LANGUAGE and GENDER Some Claims… • • • • • • • Men interrupt women more than vice versa. Women are more communicative than men. Men do not give verbal recognition of the contributions in the conversation made by women. Men curse more than women. Women gossip more than men. Women talk more with one another than men do. Men speak more comfortably in public than women. Sex vs. Gender • • A biological condition; biological differences between males and females A social construct; role of a male or female in society or an individual’s concept of him/herself Gender • General usage of the term began in the late 1960s. • USA: Women began to examine and critique societal practices that supported gender discrimination in consciousness-raising groups, in feminist cells, in rallies and media events. • • In many societies, men are increasingly taking on roles traditionally seen as belonging to women, and women are playing the parts previously assigned mostly to men. Gender roles and gender stereotypes are highly fluid and can shift substantially over time. Who wears the high heels? • • High-heeled shoes, now considered feminine throughout much of the world, were initially designed for upper-class men to use when hunting on horseback. As women began wearing high heels, male heels slowly became shorter and fatter as female heels grew taller and thinner. Pink for a girl and blue for a boy? • In many countries, pink is seen as a suitable color for a girl to wear, while boys are dressed In blue. • • However, infants were dressed in white until colored garments for babies were introduced in the middle of the 19th century. The following quote comes from a trade publication called Earnshaw's Infants' Department, published in 1918: "The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl." • According to Aristotle, the Greek philosopher Protagoras used the terms masculine, feminine, and neuter to classify nouns, introducing the concept of grammatical gender. Many languages specify gender: • Indo-European had gender distinction. • Swahili has 16 gender distinctions. • Others like English and Austronesian languages don’t have; but gender appears on pronoun. • Example: He left, She left, It left • Does language influence thought? • The Whorfian Hypothesis (Benjamin Lee Whorf) “The world is presented as a kaleidoscope flux of impressions which have to be organized by our minds and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds.” In a book, “A Cultural Approach to Male-Female Miscommunication (Cambridge University Press): • Boys: o Boys tend to play in large groups that are hierarchically structured. o Their group has a leader. o Status is negotiated via order, or telling jokes/stories. o Games have winners and losers. o Boast about size, skills and ability Group 2 – Language policies of UNESCO and other countries Group 3 – Factors why people accept or reject the policies Group 4 – How sexist or non-sexist ideologies are translated into actual language behavior Group 5 – How to overcome gender stereotyping and discrimination with gender-fair language Group 6 – Obstacles that prevent GFL from becoming a linguistic norm/standard Language gender asymmetries are everywhere. o In English, generic he can be used when gender is irrelevant. o In German, masculine role nouns serve as labels for mixed gender groups. Girls: o Tend to play in small groups or in pairs o The center of a girl’s social life is a best friend. o Within the group, intimacy is the key. o Differentiation is measured not by status, but by relative closeness. o Many of their activities do not have winners and losers. Gender-fair language – introduced as a response to the structural asymmetry and to reduce stereotyping and discrimination Aim: Replace masculine forms with genderunmarked forms or use both masculine and feminine forms LANGUAGE STRUCTURE o Girls are not expected to boast or give orders. Can Gender-Fair Language Reduce Gender Stereotyping and Discrimination? By: Sabine Sczesny, Magda Formanowicz & Franziska Moser Group 1 – Three types of languages and their descriptions and strategies to make language gender fair The asymmetry lies in the use of masculine generics. Three types of languages: o Grammatical gender languages o Natural gender languages o Genderless languages Grammatical gender languages o German, French, Czech o Every noun has a grammatical gender and the gender of personal nouns tends to express the gender of the referent. • L’ homme – masculine • Le femme – feminine easy to avoid gender markings in these languages. Natural gender languages o English, Swedish o Personal nouns tend to be genderneutral (e.g. neighbor) and referential gender is expressed pronominally (e.g. he/she) Genderless languages o Neither personal nouns pronouns signal gender nor Gender is only expressed through attributes such as male/female (teacher) or in lexical gender words such as ‘woman’ or ‘father.’ Countries with grammatical gender languages were found to reach lower levels of social gender equality than countries with natural gender languages. Neither generic “he” nor the combination “he/she” but singular “they” Swedish has a gender-neutral third person pronoun which is “hen” as an alternative to the gender-marked pronouns “she”(hon) and “he” (han). Feminization o Finnish, Turkish • In other words, a higher visibility of gender asymmetries is accompanied by social gender inequalities. Explicit inclusion of women Masculine generics are replaced feminine-masculine word pairs. o German: Elektriker/in o Polish: Nauczyciel[ka] Recommended for grammatical gender languages. Not always advantageous to women because in some countries like France, the suffix –essa (professoressa) is perceived as less persuasive. LANGUAGE POLICIES Strategies to make language gender-fair: Neutralization Feminization A combination feminization of neutralization o Associated states in the Treaty of Lisbon and Gender-marked terms are replaced by gender-indefinite pronoun o From policeman to police officer Countries have pledged to an equal treatment of women and men. o Member states of the European Union Neutralization by It is recommended for natural gender languages and genderless languages for it is Guidelines for Gender-fair language (GFL) were first introduced in professional domains in 1970 by: o American Psychological Association o McGraw-Hill Book o MacMillan Publishing Company The guidelines demand that authors of articles, books, teaching materials, or fiction treat women and men equally, including the language they use. Authors must follow the rules if they want their manuscripts published. For Your Information! Analysis of APA journal articles from 19642004 revealed a complete absence of generic “he” from 1985 onward. Canada and the Nordic countries argued for adoption of GFL by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In German-speaking countries, language policies have become part of the organizational culture of various institutions. Austria is the only country where the use of GFL in job advertisements is strictly prescribed; companies are fined if they failed to address both genders. o This resulted in the creation of guidelines in UNESCO in 1999. UNESCO’s position in favor of Gender-fair language as described in its gender equality guidelines: INDIVIDUAL LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR “…language does not merely reflect the way we think; it also shapes our thinking. If words and expressions that imply that women are inferior to men are constantly used, that assumption of inferiority tends to become part of our mindset; hence, the need to adjust our language when our ideas evolved.” Similar guidelines were published by the European Commission. However, the standards promoted by UNESCO and the EU do not regulate language use in the different countries and are not mandatory to member states. Factors why people use or reject gender-fair language: o Novelty of gender-fair forms which conflicts with speaker’s linguistic habits o Attitude towards arrangement The document from which such guidelines were written became the most widely recognized international standard for gender fair language. In Italy, guidelines for GFL was issued in 1987 in Sabatini. In Germany, the guidelines appeared in 1990. In Czech Republic, guidelines were issued in 2010. Other countries like Poland, there are no guidelines issued Today, German school books for Mathematics and German mostly use gender-neutral forms, followed by masculine generics and feminine-masculine word pairs. gender o Women could be expected to hold more favorable attitudes toward GFL than men. Language use has been viewed as associated with speaker’s sexist attitude. o Modern Sexism is a view that denies that women are still discriminated against and disapproves of policies promoting gender equality. Research findings: People who are modern sexist: o Use more traditional, gender-unfair language o Use gender-fair pronoun less frequently than speakers with less sexist attitudes o GFL use was not predicated directly by sexist beliefs but by intentions and habits. Sexist speakers do not avoid GFL just because they are reluctant to change their linguistic habits, they deliberately employ a form of language that treats males as the norm and makes women less visible. In grammatical gender languages, feminization as the main strategy of GFL still poses challenges. o Creation of feminine forms can be problematic o Refusal of GFL can still be observed. GFL is more frequent and more accepted when it is backed by official regulations and when the use of biased language is sanctioned. Obstacles that Prevent GFL from Becoming a Linguistic Norm or Standard 1. The male bias of linguistic asymmetries in mental representations is backed by a higher prevalence of men in certain social roles. Habits guide speakers’ linguistic behavior without their being aware of it. Learning processes play a role for GFL to become a habit. 2. The use of gender-unfair language, especially of masculine generics, restricts the visibility of women and the cognitive availability of female exemplars. o Research found out that speakers who grew up with schoolbooks use predominantly masculine generics. 3. Arguments against GFL have routinely included the presumed difficulty of understanding GFL texts. The use of GFL can be promoted through: o Teaching and practicing current linguistic standards o Prevalence of GFL in media Overcoming Gender Stereotyping In natural gender languages, neutralization has been fairly easy to adopt and implement. o People are guided by their knowledge about typical gender distributions in social roles. o English readers tend to associate different occupations or role nouns with men and women. LANGUAGE AND ETHNICITY Ethnic Group/Ethnicity o Creole – a language that has evolved from the mixture of two or more languages and has become the first language of a group It is a socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, social, cultural or national experience. Membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language and/or dialect, ideology, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, physical appearance, etc. What is an Ethnic Pattern? It refers more generally to the characteristic use of language which is influenced by the ethnic background of a speaker. By applying specific structural features a speaker’s linguistic variety can be used to express this speaker’s ethnic identity. These features include numerous