Chapter 10: Language Variation

Language Varieties

• Language variety- any form of language characterized by systematic features
  • Can reference a distinct language, a particular form of language spoken by a specific group, a single person, or the way a specific person speaks in a particular context
  • Idiolect- the speech habits that are unique to a particular person
  • Sociolinguistics- the study of the relationship between language varieties and social structure as well as the interrelationships among different language varieties
• Dialect- any variety of language spoken by a group of people that is characterized by systematic differences from other varieties of the same language in terms of structural or lexical features
  • Speech community- a group of people speaking the same dialect
  • Extralinguistic factors- factors not based in linguistic structure
  • Region, socioeconomic status, age, gender, ethnicity, etc
  • Communicative isolation- the result of a group of speakers forming a coherent speech community relatively isolated from speakers outside of that community
• Mutual intelligibility- if speakers of one language variety can understand speakers of another language variety
  • Dialects of the same language
  • Dialect continuum- a situation where each dialect in a large number of geographically contiguous dialects is closely related to the next, but the dialects at either end of the continuum are mutually unintelligible
• Speech styles- systematic variations in speech based on factors such as topic, setting, and addressee.
  • Registers- different levels of speech formality (Formal, informal, casual, etc)
  • Style shifting- automatically adjusting from one speech style to another
• Jargon- technical words that differ only in lexical items that are specific to a job, field of study, sport, etc
  • Jargon is clearly understood by those within the field in which it is spoken, but is incomprehensible to outsiders
• Slang- less formal stylistic choices in vocabulary
  • Common slang- neutral everyday language that most people consider more informal
  • In-group slang- specialized slang of a particular group at a particular time
  • can be used to keep insiders together or to exclude outsiders
• Linguistically speaking, no one dialect or language is better, more systematic, or more logical than any other
• Standard dialect- the variety of a language used by the social group that “represents” that language
• Prescriptive standard- the standard by which people often make judgements of “right” and “wrong”
  • These judgements are not linguistically founded but are instead governed by societal opinion
• Standard American English- the standard dialect in the United States
• Bidialectal- having mastered two dialects
• Overt prestige- attached to a particular variety by the community at large and defines how people should speak in order to gain status in the wider community
• Covert prestige- exists among members of nonstandard-speaking communities and defines how people should speak in order to gain status in the wider community

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Variation at Different Levels of Linguistic Structure

• Phonetic variation
  • Differences at the phonetic level tend to be those where a sound that functions the same in the linguistic systems of two varieties has some @@difference in its physical characteristics@@
  • Every utterance produced is somewhat different
• Phonological Variation
  • Differences at the phonological level tend to be those where @@different phonemes are used in words that are semantically and historically the “same” words@@
  • Differences are also found depending on what sequences of sounds are allowed
• Morphological Variation
  • Depends on the @@distribution of morphemes@@ in two varieties or the @@use of completely different morphemes@@ for the same function in two varieties
• Syntactic Variation
  • Differences are found in the @@properties of words and phrases@@, as well as @@the way words are put together to form phrases and sentences@@
  • Variation is also seen in how words are combined, and the use of verbs
• Lexical Variation
  • Differences in the @@words people use to mean the same thing@@ or to refer to the same object, or @@differences in what the same word means or refers to@@

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Factors Influencing Variation: Regional and Geographic Factors

• Regional variation- the type of variation based on geographical boundaries
• Dialectologists- people who study regional dialects
• Isoglosses- lines that mark the geographic boundaries of linguistic form
  • a bundle of isoglosses mark the boundaries between dialects
• Regional and geographic influences:
  • Proximity
  • Physical boundaries (rivers, mountains, etc)

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Factors Influencing Variation: Social Factors

• Reasons for socioeconomic effects:
  • Desire to associate with certain groups
• Language varieties differ between younger and older generations
• Cultural patters of masculinity and femininity influence language variation
• Ethnicity influences variation in multi-ethnic communities

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Language and Identity

• Signals of identity through language can be overt or subtle
  • The speaker can use words to tell one about their identity
  • The speaker can choose certain words over others to express their identity
  • The speaker can sometimes choose which language they speak in to express their identity

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