ANT253 final exam ch4-6 PDF

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Summary of ch.4-6 for final exam...

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Chapter 4: Social dialects and sociolects ▪ Primary target of sociolinguistic o To study variation in social spaces through research on how human interaction unfolds in specific ways in such spaces ▪ Social dialects/ sociolects o Variant forms of speech o Extending traditional geographical notion of dialect to encompass variation in the social domain ▪ More commonly called sociolects ▪ Social alignment o Those who speak the standard variety of a language have a head start on others who do not in many social situations ▪ Language fosters both alignment and exclusion o Dialect speakers (non dominant variety) are likely to be less educated → less skilled jobs ▪ More likely to be under-represented in the mainstream media and in politics, over represented in negative ways o Standard variety speakers more likely to be educated and possess higher job skills ▪ More likely to be represented in the mainstream media and in politics ▪ Language is the means to create alignments, exclusions and reinforce group identity within a speech community or network. Sociolects ▪ Saussure o First to use the term “speech community” ▪ Indicate a group of people sharing a common language or dialect. ● Been extended to include sociolectal variation (the use of sociallysignificant variants of language within socially specific boundaries). o To be considered part of a speech community, need to have ▪ Communicative competence (ability use a language or dialect in a way that fits the situation) o Based on specific forms of language ▪ Professional groups – jargon ▪ Gangs, families, cliques – slang ● Slang can also be in popular culture and mass communications language o Mostly used with friends ▪ Many slang expressions become colloquialisms ● Expressions used in everyday conversation that are not considered appropriate for formal speech and writing ▪ Variants of a language that are produced by social variation not variation connected to the geographical distance between speakers o Ex: slang and jargon ▪ If main identifiers of a speech variant are regional – variant is dialect ▪ If the main identifiers of a speech variant are social (based on class differences, age, gender, ethnicity etc) – variant is sociolect. Slang and colloquialisms ▪ Slang arises for group solidarity reasons ▪ Colloquialisms: when slang becomes a part of culture, widespread use because it gets related to a situation and sticks there - “drunk” was slang, now it’s used like a term ▪ 2 types of slang o general ▪ emerge in special situations and spread to society at large through expressive activities - e.g.) “cool” ▪ Nerd, geek and dork ▪ geek - chemistry ▪ nerd- wrecks ur parties ▪ dork- someone to avoid

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group based - within a specific group of people, have their own slang ▪ Serious ▪ cants and argots ● rarely spreads to society given its in group coded functions. ● Uses pizzini (little pieces of paper which they wrote their messages on)-italian mob ● Less likely to be intercepted unlike electronic forms of communication. ● Thieves’ cant o Used by pickpockets in England (Thomas Harman) ● Cant is also known as cryptolect o A type of slang that aims to disguise communication o Creates a sense of unity o Allows to gather more information about the criminals about gang activities Indexicality permeates all slang Noncompliance attitude built into hip-hop slang exudes linguistic empowerment, giving speakers control over their lives. Slang includes cants and argots A change in grammatical category of a common word is one of the mechanisms through which a slang form arises Colloquialism o A word or phrase that is not part of the standard vocabulary but used as part of ordinary or similar conversation. ▪ Jock, cool, loony, chick, dude, sloshed, chill out, 24/7 Geek – colloquialism o Started off as a slang and now is a colloquialism o Meant to refer to a “fool” o gamers, act as a fool or dupe Nerd – came from dr. seuss o unfashionable, Gross: valley girl talk of the 80’s Jock o Started off as a slang and everyone started using it so it became a colloquialism Slang occurs at various levels o Socially conditioned/specific variants of language o They have meeting that is socially important o Ex: ▪ Theater slang ▪ Musical slang ▪ Adolescent slang o Tags ▪ Ensures the full participation of interlocutors in what speakers are saying ▪ A question that ends with a “tagged on” phrase that is designed to seek approval, agreement or consent ▪ This is a good course, isn’t it? ▪ Got it? o Hedges and fillers o Cool, hip, yo dude,duh ▪ Words and expressions that allow speakers to keep the flow of conversations moving ▪ Hedges: Word or phrase that makes utterances less forceful ● “its kind of good to say this” o

