sociolinguistics 1-2 chqapters

Question 1

What is Society?

Answer 1

A group of people who share common cultural, social, and linguistic practices.

Question 2

What is Language?

Answer 2

A structured system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar.

Question 3

What is Code?

Answer 3

A general term for a language or language variety used in communication, often referring to code-switching.

Question 4

What is Grammar?

Answer 4

The set of rules governing the structure of a language, including syntax, morphology, and phonology.

Question 5

What is Prescriptive Grammar?

Answer 5

A set of language rules dictating how language should be used, based on traditional norms.

Question 6

What is Descriptive Grammar?

Answer 6

The analysis and description of how language is actually used by speakers.

Question 7

What is Competence?

Answer 7

A speaker’s internal knowledge of language rules, including grammar and structure.

Question 8

What are Grammatical Judgments?

Answer 8

A speaker’s ability to assess whether a sentence follows the rules of their language.

Question 9

What is Performance?

Answer 9

The actual use of language in real situations, which may be influenced by external factors like memory or distractions.

Question 10

What is Communicative Competence?

Answer 10

The ability to use language appropriately in different social and cultural contexts.

Question 11

What is Variation?

Answer 11

Differences in language use across speakers or situations, influenced by social and linguistic factors.

Question 12

What is Linguistic Variation?

Answer 12

The occurrence of different forms of speech within a language, influenced by region, class, ethnicity, etc.

Question 13

What is a Linguistic Variable?

Answer 13

A language feature that has different variants (e.g., pronouncing ‘running’ vs. ‘runnin’’).

Question 14

What are Variants?

Answer 14

The specific forms that a linguistic variable can take.

Question 15

What is Identity?

Answer 15

The way individuals define themselves, often reflected in language use.

Question 16

What is Social Identity?

Answer 16

A person’s sense of belonging to a group based on factors like ethnicity, class, or gender.

Question 17

What are Group Memberships?

Answer 17

The social categories (e.g., nationality, profession) that a person belongs to, often reflected in speech.

Question 18

What is Power in language?

Answer 18

The ability to influence others, often reflected in language use (e.g., formal vs. informal speech).

Question 19

What is Solidarity?

Answer 19

A sense of unity or shared identity, often expressed through linguistic choices.

Question 20

What is Idiolect?

Answer 20

A person’s unique way of speaking, influenced by their experiences and background.

Question 21

What is Culture?

Answer 21

The shared beliefs, practices, and language patterns of a community.

Question 22

What is the Whorfian Hypothesis?

Answer 22

The idea that language influences thought and perception of reality (also called linguistic relativity).

Question 23

What are Correlations in linguistics?

Answer 23

Statistical relationships between linguistic features and social factors (e.g., age, class, gender).

Question 24

What is Variationist Sociolinguistics?

Answer 24

The study of language variation using quantitative methods to examine patterns of change.

Question 25

What is Micro-Sociolinguistics?

Answer 25

The study of small-scale language interactions, focusing on individual or group speech behavior.

Question 26

What is Macro-Sociolinguistics?

Answer 26

The study of large-scale language patterns, such as language policy, societal attitudes, and multilingualism.

Question 27

What is Quantitative research in linguistics?

Answer 27

A research method using numerical data to analyze language variation.

Question 28

What is Qualitative research in linguistics?

Answer 28

A research method focusing on non-numerical data, such as interviews and observations.

Question 29

What is a Variety in language?

Answer 29

Any distinct form of a language, including dialects, sociolects, or registers.

Question 30

What is a Dialect?

Answer 30

A regional or social variety of a language with distinct vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

Question 31

What is Vernacular?

Answer 31

A non-standard or everyday spoken variety of a language, often contrasted with formal speech.

Question 32

What is Standard Language?

Answer 32

The prestigious or officially recognized variety of a language used in formal contexts.

Question 33

What is Ideology in linguistics?

Answer 33

A set of beliefs or attitudes, often influencing how people perceive different language varieties.

Question 34

What is Mutual Intelligibility?

Answer 34

The ability of speakers of different dialects or languages to understand each other.

Question 35

What is a Dialect Continuum?

Answer 35

A range of dialects that gradually change across a region, where adjacent dialects are mutually intelligible, but distant ones are not.

Question 36

What is the Role of Social Identity in language?

Answer 36

The way language choices reflect and reinforce a speaker’s social identity.

Question 37

What are Regional Dialects?

Answer 37

Dialects spoken in specific geographical areas, differing in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

Question 38

What are Boundaries in linguistics?

Answer 38

The limits separating different linguistic or social groups, often marked by language differences.

Question 39

What are Isoglosses?

Answer 39

Geographic boundary lines that separate areas using different linguistic features (e.g., 'soda' vs. 'pop').

Question 40

What is an Accent?

Answer 40

A way of pronouncing words that reflects a speaker’s regional or social background.

Question 41

What is Received Pronunciation (RP)?

Answer 41

The standard accent of British English, often associated with prestige and education.

Question 42

What is a Glottal Stop?

Answer 42

A speech sound produced by closing the vocal cords, commonly found in accents like Cockney and Estuary English (e.g., replacing the t sound in 'bottle' → 'bo’le').