The document discusses several topics related to language and communication: 1. It describes different types of writing systems including logographic, syllabic, consonantal, and alphabetic systems. 2. It explains how the development of written language can slow language change and motivate language preservation by allowing repetition with fewer individual changes. 3. It discusses how writing influenced early Greek society by allowing for manipulation of concepts, lessening of human interaction, and distancing language from self through the permanent written word.

1. Language in Society
COMS 320 Sp15
Ch 7 Sections
Language Levels
Idiolect
Dialect
Language
Contact
Language in use
Lingua Francas
Pidgins & Creoles
Multilingualism
Idiolect
Unique language characteristics of individual speakers (p. 279)
Imitation is not normal, nor does it show individual aspects
450 to 850 million English idiolects
Unique language use in groups depends on the degree of
anticipation of shared meaning (Bernstein)
Restricted codes
Shared set of assumptions
Predictable language, less expression needed
Elaborated codes
Unshared perspectives
Less predictable language, more elaboration needed

2. Research Moment:
Data Gathering
On your own, on scratch paper, take about 5 minutes to write
down paragraph responses to the following questions. Write as
if you were talking to a friend.
What is the biggest problem with parking at CSUN?
What is one of your favorite movies or books, and why?
Research Moment:
Data Analysis
Now, in groups of 2 or 3, compare your data
For Q1, analyze sentences w/similar meanings
How is the language similar?
How is the language different?
For Q2, analyze the attempt at conveying meaning
What language makes the meaning clear?
What language needs further explanation?
Results
In a restricted code situation, how does an idiolect soften
strictly repetitive language?
In an elaborated code situation, how does an idiolect interfere
with language comprehension?

3. Dialect
Mutually intelligible forms of a language that differ in
systematic ways (p. 279)
All speakers speak at least one dialect
Language – collection of dialects
Max Weber – language is a dialect with an army and a navy
Language vs. dialect?
Dialect continuum
Dialect area – concentration of differences
Isogloss – estimated boundary of dialect area
Regional dialects often have geographical boundaries
Ethnic identity
Dialects tend to increase, even with media influence
Dialect Characteristics
How can we tell dialects apart?
Phonology: Accents
r-drop – fath-er vs. fath-uh (New England)
Ask vs. aks (AAVE)
r-final – idea vs. idear (Chinese, near Beijing)
Syntax: Verbs, usually
Then she come a-runnin’ (Appalachian)
He been married vs. He Been married! (which one is still
married?) (AAVE)
Lexicon: Nouns
What would you call the food on the right?
How far away is San Diego from LA?
Social Dialects

4. Dialects can also result from social boundaries
Gender
Male and female language characteristics
Male and female dialects/languages
Social class
Vernacular
Prestige dialects
Diglossia – different languages for different purposes
English social dialects
AAE & ChE
Korean English? Armenian English?
Language in society
Styles/Registers
“Situational dialects”
Language use that depends on interactants and context
Can be competent in several styles
X – Formality/informality, high/low status
Slang
Creative, playful language that marks informal speech
Can become outdated quickly or adopted by society
X – groovy vs. cool vs. freshman
Language in society
Jargon and Argot
Jargon – specialized vocabulary of group, often technical
Can add to the common language
X – computer, law, medical terms
Argot – specialized vocabulary of group, often idiomatic
X – teenage slang, nerd speech, debate jargon
Both forms can result in exclusion of the uninitiated
Jargon – can become speaker’s everyday language

5. May need translating!
Argot – often created specifically for definite
inclusion/exclusion boundaries
Cardiac arrest, respiratory system, digestive tract, colon, anus
Litigation, fraud, embezzlement
Input, output, memory, software, hardware
11
Language in society
Taboo words
Words considered inappropriate for use in “polite society”
Euphemisms
Language that replaces taboo words or avoids unpleasant or
unmentionable subjects.
X – heck, darn, shoot
Most cultures have euphemisms for death
X – belly up, six feet under, kicked the bucket, laid to rest,
bought the farm, one last curtain call
Language creativity at work: Bucket list
Speech Communities
Groups of people who have developed a social dialect
Interaction rules
Language norms
Example
Online support blog for chronic pain sufferers
Lots of personal pronouns and personal stories
Full medical names for diseases and disorders
Lupus vs. lupus erythematosus
& for “and” in all words, like st&

