Dialect
Variant of a language spoken by a group of people sharing the same time (historical) or space (geographical or social)
Idiolect
Language variety unique to a single speaker (vocab, pronunciations, styles of speaking)
Regional Dialects
Variety of language that is spoken in a particular place (think geography)
Social Dialects
Variety of English that is spoken by people of a specific social group (grammatical features that distinguish them are more stigmatized)
Ebonics
Evovled dialect of Planation Creole (also called Black English Vernacular (BEV) or African-American Vernacular English (AAVE))
3 Varieties of American English
Northern, Midland, and Southern (boundaries based on pronunciation, vocab, grammar)
Sociolinguistic Stratification
Division along social class lines that can be identified by regular patterns of linguistic variation
Nonstandard English
Informal version of English - Encompasses varieties of English that aren’t SAE
Broadcast Standard English; Network Standard
Artificially created dialect of radio and television (may be what most consider standard spoken American English)
Standard Written English (Standard Edited English)
Variety that is uniform throughout the country (taught in schools & encoded in writers’ handbooks)
Style Shifting
A speaker tries to produce speech closer to standard English
Hypercorrection
Speakers “go one better;” modifying when you really don’t need too
Linguistic Insecurity
Feelings of anxiety, self-consciousness, or lack of confidence in the mind of a speaker surrounding their use of language
User-related varieties
Varieties that reflect something about the identity of the speaker
Use-related varieties
Varieties that reflect something about the occasions or purposes for the use of language
Style
Writing based on our assessment of the relative formality or informality of the situation
Casual Speech
Characterized by conversations that treats the listener as an insider who shares much knowledge with the speaker
Ellipsis
Parts of sentences omitted
Consultative Style
Characterized by speakers providing all the information needed to understand what is happening (no assumptions) and the listener plays an active role
Formal Style
Characterized by the use in public occasions, speakers addressing a group, careful pronunciation and intonation
Formal Writing
Writing that will be read by people unknown to the author
Interlanguage
Phase where adult learning of a second language exhibits features of both the new language and the native language
Developmental Errors
Errors that are a universal stage in the development of language proficiency
Transfer Errors
Errors that are transferred from the native language to the new
Linguistic Competence
Proficiency of the grammar
Communicative Competence
Ability to use the language in a variety of circumstances
Textual Competence
Knowledge about units of language larger than single sentences in speech or in writing (stories, conversations, lectures, poems, etc.)
Pragmatic Competence
Knowledge of the use of language in social settings
Global English (Globish)
Version of English developed among people who communicate in writing in English before they have had time to actually learn it as a second language