1. Introduction to Language and Society Course Our Textbook
Trudgill, Peter Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society, 4th edition. London: Penguin Books.
Most of the PowerPoint slides for this course come from this book.
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2. Outline of Fromkin, Rodman & Hyams, Chapter 10: Language in Society
Dialects
Accents
Dialects of English
Phonological Differences
Lexical Differences
Syntactic Differences
Standard Language
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman & Nina Hyams An Introduction to Language, 7th edition. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth.
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3. Outline of Fromkin, Rodman & Hyams, Chapter 10: Language in Society
Banned Languages
Revival of Languages
African American English
Pidgins and Creoles
Styles, Slang, and Jargon
Taboo Language
Language, Sex, and Gender
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman & Nina Hyams An Introduction to Language, 7th edition. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth.
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4. Table of Contents of Trudgill’s Sociolinguistics
LANGUAGE AND
1. Society (= Sociolinguistics)
2. Social Class
3. Ethnic Group
4. Sex / Gender
5. Context
6. Social Interaction
7. Nation
8. Geography
9. Contact
10. Humanity
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5. Sociolinguistic Course Goals
 Teach you something that may change the way you look at language use.
 Help you avoid misunderstandings between people from different cultures.
 Help you avoid giving offense.
 Help you avoid being offended.
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6. Language Uses  Communicate information  Establish relationships
 Maintain relationships
 Evaluate/Assess people (their status)
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7. What might the way someone speaks tell us about them?
1. Social/Class background (Social Dialect);
2. What kind of work (maybe, maybe not)
3. Where from (Regional Dialect)
4. Education
5. Ethnic group
6. IN group / OUT group
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8.  Pronunciation (Accent)  Vocabulary  Syntax (Grammar)
Linguistic Variation
 Pronunciation (Accent)
 Vocabulary
 Syntax (Grammar)
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9. Taiwan and Beijing Mandarin Dialect Differences 1
Pronunciation
Retroflexes ㄓ ㄔ ㄕ / ㄗ ㄘ ㄙ
Labials ㄅㄆㄇㄈ + ㄥ
ㄥ / ㄨㄥ
Use of word-final suffix -兒 / NO -兒
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10. Taiwan and Beijing Mandarin Dialect Differences 2
Vocabulary
Locative suffixes: 上 面 (-面 / -邊 / -頭)
Specific words for tomato, taxi, potato, etc.
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11. Taiwan and Beijing Mandarin Dialect Differences 3
Syntax
Past A-not-A Questions
你 有 沒 有 吃 蘋 果？
Resultative Verb A-not-A Questions
你 聽 不 聽 得 懂？
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12. Some Social Factors in Language Variation
 Hometown
 Education
 Status in society
 Age
 Gender
 Formality of situation
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13. Communicative Competence (Based on Hymes)
1. Grammatical Competence
2. Sociolinguistic Competence
3. Discourse Competence
4. Strategic Competence
Oxford, Rebecca L Language Learning Strategies. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers, p. 7.
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14. Sociolinguistic Competence
 What do you call the Department chair when you address him?
 What do you call people you meet for the first time?
 How do you interact POLITELY with others?
 How do you ask someone to do you a favor?
 What questions are considered taboo?
 What do you say to comfort someone whose family member has died?
 What does it mean when someone invites you to “Drop by anytime.”?
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15. Sociolinguistic Competence (in L1)
 You know how to compliment people.
 You know how to respond to compliments.
 You know how to ask someone for help.
 You know how to respond (refuse) politely.
 You know how to apologize if you accidentally step on someone foot.
 And how to reply.
 You know the polite way (and the rude way) to say many things.
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16. Sociolinguistic Errors vs. Grammar Errors
 The latter are obviously grammar errors
 The former we assume you must have made INTENTIONALLY—YOU ARE JUST RUDE
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