Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Academic Year
2010 - 2011
An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
Rubn Chacn Beltrn
Index
Unit 1: Key Concepts in Sociolinguistics.
Origin of Sociolinguistics.
Speech Communities
Unit 2: Some Variables in Sociolinguistics..
Styles..
Registers
Gender
Speech Accommodation..
Unit 3: Pidginization & Creolization..
Creole Languages..
Characteristics of Pidgins
Hawaiian Creole.
Jamaican Patwa.
Tok Pisin
Decreolization..
Instumental, Accommodation & Awareness Programs....
Code-Switching..
Diglossia
Diglossia & Bilingualism.
Language Contact..
Language Conflicts
Unit 5: Bilingual Education.
Advantages of Bilingual Education..
Language Planning
Minority Languages..
Particular Sociolinguistic Situations: India..
Particular Sociolinguistic Situations: New Zealand..
Particular Sociolinguistic Situations: Canada.
Particular Sociolinguistic Situations: European Union........
The Role of English
Unit 6: Language Teaching & Learning..
Communicative Competence.
Rules of Speaking..
Analysis of English as a Foreign Language in Classrooom Use.
Implications in Language Teaching.
Pragmatics in Language Teaching
Language in the Law.
World Englishes.
Glossary
3
4
6
8
8
9
10
13
14
15
17
19
20
23
25
28
35
38
41
44
46
47
49
50
60
63
64
66
69
71
73
74
76
79
80
81
83
85
90
Unit 1
Introduction:
Key Concepts in Sociolinguistics
Language is used:
To convey meaning,
To transmit a verbal message,
To initiate,
Maintain and
Preserve social relationships.
Language is a social phenomenon THAT RELATES THE SPEAKERS TO
THEIR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT and their kinship to other members of the
SPEECH COMMUNITY.
Sociolinguistics is a relatively NEW field. Sociolinguistics tried to find THE
REASONS for linguistic variations in social and environment conditions.
Dell
Hymes
coined
the
term
COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE as opposed to Chomskys LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE.
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
When in the 1960s Sociolinguistics first began to develop, both terms were
used interchangeably. However,
SOCIOLINGUISTICS is the study of LANGUAGE in relation to society.
SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE is the study of SOCIETY in relation to
language.
Sociolinguists may make analyses in either a
level.
MICRO
or a
MACRO
Pronunciation,
Grammar,
Vocabulary
Within a single speech community, in order to determine some features of
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, ECONOMIC STATUS or SOCIAL CLASS.
Sociolinguistics has spread in the LAST THIRTY YEARS together with other
branches of linguistics such as:
Psycholinguistics
Pragmatics and
Applied linguistics
Sociolinguistics comprises various areas of study and research like
historical and comparative linguistics, dialectology and anthropology.
IN EUROPE,
In the USA,
SUBFIELDS
of sociolinguistics:
Pragmatics
Language gender studies
Pidgin
Creole studies
Language planning
4
Policy studies
Education of linguistic minorities
Etc.
Variation
One aspect of it
CONCLUSION
of subchapter Variation
Example 2:
Example 3:
Diachronic Variations
Examples:
Greek =
Latin =
Gothic =
Old English =
Present-day English =
Greek =
Latin =
Gothic =
Present-day En.
patr
pater
fadar
foeder
father
dka
decem
teon
Ten
Speech Community
What is a speech community?
definition.
CONCLUSION
On the DEFINITION OF SPEECH COMMUNITIES
NOT EASY to define a speech community. HOWEVER, there are general
guidelines (Spolsky):
No limitation of location or size.
It entails a complex interlocking network of communication.
The members of the speech community share the knowledge of language
use patterns.
They share attitudes towards themselves and others.
They also share a set of language varieties and norms for using them.
The very same language is not used in the same way by all those who speak
it. The way each person uses the language depends on the persons
SOCIAL or GEOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND and other factors such as AGE,
SEX or EDUCATION.
A researcher needs to make sure that they will devise a way to collect data
with a TRANSPARENT, SYSTEMATIC and UNAMBIGUOUS method in order
to get RELIABLE, NON-BIASED DATA. They have to make sure that when
7
they record the speech of people, that the people who speak do that in a
very natural way, without thinking that somebody is recording them. This
is the only way they can have reliable data for analysis.
Sociolinguistic research is based on the collection of LARGE AMOUNTS OF
DATA and the later statistical analysis of data in order to find general
tendencies or regularities.
Unit 2
Some VARIABLES in Sociolinguistics
This chapter is divided in 2 big parts:
The FIRST ONE talks about the 3 main variables in Sociolinguistics,
which are:
1. Style
2. Register
3. Gender
And the SECOND part is about SPEECH ACCOMMODATION.
PART I.1
Variable of STYLE
An example:
If the speaker wants to say Can you pass me the salt?, they cannot
change the word salt, because in this case they would alter the meaning
of the phrase. BUT, they can change can to could or would.
Another example:
The different words or expressions that somebody has died, that is,
die
pass away
bite the dust
kick the bucket
Can be used by a speaker depending on the style he will choose to say that
somebody has died, and that depending on the context, the speakers
education etc.
STYLE in linked to all linguistic behavior and not only in literature.
PART I.2
Variable of REGISTER
3 Main DIMENSIONS
by means of which a register can be depicted:
1. FIELD, which relates to the ACTIVITY PERFORMED, the SETTING
and the AIM of the interaction.
2. TENOR,
3. MODE,
situation.
PART I.3
Variable of GENDER
SEXIST but it is used in a sexist way or even that it reflects a sexist world.
(He is the 12th commonest word in the English language, whereas She is
the 31st commonest word.) But there are no more men than women in the
world, so this is evidence that the English language is used to TALK AND
WRITE IN A SEXIST WORLD.
10
Patters of VARIATION between men and women are much more EVIDENT
in some parts of the globe, as is the case of JAPAN.
Japanese women, for example, show they are women when they speak by
using ne as a sentence final particle. MALE SPEAKERS refer to
themselves as wasi or ore and female speakers use watasi or
atasi.
Then, the professor exposes some of the conclusions of a study carried by
Trudgill
Men:
speak.
GENDER
SEX
GENDER.
FEMININITY and MASCULINITY change
- from ONE CULTURE TO ANOTHER,
- they also depend on ethnic, religious or social groups.
Recently, studies have been made to support the existence of certain
characteristics that identify GAY and LESBIAN LANGUAGE, although this
is still an ONGOING DEBATE.
NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL Differences
in the way
MALES and FEMALES process LANGUAGE
It seems that PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING in MALES relates to the left
hemisphere of the brain whereas it involves both hemispheres in the case of
females. However, there is no evidence that such biological differences
have an effect on male-female language processing and speech. ANY
DISSIMILARITY IS A RESULT OF:
-
SOCIAL FACTORS
EDUCATIONAL FACTORS, or
POWER.
