Language and society

1. The scope of sociolinguistics

1.1 Indications of relatedness between language and society

An obvious indication of the inter-relationship between language and society is the fact that language is not always used to exchange information as is generally assumed, but rather itis sometimes used to fulfil an important social function--- to maintain social relationship between people.

Another indication is that users of the same language in a sense all speak differently. The kind of language each of them chooses to use is in part

determined by his social background. When we speak we cannot avoid giving our listeners clues about our origin and our background.

there are many examples of the physical environment in which a society lives being reflected in its language, normally in the structure of its lexicon---the way in which distinctions are made by means of single words.

Whereas English, for example, has only one word for snow ( or two if we include sleet), Eskimo has several. The reasons for this are obvious. It is essential for Eskimos to be able to distinguish efficientlybetween different types of snow.

English, of course, is quite able to make the same distinctions: fine snow, dry snow, soft snow, and so on, but in Eskimos this sort of distinction is lexicalized---made by means of individual words.

The social environment can also be reflected in language, and can often have an effect on the structure of the vocabulary. For example, a society's kinship

system is generally reflected in its kinship vocabulary.

We can assume, for example, that the important kin relationships in English-speaking societies are those that are signaled by single vocabulary items.

As society is reflected in language in this way, social change can produce a corresponding linguistic change.

This has happened in the case of Russian. During the period from 1860 to the present day the structure of the Russian kinship system has undergone a very radical change as a result of several important events:

For example:the emancipation of serfs in 1861, the First World War, the revolution, the collectivization of agriculture and the Second world War. There has been a marked social as well as political revolution, and this has been accompanied by a corresponding change in the language.

In the middle of the last century, wife's brother was shurin, whereas now now it is simply brat zheny, brother of wife. Similarly, brother's wife, formerly nevestka, is now zhena brata, wife of brother. In other words, distinctions that were formerly lexicalized, because they were important, are now made by means of phrases. The loss of importance of these particular relationships are due to the fact that social changes in Russia have led to the rise of the small, nuclear family.

In the last century most Russians lived in large patrilocal extended-family households. brother's wives, at that time part of the family now normally live,

in different households. Similarly, the term yatrov, signifying husband's brother's wife has now disappeared entirely.

As a social phenomenon language is closely related to the structure of the society in which it is used, and the evaluation of a linguistic form is entirely social.

2. Varieties of languageIt is an obvious fact that people who claim to be users of the same language do not speak the language in the same manner. For example all the English –speaking people do not speak the same type of English. And the language used by the same individual varies as circumstances vary.

Varieties related to the user are normally known as dialects and varieties related to use as registers.

2.1 Varieties of language related to the user

2.1.1 Regional dialectRegional dialects are linguistic varieties used by people living in different regions.

North: You need your hair cutting.

South: You need your hair cut

English: Scottish:

It needs washing It needs washed

He's a man who likes his beer. He's a man that likes his beer. He's a man at likes his beer. He's a man as likes his beer. He's a man what likes his beer. He's a man he likes his beer. He's a man likes his beer.

Regional dialect boundaries often coincide with geographical barriers such as mountains, rivers, or swamps.

This differentiation is accounted for by the lack of communication in the old days when travel was difficult.

2.2.6 小品词 1) la: 新加坡英语的典型特征之一表现在对 “ la ” 的使用上。“ la ” 在使用上至少具有六种功能： (1) 表达一种“显而易见”的事实，例如：

No need to count la. There are 30 stones la.

见《英语与社会》 p.203

(2) 表达一种委婉的建议，例如： You tell him la! I’m so scared of him.

(3) 在作出某种解释时，用于缓和 语气，避免粗鲁，例如：

I was absent, because I was ill la.

见《英语与社会》 p.203

(4) 在连续的话语中，有表达不重要的信息被省略的功能，例如： You can take an umbrella, some clothes or whatever la! (5) 委婉拒绝对方的赞扬，例如： I was lucky la. (6) 表示缺乏热情，例如：

Chinese New Year ah? Okay, la!

