Social variation

o Social dialects are caused by social boundaries.

o In small societies, people share major characteristics, and differences are based on individual
capabilities thus, language variation is random or stylistic, and dont relate to social role.
o Large societies are stratified, and different groups speak differently from each other when contact is
limited, the differences are entrenched.
o If societies develop dialects, one will become the standard this is through a process of
differentiation and status shift.
o In caste systems, language break parallels interactional break; In class systems, linguistic break
parallels social break.

Situational variation
o Formal situations result in more standard.
o There are more standard variants if the person speaking is paying attention to their own speech.
o People alter their speech based on their audience, accommodation can be convergent or divergent.
o Politeness depends on formality, social distance, and status honorifics have to be used
appropriately.

Sociolinguistic explanations
Functionalism
o Society is a system of functioning, integrated parts which are understood in relation to the whole
o The system is maintained by consensus of values and socialization system
o Individuals have varying status and roles
o Social positions carry different levels of prestige status is ascribed by birth or achieved by effort
o Norms define social roles, which in turn organise and regulate behaviour
o Explanations of group variation = social classes form part of the whole, and social dialects reflect
status differences.
o Standard varieties are associated with higher status and SES; non-standard varieties are associated
with solidarity.
Marxism
o Social organization is based on conflict, making it dynamic/unstable
o Society is an economic structure with a base (infrastructure) and a superstructure. The base produces
goods, whilst the superstructure supports/justifies the organisation of the base.
o Social relationships between groups are exploitative, oppressive, conflictive, and give an impression
of false consciousness for the infrastructure i.e. the subordinate group comes to accept justifications
of dominant group.
o Explanations of group variation = speech style is a symbolic capital, and it provides access to
economic opportunity. The standard variety appeals to the global market, whilst non-standard
varieties appeal to local markets.
o People use speech variety appropriate to the market they are in. Social dialect reflects speakers
position in marketplace.
Interactionism
o Construction-based view of social organisation - social organisation is emergent i.e. not fixed
o Social meaning is constructed as interaction happens, so talk is fundamental
o We create/recreate our social identity with every interaction
Social networks
o There are 4 parameters: density (number of people one interacts with, and if they know each other),
plexity (number of roles), clustering (results in group identity and norms), and centrality
o Dense networks create solidarity due to multiplex relationships and roles, use more non-standard
variants, and have slower linguistic changes due to close ties
o Loose networks have no solidarity or group norms, use fewer non-standard variants, and this
encourages change as members interact with multiple networks
Community of practice
o Group of people united by a shared practice mutual engagement in a jointly negotiated enterprise
o They develop a group way of acting, shared beliefs/values, specialised knowledge and social
relations, as well as a shared linguistic repertoire (they talk like each other)
Multilingualism
Domains
o A sphere of activity representing a combination of specific times, settings and relationships
o Typical interactions between typical participants in typical settings captures broad generalizations
about speech communities, but oversimplifies the complexity of bilingual interaction.
Bilingualism
o Individual = one person speaks two languages; Societal = two languages to choose from in a country
o Combinations = A or B (2 monolingual groups); A and B (bi); A and B (bi) or B (mono)
Diglossia
o Two language varieties are used in a community for separate, different functions.
o There is the high variety, which is standard and carries higher prestige. This is linked to high prestige
domains and social groups e.g. government, education, religion, literature. The high variant is
codified in grammar and dictionaries. Access to formal institutions is restricted as it requires H.
o There is also the low variety, which is the regional/vernacular variety, which carries lower prestige and
is considered to be non-standard. This variant is picked up naturally.
Codeswitching
o Alternating use of different languages/dialects.
o For learners, this could be for practice; for non-fluent bilinguals, this could be for when non-
dominant language fails; for fluent bilinguals, this could express status and solidarity.
o Situational codeswitching occurs in two environments i.e. inside = intimacy and solidarity, and
outside = status. Factors that determine which code will be used includes location, purpose, topic
and participants, including their ability to speak different codes as well as interpersonal relationships
o Conversational switching is the alternate use of 2 or more codes within a single linguistic situation
o Tag switching = word added to end of utterance
o Intersentential switching = switch at clause boundary or between speakers
o Intrasentential switching = switching mid-clause, usually more than one word
o The language chosen is either inside or outside, and the language choice then defines the situation
as inside or outside
o Single word switches = speaker may not be fully fluent, the code doesnt have a word for the concept
or the word may be strongly associated with another code.
Language maintenance/shift
o Language shift = one language replaces another
o Language maintenance = the language continues to be used
o A heritage language focuses on ancestry and historical connections, whilst a community language is
spoken by minority communities at home or at religious/community meetings
o Ethnolinguistic vitality predicts language survival a high vitality will lead to survival, low vitality will
