Sociolinguistics Terms and Studies | Quizlet

Variable

Feature that varies. General or abstract feature you're investigating. Like abstract phoneme.

Interlocutor

The person you're talking to.

Constraints

The distribution of variants depends on independent factors, and is not random. Those factors are the constraints on the variable.

Determinism

The idea that there is a strong causal relationship between two factors. If you know the value for one factor, you can predict the value for the other factor based on that.

Variants

Actual instantations of a variable in speech. Like phonetic realisation.

Regional dialectology

The identification and mapping of boundaries between different varieties of a language.

Principle of maximum differentation

Constraints on phonological variation to prevent phonemes from sounding too similar. If one part of the system changes, the rest of the system will be reorganised to keep distinctions between words clear. This principle was induced solely from regional dialect data.

Reallocation

Reassignment or reanalysis of forms in contact in a systematic way, e.g., as allophonically distributed variants of a phoneme. Pronunciations of both variants are absorbed into the new variant, often because this makes linguistic sense.

Intermediate forms

Forms emerging following contact between closely related varieties that fall in between the various input forms. Pronunciation is different from the standard variants in both regions.

Social dialectology

The study of linguistic variation in relation to speakers' participation or membership in social groups, or in relation to other non-linguistic factors.

Britain's study of Fens in Switzerland

Two regions that used to have a geographical barrier, but not anymore. They easily created a new variant for the 'price' vowel, which combined both the northern and southern variant, but had more trouble separating the 'foot' and 'strut' vowels, creating intermediate forms instead, which used neither the northern or the southern variant. This is partially because they were unaware of this variable. The study proved the usefulness of regional dialect data, and illustrates the many different issues sociologists have to consider.

Standard

Norms which represent a web of other sociolinguistically interesting phenoma, such as carefulness, education, and social status.

Martha's Vineyard study by Labov

'Price' words were pronounced more raised than by the mainland neighbours. However, there was both interspeaker and intraspeaker variation. Linguistic factors explained most of the variation, but Labov also found that fishers in rural areas in their thirties and fourties who liked living on Vineyard used the raised variant most. The different vowel pronunciation was thus a way to distinct themselves from summer-residents. This study also showed that synchronic variation is often the root of diachronic change.

Synchronic variation

Variation occurring now.

Diachronic change

Change realised over time.

Interspeaker

Variation between individual speakers.

Intraspeaker

Variation within individual speakers.

Envelope of variation

All, and only, the contexts in which a variable occurs.

Stereotype

A linguistic feature that is widely recognised and is very often the subject of dialect performances and impersonations. People often have strong positive or negative opinions about them.

Marker

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

Indicator

Variable speakers are not aware of at all, which thus does not show style-shifting; speakers will use the same variant no matter who they're talking to or where.

Variation in language

Belonging to one group, value in community, not be looked down on by community, see how others orient these concerns.

Diachronic language variation

Temporal space, through time.

Synchronic language variation

Geographical and social, through space.

Linguistic variable

Different ways of saying the same thing.

NORM

Non-mobile, old, rural, male. Standard. Not very representative.

Isogloss

Geographical border between variants. These are idolised interpretations. Multiple isoglosses define dialect areas.

Observer's paradox

Researcher contact might compromise the results; people will act different when they know they're being observed.

Variety

Dialect, forms of language, e.g. UK or US English.

Variation

Different ways of saying the same thing.

Accent

How one pronounces words. Difference in pronunciation only, grammar may be mostly the same.

Dialect/variety

Distinctive features in pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax.

Speech community

Speakers with the same norms.

Style-shifting

The process of varying the style of talking used, such as shifting between formal and informal styles. Can be because of attention paid to one's speech during different kinds of verbal tasks, an audience the speaker has in mind, or the identification of the speaker with different personas.

New York study of rhoticity by Labov

He interviewed people from the Lower East Side with minimal pairs, a word list, a short reading passage and a conversation with the interviewer. These different tasks were meant to elicit different styles. People used the r most overall while reading the minimal pairs, and least while in casual conversation. This study pioneered to sociolinguistic interview.

Fourth Floor study by Labov

First rapid and anonymous survey. He tried to get as many tokens of 'fourth floor' possible from staff in three different department stores, both careful and careless, to study rhoticity in New York.

Probability

The likelihood with which a variant will occur in a given context.

Sociolinguistic interview

An interview in which different tasts are used to elicit different styles of speech.

Monotic

Steady increase or decrease in a feature along the x-axis of a graph.

Trend

Steady increase or decrease in the frequency of a form across a scale of measures.

Triangulation

Using several independent tests confirms results and makes interpretation of those results easier.

Prestige

More formal variants, often used by people with a higher status. Don't measure value with this.

Overt prestige

People are aware of this variant, and associate it with higher-status speakers.

Covert prestige

People know what the 'better' variant is and think they're using it, but aren't.

Participant observation

The researcher spends longer periods of time with the people they're researching, in an attempt to overcome the observer's paradox.

Audience design

Speaker 'designs' their speech for their (presumed) audience. The influence depends on whether the audience is known, ratified, or adressed. First introduced by Giles, who thought speakers didn't pay more attention to their own speech in different situations, but instead changed their speech for their presumed audience in each situation. Bell refined and named it.

Addressee

Known, ratified, and addressed by the speaker.

Auditor

Known and ratified by the speaker, but not addressed.

Overhearer

Known by the speaker, but not ratified or addressed.

Eavesdropper

Not known, ratified, or addressed by the speaker.

