|
AN INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIOLINGUISTICS (Jean Moennich)
8 November,
2004
Let's kick off
with 2 statements:
A look at how language
works, especially its grammar, syntax, semantics and so on.
A look at how language
is affected by, and also affects society.
As I'm sure you've
guessed, the first is a definition of Linguistics
and the second of Sociolinguistics.
Linguistics traditionally divorced language from people (who said it, in what
context, with what thoughts and to whom) and from peoples (and their
conflicts, invasions and migrations). Sociolinguistics is an attempt to bring
them back together again.
In our meeting we
attempted to cover some of the general issues thrown up, although not
literally, by Sociolinguistics.
Language is
clearly influenced by SOCIETY:
Different contexts will
lead to different ways of speaking. You'd probably address your wife in way
that is different from the way you address your boss or your teacher (unless
she is your boss or your teacher!...and even then....) When you change from one
style of speaking to another this is called code switching. Different regions
create different accents and dialects. Everyone has an accent; different
accents have different pronunciations. Different dialects have different
grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Sex (or should I say
gender) leads to different ways of speaking. In many languages women will use
certain words that men won't, and vice versa. Different groups have different
ways of speaking and writing, this is known as jargon. Think of journalists,
priests and builders!
Language is always
evolving. In most societies, it is in fact teenage girls who are the major
perpetrators of language change. Why do you think that is? Think about it.
Values of society may
also influence language. This is seen in taboo language. In fact even the law
may have an influence; up until recently it was illegal to print
"Fuck" or "Cunt" in the UK. In fact even today I may have
upset one or two by writing the above words instead of F*** or C***. N.B. it
is the words that are taboo not the concept.....you can say "sexual
intercourse" on BBC!
What is
language?
What do 2 Englishmen
who've just met on a train talk about? Why?
Apparently 70% of what
we say is not communicating info, but
i)Building a social
relationship (social grooming!)
ii)Assessing a profile
(accent, where from, social class, attitudes)
iii)Solidarity
(identifying yourself with a group, often to isolate others)
Language used for group
solidarity:
As mentioned above this
is seen by code switching (with friends, family, at work, in meetings). When
a young black journalist went to interview a lady in one of the urban ghettos
of America, the husband opened the door with: "Yo bro, you's here to
taaalk wi' ma gal". The journalist said, " No, I am here to interview
your wife". The husband dropped his smile and begrudgingly let him in.
By switching code all solidarity was lost.
It is also seen by
language crossing (The majority of cultures are multi-lingual and speakers
will change from one language to another depending on the context and
relationship of speakers.) Jargon is another way of showing solidarity:
"Pelmanistic games are too tefly, I'll try a mingle instead." Sound
familiar!
Solidarity also arises
when there is a threat from an external language; nowadays often English.
Connection
between language and society
Does language affect
society and the way you think or vice versa?
Sapir and Wharf thought
language conditions our thoughts and perception of the world.
They studied the North
American tribe the Hopi, where they discovered there are no tenses and hence
a different concept of time.
Hopi - no tenses, time is not linear
Wari = he ran (statement of fact)
Warikni = he ran
(statement of fact from memory.)
This contrasts with
English and its Newtonian concept of Linear time; time-keeping, afters and
untils, record-keeping and so on. Aware that such a view may lead to a
superiority complex and discrimination, most linguists today favor a moderate
version of the theory. Our discussion went a bit further to suggest that
actually what we think conditions our language. First, we think of a red
flower, and then we find a name for it. Thinking came before language didn't
it? I mean can you think without language???
Do you remember Helen Keller? If not check it out
here
“The
life of Helen Keller”.
Do dogs think?
Apparently some do! Or is that just instinct? Do we plan our dreams? Do you
dream in black and white? How do you know?
Changes in
Language
Languages adopt other
words from other languages. Curiously they adopt a narrower use than in the
original tongue: "Le look"
in French only refers to a fashion context. "Le home" is just a place for
old people. Even more curious is the emergence of words that don't even exist
in the original tongue! For jogging the Spanish say "hacer footing". The Germans
have a piece of clothing called a "pullunder".
