Module 2 Communication Studies
Module 2 Communication Studies
Module 2 Communication Studies
Purposes of language
1. Expressive purposes
Variation
Although any speaker of a language could communicate with any
other speaker of the same language, these people often do not all
speak the language in the same way. The way in which language is
used often varies from group to group, from one situation to
another, and from individual to individual. The language used may
also vary in relation to the intent of the speaker or the purpose of
the communication or even the nature of the relationship between
the speaker and the audience.
Register
A register is the form of a language in which one may choose
to speak, where form refers to ranges in formality and
informality.
Standard English is a formal register, Jamaican Creole is a
more informal register.
Words used to refer to informal register include: colloquial,
vernacular.
A register is also a language variety associated with a
particular situation of use; the range of language choice
available for use in different situations.
One may choose to use an entirely different variety or dialect
of a language from one situation to the next. The variety of
language that you use at any given time is your register.
Choice of register also generally reflects the speakers/writers
relationship with the audience.
The ability to change your register is an important life skill.
There are five types of registers:
1. Frozen Registers
Used in print and public media, sermons, pledges, prayers.
The language of the register is fixed and unchanged. No
direct response from a reader or listener is expected.
1 person singular
2nd person singular
3rd person singular
1st person plural
2nd person plural
3rd person plural
Standard English
I am eating
You are eating
He/She/It is eating
We are eating
You are eating
They are eating
Creole
I eatin
You eatin
He/She/It eatin
We eatin
You all/All you eatin
Dey/Dem eatin
Plural
Girls
Dem gyal/ de gyal
dem
Singular
Girl
Gal/ gyal
English Creole
I/me tired
He/him sick
You tired
French Creole
Mwen las
E malad
Ou swef
Standard English
Im not doing
anything
Creole
I not doin nothing
Standard French
Je ne fais rien
Creole
You eat already
You eat already?
CHARACTERISTICS OF GRAMMAR
English Creole
Subject-copula-adjective
structures, for example, I am
sick, the mango is sweet
Phonology
Phonology is a branch of linguistics concerned with the
systematic organization of sounds in languages
In the case of English-based Creole, the most distinctive
differences in sound combinations are observed in sounds that
occur in Standard English but not in the Creole.
A very obvious one is the th sound, which does not exist in
Creole. It is replaced by either the d, t or f sound,
depending on its postion in the word and the presence or
absence of other non-English influences on the Creole.
Creole also dispenses with the final consonant in the words
that end in ing or with d.
In some cases, an English sound combination is not dropped
but reversed, for example: ask becomes aks and film become
flim.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PHONOLOGY
English Creole*
No voiceless-voiced consonant
clusters at the end of words, for
Voiceless-voiced consonant
example, -sed > s, as in miss;
-ghed, gh, as in laugh; -ped>p, as clusters at the end of words, as in
in leap
Language in Society
Factors influencing Language
1. Historical Factors
The language situation in any country can normally be linked
directly to historical factors. These are often related to
colonization or migration.
For example: French and English are spoken in Canada today
because it was the scene of several conflicts between France
and English in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Colonisation is the greatest factor responsible for the spread
of certain languages from more homogeneous populations to
distant and diverse geographical locations
2. Social Factors
The social dominance of a group ensures that its dialect
becomes the one that assumes the place of important in the
society and is considered to be the standard language of that
society. Language is also dynamic and never static unless
there are no more speakers of that language. Much of the
dynamism of a language is a result of constant social change
and the emergence of new cultural phenomena as a result.
However, the elements of social and economic class always
affect attitudes to and choice of language.
For example: individuals seeking to be recognized as part of a
certain social group may deliberately cultivate the language or
dialect of that group although they do not normally speak that
dialect.
Sometimes a person may switch from one variety of language
to another throughout the day as he/she interacts in different
social settings.
3. Cultural Factors
Global movement of people (globalization) has been a major
influence on language. Many migrants and refugees are eager
to assimilate quickly as much of the new culture as they can,
to facilitate their ability to fit in with their society. As
generations are born into the new culture, much of their
original language is lost.