ANALYSIS
of
these
DIFFERENCES
lead
to
the
formation
of
GENDERLECTS.
Robin Lakoff identified certain features distinguishing womens talk in
terms of:
-
Word choice
Hesitant intonation
A voice pitch associated with surprise and questions
Frequency of tag phrases
Their attitude towards politeness
The use of more polite noises which support the interlocutors view.
Then, the professor refers to the use of his for men and women and
mentions that a number of solutions have been suggested to avoid this
instance of sexism in English. One of the BEST ONES is to use their.
Also, many words which indicated professions have changed in order not to
indicate that they are only jobs done by men.
Examples:
Bus boy
Chairman
Fireman
Policeman
Foreman
Salesman
Spokesman
PART II
Speech Accommodation
WAYS
To perform Speech Accommodation
f. Comprehensibility and
g. The speakers ability to gain their listeners compliance.
Speech DIVERGENCE and the use of DIVERGENT STRATEGIES are more
often fostered where the participants in the communication encounter stem
from DIFFERENT SOCIAL OR WORKING BACKGROUNDS giving way to a
strategy of intergroup distinctiveness.
By means of this TACTIC,
members of an ingroup can intensify their inclusion in the relevant
group while excluding others.
This target can be attained with the use of a specific slang, jargon,
grammatical complexity or, simply, accent.
Unit 3
Pidginization & Creolization
Pidgins & Pidginization
PIDGINIZATION is a PROCESS that sometimes takes place when 2
languages COME INTO CONTACT and, as a result, there is a process of
SIMPLIFICATION or HYBRIDIZATION.
This normally happens because speakers of different languages need to
have limited relations between them, for example, for trade/some kind of
business and they invent a language in order to be able to
communicate.
Often, one language gives the VOCABULARY, whereas the other gives the
SYNTAX. AS A RULE, GRAMMAR as well as other COMPLEX LINGUISTIC
FEATURES are SIMPLIFIED.
Most of pidgins were formed in the 16th and 17th centuries, during the
period of colonization by European powers. That is why all these pidgins
are lexically related to the language of the colonizers.
INITIALLY,
NOT
CITY
CREOLES CREOLIZATION
for
PURPOSEFUL
communication
is acquired AS A
RELATION BETWEEN
PIDGINIZATION & CREOLIZATION
Pidginization and Creolization are absolutely DIFFERENT although they
may overlap.
PIDGINIZATION = simplification (lexis, grammar, phonology).
CREOLIZATION = expansion of linguistic features and communicative
functions.
NOT EVERY PIDGIN BECOMES A CREOLE.
Creoles languages were considered to be of INFERIOR STATUS for a
long time. However, between 1950 and 1975 they stooped to be looked
upon as uninteresting and marginal bastardized jargons to gain the
status of languages. They have become the CENTRAL INTEREST of
many linguists: sociolinguists, applied linguists and theoretical linguists.
Lingua franca
ORIGINALLY, pidgins served the purpose of a lingua franca. That is, they
were used by people who spoke different mother tongues FOR A SPECIFIC
FUNCTIONAL SITUATION, SUCH AS TRADE.
15
ENGLISH-BASED CREOLES
=
Antigua
Barbados
Jamaica and
The West Indies in general.
Also, in AFRICA =
Cameroon
Kenya
St. Helena
Zimbabwe
Namibia
In ASIA too =
India
China
Hong Kong
In the PACIFIC =
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Australia
FRENCH-BASED CREOLES
can be found in
Martinique
Guadeloupe
St. Lucia and
Haiti
16
CARIBBEAN
PORTUGUESE-BASED CREOLES
Aruba
Bonaire
Curaao
Malaysia
Singapore
PIDGINS
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF
PIDGINS
In the 1970s guest workers in Germany coming from neighboring countries, such as Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey developed a pidgin in
some
big German cities like Berlin and Frankfurt.
2
Used until the 1920s in the Arctic and was used by Russian fishermen and Norwegian fish traders.
17
2 MAJOR GROUPS
There are 3 main examples of creoles based on Spanish: PAPAMIENTO (formed in the 17th century in the island of Curzao which is currently used
in the islands of Aruba and Bonaire); PALENQUERO (developed in the 18th century near Cartagena, Colombia), and CHABACANO or
ZAMBOANGUEO (is used in some parts of the Phillipines).
18
1.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
HAWAIIAN CREOLE
From a PHONOLOGICAL point of view.
FRICATIVES tend to be
Examples:
Bo da dem (both of them)
Braddah (brother)
2.
VOCABULARY
Adapted
den
lata
neva
togedda
wot?
Examples:
(then)
(later)
(didnt)
(together)
(what?)
MARKER:
gon,
I gon it fish
Auxiliaries
NONEXISTENT. NEGATION
expressed by placing no or neva BEFORE the verb:
are
is
Jamaican Patwa
(or Patois)
There is no FIXED NAME for the creole language of Jamaica. Terms used
are Jamaican, Jamaican Creole, Jamaican Patwa or Patois.
Over 90% of the 2.5 million people of Jamaica in the late 1990s are
DESCENDANTS of SLAVES brought from Africa, WHICH MEANS THAT
language in Jamaica REFLECTS that HISTORY of that country and its
contact with all the cultures and languages that have passed through.
THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE remains STANDARD ENGLISH, which is the
one spoken by the educated elite.
In Jamaica you can find people using the most formal Standard English on
one extreme, and the Jamaican Creole (Patois) on the other.
NOWADAYS, this language has not got much social and socioeconomic
status in Jamaica and it largely represents the speech of the peasants and
laborers with little education. NOT ACCEPTABLE for formal purposes.
ATTEMPTS have been made to change this situation at GIVING PATWA
OFFICIAL STATUS. Jamaican Patwa is gaining in prestige and is
now seen sometimes in newspapers or heard on the radio. Also present
in SONGS to help to raise the self-esteem of the speakers and assert their
identity.
Patwa DOES NOT HAVE a UNIFORM ORTHOGRAPHY.
NO agreement has been made whether it should accommodate the
LEXIFIER LANGUAGE (Standard English) or if an entirely new system
should be created.
English
the
this
other
with
thing
English
husband
perfumed
me
im
dem
21
8. Copula deletion:
JP
It soh bad
Im short an tumpa
Life ard many sey
English
It is so bad
he is short and stocky
many people say that life is hard
Tok Pisin
Papua New Guinea
1. Hiri Motu
2. Tok Pisin and
3. English
Tok Pisin is used nowadays by 3 MILLION PEOPLE as a UNIFYING
LANGUAGE and LINGUA FRANCA too, among speakers of a number of
INDIGENOUS languages (over 800) in Papua New Guinea.
Tok Pisin:
a. Remains very distant to English.
b. It is sometimes used as pidgin and sometimes as Creole.
c. It shows clear INFLUENCES from English.
HOWEVER, there is NO CONTINUUM between Tok Pisin and English.
Papua New Guinea was born in 1975.
In that year Tok Pisin was RECOGNIZED in the constitution.
22
NOW, some communities can choose to have their children schooled in Tok
Pisin in the first 3 years of elementary education, but parents perceive that
English brings MORE ADVANTAGES TO THEIR CHILDREN.
Tok
-
Examples:
TP
Hap pas seven
Lipt
Pait
Pilta
Pinga
Pul bilong pis
Pulap
English
half past seven
lift
fight
filter
finger
fin of fish
full, full up
TP
English
Sips
Sis
Sops
chips
cheese
chops
TP
English
Sak
Sel
Sem
Sip
Sot, sotpela
Su
Dok
Lek
Pik
shark
shell
shame
ship
short
shoe
dog
leg
pig
23
/p/
English
Ailan
Gaden
Hos
Kona
Lam
Lephan
Wok
Wan handet
island
garden
horse
corner
lamp
left hand
work
hundred
English
Fut
Grin
Gro
Ston
Smok
Stret
Tumora
foot
green
grow
stone
smoke
straight on
tomorrow
Liklik bas
Lukluk
Man bilong toktok
Singsing
English
minibus
look at
talkative person
festival
Emtupela
Emtripela
Etpela
Tupela
Tupelo marit
English
those two
those three
eight
both
married couple
TP
Adres
Dokta
Heven
Man
Stori
Skul
English
address
doctor
heaven
man
story
school
English
museum
breakfast
curtain
disciples
nose pin
Decreolization
language.
In this way,
language
25
(BASILECT).
MESOLECTS
OF VARIETIES or
which determine not only social
stratification but also alleged identities among speakers.
this
Hawaiian Creole English varieties to Standard English of Hawaii. What
variety each person speaks depends on their location and upbringing. The
BASILECT
ACROLECT
countryside,
is spoken in the major cities.
is
spoken
in
the
whereas
the
How?
Very often, these speakers are in disadvantage because the language
of formal education is actually a standard variety that they do not
speak as a mother tongue (like the African American Vernacular
English).
EDUCATORS and POLICY MAKERS introduce many arguments AGAINST
the application of a non-standard variety in the educational system.
What are some of these arguments?
OBSTACLES
In USING pidgins, creoles and minority dialects
in FORMAL EDUCATION:
(Siegel)
1. Negative attitudes and ignorance on the part of the teachers who
may mistake language problems of creole-speaking children for
cognitive problems and eventually lower the childrens expectations.
2. Negative attitudes and self-image of the students themselves
because of DENIGRATION of their speech and culture.
3. Repression of self-expression because of the need to use an
unfamiliar form of language.
27
INSTRUMENTAL,
ACCOMMODATION &
AWARENESS PROGRAMMES
All three of them are EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES in which pidgins,
creoles and minority dialects have been used, aiming at ADDITIVE
BILINGUALISM or BIDIALECTISM = that is, helping the students to acquire
the STANDARD LANGUAGE while maintaining THEIR OWN PIDGIN,
CREOLE or MINORITY LANGUAGE.
Education begins with the use of the HOME VARIETY as the MEDIUM OF
INSTRUCTION. The STANDARD language is introduced AT A LATER
STAGE and it gradually becomes the LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION for
SOME SUBJECTS.
Instrumental programmes have been implemented in places such as
(Tok Pisin).
of accommodation programmes
in
28
Unit 4
Bilingualism
Introduction
language
only
BILINGUALISM,
which entails
CAPACITY in 2 or more languages.
an
EQUAL
AND
HIGH-LEVEL
ASPECTS OF BILINGUALISM
1. It is important to take into account THE MEANS
ACQUISITION,
OF
that is,
reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension. THE
DEGREE OF DEVELOPMENT in each one of these skills will depend,
at least in part, on the MEANS OF ACQUISITION.
For example, someone acquiring the language in a NATURAL
CONTEXT will be able
language better
29
speakers because the ACQUISITION or learning was DOMAINDEPENDENT or because one language is PREFERRED IN SOME
CONTEXTS.
language
is
SUBJECTED
to
the
effect
of
3 main
FACTORS:
Bilingualism
DEFINITIONS & DIMENSIONS
A.
Definitions
are:
B.
st
DIMENSIONS
1 Dimension
SORTS OF BILINGUALISM
I. COMPOUND bilingualism
When a child learns 2 languages AT THE SAME TIME, for example, one
from the father and the other from the mother. So, both languages are
learned in:
THE SAME CONTEXT.
THE SAME CONDITIONS.
Both (meanings) are FUSED in the brain.
The 2 languages are INTERDEPENDENT.
II.
COORDINATE bilingualism
When a person first learns their mother tongue and a foreign language at
school. So, the two languages are learned in:
DIFFERENT CONDITIONS and
DIFFERENT CONTEXTS and
They are kept APART in the mind.
When a child first learns one language and another one later on, for
example, a child who learns both languages at home at the same time but
one of them is more dominant, probably because they spend more time
with one of the parents.
31
In this case, the meaning of the first language comes first and then
the meaning of the second one.
2nd Dimension
BALANCED
bilingual
Difference between
Childhood
Bilingualism
Adolescent or Adult
Bilingualism
And
In CHILDREN
In ADOLESCENTS OR ADULTS
Bilingualism
+
COMPLETED
Cognitive Development
Are developed
AT THE SAME TIME
COGNITIVE representation
of a WORD is
and there is mainly a
RELABELING
of
PREVIOUS CONCEPTS
Divisions of
Childhood bilingualism
1.
2.
CONSECUTIVE
childhood bilingualism.
When a basic linguistic ability is acquired early in infancy in the
mother tongue and a second language is acquired right after.
4th Dimension
Sociocultural Environment
That is, the SOCIAL STATUS that the languages have in the speech
community.
ADDITIVE bilingualism
5th Dimension
(by Hamers and Blanc)
Cultural Identity
BICULTURAL,
MONOCULTURAL,
ACCULTURATED BILINGUAL
ONE-lexicon advocates
TWO-lexicon advocates
OTHER THEORIES
There are those who believe that BILINGUAL SPEAKERS have
1. A CONCEPTUAL one for their knowledge of the world.
2. A LANGUAGE STORE for language A.
3. A LANGUAGE STORE for language B.
3 stores:
CODE CHOICE
CODE:
any kind of
COMMUNICATION.
SYSTEM
for
of
the
Excerpt:
2. INTERSENTENTIAL SWITCH.
For instance, in the sentences Y LUEGO DECA, look at the
smoke coming out of my fingers, like that and Y LUEGO
STE, I started seeing like little stars all over the place.
