Linguistic varieties and
multilingual nations
Raung-fu Chung
Lecture notes
Vernacular languages
The first language learned by people in
multilingual communities
 The variety used for communication in
the home and with close friends
 Simply means a language which is not
an official language in a particular
contest
(Hebrew
vernacularisation)

Hebrew



•


In the past
no native speakers
No parental tongue
Now
Vernacularisation
The national language of Israel
Standard language



Recognized as a prestigious variety or code
by a community
Generally is written, and has undergone
some degree of regularization or codification
The most useful and widely used as an
official language or the national language
(ex.Standard English)
Standard English
Originally, a regional English dialect
 In 15th, widely used in the Court and
the influential merchants of London
 Two universities, Oxford and
Cambridge, used it for literature or
politics
 London has become the hub of
international trade and export

Lingua franca
Eventually displace the vernacular
 A simplified speech used for
communication between people with
different languages
 Serves as a regular means of
communication between different
linguistic groups in a multilingual
speech community

The development of Pidgin and
Creole
Varnacular+ Other prestigious languages
Pidign
Creoles
The differences between Pidgin
and Creole
Development
Structure
Vocabulary
*Transactional
*Referential
*Functional
*Administrational
*Simplified
*Describtive
*Substrate
(vernacular)
*Derived from
Pidgin which
requires native
speakers
*Expanded
*Systematic
*Signaling
*more
functional
*Lexifier
( Prestigious)
(supertrate)
*Noompliteness
*More
vocabularies
The differences between Pidgin
and Creole
Attitude
Using domain
*Ridiculous
*Restricted
*Low-prestigious *Transportation city
*Negitive
*Trading port
*Respectable
*Strong loyalty
*Solidarity
*Positive
*Wide range of domain
The development of Pidgin ‘s
structure
Varnacular language+ prestigious languages
(台語)
Substrate
(Structure)
+
(國語)
Supertrate
(Vocabulary)
Pidgin (台灣國語)(例:吃飽沒)