1. The reason why I am writing this reflection is to let people know, especially future
teacher of English and students who are interested in this topic, some of the key
concepts of the “Sociolinguistic Patterns” which is the name of the text in which I based
this reflection.
As you may know Sociolinguistics is the study of the language in a social context.
Language without a society would disappear. You need other people to communicate
and human beings cannot live in isolation. To make you understand this, Sociolinguistic
is divided into factors which affect the use of the language, in this case, The English
language. These factors are: Social class, Age, Networks, Sex and Style.
We as Chileans, are also affected by this factors, the problem is that we do not stop to
meditate about it. Especially in Chile, education (which it is inside of the Social Class
factor) is a big issue inside our society. The difference between the high and the low
class education is enormous. Regrettably at the same time this affects the way how
people speak (phonologically and grammatically) and so on with the other factors. The
English speaking countries are not the exception, it occurs the same but according their
society. The differences between the sounds inside a speech community, or the
differences in grammar are something that is normal. The problem is that we do not
know about it, we just take it for granted. Maybe we can do that with our own language,
but if we are learning a new language as a second or a foreign language it is necessary
to absorb all the knowledge that we can to have a better understanding of every word,
sentences, saying, idioms, etc…
Another topic that appears in this text is “Standardization”, which is the conversion of
one variety of English into a standard one by fixing and regulating its spelling,
grammar, etc… So this means that every person who speaks English should understand
this standard form. We us learners of this language should internalize in this form of
speaking in a way to enrich ourselves of important contents which is necessary to
communicate with other English speakers and also to adopt this language. In this way
people will understand that English, as all the languages, is complex. Moreover there
are terms which appear in the text, such as, dialects, dense networks, multiplex
networks, external and regional factors, geographical origins, which would help us to
comprehend from the point of view of the British society the behavior of individuals
linked to the language.
To sum up, this text would be useful for future teachers and students in the way of
understanding that are different variations of the English language created by a number
of factors related with some phenomena. And a deeper view of the English society in a
way to comprehend that it depends of the environment the person is inserted to, to the
way how the person develop the language.
Dannae Del Campo Méndez.