35
3. INTRASENTENTIAL SWITCH.
When BOTH CODES are mixed within THE SAME
SENTENCE. For example, in the above excerpt, an example of
this switch is: I started acting real CURIOSA. This switching
contains the HIGHEST SYNTACTIC RISK and it typically referred to
as CODE-MIXING.
CODE-MIXING
CODE-MIXING
CODE-MIXING
highlights HYBRIDIZATION.
CODE-MIXING
BEING MIXED.
CODE-MIXING
CODE-MIXING
is
also
relatively
IMMIGRANTS.
36
COMMON
in
the
speech
of
Why? Because
a. they can be referring
***The
37
The professor gives the examples of ten-year old Nicols (Spanish mother
and brought up in Spain, English father) who said estoy pensando
los pobres having been influenced by the English structure think
According to De Bot, it is absolutely
switch codes
normal
DE
of.
PROCESSING by bilinguals.
Some issues which have LONG PUZZLED psycholinguists and language
educators are:
a. How do bilingual speakers process their languages?
b. Does the bilingual child develop a unique language system where
both languages are intertwined, or does he have two different
linguistic systems? Do they make use of one or the other depending
on the context?
c. If there is more than one system, are they located in the same part of
the brain?
d. Does the bilingual brain contain one or two different lexicons?
These questions are NOT ALWAYS easy to answer.
DIGLOSSIA
(HIGH-LOW VARIETIES)
The CO-EXISTENCE of 2 OR MORE CODES, used in the
SAME SETTING, BUT under DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES.
That is, EACH OF the codes is used with CONTRASTING FUNCTIONAL
PURPOSES.
LOW
variety
Sermon in church
High
Low
Variety Variety
H
L
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
HIGH variety
More prestigious
More appealing
More appropriate
Even when inferior command than the low variety
Literary tradition makes use of it
Long tradition of grammar
Established rules for orthography, pronunciation, vocabulary and
grammar.
+5* In relation to these functions it should be mentioned that the High variety, the Low
variety or both can be used, depending on the languages involved.
39
1.
It took place after the Norman conquest in 1066.
Norman French and English became to coexist in a DIGLOSSIC situation.
NORMAN FRENCH
ENGLISH
variety
2.
the result of the
CREOLIZATION
40
Diglossia-Bilingualism
4 POSSIBILITIES
(Fishmans theory 2003)
1st Possibility
Diglossia YES - Bilingualism
It is the case of:
GERMAN
Switzerland.
and
YES.
(Both)
SWISS GERMAN
2nd Possibility
Diglossia NO Bilingualism
(Only Bilingualism)
YES
that are rapidly taken over and often INTERTWINED with the previous
ones.
For a period of time, the language of work or schooling and the language of
home may intertwine, but WITHOUT A DEFINITE SEPARATION of functions
and locations.
3rd Possibility
Diglossia YES Bilingualism NO
(Only Diglossia)
It happens in societies where 2 or more languages SHARE A
GEOGRAPHIC AREA, but they are NOT INEXORABLY USED by
the speakers living in that area.
to
ROLE
It is also characteristic that in this type of societies that most of the ELITE
and most of the MASSES lead lives DISTINGUISHED by SPECIFIC ROLE
REPERTOIRES.
42
4th Possibility
Disglossia NO Bilingualism
(None)
NO
NO DIFFERENTIATION in registers or
varieties is found, which is RATHER IMPROBABLE, given the social
communities where
dimension of language.
MULTILINGUALISM
A short definition:
into the EAST and WEST Indies and it was the reason many
PIDGINS and CREOLES were created, which had not existed
before.
43
(VOLUNTARY Migration)
Voluntary migration has determined THE LINGUISTIC
SHAPE of modern countries like the USA and to a lesser extent,
AUSTRALIA.
When,
nations in the world entered the US, they acquired ENGLISH and
MANY
ABANDONED
their
OWN
languages.
This
MONOLINGUAL TREND, however, has CHANGED later in the
19th century, as IMMIGRATION from SOUTH AMERICA and ASIA has
DISRUPTED the MONOLINGUAL tendency and has given
way to the development of new ethnic identities in this officially
monolingual country.
Language Contact
This chapter discusses
communication. For example, people who live on the two sides of the
border between Portugal and Spain normally understand each other
without any problem. But a person who would live further away in
Portugal might not be able to understand a Spanish person who would live
away from the Spanish-Portuguese border.
Possible Outcome 2:
From a DIACHRONIC
LOSS OF ONE
LANGUAGE CONTACT
MAIN SOURCE
of
Language Evolution
And
Language Change
Over time
Possible Outcome 3:
Language contact can cause
POLITICAL CONFLICTS.
give
employment,
they
45
WEAKENED groups,
or groups REDUCED IN NUMBER, might move towards
ASSIMILATION of the dominant language and culture.
some cases, SOCIALLY or PSYCHOLOGICALLY
MINORITY group
2. ARTIFICIAL conflicts.
These conflicts arise when a COMPROMISE is
LANGUAGE IS DISFAVORED.
attained and a
For example,
languages
are 25 countries in the EU and 20 languages are spoken.
Unit 5
BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Bilingual education:
1. Involves BOTH a given LANGUAGE POLICY and a PEDAGOGIC
REALIZATION in a particular classroom.
2. Deals with NATIONAL or REGIONAL MATTERS.
3. Tries to ASSIMILATE MINORITIES.
4. INTEGRATE MINORITY groups.
5. Spread INTERCULTURAL UNDERSTANDING.
6. POLITICS ARE ALWAYS PRESENT IN IT, as in Canada, for
instance.
CONDITIONS
So that MINORITY LANGUAGES can
survive
(Baker 2002)
1. Minority languages NEED TO BE USED AT HOME and
therefore become MOTHER TONGUES of the NEW MEMBERS of the
family (Welsh, Basque).
2. They have to be PRESENT in FORMAL schooling. In
this way, the students will have WIDER LINGUISTIC TOOLS which
they will be able to use OUTSIDE their home. In Catalonia and in the
Basque country bilingual education has been successful, but not in
Ireland, where the NUMBER OF GAELIC speakers has decreased in
favor of English.
3. They
EMPLOYMENT purposes.
47
to
be
SOCIALLY
and
3 DIFFICULTIES
In the IMPLEMENTATION of
a well-founded LANGUAGE PLANNING POLICY
in BILINGUAL EDUCATION
(Baker 2002)
1. There is a TEMPTATION on the part of the language planner TO
GIVE PROMINENCE TO THE LANGUAGE rather than to the child.
2. Language planning for bilingual education has A LIMITED VIEW of
the FUNCTIONS and PURPOSES of education, as it often FOCUSES
ON the BENEFITS and NEEDS for the ACQUISITION of a DUALLINGUISTIC system, sometimes setting aside other social and
psychological considerations.
