The presentation introduces sociolinguistcs and the notions of dialect, variety, code.

1. Sociolinguistcs: an introduction
 What is sociolinguistics?
 Variation: linguistic variables and variants
 Language vs. variety vs. dialect vs. code

2. WHAT IS SOCIOLINGUISTICS?

3. COMPARE THESE THREE SENTENCES:
1.MY COMPANION IS EXCEEDINGLY FATIGUED.
2.MY FRIEND IS EXTREMELY TIRED.
3.MY MATE IS BLOODY KNACKERED.

4. WHAT IS SOCIOLINGUISTICS?
John: Hi mum.
Mum : Hi. You’re late.
John: Yeah, that bastard Sootbucket kept
us in again.
Mum : Nana’s here.
John: Oh sorry. Where is she?
John: Hi sis.
ANNE (SISTER): Hi. Where’ve you been?
John: that bastard Sootbucket kept us in
again.
ANNE : Nana’s here.
John: Oh shoot. Where’s she?
John: Good afternoon, sir.
Principal : What are you doing here at this
time?
john: Mr Sutton kept us in, sir.

5. WHAT IS SOCIOLINGUISTICS?
•IDENTIFY THE WORDS IN EXAMPLES 1, 2 AND 3 WHICH SUGGEST THAT JOHN’S
RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS MOTHER/SISTER IS A FRIENDLY ONE COMPARED TO HIS
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRINCIPAL? WHAT ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH
NANNY? WHAT DOES THIS SUGGEST ABOUT THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF CHOICE OF
WORDS?
•NICKNAMES CAN EXPRESS AFFECTION AS WELL AS DISLIKE. WHAT CLUES INDICATE
THAT JOHN IS NOT FEELING AFFECTIONATE TOWARDS HIS TEACHER?

6. WHAT IS SOCIOLINGUISTICS?
• IS THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT FROM A YOUNG PERSON OR AN OLD
PERSON?
I DON’T KNOW, IT’S JUS’ STUFF THAT REALLY ANNOYS ME. AND I JUS’ LIKE
STARE AT HIM AND JUS’ GO . . . LIKE, ‘‘HUH’’.
• HOW ABOUT THE FOLLOWING? MALE OR FEMALE? OLD OR YOUNG?
IT WAS SORT-OF JUST GRASS STEPS DOWN AND WHERE I DARE SAY IT HAD
BEEN FLOWER BEDS AND GOODNESS-KNOWS-WHAT . . .
WHAT WERE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON?

7. •SOCIOLINGUISTICS
IS CONCERNED WITH THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGEAND THE
CONTEXT IN WHICH IT IS USED/ SOCIETY.
THE STUDY OF HOW SOCIAL NORMS AND THE SOCIAL
CONTEXT AFFECT LANGUAGE USE & HOW LANGUAGE
REFLECTS SOCIAL NORMS.

8. LINGUISTIC VARIABLES
PHONOLOGICAL
MORPHOLOGICAL
SYNTACTIC
LEXICAL
CLARIFICATION: VARIABLE VS. VARIANT?

9. PLAY ON WORDS/VARIATION?
• SOME FRIENDS WERE SITTING OUTSIDE ONE EVENING IN BEQUIA (AN ISLAND IN ST
VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES) WHERE THEY WERE ABOUT TO WATCH A VIDEO AND
HAVE A DRINK. ONE PERSON LIFTED THEIR GLASS AND SAID ‘CHEERS!’, TO WHICH THEIR
NEIGHBOUR REPLIED ‘CHAIRS AND TABLES’.
• THIS IS A PLAY ON THE WAY CHEER AND CHAIR ARE OFTEN PRONOUNCED THE SAME
WAY ON BEQUIA.

10. VARIABLE VS. VARIANT

11. THE VARIANT THAT IS LIKELY TO APPEAR DEPENDS ON LINGUISTIC
FACTORS (LANGUAGE-INTERNAL FACTORS), BUT CAN ALSO
SURFACE DEPENDING ON NON-LINGUISTIC FACTORS (LANGUAGE
EXTERNAL FACTORS).

12. PHONOLOGICAL VARIATION
SAM : YOU SEEN OUR ‘ENRY’S NEW ‘OUSE YET? IT’S IN ‘ALTON YOU KNOW.
JIM : I HAVE INDEED. I COULD HARDLY MISS IT SAM. YOUR HENRY NOW
OWNS THE BIGGEST HOUSE IN HALTON.