6. Language in Contact
COMS 320 Sp15
Communication Accommodation
Communication Accommodation Theory
Interactants will adapt their speaking style to each other to
either reduce or increase social distance.
Relationship-based
Convergence – Emphasize group membership
Divergence – Reinforce social identity
Linguistic characteristics not yet researched
Language and accommodation
Convergence starts with comprehension
Divergence is developed through prestige
Exercise: Languages in Contact
+Ls, come up front, choose a slip of paper, read it, and put it
back face down, then choose a partner from the 1Ls.
1Ls, you work at a local travel agency. +Ls, you are important
visitors trying to purchase something to help you get around the
city or country. You must communicate your needs to the 1Ls
without losing your dignity.
+Ls may not purchase the item until 1Ls can understand your
request and construct a sentence that confirms the item and tells
you the price in your language, or after 10 minutes of
struggling. Write down the final form of L1’s sentences.
No English or common language should be spoken during this
exercise. Cheating will result in no extra credit.
Language in Contact

7. Lingua franca
Language that allows diverse language groups to understand
each other
Set by common agreement between groups
If not native, will be spoken by most group members with an
adequate level of competence
Often a trade language for conducting business
Roman Empire: Latin
Africa: Swahili
China: Putonghua
English: “Lingua franca of the whole world”
Pidgins
Language arising from limited contact between speakers of
mutually unintelligible languages
Lexifier – source for lexicon, usually superstrate
Superstrate – dominant language
Substrate – native language
Conditions
Multilingual community (or interaction)
Relative isolation of substrate from superstrate
Proper forms of superstrate not learned by substrate speaker
L1 already acquired by both speakers
pigeon
Pidgin Characteristics
Characterized by impoverished language structures

8. Most common vowels
a (ah), i (ee), u (oo)
Telegraphic syntax
No articles, auxiliary verbs, prepositions
Few function words
Pela – plural marker, adjective marker
Yu = you, yupela = you all
Circumlocution
Grass bilong het, Grass bilong fes
Mak bilong fet, Makmak
Irregular, non-rule-based usage – lots of idiolects!
Creoles
Pidgin that becomes a native language of at least one generation
of speakers
Children develop pidgin into language with rules and uniformity
among speakers, but with own characteristics
Syntax
Simplified grammar
No auxiliary verbs such as “will,” no tense inflection on verbs
“A gon full Angela bucket”
Lexicon
Sophisticated pronoun systems
Different pronouns for number in group, inclusion-exclusion
Compounding
“Sweat.” Pidgin: wara bilong skin, Creole: skinwara
TOK Pisin
One of New Guinea’s national languages
Superstrate - Indo-European, esp. English
Substrate - several Melanesian dialects
Status is debated

9. Creole – native speakers
Pidgin – 90% of speakers have other native languages
TRANSLITERAtion
Work at street
all car must stop
if you see
red (adj) mark
Language prestige
The assignment of relative status or importance to languages
Standard dialect
Socially chosen ideal dialect among dialect varieties
Unrealistic: no one actually speaks it
US: Standard American English
AKA Broadcast Standard
Where did it originate?
What might be some consequences
of having no standard dialect?
Who has to overcome the challenges?
23

10. Impacts of
Standard dialect
Official language(s)
Language used by administration
X – Uganda: Swahili, English. US – state-level decision
Language planning
Purposeful, often administrative attempts to control language
use and change
X – French Academie, British “received pronunciation,” revival
of Hebrew in Israel, feminist movements against sexist language
Strongly impacts education
Language banning
Restriction or prohibition of unacceptable dialects or language
forms
X – Language reform in Turkey in the 1930’s
Perpetuation
of prestige
Prestige is often perpetuated (consciously or unconsciously) by
the attitudes of dominant and non-dominant language speakers
toward the relative status of languages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSvp-5JLKdQ
1. How is language contact being encouraged?
2. What kind of language would develop between the two
groups of speakers if contact were continued?
3. How is language prestige being perpetuated?
Language Change
COMS 320 Sp15

11. Language Change
Language is dynamic
Constantly in flux
Left to itself, changes relatively slowly
Living generations can communicate
Most noticeable when past language has been preserved
What words can you recognize in the following sentence?
�Wolde guman findan þ�one �þe him on sweofote sare
geteode�
Chronology!
Divide into groups of two to three people. Set the stack of
papers in the middle. Take the top paper, read it aloud, and set
it where everyone can see it.
Taking turns, each person takes the next paper, reads it aloud,
and tries to decide whether it belongs before, after, or in
between two papers.
The goal is to arrange all papers in correct chronological order
based on their linguistic features. Take notes on the features
which distinguish the era of each sample.
The Study of Change
Historical: change in particular language over time
Comparative: change between and across languages
Language contact
Language inheritance
Does communication studies study language change?