3. There is often UNFOUNDED OPTIMISM and TOO HIGH
EXPECTATIONS on bilingual education in revitalizing a language.
There is a RECENT TENDENCY to perceive bilingual education as very
ADVANTAGEOUS.
WHY?
48
Because of the
Because of the
Because of the
more than one
(8) Advantages of
Bilingual Education in Modern Societies
(Baker & Jones 1993)
(3) DRAWBACKS
of Bilingual Education
Language POLICY
49
Language PLANNING
need
multilingual country to IMPLEMENT a language POLICY.
Sometimes language planning can RESULT FROM the
of a
OF IDENTITY.
AN
ISSUE IN
Various:
a. Economic
b. Educational
c. Historical
50
d.
e.
f.
g.
Judicial
Political
Religious and
Social
To what extent
can man
DELIBERATE manipulation?
complex.
alter
Disadvantage:
It raises the problem of conservation and respect for minority
group identities and cultural heritage.
Examples of the disadvantage:
a. Russification in the former Soviet Union)b. Aboriginal language death in AUSTRALIA, because of the linguistic
ASSIMILATION POLICY until the 1970s to only have ENGLISH at
schools.
It was only in 1972 that a LABOR GOVERNMENT
recognized the RIGHT OF ABORIGINAL CHILDREN to become literate
in their own language before they learn English. This government
51
2.
LINGUISTIC PLURALISM
It implies the acceptance of various languages or varieties. It
can be centered on individual or geographical criteria.
2 examples:
3.
VERNACULARIZATION
It entails the
that
Example:
Tok Pisin
4.
INTERNATIONALISM
PURPOSE of language planning is to adopt a
non-vernacular language for wider interethnic
communication as a political solution to an internal problem often
It is reached when the
Example:
English in India and Singapore.
FACTORS
Affecting Language Planning
1. SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS
2. LINGUISTIC FACTORS
For example, the DEGREE OF DEVELOPMENT of one language as
well as the existence of a LITERARY TRADITION.
3. SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
4. POLITICAL FACTORS
5. RELIGIOUS FACTORS
They are also important. An example of this is that Sudan, as a
former colony, had ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (SPOKEN BY
A MINORITY). This was CHANGED TO ARABIC, a language spoken
BY HALF OF the population, because of the stronger position of
Islam in the country. The Bible has also been translated into many
different languages.
ACTIONS
In Language Planning
1. SELECTION OF A NORM.
MULTILINGUAL countries NEED to DECIDE what languages will
become OFFICIAL. Sometimes, this decision is VERY DIFFICULT
53
of
this,
sometimes
INTRODUCE a language as a
ENGLISH in GHANA and INDIA.
it
is
ABSOLUTELY
LINGUA FRANCA,
NECESSARY
to
as is the case of
POLITICAL
2. CODIFICATION.
3. MODERNIZATION.
4. IMPLEMENTATION.
PRESTIGIOUS,
also
54
AIMS
In Language Planning
What follows is
GOALS
1. LANGUAGE PURIFICATION
2 types:
1.a. EXTERNAL Purification
There are
TAKEN
for
EXTERNAL
55
LANGUAGE REVIVAL
2.
It is an
with a small
3.
LANGUAGE REFORM
INSTANCES
4.
TURKISH.
LANGUAGE STANDARDIZATION
5.
LANGUAGE SPREAD
6.
LANGUAGE MODERNIZATION
or
implementation of languages seeking revival (Hebrew)
or reform (Turkish) that involves developing previously unwritten
languages and aims at bridging the gap between them and modern
knowledge and technology.
2. As part of
have
borrowed
concepts
and
terms
having a
LEXICON
GLOBALIZATION
7.
TERMINOLOGY UNIFICATION
8.
STYLISTIC SIMPLIFICATION
to be simpler in order to
reduce COMMUNICATION AMBIGUITY between 2 groups, for
It is found when a language use needs
57
9. INTERLINGUAL COMMUNICATION
ADOPTION of the language of WIDER
COMMUNICATION with the intention of FACILITATING
It implies the
10.
LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE
2 LEVELS:
spoken language
from
11.
AUXILIARY-CODE STANDARDIZATION
INDIVIDUAL
LANGUAGE PLANNING
On some occasions language planning DOES NOT NEED to be a
GOVERNMENT initiative.
INDIVIDUALS.
Norway.
TODAY, there are
Bokml
Riksml (NATIONAL LANGUAGE) and Danowas influenced by Danish which was the dominant
It is also called
Norwegian. It
language while Norway was under Danish rule (1397-1814).
Nynorsk
Landsml (COUNTRY LANGUAGE).
on RURAL DIALECTS uninfluenced by Danish.
Also known as
It is based
By the middle of the 19th century, some attempts were made to create a
Norwegian language
Ivar Aasen,
tried to
forge a
ISOLATION.
The
was A LANGUAGE
recognition in 1885
PERCEIVED
BY
1930 A LAW was passed in the Parliament which stated that official
documents had to use BOTH varieties.
In
CHOICE.
Both varieties are employed by the government, the schools
and the mass media, ALTHOUGH BOKML IS STILL THE
MOST WIDELY USED.
Also, BOKML is more used in URBAN AREAS, whereas
NYNORSK is mainly used in WESTERN RURAL AREAS and
cities in THE WEST, like BERGEN.
These two varieties are PERFECTLY INTELLIGIBLE, so they
dont need to be used exclusively within a minority group.
MINORITY LANGUAGES
IMPORTANT DECISIONS
need to make:
A.
LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE
B.
the SURVIVAL
of a specific
BILINGUALISM
LANGUAGE SHIFT
POLICY
DECISIONS
SOCIOCULTURAL FORCES.
BUT
ALSO
ON
EXPENSE
OF
LANGUAGES.
ANOTHER
61
OR
OTHER
PAULSON (1994-1999) asserts that ethnic groups within a modern nationstate usually shift to the language spoken by the pre-eminent group.
LANGUAGE SHIFT
IN
Minority Languages
small group migration
in a QUICK LANGUAGE SHIFT.
Voluntary individuals OR
typically results
why
the Greeks in Pittsburg SHIFT OVER A FOUR
GENERATION SPAN, compared with the three generation shift of
U.S.A. among the Greeks and the Italians and has Paulston explain
the Italians.
62
Some Particular
SOCIOLINGUISTIC SITUATIONS
India
1947:
1950:
India recognized
15 MAJOR languages:
4
11
LITERARY
1956:
NOWADAYS: MULTILINGUALISM
is encouraged in India.
Many
children learn:
- English (at school)
- Hindi (at school too, in the DEVANAGARI script in school, which is
the OFFICIAL LANGUAGE of the country)
- Their mother tongue (spoken at home), and
63
TODAY:
The CENTRAL GOVERNMENT in India (New Delhi) deal with all types
of issues related to INTERNATIONAL POLICY and the common
interests of Indian people.
The STATE GOVERNMENT looks after LOCAL and REGIONAL
local language.
FOR YEARS
New Zealand
(The Case of Maori)
Almost all Maoris in New Zealand speak ENGLISH and a large
proportion of the young people are BILINGUAL.
HOWEVER, many
youngsters, especially in cities, DO NOT SPEAK MAORI
ANYMORE.
Maori is ENDANGERED for several reasons:
1. English is the language of EDUCATION.
2. Maori is spoken more in RURAL AREAS and people prefer to live in
cities.
64
1999:
LATE 1990s:
NOWADAYS,
ZEALAND ABORIGINES
THE
LACK OF government SUPPORT or BILINGUAL
PROGRAMS meant that children coming from Kohanga were NOT
able to maintain their Maori language. Finally, a Maori-speaking
In spite of these efforts to maintain the Maori culture and language,
assistant was included in schools, but this was NOT sufficient to guarantee
CONTINUED MAORI LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT.
65
immersion schools
independent
Canada
1982: It was the year in which Canada became a
CONSTITUTIONALLY BILINGUAL COUNTRY. By this
constitution, the ENGLISH RIGHTS in QUEBEC were PROTECTED as
much as the French rights outside Quebec.
political tensions
social and
Canadians
French
BILINGUALISM
66
2.
EXAMPLES
bilingual education programs
Of
bilingual and bicultural society in Canada.
FRENCH IMMERSION
It began 45 years ago in 1965 with an experiment carried
out in Montreal. A group of English-speaking parents
initiated a bilingual immersion programme with their children
in kindergarten (FRENCH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE). The final objective
was
1.
2.
DELAYED or INTERMEDIATE
There are
LATER, in grade 4.
3.
LATE
2.
PARTIAL
Characteristics
of Prototypical IMMERSION PROGRAMMES
(Swain and Johson 1997)
1. The L2 is used as a medium of instruction.
2. The immersion curriculum is analogous to
5. L2
context.
6.
8.
European Union
Language Policy & Planning
EU there are many languages and many cultures and this
can normally be a BARRIER OF COMMUNICATION. Therefore, there is
a NEED to convert this rich European HERITAGE in a source of
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING.
In the
within the EU
is TO
linguistic identity.
25 countries in
the EU with 22 different official languages out of which only 3
were considered WORKING LANGUAGES: English, French
and German.
At the time the Professor wrote the manual, there were
of
international
languages
for
to
intercultural
SOME ACTIONS
for
the
Important DOCUMENTS:
tongue.
PROGRAMMES
EXCHANGE
OF
ARE:
-
especially after the WWII, leaving behind other preeminent languages such
as French.
for a
globalized world
-
To preserve everyones
from a
its the
1. It
4. IT
72
Unit 6
Sociolinguistics
&
Language Teaching/Learning
Common CONCERNS
1.
2.
3.
4.
The
The
The
The
or learn a language
communicative competence.
MOTHER TONGUE
sociolinguistic rules NATURALLY, from his CHILDHOOD.
The
language
learner
of
acquires
with
Nowadays,
it is
language instruction.
in classroom
Conclusions
SOCIOCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT.
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
In Language Teaching/Learning
Communicative Competence:
Comprises VARIOUS types of knowledge and skills, such as:
Linguistic
Sociolinguistic
Pragmatic.
Is needed for successful interaction among members of the same
speech community.
In this unit it is analyzed FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF
FOREIGN/SECOND language learning.
74
Linguistic Competence
Sociolinguistic
Competence
LINGUISTIC COMPETENCES:
Refer to the knowledge of lexical, phonological and syntactical
elements and other dimensions of language, such as sociolinguistic
and pragmatic knowledge.
Comprise the knowledge of vocabulary, pronunciation rules, syntactic
patterns and the cognitive organization and storage of this knowledge
in the brain of the language learner.
Vary from one learner to another, depending on various factors such
as the:
The number of years spent learning the language,
The rate of learning,
The age when contact with the second language,
The learners motivation,
The learning context
Etc
SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPETENCES:
Are concerned with the SOCIAL and CULTURAL conditions for the
use of language and the SOCIAL CONVENTIONS that rule language
use in a specific speech community, such as norms regarding:
Politeness
Relations between sexes
Relations between different social classes
Social groups
Generations
Different registers
Etc
Are normally acquired AFTER some degree of linguistic competence
has been attained.
Are not always present in the case of foreign language curriculum
and if they are, they not considered important.
Normally, LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIOLINGUISTIC RULES and
behavior may result in communication breakdown.
75
PRAGMATIC COMPETENCES:
Refer to the functional use of linguistic resources, such as:
Language functions
Speech acts in interaction
Also concern themselves with the language learners mastery of
discourse markers,
cohesion and
coherence and
the recognition of text types
the presence of irony and
politeness
etc.
Sociolinguistic Behavior:
Rules of Speaking
1. Address of Behavior
The way people address each other is
sociolinguistic research
a recurrent topic in
to
In the same study they also noticed that the form maam not only had
different meanings in the South of the United States, but it was also used
in different contexts.
76
ALSO
to
t and Usted
Sie and du
Examples:
IN THE STATES, a phone call will probably begin with the caller
apologizing to the person answering the phone, especially if it is a time of
the day when the caller may be busy or may be disturbed.
IN FRANCE, it is the same and even more probable for the person calling to
apologize. Also, in France, callers are very likely to identify themselves and
to check that they are calling to the right number.
IN ENGLAND, this apology takes place amongst some groups and social
classes.
IN GERMANY, the first thing the person who answers the phone says is
their first and last name, although they are not asked to do so.
All these rules may be changing because of the mobile phone technology,
for instance, which lets the one who answers know who is calling them.
77
Sociolinguistic Perspectives
On Language Use
In Immersion Classrooms
Most of the time, bilingual education and immersion programs do help in
developing proficiency in the second language for students that will need it
for one reason or the other, BUT the DEGREE OF SUCCESS depends on a
NUMBER OF EXTERNAL FACTORS, such as:
The special sociopolitical situation,
A variation in the teaching resources,
The extent of immersion,
The status of the L2 outside the classroom,
Etc.
Extensive research has been done on CANADIAN IMMERSION in the last
decades to find out about the SHORTCOMINGS in their implementation, as
well as the level of proficiency attained by the students when they graduate.
MAIN DIFFERENCE
ANOTHER ASPECT
of
language
learning
closely
related
to
conclusion
interaction
classroom.
