vernacular was defined by looking at men)
- the axiom of categoricity (treats linguistic variables as if they were categorical in individual speak and in regional dialects as well)
121
Dialect mixture
One speaker using variation of features of different dialects at different times
122
Linguistic variable
Linguistic item that has variants aka different forms that can be used in different environments
123
Principle of accountability (in analysis of variants)
Says that if it's possible to define a variable as a closed set of variants, all the variants must be counted
124
Three landmark studies in variation analysis
- Labov in NYC
- Trudgill in Norwich
- Shuy et al. In Detroit
125
Indicator vs marker
Indicator: has no social import attached to it
Marker: more noticeable and can carry social info
126
Ways to determine social class membership (variation studies) and its problems
Problems: no strict guidelines of class in society, terms such as middle class may have different meanings for the speakers themselves, always changing
Categories: occupational scale, educational scale, income level, lifestyle (recent), etc
127
Social networks
```
Milroy decided to look at these instead of social class
Network of relationships that people belong to, shows how usages can relate to frequency and density of contact among speakers
```
128
The sociolinguistic interview
Provides speech in context
Interviewer manipulates the context to try and make the people being interviewed focus more or less on how they are speaking
Make them emotionally involved in what they are saying so they forget about how they are talking
Ex: danger of death question
To get formal style samples: get people to read a story passage, lists of words or minimal pairs
129
Sampling
Sample should be representative to a group of speakers
Shouldn't be biased
Best sample=random sample (everyone has equal chance of being selected)
Judgement sample (or quota sample)= subjects are chosen according to a set of criteria from each category ex: age gender social class etc
Stratified sample: using a past survey to choose participants
130
Apparent time vs real time
Real time studies: over a span of ten, twenty etc years
Apparent time studies: for example subjects grouped by age and any differences found in their behaviour may be associated with changes happening in the language
131
Panel vs trend study (real time study)
Panel: same participants are involved over the whole span of time
Trend: different people
132
Correlational studies: what is the independent and dependant variable?
```
Dependant variable= linguistic variable, or the feature being studied
Independent variable= factor that can be manipulated like social class age gender ethnicity etc
```
133
What is quantitive sociolinguistics and its two most important characteristics?
Studies that must be statistically sound if they are to be useful
Validity: research process accurately represented
Reliability: how objective and consistent the measurement of the data is