12. Phonological Change
Regular sound correspondence
Systematic replacement of one sound for another
Rule-based change – will happen in all instances
X – Northern ah for er, as in cah for car
X – Southern aah for ai, as in paah for pie
Sound shift
“Historical phonological change”
Phonological restructuring where phoneme production moves
systematically around the places of articulation
Great Vowel Shift – 1400 AD
California Accent
California Vowel Placement
IPA Vowel Placement
Lexical Changes:
Class, Names, Blends
Lexical change: Addition of new words into language
Word category
Words that change meaning by changing word class
Walk, run, email, text, message, input,
Names
Proper nouns that become part of the lexicon
Sandwich, lazy susan, gargantuan
Blends (aka portmanteau words)

13. Words made from parts of at least two words
Smog, brunch, motel, neither, electrocute, infomercial, podcast,
carmageddon, bit
Lexical Changes: Coinage
Coinage
Construction or invention of new words that then become part
of the lexicon
Advertising – Kleenex, Bandaid
Science & technology – television, computer
A healthy language is able to adapt to new input
Lexical gaps – google, bling
Borrowed roots – -ology, -phobia
Lexical Changes: Reduction
Reduction
Clippings
Abbreviation of longer words into shorter words that may or
may not retain the same meaning
Cami, fax, phone, flu, porn, droid, phone, fridge, pro, memo,
phenom, fan
Acronyms
Words made from the initial sounds of several words and
pronounced as a word
May be pronounced phonetically or spelled out
Lexical Change: Acronyms

14. Phonetically pronounced
NASA – National Aeronautics & Space Association
Laser – Lightwave amplification stimulated by radiation
Radar – Radio detecting and ranging
Sonar – Sound navigation and ranging
CSUN – California State University, Northridge
Spelled
US, LAX, UCLA, NFL, MRI
Lexical Change:
Borrowings/Loan Words
Word or morpheme added to the lexicon from another language
Native word – traceable back to earliest stages of language
Direct borrowing – borrowed word is native in loaner language
Feast, lieutenant, ensemble, fry, boil, stew, menage a trois
Usually altered to fit new language’s phonological rules
Indirect borrowing – word was initially borrowed from another
language
Algebra: Arabic – Spanish - English
Semantic Change
Change in semantic representation
Broadening
Original meaning plus new meaning
Dog – specific breed to class noun; Manage – “handle a horse”
to “take charge of”
Narrowing
Broad meaning reduced to specific meaning
Deer – all beasts to specific type of animal; Skyline – horizon
to city outline at sunset

15. Meaning shift
Original meaning is lost in favor of different meaning
Nice – ignorant to pleasant
Morphological Change
Changes in the rules that govern word formation
Rules can be adopted, lost, or changed
Over time, English dropped Latin case endings in favor of word
order and prepositions
-em – canem quidem esurit (The dog is hungry)
-is – pavi canis (I fed the dog)
Only kept possessives and 3P singular present
Jane’s dog runs away.
AAVE
African American Vernacular English
Dialect in development
Origins during slavery unclear; current theories propose creole
W African substrate, English lexifier => Pidgin
Isolation from English learning => Creole
Isolation produced rich dialect!
Still have lots of regional and individual variation
Unique AAVE Characteristics
Syntax/morphology = leveling of inflection, aux verbs
I don't care what he say, you gon laugh!
Meaning shifts in auxiliary verbs = habitual “be”
Pragmatics = discourse & narrative conventions, probably from
Africa
Call-response – active listening style
Interactive, not backchanneling!
Talk-singing – rhetorical, layers of meaning
Ritualized greetings

16. Sample of Early AAVE
“One day atter Brer Rabbit fool 'im wid dat calamus root, Brer
Fox went ter wuk en got 'im some tar, en mix it wid some
turkentime, en fix up a contrapshun w'at he call a Tar-Baby, en
he tuck dish yer Tar-Baby en he sot 'er in de big road, en den he
lay off in de bushes fer to see what de news wuz gwine ter be.
En he didn't hatter wait long, nudder, kaze bimeby here come
Brer Rabbit pacin’ down de road--lippity-clippity, clippity -
lippity--dez ez sassy ez a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer
Rabbit come prancin' 'long twel he spy de Tar-Baby, en den he
fotch up on his behime legs like he wuz 'stonished. De Tar
Baby, she sot dar, she did, en Brer Fox, he lay low.
- Joel Chandler Harris
Syntactic Change
Change can takes centuries - affects deep language structure
English - word order replaced Latin case endings
Native English speakers have to learn grammar when trying to
learn other languages!
Language Families
Proto-languages
Ancestral languages
English and German come from Proto-Indo-European
Language & Writing
COMS 320 Sp15