Classroom
language
SLANG
is
also
is
part
ASYMMETRIC
participants controls the
of
an
1
Teacher Initiation
3
Teacher Evaluation
2
Student Response
SUMMARY
OF the above
classroom:
3 COMMON MOVES
in the
Implications for
Language Teaching
What this section basically talks about are the PROBLEMS or I should say,
the setbacks of learning a language in a classroom (learning it as a foreign
language, or learning it in an immersion program that is, when this
language is used as a means to teach other subjects.)
80
spoken interaction
may fit them for their COMMUNICATION NEEDS INSIDE the
classroom, BUT it does nothing or not enough to help them in
real situations.
This is called TASK-BASED
INSTRUCTION and is organized around tasks rather
than grammar or vocabulary.
He says that the practice the students get in
So,
interaction,
Pragmatics in
Language Teaching
It is in RECENT YEARS that curricula and teaching materials have begun
to include STRONG PRAGMATIC COMPONENTS.
MANY PROPOSALS for instruction in various aspects of PRAGMATIC
COMPETENCE are based on analysis of NATIVE SPEAKER DISCOURSE or
on the COMPARISON of INTERLANGUAGE DATA, as well as CONTRASTING
L1 and L2.
NEVERTHELESS, most recommendations for instructions in pragmatics
HAVE NOT been examined in action in the classroom, so we dont know
how effective they are.
MUCH RESEARCH IS NEEDED IN THIS
RESPECT.
KASPER and ROSE put forward that LANGUAGE LEARNERS CAN
BENEFIT FROM POSITIVE TRANSFER OF COMMUNICATIVE ACTS that
have been found CONSTANT across ethnolinguistically distant speech
81
apologies.
An explicit apology
An explanation
The admission or denial of responsibility
B. As Minor Strategies:
Offer of repair
A promise of forbearance
An expression of concern for the hearer.
English
French
German
Hebrew
Thai and
Japanese
INFORMATION,
if
there
is
An example:
The English modal past COULD and WOULD have formal functional and
distributional equivalents in other Germanic languages such as DANISH
AND GERMAN. According to Faerch and Kasper (1989), Danish and
German learners of English WILL transfer ability questions
from their L1.
However evident this transfer of pragmalinguistic knowledge may be, it
should not be assumed that language learners will in fact make the
transfer, because:
a. Sometimes the LINK between the strategy in the L1 and L2 may
not be so evident and,
b. Language learning involves a complex PSYCHOLINGUISTIC
process and positive transfer does not always occur in the way
that was expected.
There is, then, a NEED for description of pragmalinguistic
knowledge and its use in the classroom.
82
relatively NEW
lawyer interviews.
THE
THE
83
WAY
INFORMATION
WITNESS EXPRESSED
THE
AN EFFECT
ON THE FINAL
YES-NO
broad WH
questions
that let the witness say something in their own words (e.g.
how, why, what, etc)
List of some other linguistic strategies used by lawyers to control witnesses:
Interruptions.
Reformulation of witnesss descriptions of event or people (e.g. from
my friends to a group of louts).
Manipulation of lawyer silence, for example, with the use of strategic
pauses.
Nonrecognition of some witnesses need to use silence as part of the
anwer; which can be particularly important, for example, for
Australian Aboriginal witnesses.
Incorporation of damaging presuppositions in questions (such as Did
you all laugh while the care was being trashed?)
Metalinguistic directives given to the witness (such as You must
answer this question), and
Management of topics in order to convey a particular impression to
the jury.
The amount of work in
language
STUDIES
of
linguistics
has
on
peoples
lives
is
LEGAL
have undertaken
main areas:
1. The communicative difficulties that occur from the INTERACTION
between LAWYERS JUDGES VICTIMS WITNESSES
ASPECTS etc
84
PRESTIGIOUS.
In every language there is a standard variety. It is related to those groups
of people that can be said to be literate and school-oriented. The
standard is also associated with a geographic variation ,
in the regions where institutional and economic power is located or more
developed.
Defining and delimiting a standard is not always easy or even possible
as different varieties can be considered a standard in
distant countries or regions. For example, the Received Pronunciation
which is generally considered as the standard in England is not the same
as the English Standard in Ireland, Australia or the USA.
There has also been a demand for other local standards, such as
Indian, South African, Nigerian, Jamaican etc. In some occasions it is not
clear whether a variety of English is to be considered as standard or not.
NON-STANDARD ENGLISH:
2.
THE
SECOND DIASPORA =
th
th
WEST Africa
slave trade
development of pidgin and creole languages.
ENGLISH IN WEST AFRICA in linked to the
and the
Since the 15th century, British traders traveled to and from the
west coast of Africa but there was not settlement in the areas
now comprising Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. This
situation favored the use of English as lingua franca among
the hundreds of indigenous languages and the English-speaking traders.
Some of these pidgins and creoles are now widely used, mostly as a
second language, for example,
Pidgin
Krio
Cameroon
in Cameroon.
MODEL
For the spread of English
Developed in 1992 by Y. Kachru.
field of sociolinguistics.
WORLD ENGLISHES
which stand for:
He divided
into
3 concentric CIRCLES
United States
Australia
New Zealand
That is, the FIRST DIASPORA
The English spoken in the INNER CIRCLE is considered as
NORM-PROVIDING and shows clear patterns of variation both in terms
of geographical and social differences.
Zambia
Pakistan
India
West Africa
East Africa
etc
That is, the SECOND DIASPORA
The English spoken in the OUTER CIRLCE is considered as
NORM-DEVELOPING.
87
The varieties spoken in the OUTER CIRCLE countries have been called
NEW ENGLISHES.
New Englishes
the
Englishes of India, Nigeria, Singapore and Tanzania,
together with many other outer-circle countries
SHARE some superficial linguistic characteristics that make it
convenient to describe them as a group DIFFERENT from the
varieties in British, American, Australian, New Zealand,
etc.
Although not all specialists agree with this term, it is certain that
These New Englishes are not the only languages spoken in the OUTER
circle countries and they may be spoken in different circumstances
(mother tongue, first language, lingua franca etc). There can also be
registers, domains and styles not covered by the speaker of English as
a Second Language in the Outer Circle or even variation in terms of
proficiency among the speakers.
It is simplified.
Example:
In the case of vowels the quality of vowels normally approximates to that of
the other languages spoken by the speakers. The same happens with some
consonants.
Some features are shared by languages in the Outer Circle but not in the
Inner Circle.
Example:
Tag questions, which are very simplified in New Englishes. In India, its
no? or isnt it on all occasions, or not so? in East and West Africa.
88
Germany
Etc
That is, countries in which English is learned and used as a Foreign
Language.
The English spoken in the EXPANDING CIRCLE is considered as
NORM-DEPENDENT.
