Language & Society

Front 1

Domain

Back 1

typical interactions between typical participants in typical settings which determine code choice (e.g., family, friendship, education, work)

Front 2

Diglossia

Back 2

1. 2 distinct languages/varieties of the same language are used in the community: high variety vs. low variety
2. Each variety is used for quite different functions: H and L complement each other
3. No one uses the H variety in everyday conversation

Front 3

Polyglossia

Back 3

The functional distribution of 3 or more languages (eg. Singapore: formal English/Mandarin [H] vs. Hokkien/Cantonese/casual English [L])

Front 4

Codeswitching

Back 4

The juxtaposition within the same speech exchange of passages of speech belonging to 2 different grammatical systems or subsystems

Front 5

Language Shift

Back 5

process by which one language replaces another (also refers to the result of this process)
*Changes in size, density, stability

Front 6

Ethnolinguistic Vitality

Back 6

1. The status of the language as reflected in attitudes towards it
2. The size of the group who uses the language & their distribution (concentrated vs. scattered)
3. Institutional support (eg., church, government, school)

Front 7

Lingua Franca

Back 7

A language used for communication between people whose first language differs.

Front 8

Language Planning

Back 8

Forms, functions & attitudes:
1. Selection: Choosing the variety or code to be developed
2. Codification: standardizing its structural or linguistic features (corpus planning)
3. Elaboration: extending its functions
4. Securing its acceptance: changing attitudes

Front 9

Isogloss

Back 9

the line marking a boundary.
eg. different dialect words are used for the standard English word "splinter". The boundary lines are called isoglosses.

Front 10

Dialect Chains

Back 10

A chain or continuum of language which blends and connects regions to each other

Front 11

African American Vernacular English
(AAVE)

Back 11

-absence of copular verb "be"
-"be" to signal recurring/repeated actions
-consonant cluster simplification (last time)
-multiple negation
-pronunciation (th=d, th=f, r deletion, l deletion, consonant deletion)

Front 12

Social Networks

Back 12

pattern of informal relationships people are involved in on a regular basis

Front 13

Network Density

Back 13

refers to whether members of a person's network are in touch with each other

Front 14

Community of Practice

Back 14

-Develop around the activities which group members engage in together, their shared objectives & attitudes
-More concrete than abstract social categories than social class and gender

Front 15

Apparent-time Change

Back 15

Comparing the speech of people from different age groups.
*Variation over time (language change) stems from variation over space (regional variation) and social variation

Front 16

Speech Accommodation

Back 16

When people talk to each other, their speech converges towards the speech of the other person

Front 17

Culture

Back 17

Language encodes cultural knowledge & assumptions
-Language may determine how people perceive things

Front 18

Verbal Hygiene

Back 18

Derogatory labeling (dysphemisms) of ethnic minorities, women, homosexuals, people with disabilities
Ex. political correctness

Front 19

Language Attitudes

Back 19

Well...this is pretty self-explanatory

Front 20

Language Death vs. Language Revival

Back 20

DEATH
When a language is no longer spoken naturally anywhere

Hint 20

REVIVAL
Efforts to preserve an indigenous language which is disappearing or threatened

Front 21

Standard Languages vs. Vernacular Languages

Back 21

STANDARD
1. Usually a written language
2. Codified
3. Recognized as prestigious variety/code by a community
4. Used for both H and L functions

Hint 21

VERNACULAR
1. Uncodified or unstandardized
2. Acquired in the home, as a first variety
3. Used for relatively limited functions
*No official status, grammar books or dictionaries

Front 22

Pidgin vs. Creole

Back 22

PIDGIN
1. Language with NO native speakers
2. Develops between people with no common language
3. Simple Structure
4. Restrictive domains & functions (mostly referential, not affective)-out of need for communication

Hint 22

CREOLES
1. A creole is a pidgin which has acquired native speakers
2. Develops structural complexity & structural regularity
3. Longer lifespan

Front 23

National Language vs. Official Language

Back 23

NATIONAL
1. Language of political, cultural & Social unit
-Affective functions, symbol of national unity
Must be 1) Unifying 2) Separatist 3) Prestige 4) Frame-of-reference function

Hint 23

OFFICIAL
1. Language to be used for government functions
-Referential functions, utilitarian

Front 24

Accent vs. Dialect

Back 24

ACCENT
A way of pronouncing a variety

Hint 24

DIALECT
Linguistic varieties which are distinguishable by vocabulary, grammar & pronunciation

