individual variation

ethnicity

a shared social identity consisting of cultural practices, language, beliefs and history

race

physical similarities and differences that groups and cultures consider socially significant

heritage language

language that is not dominant in a particular society but is spoken at home

intersectionality

idea that social categorisations are all interconnected and overlapping e.g someones ethnicity is not seperate to their gender, social class, sexuality ect

code-switching

when speakers who speak 2 or more languages switch form one to the other, often in mid conversation and ability to switch registers (Joos levels)

style-shifting

when speakers change the way they speak depending on different factors such as how much attention they are paying to what they are saying, who they are talking to, or how they want to be perceeved in a particular context

ethnolect

A variety of language that is associated with a particular ethnic group.

marked language

something that stands out and is different from the norm e.g waiter -> waitress

unmarked language

the common, regular, normal version of something that can go unnoticed

ethnolinguistic repetoire

a set of linguistic resources that are available to be used by individual speakers in order to signal their ethnic identity

multiethnic

a collection of linguistic resources combining features from a variety of language within a multiethnic, multicultural context

crossing

the practice of using particular features of speech that 'belong' to a different ethnicity from that of the speaker

lexical variation

words that have different meaning depending on where they're from

grammatical variation

differences in language use and structure based on various factors like geographic location, social groups, and individual preferences.

Joos' Levels of Formality

frozen, formal, consultative, casual, and intimate

Frozen level of formality

set phrases in ceremonial, ritual or very conventional situations

formal level of formality

normally used by a speaker addressing an audience where interaction and interruption are usually not permitted

consultative level of formality

normally used in exchanges between people who are not family, friends or acquaintances but where interaction between and among speakers is the norm

casual level of formality

used between people who know each other reasonably well in informal settings. can use colloquial forms with interruptions being permitted and expected

intimate level of formality

level is reserved for private communication such as between family members and close friends. code is used

idiolect

represents an individual's unique use of language, using their specific patters if vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation

sociolect

form of language or a set of lexical items used by a specific social group, such as socioeconomic class, profession, age group, or gender

dialect

variety of a language that signals a persons origin, typically interpreted geographically as a regional dialect, but also applicable to a person's social background (class dialect) or occupation (occupational dialect)

accent

distinctive way of of pronouncing a language that is specific to a country, area, social class or individual

register

refers to how a speaker uses language differently in varying circumstances, adapting vocabulary, grammar, and even tone based on the audience, topic, purpose, and location