5. Sociolinguistics 1

Dacritic

in phonetics, a mark added to a symbol to alter its value

dialectology

the identification and mapping of boundaries between different varieties on the basis of clusters of similar and different features in particular regions, towns or villages

empirical

based on practical experience rather than theory

identity

our sense of self

indicator

a linguistic variable which shows limited style-shifting, stratified principally between groups (semmel-brötchen)

interspeaker variation

differences and variation that is measured between different speakers (individuals or social groups)

intraspeaker variation

difference in the way a single person speaks at different times, or with different interlocutors, or even within a sentence; intraspeaker variation is a necessary corollary of inherent variability in grammars

language change

changes, that languages undergo over time or within communities

marker

a variable that speakers are less aware of than a stereotype, but which shows consistent style effects

observer’s paradox

the double bind researchers find themselves in when what they are interested in knowing is how people behave when they are not being observed, but the only way to find out how they behave is to observe them (after W. Labov)

received pronounciation

the standard language in England

sociolinguistic interview

ideal data: conversation between friends in a relaxed setting

sociolinguistics

the science of investigating language’s social contexts

standard

the variety of a language (usually a historically significant dialect), which has been officially elevated to prestige status and is preferred in official documents, media, public and informal speech

standard English

English that is the same in all regions; formal English

stereotype

a linguistic feature that is widely recognized and is very often the subject of (not always accurate!) dialect performances and impersonations

Variable

an abstract representation of the source of variations, realized by two or more variants; in sociolinguistics, variables are written in brackets: (variable)

variant

the actual realization of a variable

William Labov

considered the founder of modern sociolinguistics