2. Language and regional variation
-
It has a lot of
variation especially
the way it is spoken.
Table of
Contents
Dialectology
Standard Language
Linguistic Geography
Accent & Dialect
Bilingualism & Diglossia
Language Planning
Pidgins & Creoles
If we just look at English, we
find widespread variation in
the way it is spoken in
different countries.
4. Standard Language
â Administrative
â Commercial
â Broadcasting
â Educational
Centers!
It is found in printed English
newspapers, books and the
mass media in general.
Itâs a variety we normally
try to teach to those who
want to learn English as a
second language.
5. Linguistic Geography
It investigates aspects of
language based on where
the language is used. Standard Canadian English
Standard American English
Standard Britain English
Standard Australian English
Standard Indian English
6. Accent & Dialect
Accent
The description of
aspects of
pronunciation that
identify where an
individual speaker is
from, regionally or
socially
Dialect
To describe
features
of grammar and
vocabulary as well as
pronunciation
7. Dialectology
Dialectology
The study of language
To distinguish between two
different dialects of the same
language and two different
languages
Some varieties do become
prestigious as it associated with
a center of economic and
political power
London - British English
Paris - French
8. Regional dialects
Some regional dialects clearly have stereotyped
pronouncinations with them.
â There were serious investigations of regional
dialects through survey research to know if
the person is really typical representative of
the regionâs dialect.
â This involved a lot of attention to detail and
operate with very specific criteria in
identifying acceptable informants
9. The INFORMANTS in the Dialect surveys of the XX century
They were less
likely to have
influences from
outside the region
of their speech
NORMS
Or non-mobile,
older, rural,
male speakers
One unfortunate
consequence of
using such criteria
is that the resulting
dialect description
tends to be more
accurate of a
period well before
the time of
investigation
10.
11.
12. The DIALECT CONTINUUM
Regional variation actually exists
along a dialect continuum rather
than having sharp breaks from
one region to another
Speakers move back and forth
across this border area, using
different varieties with some
ease, may be described as
âbidialectalâ
Most of us grow up with with
some form of bidialectism, at
home, at school, in âthe streetâ
13. Bilingualism
Definition:
Fluency in or use
of two languages
Regional variation
can involve two
(or more) quite
distinct and
different languages.
Bilingualism tends to be
a feature of the
majority group in
certain countries
15. Language
Planning
Government, legal and educational
organizations in many countries have to
plan which variety or varieties of of
the languages spoken in the country are
to be used for official business
16. The process of Language Planning
ACCEPTANCE
Substantial majority
of the population use
the standard and
think of it as the
national language
IMPLEMENTATION
Government
attempts to
encourage use of
the standard
SELECTION
Choosing an official
language
CODIFICATION
Basic grammars,
dictionaries &
written models are
established the
standard variety
ELABORATION
Standard variety
being developed
for use in all
aspects of social
life an the
appearance of
a body of literary
work in standard
17. PIDGINS AND CREOLES
â Pidgin is a âcontactâ language that developed for some
practical purposes among groups of people who had a
lot of contact but who did not know each othersâ
language
â A PIDGIN is described as an âEnglish Pidginâ if English if
the lexifier language, they are characterized by an
absence of any grammatical morphology and limited
vocabulary
â Functional morphemes often take the place of
inflectional morphemes found in some language
â The syntax of pidgins can be quite unlike the languages
from which terms were borrowed and modified
18. Creoles & The Post-Creole Continuum
When a pidgin develops
beyond its role as a
trade or contact
language and becomes
the first language of
social community is
described as
CREOLE.
DECREOLIZATION
A phenomenon whereby over
time a creole language
reconverges with one of the
standard languages from
which it originally derived.
Unlike piggins,
creoles have a
large number of
native speakers
and are not
restricted at all
their uses.
CREOLIZATION
The development from a
pidgin to a creole..
POST CREOLE - CONTINUUM
A range of varieties
between basilect and
acrolect.