Linguistic Anthro - M2

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Dialects

Back 1

mutually intelligible variants of the same language

ex: A person in N. Alaska can generally understand someone who lives in Greenland.

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Dialect chain

Back 2

-like a game of telephone
-languages more closely linked to one another (perhaps, as in Alaska, by proximity) are more mutually intelligible.

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Language vs. Dialect

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Languages are mutually unintelligible, while dialects are part of the same language and are mutually intelligible.

-but political realities often intrude. ex: Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish are mutually intelligible but are not considered dialects. whereas in China, for the rest of the world, most would think Mandarin and Cantonese were dialects because China is such a cohesive political unit, but they are mutually UNintelligible.

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Idio-dialect

Back 4

-an individuals own dialect, influenced by ethnicity, social class, sex, age, occupation

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Standardization

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the process whereby one language variant (a language or a dialect) is promoted and reinforced as the dominant variant. this variant is associated with power and prestige, but is in reality a POWERFUL FICTION.

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Why is standard language a "powerful fiction"?

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-it is associated with power and prestige, and reinforced, but no one really consistently speaks the standard, we all have our own "idio-dialects"

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Prescriptive approach

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people that try to legislate what grammatical rules should be, rather than examining what they are. These people are concerned with standard dialect, and the right/correct way to speak.

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Descriptive approach

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describes how language is used by its native speakers. The assumption is that native speakers are the experts in how the language is functionally used.

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What are the three factors that contribute to standardization?

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1. existence of a language variant that is spoken by an elite group. Thus, a social gulf is a preconditon for standardization (ex: u and non u)
2. Codification: language is reinforced in education system and most books on language (dictionaries, grammar books)
3. Graphization: the process of choosing a spelling system and a writing system. ex: "sub-standard" dialects written in an exaggerated way, it is assumed those in the upper class speak standard english as it appears on the page (but this is not really true, ex: "motha" instead of "mother"

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U vs non U

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-found that the main differences between U and non U were that non U wanted to sound like U, and U wanted to avoid sounding non U. Us wanted to make the social gulf clear, keep their elite status

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Negative Implications of standardization

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-not-standard dialects become seen as sub-standard or stigmatized as lower class, less intelligent
-suppression of non-standard dialects
-can be used to support elitist behavior

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Positive Implications of standardization

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-unifies a community
-solidifies an identity
-good for teaching the language

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Sociolinguistic variable

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identifiable alternative ways of saying the same thing but which carry different social meanings.

ex: postvocalic [r]

butter vs buttah

-can be found at all levels of language, may have to do with speaker's ethnicity, social class, gender, geographical region, occupation or age.

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Sociolinguitic variables in the dialects of Standard American English and Appalachain English

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1. Sound system (wire/war, ten/tin, think/thank, etc).
2. Morphological variable- the form and structure of the words. ex: prefix a in certain verbal constructs (he came a-runnin)
ex2: irregular past contractions
3. Syntax- the way in which words combine to form phrases and sentences
ex: double negation : as emphasis (he aint never done no work).

ex2: double modals (might, could, must, used, did)
(he musta didn't hear me)

4)Lexicon (vocabulary)
vittles- food
plumb - completely (crazy)

5)Metaphor
Mad as a great ax
Dead as a hammer

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Overt prestige

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the prestige that is associated to a particular variable by the community at large. Associated with how people should speak to gain prestige/high class.
ex: non U speaking to sound U
-wanting to speak in so called "standard dialect" (LABOV)

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Covert prestige

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group of people in a given speech community, speak the same NON standard dialect to promote inclusion into an elite or exclusive group. (LABOV)

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What contributes to social network strength, and why is SNS important to language?

