wk 9 fall 2021 instituition discourse_discussion.pdf

1. job interview
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 1
ability of minority people
to be understood
& taken seriously
jeopardised due to divergent assumptions about the
meanings of questions and answers

2. Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 2

3. Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 3
• intercultural miscommunications increases with the greater linguistic fluency of
the NNS
• combination of attitudes and expectations
• styles embedded in how cultural differences
emphasise distinct differences

4. Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 4
how many of you agree with this statement?

5. Key Words:
language ideology; referential indexicals; deictic expressions; anaphoric reference;
persons deixis; honorifics; hegemony; ratification; institutional discourse; gatekeeping
encounters; interpreter; mediated interaction; language crimes
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 5

6. Languag
e
ideology:
• shared attitude by certain socials
and beliefs about language,
• reinforced by certain social or
cultural values.
• Linguistics itself has been shaped by
various ideologies.
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics
(LING300) 6

7. Indexicality
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 7
• Charles Peirce
• index - particular kind of sign
• logical relation to the object it stands for
• rather than
• arbitrary
• relationship

8. Deixis:
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 8
• something that points to something else
• encompasses features of language that indicate something relative to the
author (speaker, writer, narrator etc.) or the situation in which the utterance
occurs:
• person deixis; subject and object pronouns
• Social deixis: terms of address that indicate aspects of the relationship between
people.

9. Anaphoric reference
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 9
• Grammatical term describing linguistic feature
• refers to previously mentioned element in any given text

10. Honorifics
• expressions that express politeness or respect, where
politeness and respect are encoded in the language
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 10

11. Ratification:
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 11
(from the text)
• process by which a more powerful person's worldview frames the
interaction
• individual’s ideas and conversational moves are ratified or validated and
picked up in the ongoing interactions
• his or her worldview or understanding of the event, frames the interaction
• interlocutor's ideas and conversational moves are generally either not
present or unratified
• interlocutor's worldview is left invisible or is marginalised.

12. Language and Power
( adapted from 2010-2011 P.Angermeyer Lecture)
Language and Gender
Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 12

13. Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 13
• Deborah Cameron( 1994)
• debate over “politically correct” language use in
English
• gendered pronouns
• English grammar requires the reference to gender
• some attempts of implementing non-sexist language
can be viewed as attempts to “change grammar.”

14. Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 14
• non-sexist language could have an effect, but “only in conjunction
with other factors”
• important aspect is the fact that it represents a “public affirmation of
values”, setting a public example, “institutionalizing a public norm of
respect rather than disrespect”
(“contrast ‘Hey, bitch!’ with ‘Excuse me, Ms Cameron’.”)

15. Concordia University, Fall 2021 Peters; Sociolinguistics (LING300) 15
• Non-sexist language draws attention to the fact that
“ordinary” language is not “value neutral,”
• reflects certain dominant standpoints
• being challenged
• “politicized”