Front 25

Regional Dialect vs. Social Dialect

Back 25

REGIONAL
varieties shared by people living in the same region (NORM)

Hint 25

SOCIAL
varieties signaling membership in different groups (e.g., social status, gender, age, ethnicity, social network)

Front 26

Gender-exclusive vs. Gender-preferential

Back 26

EXCLUSIVE
Gender-based linguistic features which are used solely by one gender

Hint 26

PREFERENTIAL
Gender-based linguistic features which tend to be used more often by one gender

Front 27

Age Grading vs. Language Change

Back 27

AGE GRADING
Increase/decrease in the use of a linguistic form with age (in the individual)

Hint 27

LANGUAGE CHANGE
Regular increase/decrease in the use of a linguistic form over time (in the community)

Front 28

Style vs. Register

Back 28

STYLE
Language variation which reflects changes in situational factors (e.g. addressee, setting, task or topic)

Hint 28

REGISTER
Specific vocabulary/expressions associated with different occupational groups (e.g., Sports announcer talk)

Front 29

Speech Convergence vs. Speech Divergence

Back 29

CONVERGENCE
When people talk to each other, their speech converges towards the speech of the other person

Hint 29

DIVERGENCE
Diverging from the speech style/language of the addressee:
-disagreement, maintenance & display of group distinctiveness
-accent divergence (locals vs. tourists)

Front 30

Overt Prestige vs. Covert Prestige

Back 30

OVERT
Standard varieties have overt prestige

Hint 30

COVERT
Vernacular/non-standard varieties often have covert prestige

Front 31

3 Social Factors which influence code choice in multilingual communities:

Back 31

1. Social distance (intimate/distant)
2. Status (superior/subordinate, high/low)
3. Formality (high-low, formal-informal)
4. Function (requests, apologies, thanks)

Front 32

3 Overall Differences between High and Low varieties of a diglossic language situation:

Back 32

1. Low is usually used with family and friends while High is usually used in schools
2. High has more Overt prestige while Low has more Covert prestige
3. High is codified, written and in dictionaries, while Low is not

Front 33

Why do people code-switch? List 3 functions of code-switching:

Back 33

1. To emphasize a particular point
2. To substitute a word or a phrase in a language that one does not know
3. To express a concept that has no equivalent in the other language
4. To reinforce a request
5. To clarify a point: reinforcement
6. To communicate friendship/common identity
7. To relate a previous conversation
8. To interject into/interrupt a conversation
9. To ease tension and inject humor
10. To indicate social distance
11. To exclude people from the conversation
12. To indicate a change of attitude
13. Used for specific topics

Front 34

How can a minority language be maintained? Give 3 recommendations to preserve a language threatened with language death:

Back 34

1. Whoops!

Front 35

What factors lead to language shift?

Back 35

1. Economic, social & political factors (e.g., social/vocational mobility, global economy)
2. Demographic factors
3. Attitudes & Values

Front 36

What 4 Steps are involved in planning for a national official language?

Back 36

1. Selection: choosing the variety or code to be developed
2. Codification: standardizing its structural or linguistic features (corpus planning)
3. Elaboration: extending its functions
4. Securing its acceptance: changing attitudes

Front 37

Give an example of Regional Variation occurring at 1) the international level, 2) the intra-national level, 3) the cross continental level

Back 37

1) International - World Englishes: Inner circle (U.S., U.K.), Outer circle (India, Pakistan), Expanding circle (China, Japan)
2) Intra-national - American English: words for carbonated drinks (pop, soda, soft drink
3) Cross-Continental - Norway and Sweden overlap in languages

Front 38

List 3 factors that cause social variation with examples:

Back 38

1) Geographical boundaries
2) Political boundaries
3) Settlement patterns
4) Migration & immigration routes
5) Territorial conquest
6) Language contact

Front 39

Give 3 explanations to why women use standard forms instead of vernacular forms:

Back 39

1. Social status
2. Women's role in society
3. Status as a subordinate group
4. Function of speech in expressing masculinity

Front 40

What is the relationship between vernacular form usage and age?

Back 40

Childhood - many vernacular forms
Adolescence - also many vernacular forms
Middle age - decline in vernacular forms
Old age - increase in vernacular forms

Front 41

How do linguistic changes spread through a community? Give one example of each of the 3 ways in which language spreads:

Back 41

1) Group to Group: Middle SES -> Lower SES
2) Style to Style: Formal -> Casual
3) Word to Word: Vowel changes spread through different words (ex. French nasalization of final [n] occurred over 500 years