SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Languages, Dialects, and Varieties

Languages, Dialects, and Varieties

Language and dialects are ambiguous terms.
Ordinary people use these terms quite freely in
speech; for them a dialect is almost certainly no
more than a local non-prestigious (therefore
powerless) variety of a real language.
A language has more power than any of its
dialects.

Dialects
A dialect is a subordinate variety of a language,
so that we can say that Texas English and Swiss
German are respectively, dialects of English and
German.

Language and Dialect

Language is more prestigious than dialects.
Language : Standard language.
Dialect: unwritten.
Language: written.

Language and Dialect

In French: Dialect: regional varieties which are
written and have a literature.
Regional varieties which are not written: patois.
In English: Language contains more items than
one called a dialect.example: Language:
English, Dialects: Standard English, Yorkshire
English, Indian English.

Variety of Language
A variety of language is as a set of linguistic items
with similar distribution, a definition that allows us
to say that all of the following are varieties:
Canadian English, London English, the English of
football commentaries, and so on.

The distinction between

the terms dialect and
language

Which was first found in use:

language or dialect?

Language

Dialect ,
borrowed from Greek in 14th century,
refers to a number of clearly distinct
written varieties in use in Classical
Greek (different areas and kinds of
literature) (Haugen (1966) in Hudson (1996))

Which one is considered superior: language

or dialect? Why?

Language

Dialect

It is bigger (has more

speakers) than a dialect. It is
considered to be the sum of
its dialects.
It is considered to be
subcategory of a
language.

Why a language is more prestigious than a

dialect?
A dialect is considered to be "a substandard,
low status, (lacking in prestige).
Dialects are thought of erroneous deviation
from the norm.
Language is
(Chambers

'proper'
and

or standard form
Trudgill
1998).

Language is formally written (dialects are

commonly unwritten)

The difference between language and

dialect may be structural or functional.
Structure = a language is more solid or standard and
it is grammatically systematic; a dialect
is not.
Function= language is used in a formal situation (in
political, commercial or others); a dialect
is used in a wider range in the community
(mostly in the informal occasion).

Another criterion to distinguish

between language and dialect : mutual
intelligibility

If two speakers are able

to understand one
another, we can assume
that they are speaking
different varieties of the
same language.

Criteria
Bells seven criteria (1976) to distinguish one type of language from another.

Standardization : process of codification (development of grammars,

spelling books, and dictionaries and literature). Standardizasion
also requires that a measure of agreement be achieved about what
is in the language and what is not.
Vitality : existence of a living community of speakers (living or dead
language) The fact that some languages have no longer spoken by
their natives (as first language).
Historicity : particular group of people finding a sense of identity
through using it. (Social, political, religious, or ethnic ties NOT as
strong as language bond).

Criteria (2)
Autonomy : (a subjective criterion). A language must be felt by its
speakers to be different from other languages. (like Cantonese and
Mandarin).
Reduction: a variety regarded as a sub-variety rather than an independent
entity. (writing system or restriction in use).
Mixture : feelings of purity of the variety they speak.
De facto norms : The good speakers represent the norms of proper usage
(focuses on one particular sub-variety as representing the best usage).

DIALECTS
REGIONAL
DIALECTS
DIALECTS

SOCIAL DIALECTS

Regional Dialects
Regional variation inprovide one of the
easiest ways of observing variety in
language.
Regional dialects are geographically
based.
Different places will have differences in
pronunuciation, in the choices and forms
of words, and in syntax.
Distinctive varieties are usually called
regional dialects of the language.
the way a language is spoken is likely to

Dialect vs Patois
The term dialect is sometimes used only if
there is a strong tradition of writing in the
local variety.
The term patois may be used to describe
varieties. It is used as a scientific term.
Patois is usually used to describe only rural
forms of speech; we may talk about an
urban dialect, but to talk about an urban
patois seems strange.
Patois also seems to refer only to the
speech of the strata in society.

Social Dialects
Social dialects originate among social
groups and are related to a variety of
factors, the principal ones apparently
being social class, religion, and
ethnicity.
For example:
Caste in India, one the clearest of all
social differentiators, quite often
determines which variety of a
language a speaker uses.

.....next example
In Baghdad, the Christian, Jewish, and
Muslim inhabitants speak varieties of
Arabic. In this case the first two groups
use their variety solely within the
group but the Muslim variety serves
as a lingua franca, or common
language, among the group.

Styles, Registers, and Beliefs

Styles
While it may be difficult to characterize
discrete levels of formality, it is
nevertheless possible to show that native
speakers of all languages control a range
of stylistic variation. (Wardhaugh, 2006:
51)
Styles are often analyzed along a scale of
formality, ... (Holmes, 2001: 246)
The term style refers to language
variation which reflects changes in
situational factors, such as addressee,
setting, task or topic. (Holmes, 2001: 246)

 Next

Examples:
What do you intend to do, your majesty? (Stylistic
appropriateness)
Waddaya intend doin, Rex? (Stylistic
inappropriateness)
(Wardhaugh, 2006: 51)
(a) Excuse, me. Could I have a look at your photos
too, Mrs. Hall?
(b) Cmon Tony, gizzalook, gizzalook.
(Holmes, 2001: 224)

Registers
Registers are sets of language items
associated with discrete occupational or
social groups. Surgeons, airline pilots, bank
managers, sales clerks, jazz fans, and sport
commentators employ different registers.
(Wardhaugh, 2006: 52)
Registers, on the other hand, when they are
distinguished from styles, tend to be
associated with particular groups of people
or sometimes specific situation of use.
(Holmes, 2001: 246)

 Next

Example:
From baseball or cricket commentaries:
bounced to second base a breaking ball
outside guy whos a pressure player
McCatty in difficulty Tucker taking a few ah
stuttering steps down the wicket from the
bowlers end but Waugh sending him back
(Holmes, 2001: 247)

Beliefs
Many people hold strong beliefs on various
issues having to do with language and are
quite willing to offer their judgments on
issues. (Wardhaugh, 2006: 53)
Language beliefs are well entrenched as are
language attitudes and language behaviors.
(Wardhaugh, 2006: 53)