sociolinguistics final

Historical Sociolinguistics

The study of how social factors influence language change over time.

Old English Key Social Event of Historical Sociolinguistics

Germanic migration and settlement laid the foundation of English.

Old English Development (Historical Sociolinguistics)

Old Norse influence from Viking contact (sky/they/egg).

Middle English Key Social Event of Historical Sociolinguistics

1066 Norman Conquest made French the prestige language.

Middle English Example of Change

Borrowed French government/legal terms (judge

Early Modern English Key Social Event of Historical Sociolinguistics

Printing press standardized spelling and spread the London dialect.

Colonial Expansion & Linguistic Impact

English spread worldwide and borrowed words from indigenous languages (canoe

Modern/Global English — Key Forces

Technology, mass media, globalization, and world English's

Internal Factors in Language Change

Linguistic pressures like ease of articulation, analogy, and misperception

External Factors in Language Change

Social influences such as class, age, sex, and social contact

Social Class and Language

Prestige forms cluster in higher classes; lower classes may stigmatize or innovate forms.

Labov's NYC /r/ Study

Use of post-vocalic /r/ increases with social class; hypercorrection in the lower-middle class.

Example of Class-Based Variation

H-dropping in British English ("'ouse" instead of "house").

Jargon

Specialized vocabulary used by specific professional or social groups.

Jargon Example

Medical terms ("myocardial infarction") or gaming jargon ("nerf").

Pidgin

Simplified contact language for communication between groups with no shared language.

Pidgin Example

Early Tok Pisin (Papa New Guinea)

Creole

A pidgin that becomes a community's native language with expanded grammar.

Creole Example

Haitian Creole

Social Context of Pidgins

Trade, short term contact, need for a basic communication tool

Social Context of Creoles

Plantation slavery, multilingual labor populations, children nativizing the pidgin

Code-Switching

Alternating between languages or dialects within a single conversation.

Situational Code-Switching

Switch triggered by a change in context or location (home vs school).

Metaphorical Code-Switching

Switch used for emphasis, identity, or rhetorical effect ("c'est la vie, I guess").

Functions of Code-Switching

Identity signaling, politeness, audience management, topic shift

Importance of Code-Switching

Shows linguistic skill; common among bilingual and bidialectal speakers.

Romaine's Argument on Language Failure

Failure lies in institutions, not in students’ languages or dialects.

Hymes' S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. Model

Framework for analyzing factors in a speech event.

S. P. E. A. K. I. N. G.

Setting, Participation, Ends, Act sequence, Key, Instrumentalities, Norms, Genre

Register

Degree of formality in speech (formal vs informal).

Dialect Choice

Selecting which variety to use (AAVE vs Standard English).

Importance of Standard English

Prestige dialect for education and public life; socially privileged

Additive Bilingualism/Dialect Education

Teach Standard English without devaluing home languages or dialects.