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Topic: "Sociolinguistics Factors"
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Sociolinguistics is a developing branch of linguistics and sociology which investigates the individual and social variation of language. Just as regional variation of language can give a lot of information about the place the speaker is from, social variation tells about the roles performed by a given speaker within one community, or country. Sociolinguistics is also a branch of sociology in that it reveals the relationship between language use and the social basis for such use. Sociolinguistics differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the latter's focus is on the language's effect on the society. Sociolinguistics is a practical, scientific discipline which researches into the language that is actually used, either by native speakers or foreigners, in order to formulate theories about language change. There are numerous factors influencing the way people speak which are investigated by sociolinguistics
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Topic: "Sociolinguistics Factors"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sociolinguistics is a developing branch of linguistics and sociology which investigates the individual and social variation of language. Just as regional variation of language can give a lot of information about the place the speaker is from, social variation tells about the roles performed by a given speaker within one community, or country. Sociolinguistics is also a branch of sociology in that it reveals the relationship between language use and the social basis for such use. Sociolinguistics differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the latter's focus is on the language's effect on the society. Sociolinguistics is a practical, scientific discipline which researches into the language that is actually used, either by native speakers or foreigners, in order to formulate theories about language change. There are numerous factors influencing the way people speak which are investigated by sociolinguistics
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1) Social class
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The position of the speaker in the society, measured by the level of education, parental background, profession and their effect on syntax and lexis used by the speaker. An important factor influencing the way of formulating sentences is, according to sociolinguists, the social class of the speakers. Thus, there has been a division of social classes proposed in order to make the description accurate. Two main groups of language users, mainly those performing non-manual work and those with more years of education are the ‘middle class’, while those who perform some kind of manual work are ‘working class’. The additional terms ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ are frequently used in order to subdivide the social classes. Therefore, differences between upper middle class can be compared with lower working class.
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2) Social context:
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the register of the language used depending on changing situations: formal language in formal meetings and informal usage during meetings with friends, for example. It is notable that people are acutely aware of the differences in speech patterns that mark their social class and are often able to adjust their style to the interlocutor. It is especially true for the members of the middle class who seem eager to use forms associated with upper class; however, in such efforts, the forms characteristic of upper class are often overused by the middle class members. The above mentioned process of adapting own speech to reduce social
distance is called convergence. Sometimes, however, when people want to emphasise the social distance, they make use of the process called divergence, purposefully using idiosyncratic forms.
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3) Geographical Origins:
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Slight differences in pronunciation between speakers that point at the geographical region which the speaker comes from. Sociolinguistics investigates the way in which language changes, depending on the region of the country it is used in. To describe a variety of language that differs in grammar, lexis and pronunciation from others, the term dialect is used. Moreover, each member of community has a unique way of speaking due to the life experience, education, age and aspiration. An individual personal variation of language use is called an idiolect.
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(4) Ethnicity
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Differences between the use of a given language by its native speakers and other ethnic groups. There are numerous factors influencing idiolect, some of which have been presented above; yet two more need to be elucidated, namely jargon and slang. Jargon is specific technical vocabulary associated with a particular field of interest, or topic.
"For example"
words such as convergence, dialect and social class are sociolinguistic jargon. Whereas slang is a type of language used most frequently by people from outside of high-status groups, characterised by the use of unusual words and phrases instead of conventional forms. For example, a sociolinguist might determine, through study of social attitudes, that a particular vernacular would not be considered appropriate language use in a business or professional setting; she or he might also study the grammar, phonetics, vocabulary, and other aspects of this sociolect much as a dialectologist would study the same for a regional dialect.
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5) Nationality:
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Clearly visible in the case of the English language: British English differs from American English, or Canadian English; Nigerian English differs from Ghanaian English; The study of language variation is concerned with social constraints determining language in its contextual environment. Code-switching is the term given to the use of different varieties of language in different social situations. William Labov is often regarded as the founder of the study of sociolinguistics. He is especially noted for introducing the quantitative study of language variation and change, making the sociology of language into a scientific discipline.
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6) Gender:
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differences in patterns of language use between men and women, such as quantity of speech, intonation patterns.
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7) Age:
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the influence of age of the speaker on the use of vocabulary and grammar complexity.
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The position of the speaker in the society, measured by the level of education, parental background, profession and their effect on syntax and lexis used by the speaker. An important factor influencing the way of formulating sentences is, according to sociolinguists, the social class of the speakers. Thus, there has been a division of social classes proposed in order to make the description accurate. Two main groups of language users, mainly those performing non-manual work and those with more years of education are the ‘middle class’, while those who perform some kind of manual work are ‘working class’. The additional terms ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ are frequently used in order to subdivide the social classes. Therefore, differences between upper middle class can be compared with lower working class.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
2) Social context:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the register of the language used depending on changing situations: formal language in formal meetings and informal usage during meetings with friends, for example. It is notable that people are acutely aware of the differences in speech patterns that mark their social class and are often able to adjust their style to the interlocutor. It is especially true for the members of the middle class who seem eager to use forms associated with upper class; however, in such efforts, the forms characteristic of upper class are often overused by the middle class members. The above mentioned process of adapting own speech to reduce social
distance is called convergence. Sometimes, however, when people want to emphasise the social distance, they make use of the process called divergence, purposefully using idiosyncratic forms.
~~~~~~~~~~
3) Geographical Origins:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Slight differences in pronunciation between speakers that point at the geographical region which the speaker comes from. Sociolinguistics investigates the way in which language changes, depending on the region of the country it is used in. To describe a variety of language that differs in grammar, lexis and pronunciation from others, the term dialect is used. Moreover, each member of community has a unique way of speaking due to the life experience, education, age and aspiration. An individual personal variation of language use is called an idiolect.
~~~~~~~~
(4) Ethnicity
~~~~~~~~~
Differences between the use of a given language by its native speakers and other ethnic groups. There are numerous factors influencing idiolect, some of which have been presented above; yet two more need to be elucidated, namely jargon and slang. Jargon is specific technical vocabulary associated with a particular field of interest, or topic.
"For example"
words such as convergence, dialect and social class are sociolinguistic jargon. Whereas slang is a type of language used most frequently by people from outside of high-status groups, characterised by the use of unusual words and phrases instead of conventional forms. For example, a sociolinguist might determine, through study of social attitudes, that a particular vernacular would not be considered appropriate language use in a business or professional setting; she or he might also study the grammar, phonetics, vocabulary, and other aspects of this sociolect much as a dialectologist would study the same for a regional dialect.
~~~~~~~~~
5) Nationality:
~~~~~~~~
Clearly visible in the case of the English language: British English differs from American English, or Canadian English; Nigerian English differs from Ghanaian English; The study of language variation is concerned with social constraints determining language in its contextual environment. Code-switching is the term given to the use of different varieties of language in different social situations. William Labov is often regarded as the founder of the study of sociolinguistics. He is especially noted for introducing the quantitative study of language variation and change, making the sociology of language into a scientific discipline.
~~~~~~~~~
6) Gender:
~~~~~~~~
differences in patterns of language use between men and women, such as quantity of speech, intonation patterns.
~~~~~~~~
7) Age:
~~~~~~~
the influence of age of the speaker on the use of vocabulary and grammar complexity.
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