Chapter 1, Introduction: Online material
For Students
1.
Summary
This chapter provides an introduction to the field of sociolinguistics as well as to some of the major themes that
will recur throughout this textbook. We propose broad definitions for the terms ‘language’ and ‘society,’
introduce the concepts of ‘identities,’ ‘power,’ and ‘solidarity,’ and explore the possible relationships between
language and culture, most notably the Whorfian hypothesis. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field
of sociolinguistics, we also address how it fits into various disciplines and how it overlaps with linguistic
anthropology and sociology of language. We note that the field includes work on topics such as critical
sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and discourse analysis. Finally, we turn to concerns in methodology, stressing that
there is no one best method, but that research must be designed to answer specific research questions.
2.
Review
2.1. Compare and contrast the following pairs of terms/concepts:
prescriptive grammar/descriptive grammar
performance/competence
competence/communicative competence
correlations/causality
micro-sociolinguistics/macro-sociolinguistics
power/solidarity
applied/theoretical
society/culture
2.2. Review questions
2.2.1. What different types of language variation are discussed in this chapter?
2.2.2. What are the possible different relationships between language and culture? Which one is advocated
in the Whorfian hypothesis?
2.2.3. What is the observer’s paradox?
3.
Terms to know from this chapter
society
language
code
grammar
prescriptive
descriptive
competence
performance
grammatical judgments
communicative competence
variants
linguistic variation
identity
power
solidarity
culture
age-grading
worldview
Whorfian hypothesis
register
variationist sociolinguistics
micro-sociolinguistics
sociology of language (macro-sociolinguistics)
linguistic anthropology
critical sociolinguistics
correlational studies
microlinguistic studies
discourse analysis
macrolinguistic studies
critical analysis
observer’s paradox
quantitative
qualitative
theoretical
applied
4.
Links
Journals: These three journals are central to the field of sociolinguistics. You can search for articles on a
particular topic or browse through to see what recent issues have been addressed to get ideas for your own term
paper.
Journal of Sociolinguistics
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291467-9841
International Journal of the Sociology of Language
http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/ijsl
Language in Society
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=lsy
The PBS three-part series titled Do You Speak American? was produced with the input and participation of a
number of well-known sociolinguists. The website that has been developed covers even more topics than the
film and contains links and resources for students, teachers, and anyone else interested in language. The page in
the link given here provides an overview of some main topics in sociolinguistics as well as other interesting
discussions – William Labov discussing his decision to enter the field of linguistics, for instance, a section on
‘Correct American’ which looks at current issues in grammar in US English, and a discussion about word
coinage under the heading ‘Words that shouldn’t be.’
Do You Speak American? Website on sociolinguistics
http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/sociolinguistics/sociolinguistics/