Downloaded 799 times
![The status scale
Superior high status
Subordinate low status
e.g.
1. The use of ‘sir’, ‘Mrs.’, to the lecturer by
the students
2. The [h]-dropping reflect someone’s lower
social group](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/file801-140907050756-phpapp01/75/language-and-society-38-2048.jpg)
language and society
- 1. Sociolinguistics 1. AnIntroduction Hainan University Bai Lifang
- 2. Outline • 1.Objectives of the course • 2. Teaching method • 3. Definition of sociolinguistics • 4. Language and context • 5. Different forms of linguistic variation • 6. Social factors in linguistic variation
- 3. 1. Objectives ofthe course Through this course, you’ll • 1) get to know about the important concepts and main areas of sociolinguistics. • 2) be able to find out the impact of extralinguistic factors on language, such as age, gender, profession, social status, ethnicity, politics, etc.
- 4. Objectives of thecourse • 3) think about language and observe the usage around you. Find interest in thinking about and listening to the speech of people around you. • 4) Learn to use language appropriately in different contexts.
- 5. 2. Teaching method • The course will mainly be given in the form of lecture, but the students are highly encouraged to be actively involved in the classroom activities, including • 1) questions-and-answers • 2) discussions • 3) oral presentations
- 6. You are supposedto • attend the lecture • read relevant materials • observe the particular use of language in particular situations • do the analysis work by using the theories learned in the lecture or read in the reference books • present the result to the class.
- 7. 3. Definition ofsociolinguistics • Wardhaugh: (Wardhaugh p12) • Sociolingistics investigates the relationships between language and society with the goal being a better understanding of the structure of language and of how languages function in communication.
- 8. What are includedin the “society”? • People • place • Social system
- 9. Language and people • Age, gender, race, nationality, class Language and place • Region, occasion Language and social system • Power, ideology, policy, politeness
- 10. people language placeSocial system
- 11. Sociolinguists are interestedin explaining • why we speak differently in different social contexts, • what are the social functions of language • how language is used to convey social meaning.
- 12.
- 13. Example 1 •Ray: Hi mum. • Mum: Hi. You’re late. • Ray: Yeah, that bastard Sootbucket kept us in again. • Mum: Nana’s here. • Ray: Oh sorry. Where is she?
- 14. • Example 2: • Ray: Good afternoon, sir. • Principle: What are you doing here at this time? • Ray: Mr Sutton kept us in, sir.
- 15. • Example 1: • Ray: Hi mum. • Mum: Hi, you’re late. • Ray: Yeah, that bastard Sootbucket kept us in • again. • Mum: Nana’s here. • Ray: Oh sorry. Where is she? • Example 2: • Ray: Good afternoon, sir. • Principle: What are you doing here at this time? • Ray: Mr Sutton kept us in, sir.
- 16. Greeting: • Hivs. Good afternoon Address: • Mum vs. Sir Referring to the teacher: • that bastard Sootbucket vs. Mr Sutton Referring to the event • Kept us in again vs. kept us in
- 17. Ray’s utterance •tells his mother why he is late, his choice of words how he feels about the teacher concerned, • tells us something about his relationship with his mother.
- 18. The clues wecan get from the speech: • The relationship with mother: Intimate and friendly • The relationship with the principal: Formal, distant, respectful
- 19. • We uselanguage to ask for and give people information. • We use it to express indignation and annoyance, as well as admiration and respect.
- 20.
- 21. Example 3: MargaretWalker • Every afternoon as she leaves her office, her bossiness partner says “goodbye Margaret”, (she replies “goodbye Mike”). • Her secretary says “See you tomorrow”, (she replies “goodbye Jill”). • And the caretaker says “Bye Mrs. Walker” (to which she responds “goodbye Andy”).
- 22. • As shearrives home she is greeted by “Hi mum” from her daughter. • Jenny, “hello dear, have a good day?” from her mother. • And simply “you’re late again!” from her husband. Later in the evening the president of local flower club calls to ask if she would like to join. • “Good evening, is that Mrs. Billington?” She asks. • “No, it’s Margaret Walker, but my husband’s name is David Billington”, she answer. “What can I do for you?” • Finally calls “Hello Meg, sut wyt ti?”
- 23. • Languages providea variety of ways of saying the same thing. • The choice of linguistic form is a useful clue to non-linguistic information. • Language variation can provide social information.
- 24. Practice: • Makea list of all the names you are called by people who know you. • Who uses it to you and when and where? • Do some people call you by more than one name?
- 25. • We usedifferent expressions in different contexts. • Linguistic variation can provide social information.