grammatical, syntactical, morphological, and phonological differences from the standard variety of a language. The ethnic variety can be used deliberately by speakers of ethnic minorities in order to distinguish themselves linguistically and socially from the majority of society and its language varieties. African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a specific ethnic variety of American English. AAVE has characteristic structural features which distinguish this variety from Standard American English and other non-standard varieties of the language. One such structural feature concerns the occurrence of multiple negation. AAVE should not be treated as a dialect but rather as a creole. Historical documents and obvious structural similarities between AAVE and creole languages seem to certify a true creole ancestry of AAVE. African-American Vernacular English Chicano English is a true ethnic variety of American English with its own characteristic patterns of grammar and pronunciation. o It is a dialect belonging to a number of ethnic dialects of American English collectively referred to as Latino English or Hispanic English. o It is spoken by ‘many people of Mexican descent in major U.S. urban centers and in rural areas of the Southwest.’ Chicano English Do people speak the way they do because they are either black, white or yellow? Accents of English Around the World Racial Isolation It is when the social contacts of speakers are limited to speakers of their own ethnic variety and do not include other social or ethnic groups. o This contact pattern will be expressed linguistically in the application of ethnic markers. CODE SWITCHING and CROSSING Code-switching The practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation. It is also called code-mixing or style-shifting. Crossing Language crossing involves code alternation by people who are not accepted members of the group associated with the second language that they are using (code switching into varieties that are not generally thought to belong to them). We acquire a second layer of group membership. What are the reasons why people code-switch? Reasons why people code-switch: o Our lizard brains take over o We want to fit in o We want to get something o We want to say something in secret o It helps us convey a thought Issues Involving Code-Switching Issue # 1 o Code-switching is viewed as linguistic incompetence. Issue #2 o Code-switching is a barrier to learning and is being disruptive to the learning environment. Issue #3 o Code-switching is an obstacle to becoming fluent in a second language. LANGUANGE AND IDENTITY SOCIAL IDENTITY Gender Social class Religion Race Social group in which we are born Upon birth we assume specific identities: o Filipino o Italian o Chinese Geographical region provides us with a particular group membership These institutions give shape to the kinds of groups to which we have access and to the role-relationships we can establish with others. o School o Church o Family o Workplace We carry expectations, built up over time through socialization into our own social groups, about what we can and cannot do as members of our various groups. We hold similar expectations with other from a different group. When we come together in a communicative event we perceive ourselves and others in the manner in which we have been socialized. Context Relevancy of Social Identity Example: When we travel abroad as tourists, it is likely that our national identity will be more relevant than our gender or social class. When we interact with the same people in school during a parent-teacher conference, social role is more relevant than nationalities. The relevance of our linguistic resources is dynamic and responsive to contextual conditions. Theory of Structuration by Anthony Gidden The theory refers to the act of going on in the contexts of our everyday experiences – the process of creating and being created by our social structures. In our locally occasioned social actions, we, as individual agents, shape and at the same time are given shape by social structures. Bourdieu’s Notion of Habitus In the process of identity production, individuals are constituted neither free agents nor completely socially determined products. How free or constrained we are by our habitus depends on the historically and socially situated conditions of its production. o Habitus is a set of bodily dispositions acquired through extended engagement in our everyday activities that dispose us to act in certain ways. ‘We-Code’ and ‘They-Code’ A study by Norton (2000): Immigrant women learning English in Canada. Their identities were differentially constructed in their interactions with others in and out of the classroom. Individuals use language to co-construct their everyday worlds, and in particular, their own social roles and identities and those of others. Language and Identity: Case Study of Singapore In places where multilingualism is practiced, the way people use different languages represents how they identity themselves, while the policy implemented by the government represents how the powerful ones impose identities on its people. Multilingual countries’ governments always attempt to create a universal identity for its ‘We-code’ refers to societal minority language used at home and with peers which represent the ‘in-group’ identity. ‘They-code’ refers to societal majority language used when talking to outsiders which show speakers belonging to the dominant group. In Singapore… The government attempts to impose a national identity by restricting the national languages to English, Mandarin, Malaysian and Tamil. People are not allowed to use dialects because dialects hinder the process of building a coherent national identity of the people. The