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1. Density- the amount of people you know that also know eachother
2. Multiplexity- the amount of people you know that you have multiple ties to

-the more dense and multiplex a SNS, the more likely you will use a more local non standard dialect (because you fit in). the more open ur relationships, the more likely you will be to speak a more standard dialect. (MILROY'S)

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Labov vs. Milroy

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Labov- strong desire to belong in a more prestigious class than the one you currently identify with (ex: Martha's Vineyard, Dept. store workers)
Milroy- more "comfortable" side of belonging, speaking dialects that you most identify with because they are the ones that fit your social network (two women in same area)

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marked vs. unmarked terms

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Unmarked: the default or standard version of a term
Marked: the unusual or exceptional version of the term.

Notable because in many cases, the unmarked word is masculine and the marked is feminine, suggesting that male is more default, standard, accepted.

ex: hero/heroine, prince/princess, actor/actress

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hypercorrection

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Speakers of a language told so much that a certain phrase is correct/incorrect, that they overcorrect their speech (apply the rule to sentences that were already correct).
Ex: "between you and me". Told that "Blank and me are going to the store" is wrong, people begin to apply the "I" rule too often, and change the phrase to "between you and I" (which is incorrect grammar). another example: Whom called? (a hypercorrection) vs. Who called? (correct)

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William Labov's studies

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Post vocalic "r"
1) department stores
2) increasing gradients of conscious pronunciation tests (lower middle class had highest rate)
3) Martha's Vineyard (covert prestige)

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code-switching

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A process employing linguistic material from 2 or more languages within a conversational segment. Switched material retains its own phonological and grammatical patterns and constraints.

ex: Less talk, mas musicas

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codification

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one of the 3 factors of standardization. the way the education system invariably promotes the standard dialect. This process involves compiling dictionaries and grammars that have a strong prescriptivist bent. The codified language patterns, structures, and vocabulary in these volumes become overtime the so-called "rules of grammar". Supports the prescriptivist ideas that there is only one correct answer, books become authority on languages.

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graphization

Back 24

one of the 3 factors of standardization. the process of choosing a writing system and adopting a spelling system for the standard language. Non-standard languages are often written in an exaggerated way, and standard english is written in this standard writing system, implying that the elite speak exactly the way the standard writing looks (which is not necessarily true).

ex: "Chile, ewe dun deed eet this tym." (exaggerated spelling)
"Oh mother!" (where perhaps an elite in england would drop the R, the way they speak is still marked by the standard writing)

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diglossia

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refers to a situation in which two dialects or languages are used by a single language community.

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register

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different language styles used in different contexts or situations.

They differ along 3 contextual factors:
1. Activity (both the kind of activity and the purpose of the activity)
2. setting
3. participants (social roles of the participants and the audience)

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Jargon

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a specialized vocabulary that is developed in a work, in a group, or in relation to specific activity. ex: Diner jargon, Old gangster jargon

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Recipe Register

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An example of a register, used when writing recipes or perhaps even when telling someone how to cook something.

Characteristics: uses cooking jargon (saute, julienne, etc), short imperative sentences, tends to drop determiners

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Officialese or Bureaucratese

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Overly polite language.

"Pleased be advised that this a non-smoking zone" (instead of no smoking)

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slang

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the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language. much more likely to be used in an informal register.

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calque

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(loan translation) directly taking the meanings of a word and translating it for use in another language. ex: Hot dog = perro caliente, television (latin for far seeing) = fern sahen in german.

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borrowing

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(loan words) Directly taking a word from one language into another. ex: Normanfrench/english example, using norman french words to refer to meat of certain animals.

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expletives

Back 33

Usually seen as taboo in formal situations/registers, but have recently become more common in informal registers.
Come from 5 domains: religion (damn, hell), bodily effluvia/orificies (piss/shit), minority groups (seen as most taboo these days), sexuality (activities and body parts), disease (a plague on your houses).

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euphemisms

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polite alternatives to "coarse" words. More accepted in formal registers.

ex: Death (he passed away)
Sex (marital relations)
Consequences of sex (she's expecting)

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simplification (contraction, deletion, and compression)

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Often used in formal registers, the three types most common are:

1. Contraction: I will not (formal) becomes I won't
2. Deletion: often deletion of auxiliary verbs and 1st person and 2nd person words. Do you want to go? becomes Want to go?
3. Compression: the smushing together of neighboring words or sounds, more likely to happen to auxiliary verbs, pronouns, and prepositions. ex: Wanna go? Djeet yet?

