Sociolinguistics

SOCIOLINGUISTICS

studies language as a social phenomenon and language use (pragmatics) in real life

varieties

include dialects, sociolects, register/styles

user based

dialects and sociolects

use based

registers/styles

dialects

regional / diatopic, differ in pronounciation, vocabulary and grammar

sociolects

social / diastratic, motivated by social factors

registers / style

functional / diaphasic, determined by the relevant communicative situation

genderlect

gender-specific use of language

jargon

the special language of a particular profession (Fachsprache)

standard

used in written language, television, politics, education, etc.

non-standard varieties

regionally, specially, functionally or otherwise specific forms of language

overt prestige

carried by standard varieties, seen as prestigious

covert prestige

carried by non-standard varieties, often stigmatized

convergence

speakers want to (or pretend) to belong to a certain group (can happen upwards or downwards)

divergence

speakers want to distinguish themselves from a certain group

anthropological sociolinguistics

language, culture, thought

sociological sociolinguistics

language and society

variation

possible on all levels and on vocabulary, means the existence of competing forms (variants) of a linguistic variable

linguistic variable

rhoticity, intervocalic /t/, etc.

William Labov

pioneer on linguistic research

vernacular

variety of a language that is found in a community furthest away from the standard educated norm, NOT slang

slang

group specific, often determined by age, mean to be unconventional and divergent from standard speakers

AA(V)E

cover term for a group of closely related sociolects spoken by the vast majority of African Americans

"deficit"/difference hypothesis (Bernstein)

working-class children have linguistic deficiencies, and therefore cognitive deficiencies in comparison to upper-class children