Singapore government especially promotes standard English because it is important for Singaporean to carry an identity of ‘English speakers’ for it can raise their competitiveness. Singlish is not allowed to be used because it prevents people from speaking correct standard English. In some informal situation, ethnic minorities would like to show their ethnic identity so they would use their first language. Besides, nowadays more and more young Singaporean think that Singlish is the Co-Construction of Identity people for unifying purpose, and they usually do so by language policy. Despite the identity imposed by the people in power, different ethnic groups would still want to show their in-group identity when they are with family and friends, and thus they would stick to their first languages. language that really signify their unique identity of Singaporean. Despite Government's opposition of using Singlish, people use different means to promote Singlish, like making interesting videos in Singlish to promote the language. Example of Singlish • The ‘we-code’ is the different dialects and Singlish which are used to show individuals’ ethnic identity or their desired identity of Singaporean, while the ‘they-code’ is the four official languages, especially English, which implies speakers are in the dominant group and have power and status. From Henry F. Funtecha, Ph.D. Today, there is no denying the necessity of learning how to speak and write in the English language, especially that it has become the language of globalization. The Philippine government itself has made pronouncements with regards to the importance of being good speakers of English in order for the Filipinos to be globally competitive. This is done by the continuous use of English as the medium of instruction in schools and by making it as the preferred language of communication. So, the question is, "Is there still a need for the Filipinos to develop a national language?" The Filipino language as spirit of national identity by Henry F. Funtecha, Ph.D. Today, there is no denying the necessity of learning how to speak and write in the English language, especially that it has become the language of globalization. The Philippine government itself has made pronouncements with regards to the importance of being good speakers of English in order for the Filipinos to be globally competitive. This is done by the continuous use of English as the medium of instruction in schools and by making it as the preferred language of communication. It must be recalled that the Philippines started to work for the promotion of Tagalog or, later, Filipino as the country's national language as early as the 1930s during the Commonwealth period. Yet, up to now, the people cannot even agree on what the Filipino language really is. Worst, is that there are Philippine ethnic groups that oppose the use of Filipino even in the singing of the Philippine national anthem. While other countries that started late in developing a national language already speak that singular language, the Filipinos could not even decide yet what to do. Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world, with about a thousand languages, can now claim to have Bahasa, its national language. Same thing with Malaysia. The rest of the countries in Asia have already their own national languages. Language is always tied up to one's culture and, of course, his identity. However, the Filipinos cannot even speak anymore of cultural identity, with some social scientists even talking of a "damaged culture". As a people, the Filipinos have extensively adapted and substantially adopted the Western culture. Racially speaking, their features do not differ from the rest of the Southeast Asians such as the Myanmarese, Kampucheans, Vietnamese, Malaysians and Indonesians. Maybe, in todays world and in the future, it is only language that may make the Filipinos distinct from their neighboring Southeast Asians. Even if English is becoming to be the world's dominant language, it is still necessary for the Filipinos to speak their national language or their regional language. After all, it is the only language that can really, in essence, capture the feelings and sentiments of the people, and can represent their true spirit as Filipinos. Also, language can help promote unity within the country and develop a sense of belongingness. Chinese and Japanese display their strength and unity through speaking their own national language and they are more progressive compared to the Filipinos. It is admitted that by knowing English, thousands of Filipinos have found jobs abroad. But, most of these works subject Filipinos to servitude to foreigners as domestic helpers, care-givers and nurses. Is this the Philippines' idea of competitiveness? True competition is when the Filipinos become capitalists, entrepreneurs, traders, school owners, building contractors, and exporters of Philippine goods in other countries. The Philippines' national hero, Jose Rizal, expressed the utmost importance of loving one's country through loving one's language, among others. He wrote in Filipino: "Ang di marunong magmahal sa sariling wika, ay mas masahol pa sa malansang isda." He said that it is difficult to consider one as a nationalist if he was ashamed of his own language. This is an important matter for one who does not give value to his native language, whether national or regional, to be aware of. It is sad to note that, in today's times, there are many Filipinos who admire their countrymen who are very good in speaking the English language but consider those not good in English as not as intelligent or not as knowledgeable as the others. Yes, it is important for the Filipinos to be able to communicate very