1. Chapter 18
Language and regional variation
The Study of Language
George Yule
Laura Costa
Leticia Flocco
2. Every language has a lot of variation, especially in the way it is
spoken. In fact, English has a widespread variation in the way it is
spoken in different countries such as Australia, Britain, and the
USA. Besides, we can also find a range of varieties in different
parts of those countries.
But first, what is language geography? Well, they are aspects
of language variation based on where that language is used.
So, we should identify the particular variety that we have normally
assumed when we referred to a language as English, Spanish, or
any other language.
I will start with the standard language, which is concentrating on
the features of only one variety. Actually, this is an idealized
variety because it has no specific region. It is the variety
associated with administrative, commercial, and educational
centres, regardless of region.
3.
4. Accent: we all speak with an accent. Some speakers
have very recognized types of accent while others may
have less noticeable accents, but every language-user
speaks with an accent.
Accent is the description of aspects of pronunciation that
identify where an individual speaker is from, regionally or
socially.
It is different from the term dialect, which is used to
describe features of grammar and vocabulary as well as
aspects of pronunciation.
5. Speaker A says: How long are youse here?, whose dialect is used such
as “How long have you been here?” referring to past time.
Speaker B, however, answers as if the question is referring to future time,
How long are you going to be here?
But, when speaker C answers with a past time response: We came on
Sunday, speaker A acknowledges it and repeats his use of present tense
Youse’re here to refer to past time.
6.
7. It is important to recognize, from a linguistic point of view, that none of the
varieties of a language is inherently “better” than any other. They are
simply different. From a social point of view, however, some varieties do
become more prestigious.
8.
9.
10. The dialect continuum
The drawing of isoglosses and dialect boundaries is quite useful in
establishing a broad view of regional dialects, but it tends to obscure the
fact that, at most dialect boundary areas, one dialect or language variety
merges into another.
Most of us grow up with some form of bidialectalism, speaking one
dialect “in the street” among family and friends, and having to learn
another dialect “in school.
11. Bilingualism:
Using two languages at the same time.
Could used by an individual or in
communities. In many countries,
regional variation can involve two (or
more) distinct and different languages.
Spanish
in the
U. S.
English and
French in
Canada
English and
Welsh in
Wales.
Bilingual
(English-
Wales) signs
came into
widespread
use in Wales.
12. Bilingual:
When we talk about people knowing two distinct languages, we describe them as
bilingual.
Individual bilingualism, doesn´t have to be the result of political dominance by a
group using a different language. It can simply be the result of having two parents
who speakdifferent languages. Even in this type of bilingualism, one language
tends to become the
dominant one, with the
other in a subordinate
role.
13. Diglossia: Although speakers in diglossia situations must know more than
one grammatical system to carry on their daily affairs, only one code is
employed at any one time. Diglossia is a type of relationship in which two
(or more) languages are used in a complementary distribution of domains.
