lang & self notes.docx
LANGUAGE AND THE
SELF
Theories for language and thought
● Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, aka linguistic
relativity, posits that language does not merely
serve as a tool for communication but actively
shapes our thoughts and perceptions. This theory
suggests that different linguistic structures in
languages lead speakers to think about and
perceive the world differently.
● Linguistic determinism, aka the strong
version of the sapir-whorf theory, is an extension
of the same theory, which posits that language
determines thought.
● William Labov's work on linguistic
variation, emphasizes how social factors and
language intersect to influence thought.
Sociolinguistics reveals that variations in
language, whether related to social class,
ethnicity, or region, can carry connotations that
shape cognitive processes. Rhotic speech was
used by upper-class people and non-rhotic speech
was used by the working class.
o Example from Labov's Research- New
York City:
Labov's study of the Lower
East Side of New York City
examined the use of the
postvocalic /r/ (as in "car" and
"four").
He found that the use of this
feature varied by social class, with
higher social classes more likely
to pronounce the /r/ sound.
This variation illustrated how
linguistic features could signal
social status within the speech
community.
● According to the universal grammar theory
by Noam Chomsky, some universal linguistic
structures and principles underlie all languages.
This suggests that language is not entirely shaped
by individual thoughts or emotions.
● Frame semantics suggests that words are
connected to cognitive structures called "frames,"
influencing how we understand concepts. For
example, the word "restaurant" activates a dining
frame.
● Brain studies indicate that language
processing occurs in specific areas like Broca's
and Wernicke's areas, which are specialized for
linguistic functions. This specialization suggests
that language operates independently to some
extent from broader cognitive and emotional
processes.
● Metaphors and Thought: Cognitive linguists
like George Lakoff argue that metaphors in
language structure our thinking by mapping
abstract concepts onto concrete experiences. For
example, the metaphor of "time as money" in
English leads to expressions like "saving time"
and "wasting time." This metaphor influences
how Americans prioritize and manage time,
seeing it as a valuable resource.
Social identity theories & concepts:
● Code Switching: Code-switching occurs when
speakers switch between two or more languages
or language varieties within a single conversation
or discourse.
o Constantly switching between
languages or dialects requires cognitive
effort and mental flexibility. This
cognitive load can lead to increased
stress, mental fatigue, and decreased
cognitive performance, particularly if
individuals must code-switch in highstakes or emotionally charged situations.
Over time, chronic code-switching may
contribute to feelings of burnout or
exhaustion.
● Gile’s communication accommodation
theory explores why and how people magnify or
minimize communicative differences and what
are the social consequences of doing so. Explains
how individuals adjust their communication
behaviour to either converge with or
diverge from the speech patterns of their
interlocutors.
● Erving Goffman's "face theory" provides
insights into how individuals manage their selfpresentation and interpersonal relationships
through language and communication. Face:
represents how individuals wish to be seen by
others, and it is closely tied to concepts of selfesteem, identity, and social status. Facework: the
strategies and behaviours individuals employ to
maintain, negotiate, or restore their face during
social interactions.
● Milroy's Sociolinguistic Network Theory
(SNT) proposes that individuals' linguistic
behaviour is influenced not only by their own
characteristics but also by the structure and
dynamics of the social networks to which they
belong.
● Tajfel and Turner's Social identity
theory proposes that people's sense of self and
identity is not only derived from personal
characteristics but also from their
membership in various social groups.
o According to SIT, people categorize
themselves and others into social groups
based on shared characteristics such as
race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or
even sports team allegiance.
o These groups form the basis of a
person's social identity, influencing their
perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours.
o The theory posits that individuals strive
to maintain a positive social identity by
enhancing the status of their ingroup (the group to which they belong)
relative to out-groups (groups to which
they do not belong).