well in English. But, everyone who thinks of himself as Filipino has also the responsibility to love the country of his birth and, naturally, his own language. It is only in their language that the Filipinos are able to distinguish themselves from other peoples of Asia, especially now that it is already possible to change the color of the skin and the shape and features of the face. In a sense, it is only the language that seem to be the remaining link to the Filipino spirit and his potential towards a lasting national identity. LANGUAGE and SOCIAL CLASS Class distinction in the Philippines are defined by: Person’s wealth Geography Education Power Going from bottom to top, hidden to visible, non-influential to influential, we have: The Tribal Class - The mountain or island tribes. Almost no wealth, geographically isolated, limited education, and no influence outside the local community. - This is the invisible class of Philippine society. - Members have few roads and limited utility infrastructure, weak law enforcement, and no health care. - They are the families washed away by mudslides and poisoned by mine effluents. And the rest of the nation forgets about them until there is another disaster that thrusts them onto the front pages of the newspapers. The Subsistence Class - The agrarian and laboring workers. - This is the vast, sweaty core of a thin but broad Philippine economy. - These are the people who work for P200 or less a day, with no future job promised. Career is an unknown word. Forget social security and health care. - They work the rice fields, fish the seas, dig the foundations, haul the cement, climb the coconut trees, whack the weeds on the side of the road, drive the Jeepneys , staff the local stores, provide household services, and pedal tricycles. The Subsistence Class - They are the Philippines, in its most honest, hardworking, fun loving and sustaining self. - They don’t have enough money to be corrupt but they have so little money they will sometimes “innovate” to get some more. They have lots of kids and send them to the fields early to help put rice on the table. Low-End Skill Workers - Masons, carpenters, call center workers, store department managers, small store owners, shop foremen, bus drivers, military men, policemen. - People in this class can support a family and send their kids to public school. They are the entry point to ambitious self-improvement, and could succeed if the points of progression were not all blocked. Low-End Skill Workers - But kids born to these parents do have a small chance to break out. - They cluster around large towns and urban centers. TESDA is crucial to their success and growth. The Rational Climbers - This class encompasses overseas workers and Filipinas who marry foreigners. - Climbers boldly seek exit from three other classes: (1) The Subsistence Class, (2) Low-End Skill Workers, and (3) Professionals. - They are rational because they intuitively do the math and decide the reward is worth the risk to embark upon a radically different lifestyle, and they are climbers because they have the clear aim of improving their lives. The Rational Climbers - The motivation that drives them is best summed up in the statement: “Enough of this!” For professionals, the second part of the statement might be: “I have skills and am tired of struggling along on this measly income.” For a young, single woman, it might be: “It is a choice of security and money, or babies, and I want security and money.” For a worker, it might be: “Canada may be a giant ice cube, but businesses there pay real money.” Professionals - Teachers, doctors, lawyers, business owners, tech workers, call center managers, government officials, higher ranked military and police officers, engineers, journalists, bank managers. - They have college degrees and generally must know somebody to make the leap from sluggish career to meaningful career. Their family ties help in many ways, funding their schooling. - They form a sound middle class with potential to move up. - They look down on a lot of people for they know they have power over their clients, and a better education. The Priests, Imams and Assorted Other Men of Cloth - This is a small, isolated class of faith-based leaders. - Each faith claims to have the sole ticket to heaven, and each condemns people who won’t buy that ticket. It arches over the Professional class, from priests to archbishops. The Entertainers - This is another isolated class, held in extraordinarily high esteem by the masses. - A boxer, singers, actors; they are rich and live well. - Their kids can attend the best schools and many move easily into the Connected class, spreading their wealth amongst their family and favorites. - They pretend to be one of the people, for they must do this to succeed. But they are not. They are on pedestals. - It is fantasy for them and it is often fantasy for their audience, a dream that people of little opportunity might also become rich and famous. Entertainment shows and advertisers leverage this dream for profit. The Connected - These are the movers and shakers of the Philippines. - Legislators, business owners, media executives, judges, governors, mayors, generals. - They thrive on favors and somehow get rich even if their salaries are not rich. They are all wellschooled and well-traveled. - They make sure the Philippines does not change because they would be threatened by a system that demanded capability over favor as the basis for reward. The Oligarchs - These are the parallels to the kings, queens, princes, earls, dukes, duchesses of the British monarchy. - Their wealth is enormous. They are an amalgamation of historically powerful landed families and big business moguls. - They own the television