Changes in society also
cause changes in language. In China it seems the greeting "chi le
ma?" for hello, may have emerged in the Cultural Revolution, when people
expressed a serious concern in your ability to find enough food to eat.
Varieties of
Language (e.g. English)
There are many
varieties of English. (Canadian English, Indian English, Standard English,
Afro-American English (Ebonics?), and so on). In the UK Standard English is
that English taught in schools. It can have many, or any, accent. Then there
is RP Received Pronunciation. This is an accent that is only spoken with
Standard English. It is the English that came from public schools and was
adopted by the BBC. Whilst language students all over the world want to learn
RP, it should be noted that only 3% of the British population speak RP.
Validity of
Varieties
All accents and
dialects are linguistically valid and all judgments are purely social. No one
is better than another; all are structurally complex, rule governed and
adequate for the speakers needs. For example, the Non prevocalic /r/ in
"car" used to have high prestige in New York, but low prestige in
UK, where it is considered to be used by country bumpkins!
Relevance for
teaching!
"This is all very
interesting!" I hear you shout, "but what does it have to do with
teaching?"
Well an excellent
question. And maybe not a lot, however, when we come to teach our students I
guess we should consider where they are going to use the language.
If they will go to UK
then maybe Standard English with a bit of slang is useful. However, if they
are going to stay in China, having a native speaker goal is often not a good
or necessary thing. To take it even further, maybe we shouldn't worry about
Chinese English being used. In fact, if you do worry you maybe wasting your
time, because if Chinese English does arise it will be because it meets the
needs of its speakers (who needless to say will be a huge number). One can
argue that a Beijing fleet of taxi drivers who speak an internationally
comprehensible Chinglish is better than nothing at all!
Who does English belong
to if not the speakers? As a famous South African poet said upon being
criticized of his distortion of "the Queen's English". He said,
"We have taken English as an official language of our country, but it is
now ours to do with what we like."
Another insight
Sociolinguistics can offer is that as teachers, and maybe material
developers, we should be aware of the limitations of separating the language
from the people who speak it.
And finally, to look at
the future of English, let us fly over to Singapore and eavesdrop in on a
devoted mother telling her sleepy child a well-known fairy tale...........to
do that open the final attachment SINGLISH......and enjoy! (also reproduced
below)
ONE FINAL NOTE:
Many people disagree on
whether dialects, or certain varieties of a language, are good or just bad,
lazy distortions that need correcting. It is an excellent debate that still
needs discussing. If you are interested I can highly recommend the article
below to whet your appetite and to go further into the fascinating world of
Sociolinguistics.
--------------------------------------------------------
LITTLE LED LIDING HOOT
(Singlish Version)
Once upon a time ah, got one girl Little Led Liding Hoot. She want
go to Ah Mah's house. Morning alleady she go out one, she got come take
one basket to put flower. She doh wan to walk long-long so go take shot
cut. Wah! She dono got one animal follow her one lah! She happy-happy
go walk walk walk until she come to Ah Mah's house.
"Ah Mah! Ah Mah! I come, open the door lah! " she talk.
Then Ah Mah also talk back, "Come in lah, I never close one."
Little Led Liding Hoot open the house and go inside door oh, solly,
solly open the door and go inside the house, she see Ah Mah on top
of the bed.
She go ask Ah Mah,
"Ah Mah, how come your eye vely big one ah ?"
"So I can see you maahhh! Ah Mah say back.
"Ah Mah, how come your year vely long one ?"
"So vely easy to hear you one lah !!!!!"
"Ah Mah, come come."
"Aiyaa !! so many question one ah you ... never die before is it?"
"Sollylah Ah Mah, I dono mah, that's why I ask."
"What soly-soly ! Now I want to eat you. I not Ah Mah. I animal one
ulf!"
Wah! Little Led Liding Hoot vely scared one, she scleam vely loud but
late alleady, the animal alleady eat her. She now inside stomach one.
Suddenly, got one people, cut wood one, go inside the house. He want to
save Little Led Liding Hoot, he go and cut the animal stomach and take
out everything. But he too late lah, Little Led Liding Hoot become SHIT
alleady.......
|
