CHAPTER 11 SOCIOLINGUISTICS

OUTLINE

1. Language and Dialect 2. Language Contact3. Language Change: a Social Perspective4. Language and Gender5. Taboo6. Sapir-Wholf Hypothesis7. Summary

SOCIOLINGUISTICS

communicationLanguage is used for communication.

idiolectEvery individual’s language is an idiolect.Every single individual speaks a language of his own.S/he speaks her/his own dialect.

regional dialectsIndividuals share a lot of common backgrounds with others in the same community, area, or district. People living in the same area speak a language of their own. religious belief or ceremony, living style or habits, or working environments local color

social dialectsPeople doing the same jobs, or of the same interest (not living in the same area) concerned with their common topics giving rise to social dialects

language competence ≠ a successful communicationlinguistic competence (Chomsky)grammar (the linguistic intuition) grammatical sentences

People of the same community share a common communicative competence communicate successfully (social/ cultural topics)

social settings, cultural backgrounds, & to which extent one is socialized language is spoken differently

a mirror Language is a mirror of a society.What is pursued or disliked is directly or indirectly reflected.e.g. (1) expectations male: strong, brave, ambitious… female: graceful, attractive… (2) expressions male (in a certain manner): I am sure…, I guarantee… female (in an uncertain manner): I am afraid that…, I am not sure that…

sociolinguistics = linguistics + sociologythe target:It is to examine the nature of language from the perspective of social factors.

social factors:one’s backgrounds like age, gender, education, jobs, interests and communities.

1. LANGUAGE AND DIALECT

1.1 The Dialects of English1.2 Dialects in Taiwan1.3 The Myth of Standard language1.4 The difference between Taiwan Mandarin and Beijing Mandarin (Putonghua)

(A) language = dialects(1) speech forms Both languages and dialects are speech forms.

(2) communication There is no specific difference in terms of communication.

LANGUAGE AND DIALECT

(B) language ≠ dialects(1) in general (use) language: broader dialects: regional / social

(2) in linguistics (mutual intelligibility) languages: mutually un-intelligible (e.g. Chinese & English) dialects: mutually intelligible (e.g. British English & American English)

(C) exceptions(1) un-intelligible dialects (e.g. Chinese dialects) Mandarin, Wu, Min, Xiang, Yue, Hakka, Gan,Ping & Jin mutually un-intelligible but treated as Chinese dialects (a) share the common writing system (b) spoken within the same country, politically

(2) intelligible languages (e.g. Danish, Norwegian & Swedish) mutually intelligible but treated as independent languages

(D) two types of dialects(1) regional dialects It occurs to most people that a language would yield different accents or dialects in different areas. e.g. English in York, Newcastle, New England, Texas e.g. British [] and American [a]

e.g. chicken, [ke] of Zhangzhou & [kue] in Quanzhou

(2) social dialects Social dialects are limited to some professions, which are called slogan.

e.g. terminologies sound change, code-switching, grammaticalization, lexicalization, reconstruction, c-command… (X) decoded in surface lexical meaning

1.1 The Dialects of English

(A) two types(1) English as a native language It is spoken in the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand & South Africa.

(2) English as a second language It is spoken in India, Singapore, the Philippines, Nigeria…

(B) Differences of American & British English(1) the r-color vowels a trill /r/, a retroflexed vowel American English (V) & British English (X)

(2) the “a” vowel some vowels for // American English (man) British English (father)

(3) some words / vocabulary There are some difference in words or vocabulary.

(4) syntactic difference American English: Do you have a pencil? British English: Have you a pencil?

1.2 Dialects in Taiwan(two language families)(1) Chinese language : Mandarin Southern Min Hakka(2) Formosa language: Rukai Paiwan Bunun…

the linguistic atlas

1.3 The Myth of Standard Language(1) a pure myth We have to speak a standard language. There is no standard language from the sociolinguistic perspective.

(2) standard Mandarin ? Mandarin spoken in Taiwan - nativized (phonology, vocabulary, morphology, syntax) Putonghua spoken in Mainland China

(3) the standard English?(a) English as a native language / a second language (?)(b) English dialects within the US Eastern New England, Northern, Midland & southern

American atlas of the English dialects

1.4 the difference between Taiwan Mandarin & Beijing Mandarin (Putonghua) (A) in phonetic sounds (1) the loss of r-retroflexation

Neutralization: The three distinct syllables with phonetic segments in Beijing Mandarin are neutralized into one homonym in Taiwan Mandarin.

the retroflexed palatal affricates of Mandarin fused with ts, tsh, s in Taiwan Mandarin

(2) shortening of diphthongs Different parameter settings give rise to different tree configurations.

(B) vocabulary Vocabulary also distinguishes Taiwan Mandarin from Beijing Mandarin.

(C) Syntactic structure a “yu” (have) in every sentence Taiwan Mandarin (V) & Beijing Mandarin (X)

(Taiwan Mandarin is highly influenced by Southern Min)

2. LANGUAGE CONTACT

2.1 Lingua Franca2.2 Pidgin 2.3 Creole

LANGUAGE CONTACT

Language contact-1Two languages are divided by an isogloss which exists more theoretically than practically where the isogloss between language A and B is not regular.

language contact-2One is an island surrounded by another language.

language contact-3One language is neighboring with more than two languages.

language contact - superstratum & substratum

superstratum (loaning): superior in population / politics / economicsplaying the role of loaning

substratum (borrowing):inferior in population / politics / economicsplaying the role of borrowing

e.g. (1) William the Conqueror French (superstratum) & England (substratum) (England borrowed a lot of vocabulary from French.)

(2) Japan colonized Taiwan (1895-1945) Japan (superstratum) & Taiwan (substratum) (Taiwan borrowed a lot of vocabulary from Japan.)

(3) in Taiwan Mandarin (superstratum in politics & economics) Southern Min ( superstratum in population) (mutual borrowing of vocabulary & morphological structures)

2.1 Lingua Franca Lingua Franca refers to the language for common or mutual communication (in an environment in which there is more than one language spoken).

e.g. in India English: lingua franc in Singapore English: lingua franc in Taiwan Mandarin: lingua franc

2.2 Pidgin a mixture of the two contact languages in their simplified forms

(1) foreign & un-intelligible Two languages are foreign & un-intelligible to each other. (2) simplifying / comprehensible / body languages One of the speakers would simplify his own language in such a way that it might be comprehensible to the other speakers, accompanied wit a lot of body languages.

(3) mutually intelligible The speaker of the other language would do the same. In so doing, speakers of two languages are mutually intelligible to some extent.(4) pidgin A new language form comes into being when people speak simplified forms of each language.

e.g. Tok Pisin (in Papua New Guinea) Wes-Kos Pidgin (in West Africa)

Guangxing (a small village of about 1200 speakers of Hakka) a pidgin: simplified Hakka + simplified Paiwan

2.3 Creole(1) pidgin creole: When a pidgin (a mixture of two simplified language forms) becomes an independent language or mother tongue of a certain people, then it becomes creole.(2) creole: (a) Portuguese: The word creole comes from Portuguese, referring to those white descendants born in colonies of Portuguese. (b) languages: It is used to refer to languages spoken in West Africa or along the Caribbean.(3) Gullah: (a) spoken in Georgia & South Carolina (b) speakers: descendants of black slavery (c) mother tongue: mother tongue of those inhabitants

3. LANGUAGE CHANGE: A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

3.1 Martha’s Vineyard3.2 The r-variation in New York City

3.1 Martha’s Vineyard (Labov)(1) vowel reduction why [way] [y] & wow [waw] [w]

(2) geographically Martha’s Vineyard an isolated island, one hour flight from Boston people (a) descendants of those immigrating from England (b) Portuguese descendants (c) those immigrating from inland (d) others

(3) economic background (age, jobs, education) (a) who was talked with natives vs. tourists: vowel reduction (X) natives vs. natives: vowel reduction (V) (b) races Portuguese & English descendants : vowel reduction (V) (c) jobs The more pressure on finding a job ( age 30-40), the more vowel reduction was used.

(4) conclusions 1. (a) + (b) The more one try to be natives, the more s/he used vowel reduction. 2. (c) The more one wanted to be recognized, the more vowel reduction s/he used. social factors: Vowel reduction is an indicator for the identity of Martha’s Vineyard.