● Dialect levelling
o is a linguistic process proposed by Paul
Kerswill wherein distinct regional or
social dialects within a language
gradually become more similar to each
other over time.
o As regional dialects become less
distinct and more standardized,
individuals may adapt their language use
to align with dominant or prestigious
varieties of the language. This can affect
how individuals construct their sense of
self in relation to language, as they may
consciously or unconsciously modify
their speech patterns to fit social
expectations or to enhance their perceived
status or belonging within a particular
community or social group.
o Example: The Scottish accent provides
an interesting example of dialect levelling
in action. Traditionally, distinctive
features such as the use of a rhotic “r”
sound characterize many Scottish dialects
after vowels, meaning that speakers
pronounce the "r" sound in words like
"car" and "far."
o However, in recent years, there has been
a noticeable trend toward dialect levelling
in Scotland, particularly in urban areas
and among younger generations. This can
be attributed to various factors such as
increased mobility, interregional
communication, exposure to standardized
forms of English through media and
education, and social pressures to
conform to dominant linguistic norms.
o As a result, many speakers of Scottish
English, especially those seeking to align
with standard British English or to
enhance their social and professional
opportunities, may modify their
pronunciation to minimize or even
eliminate the rhotic "r" sound. This shift
represents a form of dialect levelling,
whereby regional linguistic features are
gradually eroded in favour of more
standardized forms of language.
● A cryptolect, also known as a secret language
or a cant, refers to a specialized form of language
used by specific groups or communities to
communicate covertly or to maintain secrecy.
Example: Grypsera is a distinct nonstandard
dialect or prison slang of the Polish language.
● Covert prestige refers to the social status or
value assigned to non-standard or stigmatized
language varieties or features within a particular
speech community. Example: AAVE
● Overt prestige refers to the social status or
value assigned to standard or prestigious
language varieties or features within a speech
community. Example: Standard English, received
pronunciation.
● Robin Lakoff argues that men and women
tend to exhibit distinct communication styles,
which she refers to as "genderlects."
Socialization processes that teach individuals
how to perform their gender identity through
language and behaviour shape these genderlects.
o Women's Language Features: Robin
Lakoff identifies several linguistic
features associated with women's speech,
including:
Hedging: Women may use
qualifiers, such as "sort of" or
"maybe," to soften assertions and
express uncertainty.
Tag Questions: Women often
use tag questions, such as "isn't
it?" or "don't you think?" to seek
confirmation or validation from
others.
Intensifiers: Women may use
intensifiers, such as "so" or
"very," to emphasize the
emotional or affective aspects of
their speech.
Empty Adjectives: Women
may use vague or subjective
adjectives, such as "nice" or
"lovely," to describe things or
express approval.
Lack of Assertiveness: Women
may avoid direct confrontation or
assertiveness in their speech,
opting instead for indirect or
polite forms of communication.
o Men's Language Features: In contrast,
Lakoff identifies linguistic features
associated with men's speech, including:
Assertiveness: Men may use
direct and assertive language to
convey confidence and authority
in communication.
Minimal Responses: Men may
use mini mal responses, such as
"yeah" or "uh-huh," to signal
understanding or agreement
without elaboration.
Lack of Emotional Expression:
Men may avoid explicit displays
of emotion or vulnerability in
their speech, opting for a more
detached or stoic communication
style.
Competitive Language: Men
may engage in competitive or
dominance-oriented language,
using interruptions, challenges, or
one-upmanship to assert
dominance in conversation.
Other theories & concepts:
● CDA (Fairclough):
o Critical Discourse Analysis examines
how language use reflects and reproduces
power dynamics and social inequalities.
o Fairclough argues that language is a
social practice that is both, shaped by and
shapes power relations in society.
Language can be used to assert
dominance, control, and inequality.
o Application: Researchers using this
theory might analyze political speeches,
media discourse, or workplace
communication to identify instances
where language is used to reinforce or
challenge existing power dynamics.
● Patois: The term "patois" is often associated
with Caribbean English Creole languages, such
as Jamaican Patois or Trinidadian Creole. It
refers to a regional or nonstandard variety of a
language, often characterized by distinctive
vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar.
● The choice of language variety, accent, or
specific terms can carry
pragmatic implicatures about one's cultural
background, identity, or social status.
● Koineization refers to the linguistic process
whereby a standardized or "common" variety of
language emerges from the mixing and levelling
of different regional or social dialects.
● "Border crossing" refers to the crossing of
cultural or linguistic boundaries. This can
involve the adoption or adaptation of elements
from different cultures or languages, as well as
the negotiation of identity and belonging in
multicultural or multilingual contexts.
