Sociolect

In sociolinguistics, a sociolect is a form

of language (non-standard dialect,
restricted register) or a set of lexical
items used by a socioeconomic class, a
profession, an age group or other social
group.[1][2]

Sociolects involve both passive

acquisition of particular communicative
practices through association with a
local community, as well as active
learning and choice among speech or
writing forms to demonstrate
identification with particular groups.[3]
The term sociolect might refer to
socially-restricted dialects,[4] but it is
sometimes also treated as equivalent
with the concept of register,[5] or used as
a synonym for jargon and slang.[6][7]

Individuals who study sociolects are

called sociolinguists. Sociolinguists
study language variation. Sociolinguists
define a sociolect by examining the
social distribution of specific linguistic
terms. For example, a sociolinguist
would examine the use of the second
person pronoun "you" for its use within
the population. If one distinct social
group used 'yous' as the plural form of
the pronoun then this could indicate the
existence of a sociolect. A sociolect is
distinct from a regional dialect (regiolect)
because social class rather than
geographical subdivision substantiates
the unique linguistic features.[8]

Overview
A sociolect, defined by Peter Trudgill, a
leading sociolinguist and philosopher, is
"a variety or lect which is thought of as
being related to its speakers' social
background rather than geographical
background".[9]:122 This idea of sociolect
began with the commencement of
dialectology, the study of different
dialects in relation to social society,
which has been established in countries
such as England for many years, but only
recently has the field garnered more
attention.[10]:26 However, as opposed to a
dialect, the basic concept of a sociolect
is that a person speaks in accordance
with their social group whether it is with
regard to one's ethnicity, age, gender, etc.
As William Labov once said, "the
sociolinguistic view…is that we are
programmed to learn to speak in ways
that fit the general pattern of our
communities".[11]:6 Therefore, what we
are surrounded with in unison with our
environment determines how we speak;
hence, our actions and associations.

Distinguished from dialect

The main distinction between sociolects
(social dialects) and dialects proper
(geographical dialects), which are often
confused, is the settings in which they
are created.[12] A dialect's main identifier
is geography: a certain region uses
specific phonological, morphosyntactic
or lexical rules.[9]:35 Asif Agha expands
the concept by stating that "the case
where the demographic dimension
marked by speech are matters of
geographic provenance along, such as
speaker's birth locale, extended
residence and the like".[13]:135 However, a
sociolect's main identifier is a
socioeconomic class, age, gender, and
ethnicity in a certain speech community.

An example of a dialectal difference,

based on region, is the use of the words
soda or pop and coke in different parts of
the United States. As Thomas E. Murray
states, "coke is used generically by
thousands of people, especially in the
southern half of the country."[14] On the
other hand, pop is known to be a term
that is used by many citizens in the
northern half of the country.
An example of a sociolect difference,
based on social grouping, is the zero
copula in African American Vernacular
English. It occurs in a specific ethnic
group but in all areas of the United
States.[11]:48 William Labov gives an
example: "he here" instead of "he's
here".[11]:38

Definitions
Code switching is "the process whereby
bilingual or bidialectal speakers switch
back and forth between one language or
dialect and another within the same
conversation".[9]:23
Diglossia, associated with the American
linguist Charles A. Ferguson, which
describes a sociolinguistic situation such
as those that obtain in Arabic-speaking
countries and in German-speaking
Switzerland. In such a diglossic
community, the prestigious standard of
'High'(or H) variety, which is linguistically
related to but significantly different from
the vernacular or 'Low' (or L) varieties,
has no native speakers.[9]:389

Domain is "different language, dialects,

or styles are used in different social
contexts".[9]:41

Language attitudes are "social in origin,

but that they may have important effects
on language behavior, being involved in
acts of identity, and on linguistic
change."[9]:73

Linguistic variable is "a linguistic unit…

initially developed...in order to be able to
handle linguistics variation. Variables
may be lexical and grammatical, but are
most often phonological". Example of
British English (h) which is sometimes
present and sometimes not.[9]:83

Pragmatics is the meaning of a word in

social context, while semantics has
"purely linguistic meaning".[9]:107

Register is "a language variety that is

associated with a particular topic,
subject, or activity...." Usually, it is defined
by vocabulary, but has grammatical
features as well.[9]:110

Examples
Tamil caste system

Example 1

The following is an example of the lexical

distinction between the Mudaliyar and
the Iyengar groups of the Tamil-speaking
caste in India. The Iyengar group is part
of the Brahmin caste which is scholarly
and higher in the caste hierarchy than the
non-Brahmin or Mudaliyar, caste.[13]:136
The Mudaliyars use many of the same
words for things that are differentiated
within the Iyengars' speech. For example,
as you can see below, the difference
between drinking water, water in general,
and non-potable water is used by one
word in the non-Brahmin caste and three
separate words in the Brahmin caste.
Furthermore, Agha references how the
use of different speech reflects a
"departure from a group-internal
norm".[13]:139 For example, if the non-
Brahmin caste uses Brahmin terms in
their mode of speech it is seen as self-
raising, whereas if people within the
Brahmin caste use non-Brahmin speech
it is seen as pejoratives.[13]:138 Therefore,
depending on which castes use certain
words the pragmatics change. Hence,
this speech system is determined by
socioeconomic class and social context.