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intensifiers

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words used for emphasis, like "ever so", "hella", "absolutely". Used more by women than men.

First thought of as "throw away words" that reflected women's natural inclination towards emotionality and exaggeration.

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tags

Back 37

sentence final additions, usually in the form of a question.

2 main forms:
1. Modal: information seeking, to confirm or request information. Used more by men than women. (He's coming to the party, isn't he?)

2. Affective: showing concern for addressee. two main purposes:
-to soften a criticism (You're going a little fast, aren't you?)
-to engage addressee. Turns a comment into a question to show interest and draw out addressee (these cookies are good, aren't they?) used more by women than men.

Lakoff thought these tags indicated uncertainty and shyness in womens' speech, whereas later researchers believe that women use these to include speaker, and indicate interest in the opinions and comments of addressee.

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Hedges

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words inserted that have the effect of softening the impact of a sentence. "I have been KIND OF thinking that..." "I was wondering if it SORT OF/MIGHT be better to..." (used by women more than men).

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Dynamic intonational contours

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Variations in the tone, speed, and pitch while speaking. Women generally have more dynamic intonational contours than men.

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sentence final rise

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rising intonation at the end of the sentence, that seems to indicate you are asking a question when one is really making a comment. (I like chocolate?)

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minimal responses

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utterances that give feedback to the addressee when he/she is talking. (Mhmm, uh huh, nods, i see). used by women more than men.

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Rules of Pronunciation in AAVE

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1. Cases of metathesis: Aks instead of Ask
2. the initial sound in the words that, there, and they may be pronounced "d"
3. vowel + ing may be pronounced "ang" ("thang")
4. final "th" (as in Ruth) may be pronouned "f" (like RuF ,or TruF)
5. dropping many (but not all) final consonants (bloo(d), poo(r), sai(d))
6. simplification of consonant clusters (help - hep)

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metathesis

Back 43

The process where two sounds next to each other in a word are switched. Ex: Aks and Pasghetti

"Aks" used to be a preferred literary form of "Ask", and is used widely in many dialects, including AAVE. Words change, AAVE may just have changed "ask" before SAE.

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Grammatical rules in AAVE

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1) double negatives (he don't have none)

2) deletion of verb "to be" in sentences that indicate location or the existence of a permanent trait (she (is) in the garden, he (is) your father)

many languages delete the verb "to be" in similar constructions, Russian being an example.

3) Present and habitual constructions (she walking, and she be walking).
-AAVE, unlike SAE, makes a distinction between the present tense (she walking) and the compound habitual (she be walking). Often, SAE speakers will contract "She is walking" to "She's walking" when referring to the present tense. It is often noted that contraction precedes deletion of linguistic forms, so perhaps this is another case where AAVE has just skipped ahead grammatically.
-In the simple habitual, AAVE deletes the final "s" in "she walk(s)", but this may once again be AAVE moving ahead of SAE. SAE used to have many different forms for each person form, but now all that remains is this final "s" on third person singular. SAE speakers have no problem distinguishing "I walk" from "you walk"; making the simple habitual third person singular "she walk" may just be another grammatical step ahead.

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Defending the double negative

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Used for emphasis in AAVE and AE. Also very common in other standard languages like French and Italian, but unlike the AAVE and AE dialects, those languages are not criticized for being ungrammatical.

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the linguistic market

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Choice of which language to speak. Ex: Oberwart, hungarian peasant class and German dominant upper class. Hungarian bilinguals choosing to become German monolinguals because of economic and social incentive (especially for the women who can gain lots of social mobility by marrying German).

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reduplication

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used in pidgins to differentiate homonyms (san= sun and sansan=sand), to extend meanning (sing= sing, singsing= ritual singing), and intensity (krai=cry and kraikrai=cry continuously)

(these examples are from tok pisin)

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compounding

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combining words together to create meaning.ex: bigman to mean boss, daiman to mean dead person.

