Advocacy for language rights and community development.
Focus on the importance of language rights as a facet of human rights.
Language as a symbolic communication system reflecting cultural norms and values.
Impact of language on all aspects of life, often taken for granted.
Language shapes thought; will focus on sociolinguistics, the study of language in social and cultural contexts.
Definition of sociolinguistics: relationship between language and society.
Influence of social categories (age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, class) on distinctive speech styles.
Gendered speech varies across social and cultural settings.
Interest in dialects reflecting geographic, occupational, or social class factors, maintaining mutual intelligibility.
Exploration of how language variation manifests through dialects, and perception of those variations in society.
Areas sociolinguists examine:
Regional and social dialects.
Ethno-national identity indexing.
Multilingualism and nationalism as political projects.
Place names, parity of esteem, language and conflict.
Language revitalization and education.
Identity as a constructed, negotiated performance that evolves over time.
Speech as a key indicator of identity and social information.
Language used to signify group membership and aspects of social identity.
Factors influencing identity: social status, age, gender, ethnicity, social networks.
Different languages or speech characteristics can unify or separate speakers.
Identities are complex constructions shaped by social contexts.
Identity as flexible and fluid, co-constructed through interactions.
Enactment of identities occurs daily through behavior.
Idiolect: individual language variety; Dialect: shared linguistic characteristics within a group.
Focus on dialects for this section.
Definition of speech communities includes linguistic and social aspects.
Members share grammar rules and standards for evaluating language, although individual speech may differ slightly.
Variations of language linked to geographic areas; complete communication systems.
Speakers of dialects remain mutually intelligible, while speakers of different languages often do not.
Differentiation from:
Sociolects: language variety of a social class.
Standard languages: government-endorsed, main languages in education/media.
Jargons: characterized by specific vocabulary.
Slang: informal language usages.
Standard dialects possess institutional support while nonstandard dialects do not, although both have vocabulary and grammar.
Dialects can be categorized as regional or social.
Regional dialects vary across geographical locations, showcasing different pronunciations, word choices, and syntax.
Examples of regional variances in terms and pronunciation.
No dialect is better than another; they simply differ.
Examples of differing words:
"deadly" and "shift" in Irish English.
"chips" vs. "fries."
Use of "crack" in Irish English versus "craic."
Regional differences can be humorous but can also carry social significance.
Historical example: Old Testament group's use of pronunciation to test group membership.
In Northern Ireland: "telling" used for in-group and out-group identification.
Social dialects arise among specific social groups influenced by class, religion, and ethnicity.
Factors include occupation, residence, education, cultural background.
Speech differences can distinguish sub-groups effectively.
Class is complex, varying significantly globally.
Language communities possess a hierarchy based on wealth and power influence (defined as class).
Class is nebulous and involves lifestyle choices beyond economic measures.
Style relates to formality in speech, influenced by circumstance.
Registers are language sets associated with specific groups.
Dialects are not substandard or incorrect.
Everyone speaks a dialect; all are equal in linguistics.
Accent: characteristics of pronunciation linked to groups.
Accents differ from dialects and are fundamental to identity.
Language attitudes drive variation and choices in language use.
Often unacknowledged, these attitudes wield significant power in how languages are perceived.