For example: In the case of Hispanic populations in the US, a
form of language has evolved that features aspects of both
Spanish and English. The name Spanglish has been coined
for this phenomenon, but linguists would refer to it as code
mixing.
While acculturation, or assimilating, of the new culture affects
the language of immigrants, sometimes the language of the
host country also undergoes changes as a results of the new
cultural influences.
For example: Several Spanish words have become part of
everyday English language (taco, piata)
The coexistence of different languages from different cultures
in a society results in linguistic changes in all the languages.
However, the nature of the cultural change determines which
language is more widely influential and what types of change
takes place.
For example: In the case of the USA, the fact that some states
may well have more Spanish than English native speakers will
be largely instrumental in how language develops there.
4. Political Factors
The official language of a country is normally indicated in the
national constitution or other official sources. Recognition
given to other languages is also a political or government
decision. Most countries maintain the assigned status of their
languages regardless of political changes. However, in some
countries, language is significantly influenced by political
events.
Language policies typically define a governments plan
regarding the approach to the treatment of language in the
specific country. The policy may either promote or discourage
the use of a particular language or languages and in some
cases it is designed to protect an ethnic language that may be
in danger of disappearing.
Political influences on language can determine the extent to
which minority languages or dialects are accepted, recognized
or utilized in a society.
For example: In Quebec, Canada, the provincial government
stipulated that only French should be used on street signs and
in places where bilingual signage was allowed, the English
letting had to be significantly smaller and within stipulated
dimensions.
Turmoil and violence can arise out of political disputes over
language as seen in Sri Lanka and Turkey.
Roles of Languages
There are several roles of languages such as social, political,
ethical and psychological.
Positive Uses of Language
To assert authority
To mark identity
To mark solidarity (unity)
Official
Languages
Spanish
French
French and
Haitian
Country
Cuba
Puerto Rico
Santo Domingo
French Guiana
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Haiti
Popular
Language
Spanish
English/Spanish
Spanish
Other
Languages
French Lexicon
Creole
St. Lucia
Dominica
English Lexicon
Creole
Spanish,
Garifuna,
Mayan
French Lexicon
Creole
Belize
Anguilla
Antigua
Barbuda
Cariacou
English
Grenada
English Lexicon
Creole
Arawakan,
Cariban,
Warrau
Guyana
Jamaica
French Lexicon
Creole
Nevis
Petit Martinique
St. Kitts
St. Vincent
Trinidad and
Tobago
Dutch
Suriname
Aruba
English Lexicon
Creole, Sranan,
Tongo, Ndjuka,
Saramaccan
Papiamento
Hindi, Urdu,
Javanese,
Amerindian
Languages
Spanish,
Bonaire
Curacao
English
Choice of language
While attitudes to local dialects have been slowly changing,
many people still associate the use of Creole with negative
images and believe that its use should be relegated to specific
circumstances and occasions. However, the fact that nonstandard language varieties are the most widely spoken in the
Caribbean makes them the choice of persons trying to get
information to large sections of society.
A language variety is usually chosen because of its perceived
social function.
Such factors which influence the choice of language and
communicative behaviours in interactive situations are:
1. Audience
2. Message
3. Purpose
4. Occasion
5. Gender
6. Age
Arguments Against Creole as a Language
1. Creole is the language of the lower class, uneducated,
powerless, country folks and people whose ancestors were
African slaves in the Caribbean.
2. Creole is the language of comedy. Creole is used in the arts
and can therefore often be seen as substandard or inferior.
3. Creole cannot be written as here is no consensus on an official
written form.
4. Creole language varies from island to island
5. Creole has little or no prestige*.
6. Creole is stigmatized as a bad or improper way of speaking.
7. Creole offers no form of social mobility.
8. Working in a foreign country requires the use of Standard
English
Arguments For Creole as a Language
1. There is mutual intelligibility. Information could be passed
from one person to another and easily understood.