- 26. 5. Different formsof linguistic variation The different ways we say things • Pronunciation • Words • Grammar • Dialect • language
- 27. Example 4 •Sam : You seen our ‘enry’s new ‘ouse yet? It’s in ‘alton you know. • Jim : I have indeed. I could hardly miss it Sam. Your Henry now owns the biggest house in Halton. Sam—a coal miner Henry—Sam’s son Different pronunciations Jim—Henry’s old friend
- 28. Example 5 •(a) Refuse should be deposited in the receptacle provided. • (b) Put your rubbish in the bin, Jill. Refuse vs. rubbish Deposit vs. put Receptacle vs. bin Null vs. Jill Passive vs. imperative Different words and grammar
- 29.
- 30. Example 6 •All the villagers know and use two distinct kinds of Norwegian: the local dialect which is called Ranamal and then there is the standard dialect or standard Norwegian, Bokmal . • Ranamal -- speak to their family, friends and neighbors. • Bokmal – at school, in church services and sermons, the local government offices , official, to strangers and visitors from outside. (Janet Holmes, 2001: 5)
- 31. • The twodialects differ in pronunciation, and word-forms. • The social considerations for the choice of language: the participant, social setting, Different dialects the topic purpose of the interaction.
- 32.
- 33. Example 7 •The adults were all trilingual: German, Friulian, Italian • Before 1866 the village had been part of the Austrian empire, and its villagers all spoken German. German dialect -- at the home, and to neighbours and fellow villagers. The regional language Friulian -- with people from the surrounding area outside the village, and in the pub. It is a language of friendship and solidarity. Italian -- talking to those from beyond the region, and reading and writing,at the church and the school. (Janet Holmes, 2001: 6) Different languages
- 34. • Sociolinguists usethe term variety (or sometimes code) to refer to language in context. • A variety is a set of linguistic forms used under specific social circumstances, i.e. with a distinctive social distribution. • Therefore, variety is a broad term which includes different accents, different linguistic style, different dialects and even different languages which contrast with each other for social reasons.
- 35. 6. Social factorsin linguistic variation • Social factors accounting for the particular variety used: • 1. The participants : Who is speaking and • Who are they speaking to ? • 2. The setting or social contexts of the interaction : Whereare they speaking ? • 3. The topic : what is being talked about ? • 4. The function : why are they speaking ?
- 36. Social dimensions •Participants: solidarity-- social distance scale status scale • Setting—formality scale • Topic • Function Referential and affective function scales
- 37. The solidarity –social distance scale Intimate Distant High solidarity Low solidarity The scale is useful in emphasizing that how well we know someone is a relevant factor in linguistic choice. e.g. Meg vs. Mrs. Belington
- 38. The status scale Superior high status Subordinate low status e.g. 1. The use of ‘sir’, ‘Mrs.’, to the lecturer by the students 2. The [h]-dropping reflect someone’s lower social group
- 39. The formality scale Formal High formality InformalLow Formality 1. Useful in assessing the influence of social setting or type of interaction on language choice. 2. Often degrees of formality are largely determined by solidarity and status relationship. But not always.
- 40. The referential andaffective function scales Language can convey objective information of a referential kind; it can also express how someone is feeling. Referential High low Information information Content content affective Low high Affective affective Content content
- 41. The referential andaffective function scales The more referentially oriented an interaction is, the less it tends to express the feelings of the speaker.
- 42. • 未来10天（9月1-10日），西北地区东部、华 北、江淮、江南北部、华南南部、西南地区东部 等地降雨量有30-80毫米，其中四川盆地东北部 、陕西东南部、湖北西部及华北局地有120-180 毫米，局地可超过200毫米；黄淮、东北部分地 区降雨量有10-30毫米。 • 未来10天，新疆北部、华北、东北及华南气温较 常年同期偏高1-2℃；黄淮、江淮、江南北部及 西南地区气温偏低1℃左右。 High information, low affective
- 43. 火车上，一对小情侣正窃窃私语 • 女孩说：我困了，想上去睡觉。 • 男孩答：困了就睡吧。 • 女孩又说：那我是不是要脱了鞋上去？ • 男孩又答：当然要脱鞋子。 • 女孩接着说：那你帮我看好鞋，不要被人偷走。 • 男孩接着答：好的，你放心睡吧。女孩道：我躺 好了。 • 男孩：那就闭上眼睛睡吧 low information, high affective
- 44. Conclusion • Linguisticvariation occurs at the levels of sounds, word-structure, grammar, dialects and even language. • Our choice of linguistic variety depends on who we are talking to, where we are talking, what we are talking and why we are talking. • Language choices convey information about the social relationships between people, social status of people, setting of interaction, topic of discussion and purpose of discussion.