Sociolinguistics quiz 4

Code

a neutral term that can be used to refer to any kind of system that people employ for communication (eg. Language, dialect and variety).

Multilingualism

use of different language varieties in the same community (societal multilingualism) or situation (individual multilingualism)

What is a balanced multilingual?

Fluency in multiple languages. They are rare.

What is an indicator of language competence?

Holding a conversation in a language.

What is the paradox of multilingualism?

When multilingualism is and sometimes isn’t valued.

Elite multilingualism:

socially advantageous, involving prestigious languages that are learnt outside the home.

Plebeian/immigrant multilingualism:

often stigmatised, arises due to migration.

Ideology of normative monolingualism:

monolingualism as the norm

Monoglossic ideology:

the belief that languages should be kept separate in their use. Combining elements from different languages is not considered acceptable.

Pluralist ideology/pluralism

The belief that all ways (or multiple ways) of speaking and being are valued.

Multilingualism is the result of language contact. What are some examples?

• Urbanisation/migration

• Trade, commerce, or other economic motivations

• Growing up in a different area from family

• Mixed relationships/marriages

• Seasonal work

• Education (including religious education)

• Radio, television, internet

• War and conquests

Language maintenance:

linguistic groups maintain their languages with varying derees of bi-/multilingualism

Language shift

a language is lost as a community shifts to a different language, usually with greater social dominance.

ethnolinguistic vitality

the likelihood that a given language will be transmitted inter-generationally from parents to children.

What determines the ethnolinguistic vitality?

• Status of a language (economic, social, historical)

• territorial distribution

• demographic strength (absolute numbers, birthrates, migrations)

• Institutional supports: formally in media, education and government and less formally in workplace, religious gatherings and social activities.

What happens to group with low ELV?

will assimilate linguistically or cease to exist as distinctive groups9

What are languages with low ELV associated with?

Language shift and language death.

Linguistic landscapes

the visibility and salience of langugae on public and commercial signs in a given territory.

Multilingual discourse

the use of linguistic elements from more than one variety in a conversation or text

Code switching

incorporating material from another language into the one being spoken or alternating between two or more languages during the same communicative event.

What is a natural consequence of language contact?

code-switching

Intersentential code-switching

one sentence in one language and another sentence in another language.

Intrasentential code-switching

use of more than one language within the same sentence.

Is code switching seen negatively or positively?

Negatively indicating incompetence.

Code-switching motivations:

• Assert power/authority

• declare solidarity/indicate neutrality

• get attention

• indicate one’s level of education

• express multiple aspects of linguistic identity

What factors affect the language we choose?

topic, speakers, setting, context, etc.

Domains of language choice

can be thought of as particular settings and the activities associated with those settings. Example, home, market, classroom, etc.

Disglossia

The notion of domain, and how it affects language use, is important in understanding a specific kind of societal bilingualism.

High variety disglossia

used in public life (edication, government, legal system), and taught in school.

Low variety disglossia

used in private/informal social domains and is learnt at home or informal settings.

Communication accommodation theory (CAT) main focus

The analysis of the ways that speakers change the way they speak depending on the person they are talking to (family member, friend, stranger, kid). “Change the way you speak based on who you are interacting with”.

Accommodation

modifying one’s speech to be more similar to or different from the speech of the addressee and hearer.

Convergence

speakers adopt similar ways of speaking to reduce dissimilarities

Divergence

speakers adopt different ways of speaking to emphasize dissimilarities.

Audience design theory

the way speakers vary the way they speak in response to an audience. not only those dierectly adressed but also participants who are not directly addressed. it is an extension of the CAT.

Markedness model

analysing use of different codes in code-switching according to their markedness. the language itself is not the problem, but its meaning and understanding is.

Unmarked choice:

the expected code in a specific context

Marked choice:

the code that would not nrmally be expected.

Domains of language use:

Domains can be thought of as particular settings and the activities associated with those settings

lingua franca

a language of wider communication. a common language used in situations where speakers of different languages interact. used in multilingual situations.

substrate

Languages of the subordinated groups. Often contibutes to the phonology and grammar of the pidgin or creole.

lexifier

language that provides the greater portion of the vocabulary. often the superstrate

pidgin

vieriety which develops in language contact situations with limited exposure to target language. they are simplified languages that cannot be used in all contexts and that are not the native language of a society. Non-native systems. Not a full language.

creole

a language that develops in contact situations that typically involve more than two languages and is usually assumed to be elaborated and nativised. It is the native and primary language. They are elaborate native systems.

acrolect

a creole continuum → the variety closest to the standard prestige language. intelligible to speakers of the superstrate.

mesolect

a creole continuum → intermediate variety/varieties between the two poles.

mixed language

new language, created by bilinguals, normally in situations of community bilingualism, with major components drawn from each of the languages in a contact situation. there is not a communicative need for a new language. NOT the same as code-switching.

creole continuum

a range of varieties that resemble the superstrate language to different degrees.

superstrate

The language of the socially dominant group. It provides the vocabulary.

What are some examples of lingua francas?

French, Latin, English, Hindi, Mandarin and Arabic

How are pidgins often developed?

Through trade, war, colonisation or settlement, or labout migration.

What are some examples of pidgins?

Russenorsk → language developed to enable communication between Russian and Norwegian traders.

Chinook jargos → used by traders in the Pacific Northwest.

In which context was a creole often developed?

In the context of slavery and Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

What are some examples of creoles?

Haitian Creole, Bislama, Papiamento.

When does a creole develop?

When speakers need to communicate in an expanded range of situations. When there is an absence of pre-existing models/norms of correctness and institutional pressure for standardisation.

Interlanguage:

The developing grammar of a second language learner. Spoken by individuals.

P/C languages

conventionalised system of communication. Involves various individuals speaking a second language. They are target langauges.

Are creoles varieties of their lexifier langagues?

No, they have their own grammar. They are separate langauges with no/limited mutual intelligibility with the lexifier language.

basilect:

a creole continuum → the variety which is most removed or distinct from the prestigious superstrate. unintelligible to speakers of the superstrate language.

What are some structural features of creoles?

• phonological simplification

• no inflection in nouns, pronouns, verbs and adjectives

• tense marking through periphrastic constructions.

Gradualist model of creole formation:

• grammatical elaboration can develop without nativisation

• depends on the uses the pidgin is put to.

Substratist view of creole formation:

Creole similarities due to the languages that participated in their formation.

Examples of mixed languages:

Michif in Canada, Ma’á/Mbigu in Tanzania, Anglo-Romani in England, Media Lengua in Ecuador.

What is the similarity betweeen creoles and mixed languages?

Both are languages formed in contact situations.

P/C vs mixed language speakers:

a) Shared language:

b) Contributing languages:

c) Language structure:

a) Abstent for P/C, present for mixed.

b) Accessible to mixed, not necessarily for P/C.

c) Language sources recognisable for mixed, not necessarily for P/C.

Pidgins vs creoles:

Pidgins: reduced non-native linguistic systems

Creole: full-fledge native languages.