This document provides an overview of key concepts in sociolinguistics. It discusses Chomsky's views on competence and performance, Saussure's distinction between langue and parole, and Hymes' concept of communicative competence. It also covers variation in language, the relationship between language and identity, language and solidarity, and idiolects. Additionally, it summarizes the Whorfian hypothesis, discusses micro and macro-sociolinguistics, compares linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics, and outlines some key methodological issues like data collection techniques and research design. Presentations on specific topics are scheduled for the next session.

1. Session One
Wardhaugh & Fuller
(2015)
Ch. 1
Saeed Rezaei
Sharif University of Technology
srezaei@sharif.edu
February, 2016

2. Competence vs. Performance
 Chomsky’s view of idealized speakers
 Chomsky’s view of language competence, LAD, …
 Ferdinand de Saussure lange vs. parole
 Hymes and communicative competence

3. Variation
 Variation in language e.g. variation in greetings or pronunciation in
different contexts.

4. Language and Identity
 We will return to this later! But for now focus on the concept of
identity from essentialist vs. post-structuralist view.

5. Language and Solidarity
 It refers to how a language can be a baton at which a community can cling to
render a specific identity and sense of belonging. For example for the Azeri
people in Tehran, Turkish Azeri is the language of solidarity.

6. Idiolect
 An idiolect is an individual’s way of speaking, including sounds,
words, grammar, and style. Can you give an example for the Iranian
context?

7. The Whorfian Hypothesis
 It is also called Linguistic Determinism, Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis, or Sapir–
Whorf Hypothesis.
 It was introduced by Sapir and his student Whorf but formerly proposed by Humboldt.
 Whorf was a chemical engineer by training, a fire prevention engineer by vocation,
and a linguist by avocation
 the social categories we create and how we perceive events and actions are
constrained by the language we speak. Different speakers will therefore experience
the world differently insofar as the languages they speak differ structurally.
 Whorf’s work on Native American languages, e.g. Hopi

8. The Whorfian Hypothesis: contd.
 Whorf believed that the social categories we create and how we
perceive events and actions are constrained by the language we speak.
Different speakers will therefore experience the world differently
insofar as the languages they speak differ structurally.

9. Correlation Studies and Variationist Sociolinguistics
 We will elaborate on this later!

10. Micro vs. Macro-sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics vs. Sociology of Language
 Sociolinguistics or micro-sociolinguistics and the sociology of language or macro-sociolinguistics.
 Sociolinguistics is narrower in scope and issues tackled
 Sociolinguistics is after the effect of the society on language whereas the latter investigates the
effect of language on the society
 Joshua Fishman is considered as the proponent of the sociology of language whereas Ferguson or
Hymes could be considered as the proponents of sociolinguistics
 Sociolinguists focus on language whereas scholars in the sociology of language focus on the
society
 Hudson (1996) relates to sociolinguistics as “the study of language in relation to the society”
whereas the sociology of language refers to “the study of society in relation to language”.
 Although a clear-cut demarcation cannot always be made between these two, there are studies
which are purely sociological rather than linguistic in nature especially the studies by Bernstein.

11. Micro vs. Macro-sociolinguistics: Contnd.
 For Coulmas (1997) micro-sociolinguists try to investigate how social factors such as
age, gender, and class would affect language use (attitude to language/dialects);
whereas, the macro-sociolinguists try to investigate what the society does with their
language (e.g. language policy issues and language death/revival plans)

12. Linguistic Anthropology vs. Sociolinguistics
Alessandro Duranti
Professor of Anthropology at UCLA
 They have some points in common, e.g. ethnography of
communication or ethnography as a research tool in both research
studies.

13. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology: Wiley
Journal of Anthropological Linguistics: Indiana
University, Bloomington

14. Geo-linguistics
 The study of the geographical distribution of languages and dialect.
Dialectology falls within this line of research.
 Visit http://www.geo-linguistics.org/

15. Critical Sociolinguistics
 Norman Faiclough, Emerius Professor of CDA at the University of
Lancaster
 Teun A. van Dijk editor in chief of several flagship journals in the field
of discourse analysis e.g. Discourse and Society
 Ruth Wodak, Emerius Professor of CDA at the University of Lancaster

16. Methodology in Sociolinguistics Research
 Correlation Studies
 Micro-(socio)linguistic Studies
 Discourse Analysis
 Macro-(socio)linguistic Studies
 Critical Analysis

17. Data in Sociolinguistic Research
 Interview
 Observation and Ethnography
 Questionnaire
 Written and Spoken Corpora
 Matched-guise technique
 …

18. Data Reliability
 Observer's Paradox (William Labov) also Halo Effect
 Hawthorne Effect (Henry Landsberger) in a factory lighting project

19. Research Design in Sociolinguistics
 Quantitative Research and Generalizability
 Qualitative Research and Transferability

21. Presentations: Next Session
 Mr. Neysani: Keshavarz and Astaneh (15 mins)
 Miss Nowruzi: Afsharrad & Sadeghi (15 mins)
 Mr. Mousavi: Esperanto (15 mins)