stations, the telephone companies, the financial institutions, the shopping malls, the beer company, and the housing subdivisions. - The oligarchs fund the politicians and, under the system of favors granted and received, get laws favorable to their continued enrichment. - Because of them, the public, and the wellbeing of the Philippines, remain stuck in place, static, years behind the rest of the world. How do divisions language use? of class affect Attitude Education Profession Linguistic Insecurity and Crossover Effects Consciousness GOAT - Greatest of all time Gucci - Good or cool Hundo P - 100 percent certain – Kitty cat Lit - Amazing – Doggie OMG - An abbreviation for "oh my gosh" or "oh my God!" – Wee wee Rides - Sneakers or shoes – Night night Salty - Bitter – Peek-a-boo Sic - Something that is cool – A choo choo Skurt - Go away – Uh-o! Snatched - Looks good Straight Fire - Hot or trendy – Child: Dere Rabbit – Adult: The rabbit likes eating lettuce. Do you want to give him some? TBH - To be honest Thirsty - Trying to get attention V - very – What adults say to young children YOLO - You only live once – Making corrections CU46 - See you for sex – – – – – Child: (points) Doggie Adult: No, that’s a horsie. Child: That’s the animal farmhouse. Adult: No, that’s a lighthouse. Child: (points to a picture of a bird on a nest) Bird house. – Adult: Yes, the bird’s sitting on a nest. GNOC - Get naked on camera Molly - MDMA, a dangerous party drug NIFOC - Naked in front of the computer Netflix and Chill - Used as a front for inviting someone over to make out (or maybe more) Smash - Casual sex Here are some common teen slang words you might hear: Turnt Up - To be high or drunk LANGUAGE AND AGE What adults say to young children; Baby talk – Mommy, daddy Expanding the child’s utterance Awks - Awkward Cancel - A rejection of a person, place or thing Cheddar - Money Dope - Cool or awesome What is Elderspeak? Adjustments a person may make when addressing an elder … Using a singsong voice, changing pitch and tone, exaggerating words Simplifying the length and complexity of sentences – Simplify – but remember to be explicit. Speaking louder and more slowly – Using limited vocabulary Repeating or paraphrasing what has just been said Using terms like “honey” or “dear” Using statements that sound like questions For example, instead of saying: “The lunch, which was served late yesterday, made my stomach upset and I had to miss the class that I enjoy so much.” Try saying it this way: “Lunch was served late yesterday. My stomach was upset so I had to miss my class. I really enjoy that class. How common is Elderspeak? It is common in nursing homes, hospitals and other settings where frail elders are found. It appears to be a speech pattern based on stereotypes, not actual behavior; we also hear it used in situations where older adults are clearly functioning well such as banks and grocery stores. Elderspeak implies that an older person is not competent. Miscommunication is occurring and it is his/her fault. There is a bizarre discrepancy between a flawless performance by seniors and their reports of confusion. Over and over again, older adults successfully find the location on a map as instructed, but at the same time, they report concerns that they misunderstood their younger partners in the test. Elderspeak affects an older person's evaluation of his or her abilities. It may reinforce negative stereotypes about aging and erode older adults' self-esteem. Seniors will have better comprehension if you … – Repeat and paraphrase what you are saying. Age Pattern It is a typical sociolinguistic pattern based on the age of a speaker. It describes a characteristic type of age-graded linguistic variation and describes change in the speech behaviour of individual speakers as they get older. There is a relationship between the age of a speaker and the use of a particular linguistic variety in the form that: – Adolescents will generally use more non-standard varieties than younger adults. From adolescence to adulthood the use of non-standard forms of speech will gradually decrease in favour of more standard forms of speech (prestige varieties) until a particular stage in late adulthood. – The frequency of using standard forms of speech will again decrease within older adults and more nonstandard forms (non-prestige varieties) will be used. Different life stages give us different advantages in language learning. As babies, we have a better ear for different sounds. As toddlers, we can pick up native accents with astonishing speed. As adults, we have longer attention spans and crucial skills like literacy that allow us to continually expand our vocabulary, even in our own language. And a wealth of factors beyond ageing – like social circumstances, teaching methods, and even love and friendship – can affect how many languages we speak and how well. Some researchers suggested that their older participants may have benefited from skills that come with maturity – like more advanced problemsolving strategies – and greater linguistic experience. What young children excel at is learning implicitly: listening to native speakers and imitating them. But this type of learning requires a lot of time with native speakers. Babies can hear all of the 600 consonants and 200 vowels that make up the world’s languages. Within our first year, our brains begin to specialise, tuning into the sounds we hear most frequently. Infants already babble in their mother tongue. Even newborns cry with an accent, imitating the speech they heard while in the womb. This specialisation also means shedding the skills we do not need. Japanese babies can easily distinguish between ‘I’ and ‘r’ sounds. Japanese adults tend to find this more difficult.