Mudaliyar (non-
Gloss Iyengar (Brahmin)
Brahmin)

Drinking Water tanni tirrto

Water in general tanni jalo

Non-potable
tanni tanni
water

Worship puuse puuje

food sooru saado

puuje 'worship'// puuse 'punishment for

worship puuse
children'

food sooru/ saado saado 'food'// sooru 'food' (pejorative)

eat tinnu/saapdo saapdo 'eat'// tinnu 'guzzle, etc.' (pejorative)

Norwegian dialect-based sociolect

Example 2

Norwegian does not have a spoken

standard and is heavily dependent on
dialect variants. The following example
shows the difference between the
national written standard and a spoken
variant, where the phonology and
pronunciation differ. These are not
sociolectic differences per se. As Agha
states, "Some lexical contrasts are due to
the phonological difference (e.g., R
makes more consonantal and vocalic
distinctions than B), while others are due
to the morphological difference (e.g.,
difference in plural suffixes and certain
verb inflections) between two
varieties.[13]:140
 Gloss National standard (Bokmål, B) Local variety (Ranamål, R)

I Jeg Eg

you Deg Deg

He Han Hanj

She Hun Ho

If Hvis Vess

To, toward Til Tell

Who Hvem Kem

How Hvordan Korsen

Diglossia

Example 3

The chart below gives an example of

diglossia in Arab-speaking nations and
where it is used. Diglossia is defined by
Mesthrie as "[a] situation where two
varieties of a language exist side by
side".[15] The Classical Arabic is known
as ‫اﻟﻔﺼﺤﻰ‬, or al-fuṣḥā, while the
colloquial dialect depends on the
country. For example, ‫ﺷﺎﻣﻲ‬, or šāmi, is
spoken in Lebanon and parts of Syria. In
many situations, there is a major lexical
difference among words in the classical
and colloquial speech, as well as
pronunciation differences, such as a
difference in short vowels, when the
words are the same. Although a specific
example of diglossia was not given, its
social context is almost if not more
important. For example, Halliday tells us
that "in areas with Diglossia, the link
between language and success is
apparent as the higher, classical register
is learned through formal
education".[10]:175
 H L

Sermon in church or mosque X

Instructions to servants, waiters, workmen, clerks, etc. X

Personal letter X

Speech in parliament, political speech X

University lecture X

Conversation with family, friends, colleagues X

News broadcast X

Radio soap opera X

Newspaper editorial, news story, caption on picture X

Caption on political cartoon X

Poetry X

Folk literature X

African American Vernacular

English (AAVE)

Example 4

Below is an example of the addition of

the verbal -s not just on 3rd person
singular verbs in the present tense such
as in SAE, but added onto infinitives, first-
person present verbs, and 3rd person
past perfect verbs.[11]:49

1. He can goes out.

2. I don't know how to gets no girls.
3. He'd knows that.

Further examples of the phenomenon in

AAVE are provided below.

Below are examples of the lack of the

possessive ending -s is usually absent in
AAVE but contains a rule As Labov
shows states, "[the] use -s to indicate
possession by a single noun or pronoun,
but never between the possessor and the
possessed."[11]:49
"This is hers, This is mines, This is
John's, but not in her book, my book,
John book"[11]:49

"Interview with Bryan A., seven years old,

a struggling reader in a West Philadelphia
elementary school:

1. If I don't get out my mom room, I get

in trouble and when I don't get out
my sister room she hit me.
2. Bernicia penpal gave me one.
3. That's what he did to my cousin
Raymond dog at my cousin house.
4. I was acting like I stole my sister
food.
 5. At the museum, it was fun, we went
in somebody heart."[11]:49

Effects
Code-switching

Many times within communities that

contain sociolects that separate groups
linguistically it is necessary to have a
process where the independent speech
communities can communicate in the
same register; even if the change is as
simple as different pronunciation.
Therefore, the act of codeswitching
becomes essential. Codeswitching is
defined as "the process whereby bilingual
or bidialectal speakers switch back and
forth between one language or dialect
and another within the same
conversation".[16]:23 At times
codeswitching can be situational,
depending on the situation or topical,
depending on the topic. Halliday terms
this the best when he defines the role of
discourse stating that "it is this that
determines, or rather correlates with, the
role played by the language activity in the
situation".[10]:20 Therefore, meaning that
which register is used depends on the
situation and lays out the social context
of the situation, because if the wrong
register is used, then the wrong context
is placed on the words. Furthermore,
referring back to the diglossia expressed
in the Arab-speaking world and the Tamil
caste system in India, which words are
used must be appropriate to not only the
social class of the speaker, but the
situation, the topic, and the need for
courtesy. A more comprehensive
definition is stated, "Code-switching is
not only a definition of the situation but
an expression of social hierarchy."[10]:137

For examples of the use of speech within

certain situation refer back to the chart
on Classical and Colloquial Arabic.

