Chapter 11 Language Variation

Dialect

A variety of language spoken by a group of people that is systematically different from other varieties

Accent

differences in pronunciation, specifically phonological variations

Language

Refers to a broad system of communication that is spoken, written, and signed

Overt Prestige

What speakers use or aim for in order to gain status in the “wider community”. Ex) Standard English

Covert Prestige

Has the power to define membership within communities and mark group identification. Ex) A white person using AAVE with African Americans

Isoglosses

Lines that separates areas based on what linguistic features are used.

Sociolinguistics

Studies language in use in social contexts

What sociologists do

looks at personal and social factors, not only geographical ones

Variationist Sociolinguistics

Examines distributed patterns of linguistic variables within speech communities

Dialectology

The study and mapping of language variation

What dialectologists do

Map various linguistic features; phonological, grammatical, lexical, etc.

Oberserver’s Paradox

When people realize they are being observed, the data becomes unusable

Speech Communities

Groups of speakers who share linguistic norms and ideologies

Age

Ex) Older speakers reserve some linguistic varieties while young speakers can merge the varieties

Gender

Ex) Women tend to use more standard upward mobility compared to men.

Class

Ex) Higher classes typically use greater lexical richness, lower classes have less lexical diversity but more grammatical variations

Race and Ethnicity

Ex) Standard English, AAVE, AAE.

Social Networks

Ex) How speakers interact with other speakers.

Social Network Theory

Focuses on the networks of relationships that govern one’s interactions with others

Dialect contact

can introduce linguistic variety into a population and change the language speakers use.

Language contact

Can introduce linguistic compromise or result in multilingualism or linguistic imperialism