14. Language Variation

I. Introduction

  • Language use varies greatly among speakers.
  • Three main dimensions of variation:
    • Regional Variation
    • Social Variation
    • Stylistic Variation (formal vs informal)
  • Awareness of variations:
    • Regional: Identified by terms such as "accent" and "dialect".
    • Social: Indicates social class and education level.
    • Stylistic: Relates to appropriateness in context.

II. Definitions

  • Variety: Any version of a language spoken by a homogenous group.
  • Dialect:
    • Synonymous with variety; can pertain to regional or social aspects.
    • All dialects are linguistically equal; some may be viewed as more prestigious.
    • Standard variety: socially favored dialect that describes grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation features.
    • Dialectology: Study of dialects, historically focused on regional dialects.
  • Variables: The multiple forms of names or expressions used in various dialects.
    • Variation exists in pronunciation, morphology, syntax, and semantics (e.g., world Englishes).

III. Types of Variation

A. Social Variation

  • Examines speech patterns according to social features:
    • Age, gender, education, class, race, religion.
  • Importance of sociolinguistic study:
    • Observing and recording natural speech patterns.
    • Identifying linguistic features (sociolinguistic variables) that vary across social contexts.

B. Stylistic Variation

  • Intraspeaker variation based on formality levels in speech.
  • Differences in speech depend on social factors; upper class informal might be more standard than lower class formal.

C. Regional Variation

  • Dialectology: Focus on geographical dialect differences.
  • Isogloss: Boundary separating regions based on specific linguistic features (e.g., different terms for the same object).
  • Dialect continuum: The merging of dialects without clear boundaries.

IV. Reasons for Dialect Formation

A. Sociohistorical Factors

  1. Geography: Affects communication and migration.
  2. Language Contact: Influences due to interactions, e.g., French in New Orleans.
  3. Economic Factors: More innovation in urban environments.
  4. Social Stratification: Non-standard features can denote lower class speech.
  5. Social Networks: Dense networks help maintain vernaculars.

B. Linguistic Factors

  • Language change and spreading patterns depend on geographical and political boundaries.

V. Modern Approaches

  • Focus on urban speech; using variationist sampling methods.
  • Emerging dialects as a focus.
  • Social dialectology: Variations within the same community, explaining patterns of social behavior.
  • Labov’s study on dialect mixture and centralization of diphthongs in Martha’s Vineyard denoting identity.

VI. Continuum of Styles (According to Labov)

  • Styles vary with the amount of attention to language use:
    • Vernacular: Natural speech style learned as the first dialect.
    • Styles Range from:
    • Intimate to casual (informal)
    • Consultative (informal), formal, and frozen (most formal)

VII. Interplay of Variations

  • Regional, social, and stylistic variations influence every speaker.
  • Lower social class speakers may exhibit more regional features than higher-class speakers.
  • Informal styles tend to show more non-standard characteristics compared to formal styles that align closer to the standard variety.