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Dude: came from the breakfast club, scooby doo 1800’s- yankee vs cowboys, yankees dressed up like “dudes” while cowboys dressed more formally Generic slang is not very serious, its more metaphor and irony Tagging: added question for reassurance Hedges: trying to get attention, “its SORT OF cool” sounds less forceful Fillers: “like” “you know” let them know speaker is not finished Quotations

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● “she sort of said that” Filler: A sound or word that indicates to other interlocutors that the speaker has not finished speaking, but has simply paused to gather his or her thoughts ● The word “like” ● “like this, like that” ● a filler word ● uh, like, um, Quotative: a word or expression that introduces a quotation ● She’s like “take off your jacket”and I’m like “mans not hot”

Gross: meaning disgusting o Came from 15th century English where being large/big is perceived as being disgusting Adolescent slang o Based on emotions(Roman Jakobson) Slang is used by the media o Slang that is diffused through the media has a social appeal and is often used as a symbol of social trends. Transgressive of norms and standard language distinctions o Ex: Guys = now used to refer to peers who are both female or male ▪ Shows that women have achieved a different social status from the past that allows them to use unmarked (masc.) forms without social reprecussions ▪ Shows males still see themselves as different from females and thus continue to use markedness features from the past. Gauge of change in social roles and ideologies. Trace of how people modify speech in accordance with social change. Slang is often profane o Sexual metaphors ▪ Hottie, babe, player Irony is often apart of slang o Semantic strategy o Allows people to poke fun at specific aspects of everyday life. Coded social savvy o Chick flick, issues, crib o Allows speakers to make indirect assessments of common things and people without elaboration or justification. Slang = sociolect

▪ Jargon ▪ A form of slang, Part of in group behaviour, it signals group membership, and it has a highly specialized vocabulary o Analogy ▪ Common slang = L sociolect ▪ Jargon = H sociolect ▪ Can be converted to standard lexemes o But never completely synonymous with jargon terms ▪ People who use jargon are specialists and prestigious ▪ Ex: musician o Learning musical jargon ▪ Ex: Medical term o Hematoma – blood clot o Coronary thrombosis – heart attack o Pruritis – itchiness o Pustule – pus o Varicella – chicken pox ▪ Jargon serves a purpose o They are specialized knowledge o Common jargon ▪ Useful for everyone ▪ Addition subtraction etc ▪ Jargon is denotative (literal meaning)

When used among the members of the group it is precise and invariable as to what it designates o Ex: Coronary thrombosis = “heart attack” ▪ But the colloquial term heart attack can take on various social nuances ● “you almost gave me a heart attack” ▪ Some jargon makes it into common lexicon o But acquire connotative (implied) meaning ▪ Ex: Arthritis = connotative meaning of aging ▪ Concepts of disease crystallizes from sociocultural factors o The ways in which a culture defines health will determine how it treats disease ▪ Life expectancy, features of body image. ▪ Jargon = sociolect, slang = sociolect o Jargon can be used by anyone even if he or she doesn’t belong to the group o For practical reasons Register o A level of usage, determined by the degree of formality required by a social situation. o Manifests itself through linguistic forms that are adapted to communicative purpose, social context, and the social status of users. o Involve selection of specific kinds of speech acts and verbal protocols o Good bye ▪ Highly formal ● polite o Bye ▪ Mid formal ● Used with those who we see frequently o See ya ▪ Friendliest and intimate o Misuse = breach of social etiquette o Term first used by Thomas Bertram Reid o In order to distinguish among language variants on the part of the speaker determined by variables such as age, gender, class, and geography o Halliday and Hasan o Register as the linguistic features associated with social variables as situated in a field of discourse that required control over the mode. ▪ Field = total event in which speech functions together with purposeful activates of the speaker. ▪ Mode = function of the speech act in a context. o

Denotation o Referential meaning of a word Connotation o Senses that a word takes on in social context Features o Recognize a register as formal or informal through the specific linguistic forms (phonological, grammatical, lexical) used. o Formal registers = abbreviated words are avoided. o Registers are synchronized with daily life routines and interpersonal interactions. o Constrained by social relationship and situation o Diatype o Used to describe socially based language variation instead of “registers” o Dialect is defined as a variant according to user o Diatype as a variant according to use. Formal and informal ▪ Abode vs house, place ▪ Alcoholic beverage vs drink, booze ▪ Offspring vs children, kids ▪ Dollars vs bucks Interplay of registers shows the relationship people have

