Sociolinguistics

•Tuesday 6/8
•Holmes Chapter 1
•Presentation Topics
Discussion Questions

•Have you ever been in a situation where you said something and then realized you
should have said it another way (because of who was listening)?
•Within your own culture?
•In another culture?
Discussion Questions (2)

•Do you know someone you avoid addressing directly because you don't know what to
call them?
•What “rules” guide you in determining how to address someone you've just met?
Discussion Questions (3)

•Among your friends and family, what different ways of speaking are you aware of
(grammar, pronunciation, personal idiosyncrasies, etc.)?
•Are there settings in which you are embarrassed to be with a particular friend or
family member because of the way they speak?
What is Sociolinguistics?

•What do these questions have to do with each other?

•In a speech community there are many ways to say the same thing
•We are often guided by social (not linguistic) factors in choosing which way to say
something
•When studying others' use of language, we can't expect to understand their choices
without considering social (in addition to linguistic) factors
Four “Dimensions”

Social Distance Status

Formality Referential / Affective

Function
Concepts Introduced

•Style
•Dialect
•Variety / code
•Linguistic repetoire
•Speech function
Presentation Topics

•Diglossia and Code Switching

•Language Shift
•Pidgins and Creoles
•Language Planning
•Regional and Social Variation
•Gender and Age
•Style and Register
•Speech Functions
•Language and Culture
•Language Attitudes