13. THE VARIATION IN PRONUNCIATION:
- RHOTIC VS. NON-RHOTIC PRONUNCIATION (/KⱭːR/ VS. /KⱭː/)
- DIFFERENT PRONUNCIATIONS OF ONE WORD (SECRETARY, LABARATORY,
GARAGE ETC.),
- DIFFERENT PRONUNCIATIONS OF ONE SOUND, E.G. T IS A VARIABLE AND
ITS VARIANTS ARE T, FLAP T, GLOTTAL STOP ETC.);

14. GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY VARIATION
•REFUSE SHOULD BE DEPOSITED IN THE RECEPTACLE PROVIDED.
•PUT YOUR RUBBISH IN THE BIN, JILLY.
•PLEASE TENDER EXACT FARE AND STATE DESTINATION.
•GIVE ME THE RIGHT MONEY AND TELL ME WHERE YOU’RE GOING.

16. GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY VARIATION
• A. HE USED NOT TO ARRIVE ON TIME. (BRE)
• B. HE USEN’T TO ARRIVE ON TIME. (BRE)
• C. USED HE TO ARRIVE ON TIME? (BRE)
• D. HE DID NOT USE TO ARRIVE ON TIME. (STANDARD, BOTH)
• E. ? HE DID NOT USED TO ARRIVE ON TIME. (NONO-STANDARD)
• F. DID HE USE TO COME ON TIME? (STANDARD, BOTH)
• G. ? DID HE USED TO ARRIVE ON TIME. (NON-STANDARD)

17. •MOST OF THIS VARIATIONIST WORK FOCUSES ON HOW SPEECH VARIES ACCORDING
TO SPEAKERS’ SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS. RESEARCHERS ARE LOOKING AT INTER-
SPEAKER VARIATION. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT SEVERAL OF THESE FACTORS ARE
PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT: PLACE, TIME, ISOLATION, CONTACT, DISTINCTION
WITHIN A COMMUNITY: CLASS, ETHNICITY AND GENDER;

18. A QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION
•HOW WOULD YOU CONDUCT AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF HOW
PEOPLE IN YOUR TOWN BUY COFFEE IN A COFFEE SHOP? WHAT
METHODS WOULD YOU USE? WHAT WOULD YOU OBSERVE? WHY
DO YOU THINK IT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT TO DO SUCH A STUDY?

19. ANOTHER DISCUSSION QUESTION
• WHAT KIND OF SOCIAL JUDGEMENTS ARISE WHEN YOU HEAR PEOPLE
USE UTTERANCES SUCH AS (I) ‘I AIN’T GOTTA TELL YOU ANYTHING’?
WHY?
• WHAT ARE SOME OTHER WAYS THE UTTERANCE COULD HAVE BEEN
SPOKEN?

20. ANOTHER DISCUSSION QUESTION
• AIN’T APPEARS TO VARY WITH HAVEN’T AND POSSIBLY DON’T. GOTTA APPEARS TO VARY
WITH HAVE TO AS WELL AS GOT TO. NOTHING VARIES WITH ANYTHING.
• IN THIS WAY, EACH ITEM ALTERNATES WITH A SPECIFIC SET – DIFFERENT WAYS OF SAYING
THE SAME THING:
• A. I AIN’T GOTTA TELL YOU NOTHING/ANYTHING
• B. I HAVEN’T GOTTA TELL YOU NOTHING/ANYTHING
• C. I DON’T HAVE TO TELL YOU NOTHING/ANYTHING
DO ALL THE SENTENCES HAVE THE SAME MEANING? THE SAME FUNCTION?
CAN WE SAY SOMETHING LIKE I AIN’T HAVEN’T TO TELL YOU NOTHING?

21. DIALECT – VARIETY – CODE?
Hemnesberget in Norway, two dialects Ranamål (Rana is the district, mål is the Norwegian word
for ‘language’), and standard Norwegian, Bokmål (literally ‘book-language’).

22. WHEN THERE ARE SYSTEMATIC DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY GROUPS SPEAK A LANGUAGE, WE SAY THAT EACH GROUP
SPEAKS A DIALECT/VARIETY OF THAT LANGUAGE.
DIALECTS ARE:
- MUTUALLY INTELLIGIBLE FORMS OF A LANGUAGE THAT DIFFER IN SYSTEMATIC WAYS;
- SUBSETS OF THE SAME LANGUAGE THAT DIFFER IN VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR AND PRONUNCIATION.
SOME SOCIOLINGUISTS AVOID THE TERM DIALECT BY USING THE TERM VARIETY OR (CODE) FOR ANY SUBSET OF A
LANGUAGE, WHILE THE OTHERS RECLAIM THE TERM DIALECT AND TALK ABOUT THE STANDARD DIALECT, SOCIAL
DIALECTS, REGIONAL DIALECTS ETC.

23. •HOWEVER, HOW DO WE MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND
VARIETY? WHAT IS THE MAIN CRITERION THAT WE USE?

24. ‘MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY‘ IS USED AS A MAIN CRITERION FOR DETERMENING
WHETHER PEOPLE SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE OR DIALECT.