见《英语与社会》 p.203

2) “What” 作为小品词在新加坡英语中主要有三种功能： (1) 含有反对、不赞成、抱怨之意，例如：

Father: Jane was foolish for she failed the test. Mother: She has only failed once what.

见《英语与社会》 p.203

(2) 表达“不耐烦”、“恼火”之意，如： I am late what. He himself is always late.

(3) 表达一种显而易见的事实，例如： I am your friend what. ( It is obvious that I am your friend.)

见《英语与社会》 p.203

3) le (1) 表示说话人不赞成某件事情的发生 , 例如 :

You can’t walk there, very far le.

见《英语与社会》 p.203---204

(2) 含有说话人预料听话人可能作出否定判断的蕴意，例如： A to B ( looking at a dress )

40 dollars only le.

见《英语与社会》 p.204

It’s raining le. Shall we take an umbrella?

(3) 引起听话人的注意，如：

见《英语与社会》 p.204

4) Hoh (1) 把直陈语气转为疑问句式，例如： This is not true, hoh?

(2) 蕴有一种“劝说”的话语功能，例如：

You wait for me here, hoh.

见《英语与社会》 p.204

2.3 句法特征

2.3.1 在对说话对象进行询问时，常采用 “ or not” 结构，例如： a) Hunt or not? b) John, smart or not? c) Let’s take a walk, want or not? d) We set off tomorrow, can or not?

e) You notice or not, they all learn their songs er only at this time er. We all learn twenty-four hours, remember or not ?

见《英语与社会》 p.205

2.3.2 常用 “ is it” 构成一般疑问句 , 常有三种情况：

1) 把“ is it” 置于陈述句首构成疑问句 , 例如： a) Is it Freddie is number eight? b) Is it you eat fish?

见《英语与社会》 p.205

2) 把 “ is it” 作为附加疑问部分置于陈述句之后，且不受主句助动词或实义动词的影响：

a) You really want to learn, is it ? b) Lucy and Chin Lai’s rooms are vacant, is it ?

见《英语与社会》 p.205

3) “is it” 用来对一个“陈述”作出反应。在语意上相当于 “ really?” 或 “ Is that so?” ，例如：A: John is ill and has been hospitalized for a weekB: Is it ?

b) A: I never eat fish. B: Is it ?

见《英语与社会》 p.205

2.3.3 通过对形容词的复用来加强形容词所示语义的程度： a) that fat-fat man b) I like hot-hot curries. c) I speak broken-broken English.

见《英语与社会》 p.205---206

2.3.4 常常使用程度副词去修饰具有“绝对”概念的形容词 , 例如： a) extremely essential b) very vital c) more ideal d) very unique e) most precious f) very essential

见《英语与社会》 p.206

2.3.5 常常使用宾语前置结构，例如： a) This film I don’t like b) Ten per cent off we give our customers

2.3.6 系动词 “ be” 经常省略，构成主题加评论句式，例如：

a) That book very boring. b) New York a very modern city.见《英语与社会》 p.206

2.2.2 仅在新加坡使用的词汇与表达法

Singapore English Words Meanings Aksy AffectedAng-moh red-hair; a person of European ancestry

Boleh tahan tolerably good chap chye a mixture of everything

见《英语与社会》 p.199

tamby office attendant; office boykaypoh greedy; interfering in others’ affairskayu stupid; dullkiasu a feeling of fearing failure on inferiority to others

见《英语与社会》 p.200

Nowadays, as there is a marked increase in communication brought about by mass media, and by the development of modern transport, the stability of local dialects seems to be decreasing.

2.1.2Social-class dialectJust as regional dialect is associated with separation caused by physical conditions, social dialect has to do with separation brought about by different social conditions.