● Crystal has extensively discussed the
phenomenon of language change and its
mechanisms. He emphasizes that language is
constantly evolving, driven by social, cultural,
and technological factors.
● Muted group theory: language and
communication systems can contribute to the
marginalization and silencing of certain social
groups, particularly women. Example: Gendered
Language, Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes, ClassBased Language (Terms like "welfare queen" or
"trailer trash"), Language in Academic
Discourse.
● The euphemism treadmill by Pinker refers to
the phenomenon where terms initially used as
euphemisms (mild or indirect expressions used in
place of harsh or taboo words) eventually
become stigmatized or lose their euphemistic
value over time, leading to the need for new
euphemisms to replace them. Example:
Originally, "retarded" was introduced as a
medical term in the late 19th century to describe
individuals with intellectual disabilities.
However, as social attitudes toward individuals
with intellectual disabilities evolved and
awareness of the stigma associated with the term
increased, "retarded" began to take on negative
connotations and was used pejoratively as an
insult or slur. As a result, the euphemism
treadmill continued, with new terms such as
"differently-abled," "cognitively diverse," or
"neurodivergent" being introduced in an attempt
to find more respectful and inclusive language.
● The utterance selection theory of language
change by Willam Croft suggests people change
language through their actions, i.e. language is
changed by the way people use language
● Extremities of trying to reinforce inclusion:
transabled, identifying as a child, neopronouns
(ze/hir/hirs), otherkin.
● A lexical gap, also known as a lexical void or
lacuna, refers to a situation in which a particular
language lacks a specific word or lexical item to
express a concept, idea, or phenomenon for
which other languages may have dedicated
vocabulary.
● Periphrasis is a linguistic term referring to the
use of multiple words or phrases to express a
single concept or idea that could be conveyed by
a single word.
● Acrolect: the most prestigious or standardized
variety of a creole language within a continuum.
It is typically associated with educated speakers,
formal contexts, and higher social classes.
Example: received pronunciation or queen’s
English.
● Basilect: the least prestigious or least
standardized variety of a creole language within
a continuum. It is typically associated with lesseducated speakers, informal contexts, and lower
social classes. Example: the cockney accent is
known for being used by the lower-class or the
working-class people in London and is also
portrayed in the media as so. It carries low
prestige and is often associated with having a
low status in the society.
● Mesolect: represents an intermediate level of
linguistic prestige and standardization within the
continuum. The mesolect may exhibit features of
both the acrolect and basilect and may be spoken
by a wider range of speakers across different
social strata. Example: estuary English
Accents:
● Estuary English is a variety of English spoken
in the southeast of England. Rosewarne, in her
research on Estuary English, has contributed to
our understanding of this variety. It is
characterized by a mixture of features from both
Received Pronunciation (RP) and London
speech, as well as some unique features of its
own. While some view it as a dynamic and
authentic expression of local identity, others may
perceive it negatively as a marker of lower
socioeconomic status or lack of education.
Language Examples:
● In Navajo, a Native American language, verbs
are conjugated to indicate how the speaker
knows information (e.g., whether it's firsthand or
hearsay). This linguistic feature reflects a cultural
emphasis on the source of knowledge and
influences how Navajo speakers think about the
reliability of information.
● Hopi language has no real tense. It is based on
whether the activity is completed or ongoing and
the length of the activity.
● Guugu Yimithirr- Australian language spoken
in North Queensland, which doesn’t rely on left
and right for directions but only north, west, east,
south
● In English, there's a clear distinction between
"blue" and "green." However, in some languages
like Russian, there is no separate word for "blue"
and "green" (they use "голубой" for light blue
and "зеленый" for dark blue and green). Studies
have shown that Russian speakers are more
attuned to differences in shades of blue than
English speakers due to their linguistic
distinctions.
● Greek speakers, who have separate terms for
light blue ("γαλάζιο," galazio) and dark blue
("µπλε," ble), also show enhanced discrimination
of blue shades compared to speakers of
languages without this distinction.
● ‘forelsket’ is a Norwegian word describing the
elevated feelings experienced in the beginning
stages of love