lead to shift, loss and eventually language death
o Factors include the number of speakers, attitudes, institutional support, status, and changes in
domain distribution/narrowing
o Language shift can be characterised as monolingual in A bilingual in A and B monolingual in B
o This occurs over 3 generations, but can also occur over two generations (bilingual monolingual),
or over many generations of bilingual speakers with gradual shift to monolingual.
o This occurs through the contraction of domains and the reduced acquisition by children
o Linguistic processes include relexification, phonological simplification, morphological and syntactic
simplification, and monostylism.
o Factors that affect language shift include geography, cultural divides, religious practice, social status,
urbanization, migration, language loyalty, standardization, economics and technology
o Separation of groups tends to foster retention, whilst urban settings, joint living areas and economic
advantage fosters language shift
Conversation structure
o Topic talk informational, stories, not sequential
o Sequences interactional work, has motive/goal
o Adjacency pairs adjacent, uttered by separate speakers, connected
o FPP requires SPP Q A, invitation acceptance/rejection, greeting greeting, announcement
reception
Pre-expansions are APs that come before the core AP
o Prepares for the type of AP usually for listener or speaker protection
o Pre-invitation checks if party is available, pre-request checks if party can fulfil request, pre-
announcement checks receptiveness, pre-delicate prevents rudeness, stage-setting provides details
Insert expansions take place between an FPP and SPP
o Signals problem with PP, done by a question
o Request for clarification or further information
o The function is to obtain information is signal disagreement
Post-expansions come after the SPP
o Doesnt have to be an AP e.g. the sequence closing third (SC3) which signals agreement/acceptance
and ends the sequence
o If a dis-preferred response is given, they can reframe the response so it seems like the preferred, or
delay through pauses, explanations or hedging
Repair
o Self-initiated Self-repair (SI-SR) = speaker fixes own problem, usually in same turn
o Self-initiated Other-repair (SI-OR) = speakers problem recognised by speaker, addressee fixes it
o Other-initiated Self-repair (OI-SR) = addressee notes problem, speaker fixes it (request for clarity)
o Other-initiated Other-repair (OI-IR) = addressee sees and fixes problem
Narratives
o Story = sequence of events, with an identifiable beginning, middle and end
o Two clause types narrative and non-narrative. Narrative clauses are in the foreground, ordered
temporally, and tell the main points of the story. Non-narrative clauses are in the background, and
provide information necessary for understanding these can come out of sequence.
1. Abstract/story preface tells the listener what to expect, including time, plot summary, initial
characterization
2. Orientation provides background information needed to understand story
3. Complication action plot
4. Resolution climax, gives result
5. Coda- brings closure, often a summary, joke or moral
6. Evaluation narrator expresses their emotional attitude towards narrative. This can either be external
in direct statements, or embedded in the narrative through quotes, dramatization, repetition or
comparators.
Gesture
o Emphatic = beat that marks a specific word. E.g.; Im going to say this once and only once (*bangs
table).
o Iconic = shows/demonstrates whats being said. E.g.: use of wide spread hands to express big in
relation to concrete objects. I caught a fish (this long)
o Metaphoric gestures = used to provide images of abstract concepts and relationships. E.g.: wide
spread hands to represent a problem. Oh its just a wee (little) problem
o Deictic =used to create location in space/time.
o Interactive = used to regulate conversation
o Emblematic = gestures are standardized and culturally specific. E.g. *thumbs up*
Politeness
o Positive face wants solidarity; negative face wants autonomy.
o Politeness allows us to mitigate face-threatening acts so they are less threatening
o Positive politeness = solidarity e.g. you know I think the world of you, Id really appreciate it if
o Negative politeness = defence e.g. I dont want to offend, would you mind awfully
o Egalitarian cultures favour positive politeness/solidarity, and are more concerned with positive face-
threatening acts
o Hierarchical cultures favour negative politeness/defence and are more concerned with face-
threatening acts
Apology structure
1. Apology - Im sorry
2. Explanation for action
3. Acceptance of responsibility It was my fault
4. Offer of repair
5. Promise of forbearance Ill never do it again
o Cultural variation in what types of situation requires an apology, what strategies to employ in a
certain situation or when talking to a certain person
Request refusals
o Apology; expression of good will; direct refusal; explanation; offering an alternative; postponement;
asking for justification of the request.
Psycholinguistics
o Language acquisition
o How the brain stores and processes linguistic knowledge
o How the brain processes language
Nativist theory
o Grammar is universal
o Brain is modular with self-contained components localized in specific places, dedicated to specific
tasks
o Processing is done independently, no communication or information sharing
o Grammatical knowledge is innate, linguistic structures mature and are not learned
o Human linguistic capabilities evolved suddenly (discontinuous)
o Children are creative and will produce novel utterances, overgeneralize
o Children dont make expected errors and know when they are wrong, rules must be innate
Emergence theory
o Complex patterns emerge from interaction of simpler system
o Language emerges as a result of complex interaction between cognitive development, innate
capabilities and social interaction
o The brain is interactive and different parts work together to exchange information
o No innate knowledge, but innate ability to learn and analyse input
o Diary studies children use limited syntactic frames and expansion is word based
o 4 year old treats verbs as a category, younger children dont