25. •MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY CANNOT BE ALWAYS USED AS A CRITERION FOR DETERMINING
WHETHER TWO DIFFERENT WAYS OF SPEAKING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED DIFFERENT
LANGUAGES OR DIFFERENT DIALECTS. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO MAKE CLEAR
DISTINCTION BETWEEN A LANGUAGE AND A DIALECT/VARIETY.
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES OR DIFFERENT DIALECTS?
•SWEDISH VS. NORWEGIAN, AND URDU VS. HINDU;
•CHINESE: MANDARIN AND CANTONESE;
•SERBIAN, CROATIAN, BOSNIAN?

26. THUS, THIS HAS SHOWN THAT THE CRITERION OF MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY CANNOT BE
SOLELY USED TO DISTINGUISH A LANGUAGE FROM A DIALECT. SOME OTHER CRITERIA
HAVE TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION:
•STANDARDIZATION
•VITALITY
•AUTONOMY ETC.

27. WHAT DOES THE SAYING ‚A LANGUAGE
IS A DIALECT WITH AN ARMY AND AN
AIR-FORCE/NAVY‘ MEAN?

28. IN REALITY, THERE IS NO MAJOR BREAK BETWEEN DIALECTS.
DIALECTS MERGE INTO EACH OTHER AND FORM A DIALECT CONTINUUM.

29. IF TAKEN TO MEAN THE SAME THING, THESE TWO TERMS ARE CONSIDERED HEAD TERMS FOR SEVERAL
TYPES OF DIALECTS:
•REGIONAL DIALECT:
• SOCIAL DIALECT/ SOCIOLECT:

30. - GENDERLECTS:
- PHONOLOGICAL DIALECTS: RP AND NAE; IF WE ONLY LOOK AT PHONOLOGY WE MIGHT
CALL THAT ACCENT.

31. - THERE IS ANOTHER TERM ATTACHED TO THE NAME DIALECT – ALL NON-STANDARD VARIETIES OF A
LANGUAGE ARE CALLED DIALECTS (BROKEN, CHAOTIC ETC. ).
- SOME SOCIOLINGUISTS AVOID THIS CONFUSION BY USING THE TERM VARIETY FOR ANY SUBSET OF A
LANGUAGE, WHILE THE OTHERS RECLAIM THE TERM DIALECT AND TALK ABOUT THE STANDARD
DIALECT, SOCIAL DIALECTS, REGIONAL DIALECTS ETC.

32. SOCIOLINGUISTS USE THE TERM VARIETY (OR SOMETIMES CODE ) TO
REFER TO ANY SET OF LINGUISTIC FORMS WHICH PATTERNS ACCORDING TO
SOCIAL FACTORS.
VARIETY IS A SOCIOLINGUISTIC TERM REFERRING TO LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT.
A VARIETY IS A SET OF LINGUISTIC FORMS USED UNDER SPECIFIC SOCIAL
CIRCUMSTANCES, I.E., WITH A DISTINCTIVE SOCIAL DISTRIBUTION.

33. VARIETY IS THEREFORE A BROAD TERM WHICH INCLUDES
-DIFFERENT ACCENTS
-DIFFERENT LINGUISTIC STYLES
-DIFFERENT DIALECTS AND
-EVEN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES WHICH CONTRAST WITH EACH OTHER FOR
SOCIAL REASONS.

34. MYTHS?
•DIALECTS ARE SPOKEN BY A SOCIALLY DISFAVORED GROUP.
•DIALECTS REFLECT FAILURE TO SPEAK CORRECTLY (DIALECT SPEAKERS CAN’T JUST GET
THE GRAMMAR RIGHT)
•DIALECTS HAVE NO SYSTEMATICITY: THEY ARE RANDOM DEVIATIONS FROM STANDARD
SPEECH.
•DIALECTS REPRESENT DEVIATIONS FROM THE STANDARD, WHICH REPRESENTS THE
CORRECT FORM OF A GRAMMAR.

36. •WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REGIONALACCENT AND A
REGIONAL DIALECT?
•WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REGIONAL AND A SOCIAL
DIALECT? HOW IS A SOCIAL GROUP EVALUATED?

37. Make at least three points about the distribution of
non-standard or vernacular forms in British urban
dialects which are supported by Figure 1.
b. This diagram shows values for 3 towns in
England. Similar diagrams can be drawn for social
classes. If the labels ‘Hull’, ‘Milton Keynes’ and
‘Reading’ referred to social classes, which would be
the lowest social class? How do you know?
Some notes:
Vernacular/non-standard ‘was’ = use of was where
standard English uses were : e.g. You was late
again.
Negative concord = multiple negation.
Milton Keynes, Reading and Hull are British towns.
Milton Keynes is a relatively new town 80
kilometres north of London. Reading is 60
kilometres west of London and Hull is the furthest
north and over 200 kilometres from London