Language and Culture

William Labov

One of the foundational figures in the field of Socio linguist studied language in English narrative and linguistic inequality

John J. Gumperz

Key figure in Sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology did groundbreaking work on problems of cross cultural communication born in Germany fled the Nazis ended up getting a PhD at the University of Michigan and teaching at U of C Berkeley for over five decades

Mikhail Bakhtin

Born near Moscow in 1895 author of “discourse in the novel” and many other works, a literary scholar, who sought to understand how novelist were able to create fictional characters that sounded authentic and real. Focused on the ways in which language is ever changing and shaping and being reshaped by social and political forces

Penny Echkert

Research his language in discourse communities, as well as recognizing the linguistic and ethnic dialects that continue to grow

John Rickford

The primary focus of his research and teaching is Sociolinguistics; the relation between linguistic variation and change and social structure

Jessie Little Doe Baird

Crucial for revitalizing the Wampanog language

Language community

Membership defined by knowledge of interest in and some sort of relationship to some sort of code

Speech community

In which several language groups are in periodic contact or have recently come into contact( this is the soil in which pidgins and Creole languages, sprout and grow)

Language contact

Contact between languages can lead to borrowing words or patterns from one language being important into another language

Convergent Change

Loanwords, Calques (loan translations) and interference phenomena (e.g. foreign accents)

Divergent change

Pure projects aimed at keeping languages distinct, Making them more distinct

Anti-language

A specialized code or dialect developed by a marginalized group of people to create and maintain its own social structure

Hybrid language

a new distinct language that emerges from the sustained contact of two or more parent languages, blending their grammar vocabulary and sounds into a unique system, not clearly dominated by one source

Constructed language

A language whose sounds, grammar, and vocabulary have been consciously and deliberately created by an individual or group rather than evolving organically overtime like natural languages

National language

A language deeply tied to a nation, cultural identity, history and people, acting as a unifying symbol often spoken by the majority, but not necessarily legally designated for government use

Lingua Franca

Any language used as a common bridge for communication between people who speak different native tongues

Solecism

A grammatical mistake in speech or writing

Linguistic variation

The natural differences in language use pronunciation vocabulary, grammar style, amongst speakers, driven by social, geographical, age, gender, and situational factors, showing language isn’t uniform but a dynamic system reflecting identity and context, studied in fields like sociolinguistics

Isogloss

A geographical boundary that marks the edge of a particular linguistic feature, such as a specific pronunciation, word usage, or grammatical structure

Idiolect

A person’s unique and individual way of speaking, encompassing their specific vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and style

Dialect

A variety of a single language used by a specific group (regional social, etc.) with distinct pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, yet still mutually intelligible with other dialects of that language

Sociolect

The dialect of a particular social class

Diglossia

A Sociolinguistic situation where a single community uses two different varieties of the same language, or two related languages, for different social functions

Diminutives/Augmentative

Affixes (like suffixes) added to words to express a change in size (smaller/larger) to convey emotion/intensity (affection, distain, emphasis)

Heteroglossia

Language is never unitary, whole, and completely systematic, rather it is always being pulled apart by centrifugal forces. The perception that certain languages are complete and systematic is the product intense effort to create regulate and reproduce national languages.. just as they know neutral words, there are no neutral, linguistic, varieties, styles, registers, etc. being forced to look at one language through the lens of another parentheses (cf. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)

Vocal Fry

a low-frequency, rattling phonation produced by slack vocal cords, vibrating irregularly, often at the end of sentences, creating a low, popping sound.

Register

When sociolects get organized into a hierarchy, they can also be labeled speech levels

Enregisterment

The process through which two are more different ways of “saying the same thing” come to be associated with distinct social roles or occasions of use or social status

Code switching

The practice of alternating between two or more languages, dialects, or speech styles within a single conversation or even sentence, often to fit social contexts, express identity, or achieve communicative, goals, like emphasis or solidarity.

Crossing

The strategic adoption of linguistic features like accent or slang from another group to build solid solidarity or signal identity, often crossing, ethnic or social boundaries.

Euphemism

And mild, indirect or vague, word, or phrase used to substitute for one considered harsh, offensive, impolite or unpleasant, fulfilling, a social need to discuss sensitive topics like death, bodily function, sex, or disability more gently

Pejoration

The process where awards meaning gradually worsen shifts to a more negative less respectful or derogatory, connotation overtime, reflecting, changing social attitudes and values

Grammatical gender

noun classification system like (masculine feminine neuter) that groups nouns arbitrarily, affecting agreements and articles, adjectives, and pronouns often unrelated to biological sex

Matched-guise study

John Baugh’s American accent’s profiling experiment

Verbal hygiene

The conscious efforts and discourses people used to clean up or regulate language, making it conformed to ideals of correctness beauty, logic or civility, often reflecting deeper social anxieties about identity in order, seeing grammar rules, anti-slang campaigns, or moves for inclusive language

Hyper-correction

Making an error by overgeneralizing a perceived correct role often from a higher prestige dialect leading to a non-standard form in inappropriate context, driven by linguistic insecurity, or the desire to sound educated

Hyper-foreignism

The misapplication of foreign pronunciation or usage patterns where speakers overcorrect borrowed words by applying perceived foreign rules, often incorrectly, to send more sophisticated, resulting and pronunciations that aren’t native to the source language or the borrowing language

Mock Spanish

A linguistic phenomenon where English speakers, often white, use Spanish words or phrases, humorously casually in English conversation, but in ways that suddenly reinforced stereotypes, denigrate Spanish speakers or assert social power.

Language Shift

The process where a speech community gradually abandons its native language in favor of another, often a higher status language, due to social, economic, or political pressures, leading to decline or extinction of the original language

Endangered languages

one at risk of extinction, meaning it’s predicted to cease being a primary means of communication for community often due to factors like speaker decline, lack of intergenerational transmission, or societal pressure to use a dominant language

Language Revival

And supports efforts to reverse language decline or bring extinct languages back to life

linguistic ideology

The shared often, conscious, beliefs, and attitudes people hold about language, it’s use and it’s users, thinking specific language features to social identity, morality and power

Baptismal ideology

A specific type of language ideology, which posits that The, single, most authoritative or correct meaning of a word is found in its original etymological meaning

Pluralistic ideology

the belief and approach that multiple languages and language varieties within a society should be recognized, valued, and supported rather than a single dominant language, being enforced, promoting coexistence, mutual respect, and the idea that linguistic diversity enriches a community, influencing language policy and education for inclusion

Standard ideology

the belief in a single, I realized, and homogeneous form of a language, often modeled on written forms or the speech of the elite, which is presented as superior, even though all real language varies and has accents

Purist Ideology

The ideology of practice of preserving a language is purity by resisting perceived foreign influences, jargon, slang, and changes advocating for traditional or correct forms, often tied to cult, identity, standardization, and nationalism, and can manifest as rejecting loan words or favoring one dialect over others as superior.