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Accommodation Theory

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Theory that the choice of language in a multilingual community is frequently based on the speaker's attitudes towards his/her interlocutors. These social factors may be crucial in determining which variant is spoken.

2 basic patterns: Convergence and Divergence.

Converge: In general speakers of subordinate language will converge, and speak the standard dialect.

Diverge: subordinate group will not accommodate to dominant speaking interlocuter.

Bilingual individuals will also choose to either converge or diverge to 1st language of interlocutor based on whether the interlocutor is accommodating to them.

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Sudden death (of a language)

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A language is lost because all speakers are dead, usually as the result of genocide or disaster. As compared to radical death, sudden death is the successful attempt at eliminating the language, where as with radical death the process is quick but incomplete extinction.

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radical death

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language is lost very quickly, usually due to incomplete genocide, fear that speaking the language will cause one to be murdered or hurt in a way.
-not speaking the language is a survival strategy

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gradual death

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the most common way language dies, a language that gradually looses speakers and popularity and is eventually no longer spoken.

ex: Scots-Gaelic

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bottom to top death

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a language is no longer used in daily activity but is rather used in ritual activities, like latin.

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pidgin

Back 54

a simplified language code, often the result of contact between cultures, especially in colonial situations.
Created out of necessity to communicate, the vocabulary of this language is primarily drawn from the dominant language, known as the SUPERSTRATE language, and the syntax and phonology are drawn from the dominated languages, or the SUBSTRATE language.

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Creole

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Creole is the first language of some of its speakers, whereas pidgin never is the first language of its speakers. Because we are hardwired for grammatical structure, the children who are taught pidgin as their first language add grammatical structure to it and make the pidgin a creole. A creole is a native language, rule governed, has an expanded sound system, has a more complex word/sentence structure, has increased stability and word order, and a greatly expanded lexicon compared to pidgin.

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Simplified pidgin

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Stage one on pidgin continuum. This pidgin is no one's native language, has a tiny lexicon, sentences consist of one or two words, and there is lots of individual variation in pronunciation and structure.

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Stabilized vs. Expanded pidgin

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Stage 2 and 3 of pidgin development.
Both stages are no one's native language, but expanded pidgin has an expanded lexicon and grammar, used in word play and literature, increased word sounds.

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decreolization

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the process by which creole becomes more like a superstrate language, but the superstrate language must continue to be the dominant language where the creole is spoken.

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post-creole continuum

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so at any given time there may be multiple variants of a creole spoken, some closer to the superstrate language, some farther away. These variants make up the post-creole continuum, Creoles1-4 and then English (standard), where creole 1 is very different from english and creole 4 is very similar.

In time, it is possible for a creole to be supplanted by an english (standard) dialect, and this would be complete decreolization.

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conjoined noun phrases

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phrases that are made of more than one noun, and often in a particular order (ex: man and wife).

Some say there is a particular order because shorter words tend to be used first before longer words, but this does not apply to all (man and wife-same syllables, husband and wife).

What was found to be more significant was that often the most socially important term came first, which reflects another cultural bias towards males who are often the first in these noun phrases (with some exception, perhaps because women in these roles are seen as most acceptable, like bride and groom, mother and father).

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Semantic importance in ordering of noun phrases

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When ordering noun phrases, these are the types of things likely to go first (seen as more semantically important):

Adult first (parent and child), positive first (all or nothing), animate first (people and things), solid first (land and sea), divine first (church and state).
Food and drink hierarchy: Fish, meat, drink, fruit, vegetable, baked goods, dairy, spices.

but when one part of the noun phrase makes up the bulk of the food, then this may be subverted (spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni and cheese)

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address forms

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The variety of ways one can address another.

These address forms can convey messages of respect, status, power, intimacy/social distance, solidarity, approval and disapproval.

For example, being on a first name basis with someone conveys intimacy, whereas calling someone by their full name conveys social distance and is often used when one is chastising the addressee.