17. Written Language
Visual system for representing language
Allows spoken language to be recorded and preserved
Replaces memory as a means of retaining important information
History of Writing
Origins of writing
Practical uses
Uncertain whether commerce or proper names came first
Development of writing sytems
Pictogram –1-to-1 representation between image & object
Ideogram – picture represents concept
Logogram – picture represents linguistic word, becomes writing
system b/c working with language system
Writing Systems
Based on characteristics of spoken language
Logographic – symbols represent words
For languages with little to no inflection, like Chinese
Syllabic – symbols represent syllables
For languages with standard syllable structures, like Japanese
Consonental – symbols represent consonants
For languages where vowels aren’t vital to meaning, like Arabic
Phonemic or alphabetic – symbols represent phonemes
For languages where each element matters, like English
Most languages use an alphabetic system
Writing & Language
Slows language change
Language can be repeated with fewer individual changes

18. Motivates language preservation
Prescriptive grammar – language standard
Descriptive grammar – language in use
Prescriptive grammar becomes only acceptable version
Language & Communication
Rhetoricians hold that writing influenced early Greek society in
ways that spoken language couldn’t because spoken language is
dependent on memory
Room for manipulation of concepts
Lessening of human interaction
Distancing of language from self
Move from event-driven narratives to permanent condition of
being
Phonological Change 343
diagramming the reat owel hift on a vowel
hart igure we
an see that the high vowels i and u be ame
the diphthongs aɪ and aʊ
while the long vowels underwent an in rease in
tongue height as if to fill in the
spa eva ated b the high vowels n addition a
was fronted to be ome e
hese hanges are among the most dramati e amples of
regular sound shift
he phonemi representation of man thousands of words
hanged oda some
refle tion of this vowel shift is seen in the
alternating forms of morphemes in

19. nglish please pleasant serene serenity sane sanity crime
criminal sign signal
and so on efore the reat owel hift the vowels
in ea h pair were pronoun ed
the same hen the vowels in the se ond word of
ea h pair were shortened b the
Early Middle English owel Shortening rule s a result
the reat owel hift
whi h o urred later and applied onl to long vowels
affe ted onl the first word
in ea h pair his is wh the vowels in the
morphologi all related words are
pronoun ed differentl toda as shown in able
he reat owel hift is a primar sour e of
man spelling in onsisten ies
of nglish be ause our spelling s stem still refle ts
the wa words were pro
noun ed before it o urred n general the written
language is more onserva
tive that is slower to hange than the spoken
language
FIGURE 8.1 | The Great Vowel Shift.
TABLE 8.1 | Effect of Vowel Shift on Modern English
Middle English Shifted Short Word with Word with
Vowel Vowel Vowel Shifted Vowel Short Vowel
aɪ ɪ divine divinity
aʊ ʌ abound abundant
i ɛ serene serenity
u a fool folly
e æ sane sanity

20. 10686_ 08_ptg01_p337-393.indd 343 08/11/12 11:42 M
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THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
(revised to 2005)
CONSONANTS (PULMONIC)
´
A Å
i y È Ë ¨ u
Pe e∏ Ø o
E { ‰ ø O
a ”
å
I Y U
Front Central Back
Close

21. Close-mid
Open-mid
Open
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one
to the right represents a rounded vowel.
œ
ò
Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Post alveolar Retroflex
Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
Plosive p b t d Ê ∂ c Ô k g q G /
Nasal m µ n = ≠ N –
Trill ı r R
Tap or Flap v | «
Fricative F B f v T D s z S Z ß Ω ç J x V X Â © ? h H
Lateral
fricative Ò L
Approximant √ ® ’ j ˜
Lateral
Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a
voiced consonant. Shaded areas denote articulations judged
impossible.
CONSONANTS (NON-PULMONIC)
SUPRASEGMENTALS
VOWELS
OTHER SYMBOLS

22. Clicks Voiced implosives Ejectives
> Bilabial ∫ Bilabial ’ Examples:
˘ Dental Î Dental/alveolar p’ Bilabial
! (Post)alveolar ˙ Palatal t’ Dental/alveolar
¯ Palatoalveolar ƒ Velar k’ Velar
≤ Alveolar lateral Ï Uvular s’ Alveolar fricative
" Primary stress
Æ Secondary stress
ÆfoUn´"tIS´n
… Long e…
Ú Half-long eÚ
* Extra-short e*
˘ Minor (foot) group
≤ Major (intonation) group
. Syllable break ®i.œkt
≈ Linking (absence of a break)
TONES AND WORD ACCENTS
LEVEL CONTOUR
e _or â Extrahigh e
ˆ
or ä Rising
e! ê High e$ ë Falling
[email protected] î Mid e% ü Highrising
e~ ô Low efi ï Lowrising
e— û Extralow e& ñ$ Rising-falling
Õ Downstep ã Global rise

23. õ Upstep à Global fall
© 2005 IPA
DIACRITICS Diacritics may be placed above a symbol with
a descender, e.g. N(
9 Voiceless n9 d9 ª Breathy voiced bª aª 1
Dental t 1 d1
3 Voiced s3 t 3 0 Creaky voiced b0 a0 ¡
Apical t ¡ d¡
Ó Aspirated tÓ dÓ £ Linguolabial t £ d£ 4
Laminal t 4 d4
7 More rounded O7 W Labialized tW dW )
Nasalized e)
¶ Less rounded O¶ ∆ Palatalized t∆ d∆ ˆ Nasal
release dˆ
™ Advanced u™ ◊ Velarized t◊ d◊ ¬ Lateral
release d¬
2 Retracted e2 ≥ Pharyngealized t≥ d≥ } No
audible release d}
· Centralized e· ù Velarized or pharyngealized :
+ Mid-centralized e+ 6 Raised e6 ( ®6 =
voiced alveolar fricative)
` Syllabic n` § Lowered e§ ( B§ =
voiced bilabial approximant)
8 Non-syllabic e8 5 Advanced Tongue Root e5
± Rhoticity ´± a± ∞ Retracted Tongue Root e∞
∑ Voiceless labial-velar fricative Ç Û Alveolo-palatal
fricatives
w Voiced labial-velar approximant » Voiced alveolar lateral
flap
Á Voiced labial-palatal approximant Í Simultaneous S and
x
Ì Voiceless epiglottal fricative
¿ Voiced epiglottal fricative Affricates and double

24. articulationscan be represented by two symbols
÷ Epiglottal plosive joined by a tie bar if necessary.
kp ts
(
(
Language in Society
COMS 320 Sp15
Ch 7 Sections
Language Levels
Idiolect
Dialect
Language
Contact
Language in use
Lingua Francas
Pidgins & Creoles
Multilingualism
Idiolect
Unique language characteristics of individual speakers (p. 279)
Imitation is not normal, nor does it show individual aspects
450 to 850 million English idiolects

25. Unique language use in groups depends on the degree of
anticipation of shared meaning (Bernstein)
Restricted codes
Shared set of assumptions
Predictable language, less expression needed
Elaborated codes
Unshared perspectives
Less predictable language, more elaboration needed
Research Moment:
Data Gathering
On your own, on scratch paper, take about 5 minutes to write
down paragraph responses to the following questions. Write as
if you were talking to a friend.
What is the biggest problem with parking at CSUN?
What is one of your favorite movies or books, and why?
Research Moment:
Data Analysis
Now, in groups of 2 or 3, compare your data
For Q1, analyze sentences w/similar meanings
How is the language similar?
How is the language different?
For Q2, analyze the attempt at conveying meaning
What language makes the meaning clear?
What language needs further explanation?

26. Results
In a restricted code situation, how does an idiolect soften
strictly repetitive language?
In an elaborated code situation, how does an idiolect control
linguistic expression?
Dialect
Mutually intelligible forms of a language that differ in
systematic ways (p. 279)
All speakers speak at least one dialect
Language – collection of dialects
Language vs. dialect
Dialect continuum
Dialect area – concentration of differences
Isogloss – estimated boundary of dialect area
Ethnic identity
Dialects tend to increase, even with media influence
Dialect Characteristics
How can you tell that someone speaks a different dialect?
Phonology
Accents – tomato
r-drop – fath-er vs. fath-uh
Syntax
Verbs
Then he come a-runnin’ round the corner and there she was!
Lexicon
Nouns
What do you call shoes for sports?

27. Social Dialects
Dialects that result from social boundaries
Gender
Male and female language characteristics
Male and female dialects/languages
Social class
Prestige
English dialects
AAE
ChE
Speech Communities
Groups of people who have developed a social dialect
Interaction rules
Language norms
Example
Online support blog for chronic pain sufferers
Lots of personal pronouns and personal stories
Full medical names for diseases and disorders
Lupus vs. lupus erythematosus
& for “and” in all words, like s&d
Language in Contact
Lingua franca
Language for between-group communication
Set by common agreement
Trade language
X – Aramaic, French, English

28. Exercise: L in Contact
Pidgins
Pidgin
Contact between two languages
Superstrate – dominant language
Substrate – speaker’s native language
Usually temporary and/or fleeting
Characterized by impoverished language forms
Very little syntax
Overextension of meaning
Creole
Pidgin that becomes a native language for the children
Eventually develops into full-fledged language