Social-class dialect, or sociloect, refers to the linguistic variety characteristic of a particular social class.

见《英语与社会》 p.83---84

在词汇系统的使用上，上层社会的人习惯使用 America ， cake ，helping ， ice ， lavatory, looking glass, pudding, relatives, rich, Royalties, scent, scurf, sick, sofa, spectacles, writing paper 等，而不是与它们相对应的 the States ， pastry ， portion ， ice-cream ， toilet ， mirror ， dessert ， relations ， wealthy ， Royals ， perfume ， dandruff ， ill ， settee ， notepaper ， glasses等。

When we look at the language used by two speakers A and B, we can estimate roughly their relative social status:Speaker A speaker BI did it yesterday. I done it yesterday.He hasn’t got it. He ain’t got it.It was she that said it It was her what said it.

In Britain, one of the most important markers of status is accent. “Received Pronunciation” , a non-localized form of pronunciation, refers to the particular way of pronouncing standard English, which is an indicator of a public school education and thus a high social status on the part of the speaker.

In the past the possession of an RP accent was extremely important because it served a s a high-status marker, and also as a qualification for high-prestige employment no matter what other abilities the work might require.

在双元音系统中，普通型变体中的 / ai /在女皇英语中常实现为 /ei /, 例如 :

单词 普通型变体 女皇英语refine / ri`fain/ /ri`fein/

define /di`fain/ /di`fein/

见《英语与社会》 p.81

其次 , 普通型变体中的 / i / 在女皇英语中常被实现为 /e /, 例如 :

单词 普通型变体 女皇英语 really / `rili/ /`reli/

见《英语与社会》 p.81

单词 普通型变体 女皇英语 house /haus/ /hais/

hello /he`lu/ /he`lei/

见《英语与社会》 p.80---p.81

单词 普通型变体 女皇英语family /`fæmili/ /`femili/

factory /`fækt ri/ /`fekt ri/

landscape /`lændskeip/ /`lendskeip/

ax / æks/ /iks/

见《英语与社会》 p.79

此外，在普通型标准英语中的前元音 /i/在女皇英语中可以实现为 /e/, 例如：单词 普通型英语 女皇英语gloomy /`glu:mi/ /`glu:me/

army /`a:mi/ /`a:me/

surfy /`s :fi/ /`s :fe/

见《英语与社会》 p.79

单词 普通型变体 时新型变体powerless /`paulis/ /`pa:lis/

fire /fai/ /fa:/

tired /taid/ /ta:d/

our /au/ /a:/

见《英语与社会》 p.83

Investigations have been carried out by linguists to obtain evidence for the correlation between certain phonetic features and social variables.Percentage of speakersUsing [n] for [ ]Middle middle class 3%Lower middle class 42%Upper working class 87%]Middle working class 95%Lower working class 100%

ŋ

It should be clear that social-class dialects are not distinct entities; they merge into each other to form a continuum. It is only the proportions which are different.

2.1.3 language and sex

Differences between women and men have always been a topic of interest to the human species and supposed linguistic differences are often enshrined in proverbs:

The North Sea will sooner be found wanting in water than a woman at a loss for a word. ( Jutland )

A woman's tongue wags like a lamb's tail. (England)

Foxes are all tail and women are all tongue. ( England-Cheshire)

Compared with men, women tend to use such adverbs. ：

horridly, abominably, immensely, excessively, amazingly ，so, most,etc.

1. Lexical Items

1.1Adverbs

Women often use these intensifiers to excess so that the intensity of these words have weakened. What is more, the overuse of these words imply that the users are sentimental, shallow and not objective enough.

In Chapter III in Jane Austen’s novel,“Pride and Prejudice”,Mrs Bennet, excited after participating in a party, talked to her husband about Mr.Bingley as follows:

Oh! My dear Mr. Bennet, we have had a most excellent ball. …Jane was so admired. Every body said how well she looked. Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful, …I was so vexed to see him stand up with her. … I am quite delighted with him. He is so excessively handsome! …[Mr. Darcy] is a most disagreeable, horrid man. So high and so conceited that there was no enduring him! He walked here, and he walked there, fancying himself so very great! Not handsome enough to dance with.

