1. Questions? Comments? Exercises for Chapter 14: 2 & 7 due 6/3
Problem Set 5 due 5/29

2. Sociolinguistics Mary = merry = marry Mary = merry  marry
Slide 1
Sociolinguistics
Like Pragmatics, it’s the study of the use of language
The study of language in its social contexts
Speech community - group of people who share some set of social conventions (socioling norms) regarding language use - EXAMPLES?
Accent - pronunciation
Dialect - includes pronunciation (phonological/phonetic), but also includes grammatical, lexical and usage - MFL example
Some examples of homophones for some -- hock/hawk, caller/collar, cot/caught, calm/com, Don/Dawn
Variety - used as a more neutral term for dialect or language
Mary = merry = marry
Mary = merry  marry
Mary  merry = marry
Mary = marry  merry???

3. Socioling
Slide 2
Sociolinguistics
Dialects in North America are mutually intelligible - the differences do not impede communication totally
Dialect continuum – go village by village, from northwestern France to southern Italy and each adjacent village can understand each other, although Parisians cannot understand Romans.

4. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change Social Factors: Style
Slide 3
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
Social Factors:
Style
REGION - what are the major dialects/accents spoken in America?
Sex/Gender
Social class
Age
Ethnicity

5. Socioling
Slide 4
Sociolinguistics
Style or register - what does this mean? Formal/informal
Jargon is specific vocabulary tied to a specific event or setting (snowboard jargon, linguistic jargon, computer jargon, etc)
Slang - helps to show in- and out-group membership. Fad new words or new meanings on old words - EXAMPLES?

6. Sociolinguistics - region
Slide 5
Sociolinguistics - region
What are the different regional accents in your opinion?

7. Socioling
Slide 6
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change

8. Socioling
Slide 7
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change

9. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide 8
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
Regional varieties described in terms of lexical choices done through Linguistic Atlas creation
Dialectologists looked at NORMs =
old men in the sticks!
(non-mobile old rural men)
Asked what is the word you use for...
Plotted variation on a map and drew lines – isoglosses (see image )
Now sociolinguists look at urban populations and exam different regions in terms of what is happening in the cities

10. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change – cot vs. caught 9
Slide 9
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change – cot vs. caught

11. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change Remember this???
Slide 10
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
Regional difference is post-vocalic r (car, card, guard, etc)
William Labov - NYC - listen to a New Yorker
Style – attitudes about varieties
Remember this???
Coffee shop with a sign: “We’re sorry - no blended drinks today.
The blender is broke.”
This sign was in Portland area – where would you expect to see it (based on stereotypes – not your opinion if they’re real) [stereotypes based on class/education/income]

12. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide
10b
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
Style and ling change interacts with social class
 William Labov’s department store study

13. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide 11
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
There are many different varieties - what is correct? Standard English is just one of many different varieties
Linguistics try to describe these varieties and all the varieties are equal in linguistics terms
What would happen if I said that Standard English meant that you have to distinguish between cot~caught, tot~taught, hock~hawk, Don~dawn, collar~caller? How would that make you feel?
Are other dialects mutually intelligible – here some sounds here from the Northern Cities area: Northern Cities Shift (not #5)

14. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide
13*
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
Regional difference by vowel production shifts (language change) over time
Northern Cities Shift (play Chicago sample - 3mins)

15. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide
14*
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
The Southern Shift (Play Arkansas 2mins; play Eng 3mins;

16. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide 15
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
The California/Canada Shift (Play Cali - 1:45; Ontario 2:15)

17. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide 15
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
The California/Canada Shift (Play Cali - 1:45; Ontario 2:15)

18. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide 16
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
Ethnicity - Chicano English, African American Vernacular English, Native American English; etc.
AAVE - shares features with other English dialects
Tables and on p. 517 shows AAVE features
Phonological features part of other varieties
Habitual be, copula deletion - more elaborate than standard English
The coffee cold today. The coffee be cold here.

19. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide
16b
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
Ethnicity - African American Vernacular English,

20. Sociolinguistics Linguistic variation and change
Slide
16c
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic variation and change
Ethnicity - African American Vernacular English,

21. Socioling
Slide 17
Sociolinguistics
Gender variable - different degree of usage for men and women
Do men and women speak differently?
What are the assumptions here...

22. Socioling
Slide 18
Sociolinguistics
Some say... women use more hedges in their speech - EXAMPLES?
TRUE OR FALSE?
Grammatical gender - not directly related to real men and women, but most langs with gram gender do use the masc forms as generic (ellos vs. ellas)
The switch from he as “neutral” pronoun to they

23. Sociolinguistics Sex differences of linguistic behavior: Discourse
Slide 19
Sociolinguistics
Sex differences of linguistic behavior: Discourse
Hedges
Interruption - men have been found to interrupt women more than vice-versa (even when woman is a doctor and power is involved)
In a review article looking at 63 studies investigating the amount of talk by sex (studies from ) - only 2 of these studies found women to talk more overall, but there are differences with respect to topic and formality of situation See here for more details

24. Sociolinguistics Robin Lakoff, 1975, “women’s language” Tag questions
Slide 20
Sociolinguistics
Robin Lakoff, 1975, “women’s language”
Tag questions
Rising intonation for declarative statements
“Empty” adjectives (divine, lovely)
Specialized women’s vocabulary (color terms)
Frequent use of emphasis (“speaking in italics” - What a beautiful hat)
Intensive so (You are so fired)
Politeness devices and hypercorrect grammar (women use more standard language; more indirect requests)
Hedges (well, like, sort of)
Women don’t tell jokes

25. Socioling
Slide 21
Sociolinguistics
Contact linguistics – when languages come into contact
Pidgin – a language created by people to communicate (usually for commerce). Usually uses the lexical items from the dominant language (superstrate) (colonizing language like English, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, French) and uses other aspects of grammar from the native languages where the pidgin occurs (substrate languages). Always acquired as a second language, and is relatively transparent and simplistic. Where pidgins are used are limited – usually in the marketplace.
Creole – the development of a pidgin when spoken as a first/native language by children. At this point, the language becomes more complex as it evolves. The use of creoles are expanded to all aspects of social life (at home, in the church, as well as in the marketplace).

26. Pidgins and Creoles 22 Socioling Slide Pidgin Creole
Contact language that arose naturally
Yes
Has native speakers
Not usually
Always
Linguistic form and grammar are...
Reduced*
Expanded*
Restricted in contexts of use No
Stable and independent norms
Fully adequate natural language

27. Solomon Islands Pidjin
Socioling
Slide 23
Pidgins and Creoles
Solomon Islands Pidjin
2. Steretwe taem Jisas i go soa,
2. When he had stepped out of the boat,
wanfela man wea i stap long berigiraon i kamaot fo mitim hem.
immediately a man out of the tombs met him.
Desfala man ia devol nogud i stap long hem.
This man was possessed by an unclean spirit.
3. Ples bulong hem nao long berigiraon.
3. He lived in the cemetery;
Bikos hem i karangge tumas,
and no-one could restrain him any more, even with chains,
no man i save taemapim.
because he was too strong.
4. Plande taem olketa i hankapem han an lek bulong hem,
4. For he had often been restrained with shackles and chains on his arms and legs,
bat hem i smasing olketa nomoa.
but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces,
No man i storong fitim fo holem.
and no one had the strength to subdue him.

28. “Do You Speak American” – use video for examples of linguistic variation for final
Watch clips of video in class – the website here:
My article on Portland speech is here: