Language Lecture

Page 1: Introduction

  • Advocacy for language rights and community development.

  • Focus on the importance of language rights as a facet of human rights.

Page 2: Language and Communication

  • 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.

Page 3: Sociolinguistics

  • 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.

Page 4: Language Variation, Dialects, and Attitudes

  • Exploration of how language variation manifests through dialects, and perception of those variations in society.

Page 5: Language and Identity in Northern Ireland

  • 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.

Page 6: Language Variation and Social Identity

  • Identity as a constructed, negotiated performance that evolves over time.

  • Speech as a key indicator of identity and social information.

Page 7: Language's Role in Identity Construction

  • 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.

Page 8: Understanding Identity

  • Identities are complex constructions shaped by social contexts.

  • Identity as flexible and fluid, co-constructed through interactions.

  • Enactment of identities occurs daily through behavior.

Page 9: Idiolect vs. Dialect

  • Idiolect: individual language variety; Dialect: shared linguistic characteristics within a group.

  • Focus on dialects for this section.

Page 10: Speech Communities

  • Definition of speech communities includes linguistic and social aspects.

  • Members share grammar rules and standards for evaluating language, although individual speech may differ slightly.

Page 11: Dialect Defined

  • Variations of language linked to geographic areas; complete communication systems.

  • Speakers of dialects remain mutually intelligible, while speakers of different languages often do not.

Page 12: Dialect and its Variants

  • 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.

Page 13: Standard vs. Nonstandard Dialects

  • Standard dialects possess institutional support while nonstandard dialects do not, although both have vocabulary and grammar.

  • Dialects can be categorized as regional or social.

Page 14: Regional Variation

  • 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.

Page 15: American vs. Irish English

  • Examples of differing words:

    • "deadly" and "shift" in Irish English.

    • "chips" vs. "fries."

    • Use of "crack" in Irish English versus "craic."

Page 16: Amusement in Regional Differences

  • 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.

Page 17: Social Dialects

  • 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.

Page 18: Understanding Social Class

  • 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.

Page 19: Style and Registers

  • Style relates to formality in speech, influenced by circumstance.

  • Registers are language sets associated with specific groups.

Page 20: Misconceptions about Dialects

  • Dialects are not substandard or incorrect.

  • Everyone speaks a dialect; all are equal in linguistics.

Page 21: The Problem with Accent

  • Accent: characteristics of pronunciation linked to groups.

  • Accents differ from dialects and are fundamental to identity.

Page 22: Language Attitudes

  • Language attitudes drive variation and choices in language use.

  • Often unacknowledged, these attitudes wield significant power in how languages are perceived.

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