Language and the brain

o Contralateralization of brain hemispheres are specialised in function, and for physical functions such
as motor skills, sight, and hearing, the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body etc.
o Left hemisphere = analytical cognitive abilities e.g. intrasentential language structure such as syntax,
semantics and morphology - this has developmental plasticity
o Right hemisphere = intersentential language structure at the level of discourse such as story and joke
comprehension shift from details to logic
Brocas area
o Stores syntactic knowledge, plays a role in syntactic processing
o Brocas aphasia = poor articulation, devoicing, loss of grammatical intonation, loss of articles, verb
deficit, comprehension deficit if sentences are semantically unclear
Wernickes area
o Stores semantic knowledge, role in semantic processing and representation of meaning
o Wernickes area = paragrammatism, wrong or made up words (verbal deficits), comprehension
deficits, problem with auditory processing i.e. cant assign meanings to incoming words
Conclusion
o Brocas aphasia patients can improve syntax over time
o Wernickes aphasia patients also have grammatical errors
o Variations in agrammatism depends on the structure of their language
o No micro-anatomical criteria for either
o Wernickes and Brocas areas are probably pathways for information flow during language processing
due to their close location to auditory and motor regions
Animal communication
o Purpose to provide information and be interactive
o Means - vocalization, gesture, posture, gaze, expression
o All species communicate about environment and drives but only some are interactive
Characteristics of language shared with some animals
o Culturally transmitted
o Semantic
o Arbitrary and symbolic
o Discrete (made of units)
Characteristics not shared with animals
o Productive (able to combine units)
o Hierarchical
o Displaced (can talk about past/future)
o Deceptive
Do animals have language?
o They can have vocabularies of 100-200 words, and can comprehend long strings and even utter short
strings themselves
o However, this is missing hierarchical organisation, displacement, and deception, which are critical
aspects
Human language evolution
o Language evolution paralleled brain development the brain was pre-adapted to language and had
abilities necessary for language, but this was not used by early humans
o There was still a need for motor control and special cognitive abilities i.e. hierarchy
o This developed further and further through from Homo habilis Homo erectus Homo sapiens,
and their social organisation and tool complexity paralleled the complexity of their language
capability, as their craftsmanship was determined by their ability to transmit ideas and information