LANGUAGE VARIATION
LI 2023
NATHALIE F. MARTIN
Outline of Today’s Class
Today’s :


Linguistic Community
Linguistic Variation
 Geography
 Through time
 Social variation
 Situational Variation
Linguistic Variation
 A language, within a same community, is never
quite _____________.
 We speak of _______________ when we
determine the differences between individual
speech.
Linguistic Variation
 In spite of all the variation found between
speakers, there are ______________in the
way that speakers of a certain community speak,
which _______________ them from other
linguistic communities (e.g. Canadian English,
British English, Newfoundland English, etc.)
Linguistic Variation
Variability
Invariability
(Core)
Linguistic Variation
 To say that there is in fact a “linguistic community”,
the language must present a certain _________.
 Vocabulary, phonetic, syntax and grammar should
be __________the same within the community.
 Let’s mention, though, that certain differences
pertaining to vocabulary and accent, for example, are
tolerated.
Linguistic Community
 A Linguistic Community:
 is
a fuzzy concept since it can be very large (e.g.
_______________ , _____________)
or considerably small (for example, a ____or
______, or even a _______________ ).
Linguistic Community
 Definition of a linguistic community according
to Joshua Fishman:
“A linguistic community exists as soon as all
members have at least one linguistic variety in
common, as well as rules governing the proper use
of this variety.”
 _______________

NOTE: Communities, as well as individuals, have more
than one Variety of language.
Classification of Linguistic Variation
 We generally speak of four types of language
variation factors.
1. Geolinguistic variation
2. Temporal (or historic) variation
3. Social variation
4. Situational variation
Linguistic Variation
Factors
1. GEOLINGUISTIC VARIATION
2. TEMPORAL (OR HISTORIC) VARIATION
3. SOCIAL VARIATION
4. SITUATIONAL VARIATION
Video :
Learning not to Tawk Like a New Yorker
 http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/11/19/nyregi
on/1248069311927/you-talkin-to-me.html
Let’s Share
 LET’S SHARE DIFFERENT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS
USED IN OUR OWN REGION:
Linguistic
Variation
Factors
•
• Geolinguistique Variation
Geolinguistic
Variation
“ Massachusetts Hold Em’ ”
Atlas of North American English
Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change
 Website:
Examples of Different Language Varieties
 Video and Internet Sources:
 American Tongues video http://www.cnam.com/non_flash/language/america
n.html
 Do You Speak American – website and video
http://www.pbs.org/speak/ *
 International Dialects of English Archive http://web.ku.edu/~idea/
 Watch clips of video in class – the website here:
http://www.pbs.org/speak/
Linguistic
Variation
and it’s Factors
•
Temporal (or
Historic)
Variation
• Temporal (or Historic) Variation
Temporal Variation
 Temporal variation is __________and manifests
itself through _______________ differences.
 The case of North American French:
 In North America, a good number of archaic words that are no
longer used in France (though they are sometimes used in
certain areas) have been conserved.
Linguistic
Variation
and it’s Factors
•
Social
Variation
• Social Variation
Social Variation
 Languages are to be seen through the eyes of _____.
 A language changes socially. It needs to come to a
certain consensus; that is why it is often
heterogeneous, conflictual and dynamic.
 Social linguistics variation corresponds to different
social classes.
 For example: the variation of /r/ in New York.
 Linguists often use the more neutral term _______
rather than dialect.
Social Variation
 Social variation :
 Allows speakers to be a part of a language community
(feeling of _______________ );


Sets and maintains _________between social classes;
Can emphasize different contexts (if we choose to speak a
certain way in a certain context, this can be seen as a
political choice).
Linguistic
Variation
and it’s Factors
•
Situational
Variation
• Situational Variation
Situational Variation
 We do not speak the same way to everyone – we
adapt our speech according to the “__________”
 Speakers adopt a certain way of speaking according
to the _______________ .
What kind of variation is this?
 « What’shu talking ‘bout, Willis? »