Politeness ▪ Where formality comes in ▪ Primary register within language use ▪ Politeness rule o The formal register is used with social superiors or strangers o Informal register with close friends and intimates o If it does not fall under those, mid formal is appropriate. ▪ Politeness forms are obligatory when those at lower levels address those at higher levels ▪ Politeness registers are used unconsciously o Allows us to address class, educational level, type of relation with an interlocutor etc. ▪ If speech act does not match politeness register o Misunderstanding and confusion between speakers ▪ Breaking the rule = break in social manners, NOT a lack of linguistic knowledge. ▪ Conveying politeness o Hedges to express uncertainty rather than directness o Euphemisms (she has passed on) o Tags (this is what you mean, isn’t it?) ▪ Women use politeness strategies more than men Honorifics ▪ The use of titles and other forms of respect o First names or last names, titles accompanying names (Mr. Mrs) or used in isolation (sir) o The choice of personal pronouns used to refer to the social status of the interlocutor ▪ Used to convey social distance, politeness, humility, deference, or respect o 3 main types ▪ Addresee honorific ● Deisnged to allude to the social status of the person addressed ▪ Referent ● References the level of formality of the speakers ▪ Bystander ● Expresses the status of an interlocutor who is a bystander, not a participant in the conversation. ● Changing ones speech patterns in the presence of the bystander and indirectly acknowledging his or her presence. ▪ Part of politeness ▪ Ex: Professor o In Korean, honorifics combine the lexical choice between plain and honorific nouns and verbs ▪ In some societies, the key factor in determining who is to be treated as superior is the relative age of the participants o Social power is a secondary factor Style ▪ ▪

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A way of presenting the language in a situation desired A way of using language that shows sensitivity to, or understanding of, specific situations, levels of formality, modes of speech that are appropriate. o More appropriate for essays and formal writinge “object” of interest. Not a matter of personal taste o Governed by the situation or by the kind of utterance that is required. o Ex: difference between active and passive setences. Passive language is not the right style for communicating with a friend o Used to de-emphasize the speaker as actor and highlight the goal as th Active language not meant for essays o More appropriate in casual conversations o Stylistic practices o Used to emphasize the speaker as the actor

A typology o Mode of language as determined by the situation on a formality scale

Martin Joos o Identified 5 styles of English Frozen or static style ▪ Formulaic and is passed on as such ▪ Includes archaisms, aphorisms, biblical quotations etc ▪ Oath taken in court ▪ Wording is exactly the same every time in either spoken or written language ▪ Ex: I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, so help me God Formal style ▪ In formal situations ▪ Dictionary and introduction between strangers ▪ Hello, my name is Ms. Smith. Glad to make your acquaintance ▪ It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to… ▪ sensitive to age and acknowledges competence ▪ if someone doesnt understand you language you cant really be formal Consultative style ▪ Involves 2 way interaction ▪ Background information is provided and prior knowledge is not assumed ▪ Interruptions are allowed ▪ Ex: teacher and student dialogues, doctor patient consults, expert and apprentice talk ▪ like a person at a grocery store hey can u tell me vs w/ friends where it at Casual style o Used with friends and acquaintances o Incomplete sentences, slang, and colloquialisms o

Intimate style o Private and involves increased intonation more than wording or grammar and special vocabulary o Family members, close friends, lovers o romantic speech oh jan, tone of voice the length of the accent and the words chosen o LOOL flirting o The ability to recognize and use different style modes of language according to situation is an essential component of communicative competence. Style has many sociopolitical functions

Genre o Modes of speaking or writing that people learn to imitate or emulate and then weave together into specific utterances o Letters o Grocery lists o Lectures o An utterance’s genre can be determined by the particular wording and choice of vocab in addition to its social function. o Bakhtin o Many people who have an excellent command of a language often feel quite helpless in certain spheres of communication because they do not have a practical command of the generic forms o Genre competence o A subcategory of communicative competence o Knowing how to recognize speeches, job interviews, lectures, etc characterized by a specific stylistic feature. o Also serve many performative functions ▪ Social rituals ● The use of language in ritual is not to create new meanings but to assert communal sense-making and to ensure cultural cohesion.