见《英语与社会》 p.2---3

In this chapter ， Jane Austen has taken advantage of these intensifiers to indicate that Mrs Bennet is shallow, superficial and exaggerating.

Because females often use these intensifiers, these intensifiers have become greatly weakened in the degree of intensity. In a sense, the overuse of the words of absoluteness or extremity may cause changes in the meaning of a word at least in the eye of a man.

Wife: You always leave your papers about ， dear!

Husband: Really? Didn’t I put them in place yesterday?

见《英语与社会》 p.4

Women may use the intensifiers at the sacrifice of the literal meanings of

these words.

For instance, the adjective "vast" and its adverb vastly, mean anything and are the fashionable words of the most fashionable people.

见《英语与社会》 p.4

A fine woman...is vastly obliged, or vastly great; small ones are vastly little; and a purse could be vastly pretty, because it was vastly little.

见《英语与社会》 p.4

Imagine a man and a woman both looking at the same wall, painted a pinkish shade of purple. The woman may say:

1. Women prefer to use the following colour words while most men do not:

mauve, beige, aquamarine, lavender, magenta

The wall is mauve.

If the man should say the above sentence, one might well conclude he was imitating a woman sarcastically, or was a homosexual, or an interior decorator.

The wall is mauve.

females: so good, such fun, exquisite, lovely, divine, precious, adorable, darling, fantastic.neutral: great, terrific, cool, neat

2. Women have their own vocabulary for emphasizing certain effects:

见《英语与社会》 p.5

The above words, besides their specific and literal meanings, can indicate the speaker's approbation or admiration for something.

females: so good, such fun, exquisite, lovely, divine, precious, adorable, darling, fantastic.

neutral: great, terrific, cool, neat

Where a woman has a choice between the neutral words and the women’s words, as a man has not, she may be suggesting very different things about her own personality and her view of the subject-matter by her choice of words of the first set or words of the second:

females: so good, such fun, exquisite, lovely, divine, precious, adorable, darling, fantastic.neutral: great, terrific, cool, neat

It seems to me that example A might be used under any appropriate conditions by a female speaker. But Example B is more restricted. Probably it is used appropriately only in case the speaker feels the idea referred to be essentially frivolous, trivial, or unimportant to the world at large-- -only an amusement for the speaker herself.

A. What a terrific idea!B. What a divine idea!

One may ask whether there are terms that are available to men----terms that denote approval of the trivial, the personal; that express approbation in terms of one’s own personal emotional reaction.

There does in fact seem to be one such word: " groovy" ,which does not mark the speaker as feminine or effeminate.

见《英语与社会》 p.6

a. What a terrific steel mill!

* b. What a lovely steel mill! ( male speaking )

c. What a groovy steel mill!

3. Aside from specific lexical items, there are differences between the speech of women and that of men in the use of particles that grammarians often describe as " meaningless".

a. Oh dear, you've put the peanut butter in the refrigerator again.

b. Shit, you've put the peanut butter in the refrigerator again.

It is safe to predict that people would classify the first sentence as part of " women's language", the second as " men's language".

Now we may ask what we mean by " stronger" and " weaker" . The difference between using " shit" or " damn" as opposed to " oh dear", or " goodness", or " oh fudge " lies in how forcefully one says how one feels.

Choice of particle is a function of how strongly one allows oneself to feel about something, so that the strength of an emotion conveyed

in a sentence corresponds to the

strength of the particle.

a. * Oh fudge, my hair is on fire

b. * Dear me, did he kidnap the baby ?

见《英语与社会》 p.7

2.1.4 language and age2.1.5 Standarddialect.