3.2 The r-variation in New York (Labov)(1) r-color (V) or (X) in New York City r-color: the sound after a vowel ( V ) the silent after a vowel ( X )

(2) Labov’s assumption r-color an indicator for one’s social status The better one’s social status, the more r-color was retained clerks served as a social mirror better social status customers r-color (V) inferior social status customers r-color (X)

(3) experiments (a) three stores of different customers better social status: Saks 5th Avenue good social status: Macy’s lower social status: St. Klein

(b) procedures Labov went to “the fourth floor” (r-color words) asked the clerks: Where can I buy “shoes” ? (see what was sold there) asked twice (one, casual & the other, more careful) went to a corner & wrote down what he heard

(4) the results

(5) Implications (a) r-color & social status The r-color has much to do with social status. Saks (62 %) > Macy’s (51%) > St.Klen (20%) (b) more r-color, more careful circumstances No matter which store Labov visited, clerks used more r-color in careful circumstances. (c) r-color, customers of better social status In Saks, which was a fine store, there was no great difference between casual and careful talks, implying that clerks were treated to speak English with r-color, because customers coming to this store were of better social status.

Conclusions (vowel reduction in Martha’s Vineyard &r-variation in New York City)

(1) Sound change is not merely limited to regional difference.(2) Social difference would be an important factor for a sound change (Some sound change is motivated by social factors).

4. LANGUAGE AND GENDER

4.1 Different Evaluation in Gender4.2 Social Expectation4.3 Gender in Language Use

4.1 Different Evaluation in Gender language seems to be created by man Most words directly refer to man only in English vocabulary.

man human beings (human, containing man) chairman good jobs are for man only (chairman) housewife heavy duty / hard-working for woman (housewife, woman)

a gender prejudice ? the experiments (240 subjects) Q1: My friend is a distinguish physician in a hospital. What gender do you think s/he is? Q2: My friend is a very qualified nurse in a hospital. What gender do you think s/he is? results: the physician (male: 72 %) & the nurse (female: 84 %)

implication: a better job for males, a gender prejudice for jobs

men & women in words (not equally treated) (a) Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent… (Where were our mothers?)

(b) surface (no great difference) & meaning (quite different)

4.2 Social Expectation(1) psychological expectations for children a female baby: room (pink), toys (dolls) a male baby: toys (tanks, trucks, cars, guns…)

(2) the modifier for female & male female: attractive, adorable, charming, lovely, beautiful, pretty, graceful, slender, tempting, cute, quite, gentle, plain, considerate, passionate… male: manly, strong, generous, handsome, talented, genius, gifted, ambitious…

(3) Expectations of parents in name-given in Chinese girls: Shu-jing (淑靜 ), to be clever and quiet Ya-hui (雅慧 ), to be graceful and full of wisdom, Yi-wen (怡雯 ), to be happy and quiet boys: Jian-haou (健豪 ), to be strong and ambitious, Bian-xian (秉憲 ), to be abiding by the constitution Zhi-jian (志堅 ), to be insistent with a strong will

(4) Summary social expectation of males and females is different socially defined > biologically defined language is a mirror reflecting what we want in our mind

4.3 Gender in Language Use Gender plays a role in the use of language.

differences female male

expressions

uncertainI’m afraid that I can’t...,I’m not sure, I think, Maybe, perhaps, it might be, could be…

certainI’m sure, certainly, naturally, for sure, of course, I guarantee…

indirect /conservativeWould it be possible…, If there is…, I won’t go unless…

directCome on, man!,I want…, I prefer to…

differences female male

tag questions

a lotJohn will be here, won’t he?He does not mean it, does he?

less

manner

more politeThank you, thanks, I’m sorry, excuse me…, Would you please…, May I…

less politean experiment (library):saying “thanks / thank you” for check-out or returning a bookfemale (75%) male (37%)

differences female male

facing difficulties

scream out / get excitedHow terrible! How disgusting! What a shame!...

keep calm try to figure out how to solve the problems

delighted time

more emotionalHow amazing! How fantastic! How interesting! I really like it!...

less emotional

Male & female are different in the use of language expressions (part from social backgrounds).

5. TABOO

5.1 Taboo5.2 Euphemism

5.1 Taboo words improper to be spoken on certain occasions (related to culture)

e.g. Americans (self-dignity) coward, chicken offended Chinese involved with parents / ancestors offended personal privacy Western culture should be respected Chinese nothing can be hidden

5.2 Euphemism express in another expression what the taboo is concerned with

e.g. taboo replaced by euphemism Christian tradition ( Satan / Devil taboo) Speak of the Devil and he appears. (euphemism: deuce / the good man / the great fellow) death taboo John died. (euphemism: passed away.)

e.g. abstract expressions euphemism parachute: aerodynamic personnel decelerator energy release: radiation release stop fighting: break off contact with the enemy out of control: above critical

e.g. taboo related to races in US (black & white taboo) nigger / black (avoid) African American in Taiwan Shanbao / Shanditongbao (avoid) Yuzhumin

6. SAPIR-WHOLF HYPOTHESIS

Do cultures affect our language?(Edward Sapir, 1884-1939)

(A) language: a mirror of society & cultures Eskimo & snow: words / expressions for various types of snow Chinese & rice: various terms for rice

(B) Do cultures affect our language? (a) Edward Sapir (1884-1939) Indians’ thinking is subject to language structure language is closely limited/ influenced by language structure

(b) Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis “Our view of the world is conditioned by the language structure.” (Banjamin Lee Whorf, 1897-1941) a fire prevention engineer (1) people felt afraid of fire the fire was there (X) the phrase “Caution! Fire!” (V) (careless) smoked by a barrel of gasoline threw the cigarette butt to the barrel Our thinking is confined by language structure.

(2) support: Hopi (an Indian language) no specific terms for time / space time: continuous, like water cut into days / months (X) count by days / months (X)Whorf: their language structure (no such a unit of time in Hopi) stop the Hopi people from counting time by days the Hopi speakers get no knowledge of time

conclusion: Our thinking is confined to the language structure.

7. SUMMARY

7.1 language and dialect 7.2 language contact7.3 language change: a social perspective7.4 language and gender7.5 taboo7.6 Sapir-Wholf Hypothesis

7.1 Language and Dialect(1) sociolinguistics = linguistics + sociology to examine the nature of language from the perspective of social factors (age, gender, education, jobs, interests & communities)

(2) idiolect One expresses in his language directly /indirectly reflects his society / culture. every individual is an idiolect speaking a specific language of his own.

(3) regional dialects to put individuals into a society, the common features constitute a dialect / an accent

(4) social dialects people living in the same area / district different professions, jobs, educational backgrounds different in their language

(5) standard language (X) every language is standard each should be treated equal

7.2 Language Contact

(1) Language Contact (a) isogloss (idealistic / theoretical): a clear-cut line separating one language from another

(b) superstratum (loaning): superior in population / politics / economics

(c) substratum (borrowing): inferior in population / politics / economics

(2) Lingua Franca more than one language in an area / country one of them should be chosen for common or mutual communication (governmental offices / in public)

(3) Pidgin two languages are simplified & mixed into a new form.

(4) Creole a pidgin is adopted as a mother tongue

7.3 Language Change: a Social Perspective (William Labov)

two studies social factors trigger sound change (1) Vowel reduction in Matha’s Vineyard Vowel reduction is an indicator for the identity of Martha’s Vineyard.

(2) The r-variation in New York The r-color has much to do with social status.

7.4 Language and Gender(1) Different evaluation in Gender language seems to be created by man a gender prejudice (better jobs for man) men & women in words (not equally treated)

(2) Social Expectation female: gentle adjectives male: muscular adjectives

(3) Gender in Language Use female: more uncertain in expressions male: rather confident in positive expressions

7.5 Taboo (1) Taboo words improper to be spoken on certain occasions (in life & death, in body / organs, in religions)

(2) Euphemism Whenever taboo is encountered, euphemism is used instead.

7.6 Sapir-Wholf Hypothesis “Our thinking is conditioned by the language structure of our mother tongue.”

(1) fire (careful / careless) the fire was there (X) “Caution! Fire!” (V) (2) Hopi an Indian language time (X) & space (X)

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