lecture12languageandsociety

1、 Lecture 12 Language and Society 1.Let the students know the scope of socio- linguistics. 2. Let the students know the varieties of language. l The Rise and Development of Socio-linguisticslThe Scope of Socio-linguisticslTwo approaches to socio-linguistic studies.lSpeech community and speech variety

2、lVarieties of language: Dialectal varieties ; register and the degree of formalitylStructural linguistics and mentalist linguistics are both formal linguistics or descriptive linguistics.lThe focus is on the study of forms of language.lThey separated the language from culture and society etc.Micro-L

3、inguistics(微观语言学微观语言学): or the General Linguistics(普通语言学普通语言学)PhoneticsPhonologyMorphologySyntaxSemantics1 戴炜栋戴炜栋,束定芳束定芳.1997. 现代英语语言学概论现代英语语言学概论 上海上海外语教育出版社外语教育出版社2 Bernaed Spolspy,2000. Socio-linguistics. 上海外上海外语教育出版社语教育出版社3 胡壮麟胡壮麟. 2002 . Linguistics:A Course Book. 北京北京大学出版社大学出版社4 Peter Trudgill

4、1974 Socio-linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society. Penguin groupl2.1 DefinitionSocio-linguistics is the sub-field of linguistics that studies the relation between language and society, between the uses of language and the social structures in which the users of language live.So there a

5、re two approaches to socio-linguistic studies 2.2. Two approaches to socio- linguistic studies: “Macro- socio-linguistics”:We look at society as a whole and consider how language functions in society and how language reflects the social differentiations, such as language and nations, language and po

6、licy.l2.3.Speech Community and Speech VarietylFor General linguistics,a speech community is defined as a group of people who form a community and share the same language or a particular variety of a language.(like English, French or Chinese)lThis would include any group of people, wherever they migh

7、t be, and however remote might be the possibility of their ever wanting or being able to communicate with each other, all using the same language.lA small social network ( such as regular patrons of a coffee shop) forms a speech community.lA large metropolis or a country, a region can also form a sp

8、eech community.lThe goal of socio-linguistic study of a speech community is to relate the significant language varieties to the significant social groups and situations.lSo the speech community is the abstract “space” studied in socio-linguistics.lWithin a speech community there exist various social

9、 group.lSocial groups are defined in a number of ways:The educational backgroundThe occupationThe genderThe agelSpeech VarietySpeech variety or language variety refers to any distinguishable form of speech used by a speaker or a group of speakers Variety is considered a more neutral term than terms

10、such as standard or non-standard language and dialects.lIn socio-linguistic studies three types of speech variety are of special interest:Regional dialects(地域方言）地域方言）Sociolects（社会（社会方言）方言）Registers（语域）（语域）lVarieties of language can be divided into two types:Varieties related to the user are normally

11、 known as dialects.Varieties related to use are normally known as register.lWhat is a dialect?lA variety of a language used recognizably in a specific region or by a specific social class is called dialect.lThe study of dialects is called dialectology.lDialects cab be categorized into the following

12、types:lRegional dialectslSocial dialectslidiolectsl3.1.Dialectal varieties3.1.1.regional dialect:la linguistic variety used by the people living in the same geographical regionlHow do the regional dialects come into being?l-lack of communication l世界范围内的英语的地区变体可以分为两大系： 爱尔兰英语 新西兰英语 澳大利亚英语 南非英语 美国英语 加拿

13、大英语l3.1.2.Social dialect ( sociolect)lWhat is the social dialect?lIt refers to the linguistic variety which has the characteristic of a particular social class.lHow did a social dialect come into being?lIt was caused about by different social conditions.lThe different social backgrounds of the two s

14、peakers influence their choice of linguistic forms and the linguistic features of the language they use reveal their identity.lWhat is a regional dialect ? What is the relationship between a regional dialect and a standard dialect?lRegional dialect is the kind of dialect that is spoken and used by t

15、he people in a geographical region. Every local group of people spoke the language a little differently from other groups. For instance, these differences may be found in pronunciation, spelling, and the use of words and grammatical structures. With the passage of time, a regional dialect may become

16、 the standard dialect of a nation. This is largely due to a number of socio-economic and political reasons. lWhat are the major features of the English language as it is used by women natives speakers?lSociolinguistic studies have revealed that women speakers of English speak more or less differentl

17、y than their male counterparts. Female speech lacks the assertive tone of male speech. Women tend to use more rising intonations. They may seek permission by doing this. Women use more tag questions and reverse accents than men. They make a heavier use of the inconclusive intensifiers so and such. W

18、omen are more careful to follow prescriptive rules of grammar. lDo you think there are differences between the vocabulary used by aged people and that used by young people?lYes. Young people are likely to borrow some words originally used in the technical field, like the young may have used the word

19、 cool, formerly a word from the Internet. Young people are likely to invent new use of vocabulary and slang words. Aged speakers may be more conscious of their social class by using language to fashion themselves as different from young people. Most of the aged speakers may keep many of their old di

20、alects with them, and some may stick to the prescriptive use of language in order to preserve the tradition, or simply to gain respect. Many old speakers resist the innovation expressions and language change.lLanguage also varies with the use it is made of.lLanguage varies with the circumstance or s

21、ituation.In any speech community, there is hardly any speaker who sticks to one style of speaking all the time.l2.What is register? Or what is register as used by Halliday?lThe term “register” has been used by some linguists in a restricted sense. It refers to the variety of language related to ones

22、 occupation.lHalliday used the term “register” in a much broader sense.lAccording to Halliday,” language varies as its function varies; it differs in different situations.”lSo the type of language which is selected as appropriate to the type of situation is a register.l由于交际情景的不同,语言在实际使用过程中会产生程度不同的各种

23、变体,这就是语域.l3.What are the three social variables that determine the register?lHalliday and Hason further distinguishes three social variables that determines the register in their book “Cohesion in English”. Field of discourse (话语范围话语范围) Tenor of discourse (话语体式话语体式) Mode of discourse (话语方式话语方式)p.208

24、lField of discourse refers to what is going on.lDoes the discourse belong to the technical field or non-technical field?lThe field of a register determines to a great extent the vocabulary to be used in communication, and it also determines the phonological and grammatical features.lTenor of discour

25、se refers to the role of relationship in the situation in question.lIt is based on the relationship between the addresser and the addressee.lSo this dimension greatly determines the level of formality, whether it is formal,causal,intimate, consultative or even frozen. lMode of discourse : it mainly

26、refers to the means of communication . It is concerned with “how” communication is carried out.lGenerally speaking,speaking and writing are the two fundamental modes of discourse.lA lecture on biology in a university can be identified as :lField: scientific ( biological)lTenor: teacher-students (for

27、mal, polite)lMode: Oral (academic lecturing)lWhat are the differences between dialect and register?lDialect is a variety of language which differs grammatically, phonologically and lexically from other varieties, and which is associated with a particular geographical area and/or with a particular so

28、cial class or status group. A language is typically composed of a number of dialects.lRegister is defined according to the use of language. It is a technical term used to describe a language variety that is associated with a particular topic, the interpersonal relationship between the speaker and the hearer, and the speech channel. Registers can identify speakers as being members of a particular group, and