3.
What do men from large cities gain from using non-standard variants more
frequently than women do? Same answer as 2.
They signal solidarity with other men- affiliation with other men- this shows distinction with
other groups: women// they gain distinction// women gain distinction- on the one hand, men:
I am like other men and I am different from women. Are women more status conscious? You
can consider sex groups and age groups: teenagers gain the same- belonging- also
distinction among groups: I am different from adults but from other teenagers too. Not only
does the speech indicate/ is an index of group membership… also other social practices.
The badass: the ones who used less standard variants. Jocks and Burn outs: social
practices and discursive practices. Community of practice: you make a group to collect
gifts during Christmas.
[Link] can social networks influence speech? One single individual’s social network-
there are no homogeneous groups/ their speech is not homogeneous because each
individual varies their speech: ideolect, use variant with different frequency, social networks
are not the only factor that influences speech- our speech is influenced by social factors,
audience- in the group you find different social factors, is not the group that is
heterogeneous but also the speech because it is simultaneously influenced by these factors.
Homogeneity is not strict to influence, instead they share many characteristics. In dense
networks, speakers tend to maintain vernacular forms to indicate solidarity/ affiliation. High
density network and low density network. Social networks do not influence interactions, they
capture them. The patterns of interaction influence speech. Loose/dense networks do not
have a direct impact on the type of variant. A “country community: private neighborhoods” is
highly dense but they do not tend to use non-standard forms.
DO NOT USE DIALECT: NEGATIVE CONNOTATION, USE VARIETY: is a linguistic system
with its own semantics, morphology, phonology, syntax, lexis, grammar… belongs to
different areas. Is the language of a particular social group. The standard variety of a
language is not THE LANGUAGE. In linguistic terms they are all equal, in social and political
terms the standard is in a superior order. The standard is one of the dialect.
Tension between the motivation to affiliation and disaffiliation with groups.
Some social networks may be highly dense but geographically extended. Such a
highly dense social network may have a different influence than other social networks
that are also highly dense but instead it is local. Local vernacular variants will be
used more frequently (tend to).
What is the difference between a social network and a community of practice?
Interaction of one speaker with other speakers. Community of practices: defined by the
participation in an activity with a certain goal that gathers the community together. Social
network: one individual interacting with other individuals for different activities. These are
different ways of [Link] adapt features (grammar, lexis,etc) of the grouping. Social
networks enable the study of the speech of one individual but a community of practices aims
at describing characteristics of a grouping. One individual can participate in many
communities of practice, but a linguist uses social networks. With a community of practice,
each individual has their own social network.
Social networks: captures interactional patterns between one individual and other
individuals. How interacting habitually with different people can shape the speech.
Community of practice: how speech characteristics both signals belonging to the
community and also shape or construct a community of practice identity. Using these
features, construct identity.
Meyerhoff Chapter UNIT 4 PAGE 45
Range of variation in speakers from different social groups (interspeaker variation) The gap
between 2 groups
Range of variation in an individual speaker (intraspeaker variation)
One individual fluctuates between two variants less than 2 social groups. The gap between
men and women is bigger than the gap one individual exhibits when she styles shifts.
It reflects the strength of social factors- we could add another part to the diagram
ling. Factors> social factors> audience/ topic/speech activity
(Contextual factors can sometimes be stronger than social factors) The effect of the
audience is in some exceptional cases stronger than social factors.
THE LINGUISTIC MARKETPLACE- CHAPTER 5
How it has been applied. It is a metaphor in which the operation of language in society is
compared to economic practices where there are goods and prizes. How linguistic variants
acquire value in a determined context.
How power is linked to language use in society.
Mayerhoff (not his concept) chapter 7, page 154
high frequency in use of standard forms: age- 20s increase and then a retreat. How/
linguistic marketplace: higher need to use standard forms: one factor is occupation- as they
enter the workplace and have to interact with people and show they can interact, they seem
to be more reassured to use standard forms so it influences proportion of forms. In order to
engage in a particular occupation you should go into gatekeeping processes, when you are
there you do not need those standard forms (this is hypothetical).
For a particular employee, the use of standard forms is not as much valued as for another
employee. The value for each profession. Not occupation per se, instead the expectations
surrounding the use of language. 2 different people with the same occupation but performing
in different circumstances. Ex: the mechanic who works alone vs the one who works for
firms.
LADO (PowerPoint in VC) Linguistic Analysis for the Determination of Origins
Chapter 12, Peter Patrick- READ PPT.
LADO interview: phone call, the asylum seeker is summoned to an office and there is an
officer and an interpreter. The representative of the firm carries out the interview. AIM: to
obtain speech from the asylum seeker, they analyze it and produce a report to hand in to the
government to decide. Why? Because they have no documents as they are escaping and
claim to be from a country. If they speak this language, they come from x. Peter Patrick
challenges this because speech does not directly connect to place of origin, there are more
factors that influence. Even the speech event influences that because you are likely to
accommodate. Officers do not take into consideration this.
MANIFESTATION OF LANGUAGE POLICY- LINGUISTIC SCREENING (UNIT 5)
READ UNIT 5: LANGUAGE CHANGE
HOMEWORK:
1) DOES THE PHONOLOGY OF YOU MOTHER TONGUE CHANGE OVER TIME?
JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER
2) CAN A PERSON’S VARIETY BE MODIFIED ACROSS TIME?