SOCIOLINGUISTICS PROF. HARRIZI SOCIOLINGUISTICS: OBJECTIVES 1. Familiarizing students with the main concepts of sociolinguistics such as linguistic varieties multilingualism, diglossia, and language attitudes. 2. Enabling students to understand and appreciate the relationship between language and society. 3. Helping students understand and interpret sociolinguistic phenomena which they may come across in their daily lives. RECOMMENDED READINGS • Llamas, C., Mullany, L., & Stockwell, P. (2007). The Routledge companion to sociolinguistics. London: Routledge. • Wardhaugh, R. , Fuller,J.M.(2014). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. New York: WileyBlackwell. GENERAL INTRODUCTION THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS • Language can be examined from various angles: • Philosophical • Descriptive • Anthropological • Cultural • Psycholinguistic • Historical • Social • Language is multifaceted and interconnected with many disciplines • It is difficult to define language • Language can be studied from different perspectives • It can be studied as a social phenomenon, i.e. it can be examined in relation to its social role LANGUAGE • ‘ a language is what the members of a particular society speak’ • A code / communication system that people employ to communicate with each other • Sociolinguistics studies language in its social context and examines • The part it plays in society • The ways in which it is affected by • Education • Social class • Race • Gender • Age • Region • Geographical environment • Sociolinguistics systematically studies how language and society influence each other • Language can influence society and thought and may cause change in behavior of individuals and society • Society has a direct impact on the use of language • Sociolinguistics deals with language planning and language policies adopted by nations. • E.g. Arabization in the Maghreb • Language and identity • Media and pop culture: media shape language trends • Slang and pop culture • There are two functions of human language that are crucial from a social viewpoint: 1. Its function in establishing and keeping social contact 2. Its function in providing information about the background, origin, and identity of the speaker • Language is a means of: • Communication • Transmitting information • Making acquaintances • Developing relationships • Giving the listener(s) information about our social origin, personality, etc. SOCIOLINGUISTICS ‘Any discussion of the relationship between language and society, or of the various functions of language in society, should begin with some attempt to define each of these terms’ Wardhaugh (2005) • Sociolinguistics is the scientific study of a language as a sociocultural phenomenon. • It deals with the functions of language in the social context. • It uses the scientific method of research and the findings of linguistics and other social sciences : • sociology ‘the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society. /The study of social problems’ • Anthropology ‘the study of human societies and cultures and their development. /the study of human biological and physiological characteristics and their evolution.’ • Objectives: develop theories about the nature and function of language and the process of language change. • It tries to answer questions such as : • Who speaks what language to whom and when? • It also examines aspects of interaction between language and society such as • Language varieties • Sociocultural aspects • Ethnic aspects • Political aspects • Educational aspects LANGUAGE VARIATION • All speakers of a language can talk to each other an understand each other, in theory • No two speakers speak exactly the same way • There are differences due to • Age • Gender • State of health • Personality • Emotional state • Personal idiosyncracies e.g. most Moroccans speak a variety of Arabic usually referred to as ‘Darija’ (casawi, marrakchi, fassi, chamali, etc.) • The distinction between the Casawi and the Fassi variety is not clear-cut • Where does the Casawi variety and where does it stop? • Each speaker has unique linguistic characterisrics : idiolect: an individual's unique and distinct way of using language, including their specific vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and speech patterns that distinguish their way of speaking from others, even within the same linguistic or cultural community. • An ideolect is the personal language style and linguistic repertoire of an individual. It is shaped by various factors, including personal experiences, upbringing, education, social interactions, and regional influences. • The language of a group of people ( a speech community) may show regular variations from that used by other groups of speakers of that language • People from different social backgrounds • People from different geographical origins • The systematic differences between two speech communities can reflect either 2 dialects or 2 languages • How can we define ‘language’ and ‘dialect?’ The most commonly used ‘rule of thumb’ definition is ‘ when two languages become mutually unintelligible - when the speakers of one dialect group can no longer understand the speakers of another dialect group- these dialects become different languages’ (Fromkin et al 1993) • There is no clear-cut definition • Three factors to consider: 1. Mutual intelligibility 2. Political boundaries 3. Possession of literature • There are cases where there is mutual intelligibility ( Danish, Norwegian, Swedish ) but the varieties are still considered different languages because they are spoken in different countries • Urdu in Pakistan, Hindi in India are considered different languages • Mandarin and Cantonese are mutually unintelligible but are referred to as dialects because they are spoken in the same country, China • The difference between a language and a dialect is of sociocultural nature • A language must have its own legacy and literature ( though all varieties have some form of legacy written or oral) • The difference is sociopolitical mostly • ‘…the opposition between language and dialect bears on prestige and is usually associated with political or, at any rate, ethnic affirmation’ (Aitchinson et.al. 1982, p. 347) • Some countries elevated their dialects to the status of language e.g. Greece: colloquial Greek Dimotiki has been accorded the status of official language • In North Arica Arabic and Berber, now Darija and Amazigh, were considered dialects until recently when Amazigh has been accorded the status of official language. • Classical Arabic, later Standard Arabic, has been chosen as the official language in the MENA region for linguistic, religious, historical and cultural reasons.
