Page 192 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Linguistics

Notes (vi) Gender: differences in paterns of language use between men and women, such as quantity
of speech, intonation patterns.
(vii) Age: the influence of age of the speaker on the use of vocabulary and grammar complexity.
• An important factor influencing the way of formulating sentences is according to sociolinguists
the social class of the speakers. Thus, there has been a division of social classes proposed in
order to make the description accurate. Twomain groups of language users, mainly those
performing non-manual work and those with more years of education are the ‘middle class’,
while those who perform some kind of manual work are ‘working class’. Additional terms
‘lower’ and ‘upper’ are frequently used in order to subdivide the social clases. Therefore,
differences between pper middle class can be compared with lower working class.
• It is notable that people are actualy aware of the differences in speech patterns that mark their
social class and are often able to adjust their style to the interlocutor. It is especially true for the
members of the middle class who seem eager to use forms associated with upper class, however,
in such efforts the forms characteristics of upper class are often overused by the middle class
members. The above mentioned process of adopting own speech to reduce social distance is
called convergence. Sometimes, however, when people want to emphasize the social distance
they make use of the process called divergence purposefully using idiosyneratic forms.
• investingates the way in which language changes depending on the region of country it is used
in. To describe a variety of language that differs in grammar, lexis and pronunciation from
others a term dialect is used. Moreover, each member of community has a unique way of speaking
due to the life experience, education, age and aspiration. As individual personal variation of
language use is called an idiolect.
• There are numerous factors influencing idiolect some of which have been presented above, yet
two more need to be elucidated, namely jargon and slang. jargon is specific technical vocabulary
associated with a particular field of interest, or topic. For example words such as convergence,
dialect and social class are sociolinguistic jargon. Wheras alang is a type of language used most
frequently by people from outside of high-status groups characterized by the use of unusual
words and phrases instead of conventional forms.
13.5 Key-Words

1. Style : Varieties according to attitude.
2. Registers : It is the variety of language according to use.
13.6 Review Questions

1. Write brief notes on:
(i) Dialect (ii) Idiolect
(iii) Register (iv) Diglossia
(v) Pidgin (vi) Creole
2. What is an isogloss? How are isoglosses useful in determining dialect boundaries?
3. Distinguish between standard language and dialect.
4. Distinguish between dialect and idiolect.
5. Distinguish between pidgin and creole.
6. ‘What is correct and what is not correct is ultimately only a matter of what is accepted by society,
for language is a matter of conventions within society.’ Discuss this view.
7. What is socio-linguistics? What is its relation with other branches of linguistics?

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