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Ancestral names for children – magical protective aura around the child. Genre based communication o Formulaic and rely on known and accepted conventions and linguistic structures. Classify texts according to their genres

Language and Social Variables o Labov & his department store study o Specific linguistic feature relates to social stratification and used to gain social mobility. o Perceptions of class are embedded in particular speech characteristics. o Each social class or ethnic community forms a speech community, which is characterized by specific forms or registers of language, styles, and other characteristics that render it identifiable. o Community of practice o Putting focus on everyday language practices that relate to socialization and identity. o Prestige o Certain speech features are seen as having a positive or negative value. o Pronunciation meant working at a more prestigious place. Class o

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Basil Bernstein o Language codes ▪ Divided into elaborated and restricted ▪ Code = a set of organizing principles behind the language employed by members of a social group. o Language people use in everyday life both reflects and influences the social expectations and assumptions of a certain speech community. o Poor performance of working class students in language based subjects but score high in math ▪ Restricted code excluded students from learning processes. The forms of a specific language code and how it is used within a speech community affects the way people assign meaning to the things about which they are speaking. The code that an individual uses, symbolizes and enacts his or her social identity. Restricted code o Better for in group situations o Shared and embedded knowledge. o Background knowledge o Shared beliefs o Often called “indexical” ▪ Creates a sense of belonging and inclusion Elaborated code o More complicated lexicon and grammar o Allow interlocutors to spell out their intentions and meanings explicitly o For outsider use and works better in situations where there is not prior or shared knowledge system The adoption of one code or the other depends on the nature of socializing agencies (family, special group, school, work) present in a society or community o Small speech communities ▪ Restricted code o Broader community ▪ Elaborated code o Value individuality ▪ Elaborated code crucial for advancement. o Value conformity ▪ Restricted code Restricted = working classes o As a result of socialization process that they were born into. Both = middle class Restricted = less formal with shorter sentences.

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Those lower class people who want to move up the social ladder have to adopt the upper class speech style. Non standard language = low prestige Working class dialect = more powerful in group marker. o Group pride and solidarity

Dentals and Interdentals o Dental o A consonant produced when the tongue touches the upper teeth ▪ /t/ voiceless (no vibration of vocal chords) dental consonant = ten ▪ /d/ voiced (with vibration) dental consonant = den o Interdental o Produced by putting the tongue between the teeth ▪ Theta = voiceless interdental consonant = thing thought think ▪ Voiced interdental = that, though, they Race and Ethnicity ● Belonging to groups of people whom they have a common genetic-historical link ● The systematic study and classification of races and ethnic groups was a consequence of the worldwide explorations of the 16th and 17th centuries. ● Blumenbach ○ First racial typology ○ Humanity has 5 races ■ Caucasians, Mongolians, Ethiopians, americans, malayans ○ Wrong, individuals can be classified into more than 1 of these racial categories or into none ● Concept of race or ethnic group makes sense only in terms of lineage ○ People can be said to belong to the same ethnicity if they share the same pool of ancestors. ● We sense someone’s race or ethnicity through language features in situations where physical features are not available. ○ Ex: AAVE ○ Did experiment with participants exposed to diff. voice recordings and asked to identify speaker according to race ■ Concluded that we can make reasonably accurate judgements about people’s races based on features of language. ■ Problem ● Linguistic profiling ○ The practice of identifying the social characteristics of an individual on the basis of his or her speech. ■ Baugh ● Discriminatory practices in the housing market influences by the language spoken by clients. ● Lion king ● Linguistic lines are drawn between the positive lion (standard American english) characters and villains (British accent and latino) ● Perception of phonological differences between regional dialects of American English by naïve listeners involved stereotyping. ● Listeners have unconscious knowledge of phonological differences between dialects and can use this knowledge to categories talkers by region. ● Clopper and Pisoni- stereotyping

Chapter 5: o Idiolect: The personal styles that identify speakers

o Throughou...