1. Sociolinguistics

2. What is language  language is a means of communicating information between two or more people.

3. Example:  A: How are you?  B: Not too bad. Had a bad day but good otherwise

4.  We may say that language is a very important means of establishing and maintaining relationships with other people.  this is the type of thing sociolinguists are interested in.

5. What is Sociolinguistics?  As the word implies Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship that holds between language and society.

6.  One of the main concerns of sociolinguists is why people speak differently in different social circumstances  and how language is used to convey social meaning.

7. Social information…  kid: Hi mum.  Mum: Hi. You’re late.  kid: Yah, that bastard sootbucket kept us in again.  Mum: Nana’s here.  kid: Oh sorry. Where is she?

8. Things that might influence the style of conversation… 1.The social context  The hearer and any potential over-hearers (might not use profanity in front of nana)  Where we are (the domain)

9. For example: at school  kid: Good afternoon, sir.  Principle: What are you doing here at this time?  kid: Mr. Sutton kept us in, sir.  This reflects kid’s awareness of the social factors which influence stylistic language choice.

10. Language also tells us something about 2.How we are feeling (annoyance, indignation, happiness, admiration, respect…etc.). 3.Our social identities can also be conveyed through language  (who we are and where we come from including: gender, ethnicity, age, and social background) )

11.  Why do we say the same thing in different ways?  E.g. Naming conventions

12.  Saying things in different ways is what we would call linguistic variation because you are varying the way you say something.

13. Linguistic variation can be at the: 1.Vocabulary/word choice level 2.Sound level 3.Morphological level 4.Grammatical level 5.Dialect level 6.Language level

14. Pronunciation:  Sam: You seen our ‘enry’s new ‘ouse yet? It’s in ‘alton you know.  Jim: I have indeed. I could hardly miss it Sam. Your Henry now owns the biggest house in Halton

15. Grammar and vocabulary: 1.Refuse should be deposited in the receptacle. 2.Put your rubbish in the bin, Jilly. 3.Please tender exact fare and state destination. 4.Give me the right money and tell me where you’re going.

16. Variation at the dialect level:  What about Arabic?  Factors: 1.Hearer 2.Domain (social setting) 3.Topic of discussion

17.  We refer to different ways of speaking as a particular Variety or Code.  Variety is a set of linguistic forms used under specific social circumstances  This could be 1.Accents 2.Dialects 3.Language 4.Style

18. What about variation in language choice?

19. Linguistic repertoire  In every community there is a range of varieties from which people select according to the context in which they are communicating

20. Linguists depart from each other on an important point  Linguistic competence vs. Linguistic performance

21. Linguistic competence  Is being able to produce and understand an infinite number of novel and unfamiliar sentences.  Chomskyan Linguists focus on competence which is the mental system that allows us (human beings) to form and interpret the words and sentences of our language.

22. Abstract grammar of language  This is the grammar of the “ideal speaker-listener in a completely homogenous speech community, who knows its language perfectly and is unaffected by such irrelevant conditions as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest, and errors (random or characteristic) in applying his knowledge of the language in actual performance” (Chomsky, 1965 p.3)

23. Linguistic performance  This is distinguished from Linguistic performance which is the actual production and comprehension of language, i.e. applying the mental knowledge.

24. why should the two be distinguished?  you have to organize your thoughts into strings of words and speech may become garbled, you might stammer or pause or produce slips of the tongue (these mistakes happen randomly and are insignificant to linguistic analysis. Therefore, linguists focus on what we know and not on the mistakes we make).

25. But what about…  How do we use language to construct ourselves?  How do we use it to make deals with one another?  What role does language play in weaving our social fabric?

26. More specific question…  Why do men and women (who speak the same language) regularly misunderstand each other?  Why do we are we adversely affected by the language of persuasion (economical and political)?  How do we use language to avoid responsibility for ourselves and allocate it to others?  How do the stories we tell and hear, privately or publicly, give us our understanding of ourselves and the society we inhabit?

27.  If we are to come to any understanding regarding these types of questions then we must conduct a close analysis of actual linguistic data and show how the specific forms speakers select have the precise effects they do on social, economic, or political reality!