Introduction to Sociolinguistics ���LSA 113

Penny Eckert

eckert@stanford.edu

http://www.stanford.edu/~eckert/

Course Website:

http://www.stanford.edu/~eckert/Institute2015/

Laconic

Laconic

Oxford: “(of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words: his laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic.” Miriam Webster: “using or involving the use of a minimum of words. Concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious.”

My undergraduates !  Slow, lazy, relaxed? !  Annoying??? !  Laid-back and disinterested as if due to existential doubt !  Lazy (best guess) !  Quiet !  Laidback, low energy, chill in speaking. Concise and to the

point. dispassionate. !  Boring, slow? !  Judgmental (wild guess) !  Not speaking much or speaking slowly? !  Dry, dull?

!  ... after church their laconic, slow-paced Sunday afternoon began with her grandparents’ table laden with foods they raised, caught or canned.  

!  Rather, the adjacent bar/cafe was often empty, unevenly stocked, and staffed with laconic, slow-moving folks that may or may not have had a bottled beer or panini to offer you.

!  Lloyd Ruby, a laconic Texan whose slow speech belied his fast and hard driving style, amassed over 150 recorded victories. 

!  Few moviegoers would have guessed from his laconic and occasionally blissed-out performances 

!  A collection of laconic and beautiful sentiments, culled from ancient and modern poetry

Gato is a laconic, slow-moving cat who tags along on adventures in hope of finding lunch.

http://www.primalscreen.com/project/PerroYGato

Australia’s Victorian Bar���News and Views/ A Bit About Words

“It is difficult to pin down the current, received meaning of laconic. A statistically meaningless straw poll suggests that in Australia at present it means something like “laid back, relaxed”. I confess to having thought that was its proper meaning, but I lack a classical education.

In 1989, in Pacific Dunlop Ltd v Hogan, Sheppard J described Crocodile Dundee as being portrayed in the film of the same name: “... in a laconic, laid-back style and yet [the feats of the character in the film] are all pervaded with a certain cockiness and insolence.”

The 2014 Gucci fall collection “... proved once again that a truly beautiful lady doesn’t have to wear thousands of accessories. The collection is very laconic yet super stylish and cool.”

Synonyms Collins Terse Short Brief VisualSynonyms.com Crisp Curt Terse Thesauraus.com Brusque Pithy Terse

? !  ... after church their terse, slow-paced Sunday afternoon began

with her grandparents’ table laden with foods they raised, caught or canned.  

!  Rather, the adjacent bar/cafe was often empty, unevenly stocked, and staffed with terse, slow-moving folks that may or may not have had a bottled beer or panini to offer you.

!  Lloyd Ruby, a terse Texan whose slow speech belied his fast and hard driving style, amassed over 150 recorded victories. 

!  Few moviegoers would have guessed from his terse and occasionally blissed-out performances 

!  A collection of terse and beautiful sentiments, culled from ancient and modern poetry

What kind of thing is language?

!  A system for communicating propositional meaning?

!  A system acquired completely in childhood and then just used throughout life?

!  A system taken off the cognitive shelf and returned unscathed after each use?

Were a language ever completely "grammatical" it would be a perfect engine of conceptual expression. Unfortunately, or luckily, no language is tyrannically consistent. All grammars leak. (Sapir 1921, p. 39)

Un système où tout se tient?

Purpose of the Course Get you to think about language: !  as a social practice

–  Enabled by, and reproducing, structure –  Not something that we “acquire” and then “use”

!  as an indexical system. –  Not just a system for communicating propositional meaning –  As constructing, not just reflecting, the social

!  as designed for change. –  Not something we take off the shelf and replace unscathed –  Not a system that “just happens” to change

The First Wave: Some Urban Studies

!  CEDERGREN, HENRIETTA. 1973. The interplay of social and linguistic factors in Panama, Linguistics, Cornell University: PhD.

!  LABOV, WILLIAM. 1966. The social stratification of English in New York City. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

!  MACAULAY, RONALD K.S. 1977. Language, social class and education: a Glasgow study. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press.

!  MODARESSI, YAHYAH. 1978. A sociolinguistic analysis of modern Persian, University of Kansas: PhD.

!  TRUDGILL, P. 1974. The social differentiation of English in Norwich. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

!  SHUY, ROGER W., WOLFRAM, WALTER A. and RILEY, WILLIAM K. 1967. Linguistic correlates of social stratification in Detroit speech: Final Report, Research Project No. MH 15048-01, National Institute of Mental Health.

!  WOLFRAM, WALT. 1969. A sociolinguistic description of Detroit Negro speech. Washington DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

���The big picture: ���a Stable Variable

LABOV W. (1966) The social stratification of English in New York City. Washington DC: Center for Applied Linguistics

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Casual Careful Reading

Lower

Working

Lower Middle

Upper Middle

% apical -ing in New York

(ING) in Great Britain

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Casual Formal Reading List

MMC

LMC

UWC

MWC

LWC

TRUDGILL, P. 1974. The social differentiation of English in Norwich. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Another Stable Variable

0!

10!

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70!

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90!

Casual Style! Interview Style! Reading style!

(dh)

inde

x!

Lower Class (0-2)!

Working Class (3-5)!

Middle Class (6-9)!

dh-stopping in New York City

A Change in Progress ���New York City (aeh)

Labov, W. (1966). The social stratification of English in New York City. Washington, DC, Center for Applied Linguistics.

15

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40 casual formal reading word list

LOWER

WORKING

MIDDLE