In the EXPANDING CIRCLE, there is a marked tendency to USE a
standardized variety like
There are
2 stages
British or American.
variety
2.
the
the INTERCHANGEABLE
INFLUENCE of these two varieties gives way to what is
often called MID-ATLANTIC ENGLISH, that is, when
In
second
one,
features from British AND American usage are MIXED because learners
are exposed to BOTH VARIETIES.
THIRD possibility:
(3). Students who receive the influence of British English
through their FORMAL education, but the influence of
American English through the music and the media.
There is a
BORROWINGS
languages.
89
Glossary
ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES
The languages spoken by Aboriginal Australians before the arrival of
English colonizers. Aboriginal English is the technical name given to a
continuum of varieties of English ranging between standard Australian
English and creoles used by Aboriginal Australians.
ACROLECT
ANALYTIC LANGUAGE
AUXILIARY LANGUAGE
BASILECT
BIDIALECTAL
This term is closely related to bilingualism. In the same way that someone
speaking two languages would be considered bilingual, someone who can
use two dialects can be considered bidialectal (see Dialect). It all
depends, of course, on what is considered a dialect, but the ground
definition would be a variant of a language due to geographical differences.
Nevertheless, being bidialectal implies that the differences between the
concerned codes is not so great as to prevent mutual intelligibility.
BORROWING
CO-ORDINATE BILINGUAL
This term applies to someone who has learnt two languages and both
languages have been learnt in different contexts, and they are kept
distinct. It probably entails the existence of two meaning systems with
two different words. This raises the question whether both languages
develop together or separately in the brain. Neurolinguistic findings
suggest that words are stored together in the case of early bilingualism,
from childhood, but keep in separate places if bilingualism was developed
later.
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
92
COMPOUND BILINGUAL
This term describes a situation in which one language has been learnt
after the other and, therefore, through the first one. Both languages
are closely connected as they are composed of a single meaning system
with two words or labels for a single meaning. This raises the question
whether both languages develop together or separately in the brain.
Neurolingustic findings suggest that words are stored together in the case
of early bilingualism, from childhood, but kep in separate places if
bilingualism was developed later.
CORPUS PLANNING
DIALECT
DIALECTOLOGY
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
DISCOURSE MARKER
These are words, phrases or sounds that have no content meaning but,
however, play an important role in marking conversational structure,
93
DOMAIN
DORMANT BILINGUAL
ENDANGERED LANGUAGE
ENGLISH-LEXIFIER CREOLE
(See Lexifier)
This term refers to any creole which is English-based and therefore
has received borrowings from English. Due to the post-creole continuum,
that language may still be receiving words from English.
ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION
ETHNOGRAPHY OF SPEAKING
This branch of sociolinguistics studies the norms and rules for using
language in social situations in different cultures. This is the reason
why it is so important for cross-cultural communication and that also
accounts for its relation to communicative competence. The ethnography of
speaking deals with aspects such as the different types of language to be
used under different circumstances; how to make requests; grant
94
ETHNOMETHODOLOGY
This branch of sociology deals with the content of what is being said
rather than the way it is being said. Ethnomethodologists do not study
speech or language but the content of what is being said and, what is more,
what is not being said because of shared knowledge or common-sense
knowledge.
HERITAGE LANGUAGE
HYPERCORRECTION
INFORMANT
INTERFERENCE
LANGUAGE ACADEMY
In some countries like Spain (The Royal Academy), France (The French
Academy), Ireland (The Irish Language Commission), Norway (The
95
LANGUAGE ATTRITION
Gradual language loss. This term can refer to the loss of a mother tongue
that has been acquired and due to lack of use probably because it is not
the language of the community it is gradually forgotten. This happens
quite frequently among the second and the third generation of
immigrants. In second language learning, it can refer to the loss of a
language that was learnt through formal instruction but gradually forgotten
after a period of time.
LANGUAGE CONFLICT
LANGUAGE ELECTION/SELECTION
LANGUAGE LOSS
This term refers to a situation where language shift in a speech
community ends in the total shift to another language. For instance,
imagine a group of immigrants that go to a new country and, gradually, in
one or two generations blend into the new speech community as their
language becomes eventually extinct (e.g., the language loss of Dutch
immigrants in Australia). This phenomenon would be referred as language
death if a language shift ends with the total loss of a language from the
world, i.e., all speakers shift to a different one (e.g., Manx on the Isle of
Man).
LANGUAGE SPREAD
rather talk about language shift. Extreme cases can even lead to language
death as has happened with the spread of Spanish and English in America
resulting in the loss of many Amerindian languages.
LEXIFIER
LINGUA FRANCA
LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
MACRO-SOCIOLINGUSTICS
MESOLECT
When Decreolization takes place, i.e., a creole language coexists with a
standard language and the latter exerts some influence on the former, a
range of varieties develop. In such a situation a continuum appears in the
language and speakers in that speech community show a range of different
pronunciation features, which are usually associated with social
stratification. The mesolect is the intermediate variety, or varieties,
which is between the creole and the standard.
MICRO-SOCIOLINGUISTICS
MINORITY LANGUAGE
NATIVE SPEAKER
A person who has spoken a language since early childhood. This term is
rather controversial in linguistics because it assumes the existence of a
speaker that can be appealed in questions or correct usage because she/he
is reported to represent the authority that can determine correct or deviant
usage. Native and non-native are not clear cut homogeneous categories as
variation depending on individual factors (origin, education, etc) is
enormous and all speakers are, in turn, native speakers of a given language
or dialect. In second language learning, they have traditionally represented
the model to follow in the process of learning but this has proven to be
inefficient approach as the processes of first and second language learning
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NEW ENGLISHES
This term refers to any of the varieties of English that have emerged
as a consequence of the ample spread of this language during the
colonial period. Examples of New Englishes are the English spoken in
India, Kenya, Singapore or Jamaica, among others. Also known as World
English, it does not emphasize the dichotomy between native and nonnative use but embodies the recognition of English as an international
language that shows formal and functional variation in different contexts,
as a result of its use in multilingual and multicultural contexts.
OBSERVERS PARADOX
PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE
PRAGMATICS
PROFICIENCY
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(PROTO)-INDO-EUROPEAN
SABIR
This was a lingua franca used in the Mediterranean area from the
Middle Ages to the twentieth century. It is interesting to know that this
language has been kept stable for centuries in spite of not having native
speakers and being just a contact language used by speakers that do not
share a common language. The origin of pidgins is not clear and there is
an ongoing debate about it, but some specialists, the monogeneticists,
suggest that all pidgins based on a European language derive from this
lingua franca.
SOCIOLINGUSTIC COMPETENCE
SOCIOLINGUISTIC INTERVIEW
SOCIOLINGUISTIC RELATIVITY
SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE
SPEECH ACT
STATUS PLANNING
SYNCHRONIC VARIATION
SYNTHETIC LANGUAGE
TURN-TAKING
VARIETY
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