Speaker design

Speakers use different styles to present themselves differently.

Foxy Boston study by Rickford and McNair-Knox

Foxy, an African-American woman, was interviewed by an African-American and an Anglo-American woman. Foxy used more typical African-American features with the African-American interviewer. However, the African-American interviewer knew Foxy better than the Anglo-American interviewer, possibly slightly compromising the results.

Social class

Measure of status. Multiple definitions - one's occupation/wealth, production of capital v.s. control of production, social actions. Associated with Weber and Marx (we're never getting away from literary theory are we). Moving between social classes is possible, and one might slightly change their speech along with their class.

Fine stratification

Small changes in frequency differentiate the averages for different groups.

Broad stratification

The frequency with which a variant occurs is relatively more marked. So, although e.g. middle class speakers will use a certain variable less or more in different circumstances, they will always use it more than working class in the same circumstances.

Cross-over effect

Speakers use more tokens of a variant with overt prestige than speakers in the next higher social class, mostly in the most monitored styles like reading word lists or minimal pairs, thus reflecting the high social value associated with a particular variant. Mostly happens with lower middle and/or upper working class, so these classes play an important role in change in progress. Associated with changes in progress.

Change from above

People are aware of it. Women use new variant more. Often led by higher social classes.

Change from below

Lack of conscious awareness. Women are often the innovators. Often led by lower classes, while higher classes retain the conservative form.

Hypercorrection

Form used by a speaker that is not in the native variety of the language because of misanalysis.

Linguistic insecurity

Second-language speakers don't know when to use which variable. This causes hypercorrection.

Negative concord

A negative element requires all other indefinites in a sentence to be negative too. Double negatives. Non-standard, but historically standard.

Social networks

The relationships people have with others through social and geographical space, linking many individuals. Have a big impact on how innovations are spread through society.

Dense network

Everyone within the network knows each other. Slow down or inhibit change.

Loose network

Not everyone knows each other. Make individuals more open to change.

Multiplex tie

People know each other in multiple different ways.

Uniplex tie

People know each other only in one way. Their network tie is based only on one relationship. Uniplex ties are more open to change and input from outside.

Community of practice

Mutual engagement, jointly negotiated enterprise, shared repertoire. Group of people that come together to do things together, building shared repertoire. Smaller than a social network.

Study in Reading by Cheshire

Reading teenagers were determined as core and peripheral members of the social network. This distinction could also be seen in their linguistic variation. Core members used more non-standard forms, while peripheral members used standard variants most.

Brokers

People who introduce innovations into social networks.

Sex-prestige pattern

Women use standard variant more in stable variation.

City-hopping

More connections between larger cities, further spread from local centres.

Utterance

Anything you say.

Multi-dimensional space

Factors that influence your choices. Most important factor depends on situation.

Real time

Comparison between points in time. Same person is interviewed at different points in their life. Reliability is high, feasability is low.

Apparent time

Comparison between different age groups. People from different age groups who are relatively comparable are interviewed at the same point in time. Assumes that people don't change their language much after the critical period. Reliability is lower, feasability is high.

Panel studies

Some speakers over period of years. Researcher creates a panel of speakers they return to multiple times over a period of time. Tracking down these people proofs difficult.

Trend studies

Roughly comparable speakers in different periods. Instead of creating a panel, the researcher finds different people within a community each year who are comparable to each other.

Critical period

When one picks up the most language traits and language learning seems the easiest; during childhood and early adolescence.

Generational change

Each generation uses a variant more and more. Can be seen to be taking place with apparent time evidence.

Lifespan change

Changes to a speaker's language after the critical period.

Performativity

How we perform acts of identity as an ongoing expression of social and cultural performances. Identity doesn't exist beforehand. Clear role for agency. Linguistic performances are part of this. Argued for by our bff Judith Butler.

Stable variable

There is no shift from one variant to another. They have often been in existence for a long time and are often above the level of conscious awareness,

Community-wide change

When everyone in a community or group switches to a new variant at pretty much the same time.

Gender

Social identity that emerges or is constructed by social actions.

Age-grading

One variant is used more by all individuals at a certain age, and another variant more at a different age.

Exclusive features

Associated only with a particular user or group of users or only in a particular context. Only used by or to speakers of a particular sex.

Direct index

A word has a semantic feature as part of its basic meaning, which index gender, e.g. he or she.

Indirect index

Features that are associated more or less with speakers of one sex rather than speakers of another.

Conventional implicature

Inference that arises from the meaning of a word or phrase, which can not be erased. For instance, brother can't be combined with herself, because herself cancels out the male feature associated with brother.

Preferential features

Distributed across speakers or groups, but used more frequently by some than by others.

Illocutionary force

The force of a speech act; what someone is saying implies.

Discourses of masculinity

Gender difference, heterosexism, male dominance, male solidarity. Discourses can be at odds with each other.

Constrained freedom

Styling can be performed within boundaries of speech communities.

Semantic shift

Words are used slightly different over time and get a new meaning.

Semantic derogation

A word gets more negative connotations. Straight white men are immune to this.

Linguistic relativism

How we perceive the world plays a role in how language is structured. Words have meaning. Language can be influential.

Perpetual dialectology

Thoughts and beliefs of non-linguistics about different dialects.

Sociolinguistic monitor

Process through which we determine the significance of speaker's choices.

Social identity theory

Language used by individuals to test or maintain boundaries between groups.

Accommodation theory

Characterise the strategies speakers use to establish relationships through speech - attunement.