Sociolinguistics

Strands of Sociolinguistics

• Bel divides Sociolinguistics into three main strands:

  • Sociolinguistics of Multilingualism (which further consists of Sociology of language and Critical-Constructivist framework)

  • Ethnographic-Interactional Sociolinguistics

  • Variationist Sociolinguistics

Sociology of language

• key figure: Joshua Fishman

• arose in 1950-60

• examines how languages operate within societies, often at a macro level (hence, also called macro-sociolinguistics)

• concerns itself with whole languages and their distribution and usage within society

• its focus is on the usage of English by particular groups

• methods: surveys, census data

• example: Joan Rubin’s study of Guarani and Spanish in Paraguay, showing language choice is tied to intimacy vs. formality

Critical-Constructivist Sociolinguistics

• key figures: Monica Heller, Jan Blommaert

• views language as a social practice shaped by power dynamics and globalization

• has a political and ideological orientation, analyzing how language constructs identity and inequity

  • language constructs society, and it is also important how language is constructed into the society

• concerns globalization

• example: Alexandra Jaffe’s work on Corsican language politics, where ideological loyalty conflicts with actual language use

Ethnographic-Interactional Sociolinguistics

• key figure: Dell Hymes, John Gumprez

• micro-level interactions, emphasizing cultural context and communicative competence

  • concentrates on how ­ individuals and small groups behave and interact

• has a strongly anthropological character, combined with the skills of linguistic analysis 

• methods: participant observations, discourse analysis

• example: John Gumperz’s study of interethnic miscommunication between Indian English speakers and British interviewers

Variationist Sociolinguistics

• key fogure: William Labov

• correlates linguistic features (e.g.: pronunciation) with social variables (class, age)

• works at the micro level of analysis

• mostly done on phonology

• methods: recorded interviews, quantitative analysis

• example: Labov’s New York City study, showing /th/ stopping in Nathan B.’s speech despite his high social class

Core Concepts of Sociolinguistics

1. NORM (Non-mobile, Older, Rural Male)

• traditional dialectology’s ideal informant, representing “pure” regional speech

• contrasts with YUMF (Young, Urban, Mobile Female)

2. Isogloss

• a boundary on a dialext map marking where a linguistic feature (e.g.: vowel pronunciation) changes

3. Linguistic variable

• a set of related linguistic forms (variants) with social meaning → represented as variant (e.g.: (h):[h] vs. (h):Ø)

• types

  • phonological: (butter as [bʌʔə] or [bʌɾər)

  • lexical (mate vs. buddy)

  • grammatical (haven’t vs. ain’t)

4. Accomodation & Audience Design

• accomodation: adjusting speech to align with interlocutors (e.g.: a newsreader using more (t):[t] for a middle-class audience)

• audience design: style shifts based on perceived audience norms

5. Three Waves of Sociolinguistics

• first wave: Labovian surveeys correlating language with broad societal categories (class, gender)

• second wave: ethnographic, focusing on social networks

• third wave: stylistic variation as identity performance

6. Identity and Linguistic Practice

• language use constructs social identity (e.g., Middlesbrough speakers adopting Newcastle-like features to assert northeastern identity)

Variation Types

1. Regional vs. Social Variation

• regional: geographically based (e.g., trap vowel in Auckland vs. York)

• social: tied to class, ethnicity, etc. (e.g., H-dropping in Bradford correlates with class)

2. Language-Dialect Continuum

• mutual inteligibility gradation (e.g., Dutch-German border dialects)

• political boundaries often harden linguistic differences

3. Dialect vs. Accent

• dialect: includes grammar, vocabulary (e.g.: He done it vs. He did it)

• accent: pronunciation only (e.g.: RP vs. General American)

4. Prestige Varieties

• RP (Received Pronunciation): Uk standard accent, historically tied to education/ class

  • now declining with rise of Estuary English (Cockney-influenced RP)

• General American: neutral US accent, associated with media

5. Style and Register

• style: intra-speaker variation (formal vs. casual)

• register: occupation specific language (e.g.: medical jargon)