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

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

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)

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

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