ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute OBJECTIVES You will understand: 1. The sociological and sociopolitical issues that relate to language. 2. How language can act as a barrier or facilitator to participation in society. 3. Social perceptions of different language varieties and interlanguages. You will be able to: 1. Integrate the knowledge of sociological and sociopolitical issues into your perspective on your profession and on your students’ language learning challenges.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY In order to discuss the implications of sociology and its relationship to language we must first understand the meaning of society. Wardhaugh defines society “as any group of people who are drawn together for a certain purpose or purposes” (p. 1).

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY Language then, is what the members of a particular society use to communicate amongst themselves. When people communicate with each other using spoken language, we can say that the speakers are using a code. In many cases code is synonymous with language. Some researchers prefer the term code because it is deemed neutral and unlikely to evoke emotion, when compared with the word language. When bilingual speakers communicate using two different languages, we call this code-switching.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute The relationship between society and language can be described in four different ways. 1. Social structure influences or determines linguistic structure or behaviour. The belief that culture controls language is known as the Whorfian Hypothesis. 2. Linguistic determination, holds that the opposite is true; that what is said by the people of a society influences or determines their social structure. In other words, language controls culture.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute The relationship between society and language can be described in four different ways. 3. There is a bi-directional influence with language and society influencing each other. (most popular) 4. There is no relationship between language and society and that each of the two structures are independent of one another. (least popular)

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND POWER Sociologists and linguists analyze language and try to determine how it is influenced by social factors and relationships. They consider concepts of power, prestige, attitude, class, status, solidarity, accommodation, face and politeness. They also consider how historical, political and religious issues can affect how people interact linguistically.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND POWER The way people speak appears to be closely connected to a variety of social factors. For example, it may be possible to determine someone’s social position in terms of occupation, place of residence, education, ‘new’ versus ‘old’ money, income, race, ethnicity, culture, caste and religion, by analyzing how they speak. When we analyze how people speak we look at their level of politeness, their style and their register. We can also look at the variety, or dialect, of a language that they speak. Finally, we look at the power their language has within their environment or context. All of these language factors can either give someone power or diminish their power.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute POLITENESS Speakers employ politeness strategies in order to help hearers save face. Face refers to the respect that an individual has for him or herself. Often speakers try to avoid making hearers feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. Speakers avoid Face Threatening Acts (FTA’s) by using a variety of techniques. For example, a speaker may start off by saying, “I don’t want to bother you but…” or “I was wondering…”

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute STYLE Speakers may use a formal style for ceremonial occasions and other formal functions. Speakers may use an informal style for casual conversation and matters of little importance. The level of formality depends on a variety of factors, in particular the kind of occasion and the social differences of the participants, including age and emotional involvement. Knowing a language includes knowing which style is appropriate under which circumstances.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute REGISTER Wardhaugh defines register as “sets of language items associated with discrete occupational or social groups” (p. 48). People who routinely participate in similar communication situations develop special vocabulary and intonation patterns to enable swift communication. Surgeons, pilots, bank managers, to name a few, create special terms for recurrent events. It is possible to have mastery over more than one register. You can be a hockey player and an archeologist.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE VARIETIES Within one language there are several varieties. Wardhaugh defines variety as “a set of linguistic items with similar distribution” (p. 21). Consider the differences between the Queen’s English, Cockney English, Australian English, American English, Black English (Ebonics), Canadian English, and Newfoundland English.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE VARIETIES Generally, a language variety is a human speech pattern found within a certain geographic area or social group. The term dialect is used to refer to the differences in speech within members of a social or geographical group. Some researchers feel that dialect and language are ambiguous terms. However, others would describe a dialect as a local variety of a real language. dialect-survey

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE VARIETIES The distinction between language and dialect is often taken further, when language speakers refer to a dialect as a lesser form than its real counterpart. The act of labeling one language form as more prestigious than another results in the attribution of power and status to the speakers of the more prestigious form. Dialects are considered non-prestigious language forms and are therefore considered powerless varieties of a language, especially in terms of political and social gain. Nonetheless, linguists consider all language forms equal. It is the practices of a society which give certain language varieties more power over others.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE VARIETIES When the speakers of New York City started to drop their “r’s”, the prestigious group put their “r’s” back into their language in order to distinguish themselves from the others. People’s attitudes towards other dialects suggest something about their attitudes towards the speakers of that dialect. The power of language is strong enough to act as a barrier and prohibit or facilitate participation in a society.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE VARIETIES No one wants to be told that his or her language variety is wrong or inadequate. Dialects are intimately connected with identity, both individually and communally. To abuse someone’s speech is to compromise their sense of self and insult their community.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY EXAMPLES Hindi and Urdu are a good example of the politics behind language. For political and religious reasons, Hindi and Urdu are considered different languages by the speakers of both languages and by governments. However, these two languages are almost identical at the grammatical level and are mutually intelligible, although they are written with different scripts.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY EXAMPLES In Scandinavia, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are considered different languages. Yet, if you speak any one of these languages you will experience little difficulty in communicating throughout Scandinavia.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY EXAMPLES Gumperz explains that “Both Danes and Swedes claim good understanding of Norwegian. However, Danes claim to comprehend Norwegians much better than Norwegians claim to comprehend Danes. The poorest mutual comprehension is between the Danes and the Swedes with the Danes understanding the Swedes better than the Swedes understanding the Danes. The best understanding is between Norwegians and Swedes. These differences in mutual intelligibility reflect power relationships. Denmark long dominated Norway, and Sweden is today the most influential country in the region and Denmark the least powerful” (Wardhaugh, p. 27).

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY EXAMPLES Wardhaugh provides an example to illustrate the power dynamic between two languages spoken in the same country. In Paraguay, two languages are used. Spanish is the official language, but an American Indian language called Guarani is the mother tongue of the majority of the population.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY EXAMPLES Guarani is now recognized as a national language, but most of the education continues to be held in Spanish. Almost all of the residents of Paraguay’s capital city, Asuncion, are bilingual. Residents of the Paraguay countryside tend to speak only Guarani.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY EXAMPLES Spanish is used for official government business, other business transactions, formal occasions, interactions with well-dressed strangers and foreigners. Guarani is used with friends, servants, poorly dressed strangers and casual occasions. Even though Guarani is spoken in many homes, parents may want their children to improve their knowledge of Spanish so that they will be better equipped for success in school. Spanish is the language of educational opportunity and is socially preferred.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY EXAMPLES As a display of solidarity, Paraguayans may choose to speak in Guarani when they are outside of Paraguay. Furthermore, males tend to start off drinking in Guarani but may switch to Spanish when they begin to feel the effects of the alcohol. Spanish is the language of power. Men tell jokes and talk about women and sports in Guarani.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY EXAMPLES Spanish is generally used for addressing superiors. Children must choose which code to use when they are speaking to their elders. Usually, solidarity prevails and Guarani is used. Courtship tends to begin in Spanish but changes to Guarani once the relationship becomes serious. It is clear that the language choice depends on a variety of factors: location, formality, sex, status, intimacy and type of activity.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute JUST FOR FUN!

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute Complete Question 1, 3 or 4 in the Task Journal. Task Journals can be submitted via to (preferred) or printed and handed in.