For examples of dialect selection based

on topic, refer below:
When Albania was created in 1912, the
educational rights of the Greek
communities in Albanian territory were
granted by the Protocol of Corfu (1914)
and with the statement of Albania's
representatives in the League of Nations
(1921). However, under a policy of
assimilation, the Greek schools (there
were over 360 until 1913) were gradually
forced to close and Greek education was
virtually eliminated by 1934. Following
the intervention by the League of
Nations, a limited number of schools,
only those inside the "official minority
zones", were reopened.[17][18] Ethnic
Greeks living outside those areas were
not counted as such. This has had a
practical effect in the area of education:
With the exception of the officially
recognized Greek minority zones, where
teaching was held in both the Greek and
Albanian languages, in all other areas of
Albania lessons were taught only in the
Albanian language.[19] If a few Albanian
families moved into a town or village, the
minority's right to be educated in Greek
and publish in Greek newspapers was
revoked.[20] In accordance with the
communist Albanian policy of unification
and homogenization, the use of the
Greek language in Himarë was forbidden
in public, and many Greek-speaking
people were forced to move to places in
northern or central Albania.[21] As a
consequence, Greek schools in the
Himarë area were closed, and the local
communities stuck to their language,
which slowly became archaic when they
started to emigrate to Greece (1991) in
the aftermath of the communist regime's
collapse.[22]

As Trudgill defines it, the Arvanikita is

"the name given in Greece given to the
language of the indigenous Albanian-
speaking linguistic minority in that
country".[16]:10 This community is
different linguistically than the
surrounding area and must use their
language accordingly. For example,
nowadays, Arvanitika is only used at
home and other situations, such as in
school during games, on the playground,
or for "chatting up girls", while only Greek
is spoken in class.[23]:129

Therefore, it is both topical and

situational in context.

Discrimination

Human rights in Albania are violated by

the Government which have targeted the
Greek-speaking population via police and
secret service according to Human
Rights organisations.[24] According to
Amnesty International there were cases
of mistreatment of members of the
Greek-speaking minority by the
authorities.[25] Also, the Greek-speaking
minority complained about the
government’s unwillingness to recognize
Greek-speaking towns outside
communist-era “minority zones,” to utilize
Greek in official documents and on public
signs in Greek-speaking areas, or to
include more ethnic Greeks in public
administration.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]
Albanian sources often use the pejorative
term 'filogrek' (pro-Greek) in relation to
Greeks-speaking minority groups, usually
in a context disputing their Greek
ancestry.[35] The 2012 USA annual report
mention that the emergence of strident
nationalist groups like the Red and Black
Alliance (RBA) increased ethnic tensions
with the Greek-speaking minority
groups.[30]

The Arvanitika community also suffers

from discrimination because they are
cast under stereotypes by the use of their
native language. As Garrett writes, "a
number of Arvanites had suffered from
what they regarded as discrimination,
particularly during military service, and at
school".[23]:130 Even though, the language
is the only thing that differentiates them
from the surrounding Greeks, it still
defines them as a distinct class and
places them within a social hierarchy.
Furthermore, within societies that
maintain a diglossic state, the High ('H')
and Low ('L') forms serve as a basis for
discrimination. As Mesthrie writes, "Since
the H form is learned via formal
education, diglossia can be a means of
excluding people from access to full
participation in society".[15]

See also
Argot
Chronolect
Creole language
Idiolect
Jargon
Language and gender
 Pidgin
Prestige (sociolinguistics)
Shibboleth
Slang

References
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varieties of American English". In E.
Finegan and J.R. Rickford (ed.).
Language in the USA: Themes for
the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge
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X.
2. Wilkoń, Aleksander (2000).
Typologia odmian językowych
współczesnej polszczyzny (in
Polish) (2 ed.). Katowice:
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu
Śląskiego. pp. 87–88. ISBN 83-226-
0975-2.
3. Durrell, Martin (2004). "Sociolect". In
Ammon, Ulrich; et al. (eds.).
Sociolinguistics. An International
Handbook of the Science of
Language and Society. Walter de
Gruyter. pp. 200–205.
4. Smith, K. Aaron; Kim, Susan M.
(2017). This Language, A River: A
History of English . Broadview
Press. p. 281.
ISBN 9781770486652.
5. Mrázková, Kamila (2017).
"REJSTŘÍK" . In Karolak, Petr;
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(eds.). Nový encyklopedický slovník
češtiny (in Czech).
6. Grzenia, Jan (2005-04-25). "gwara a
żargon" . Poradnia językowa PWN
(in Polish). sjp.pwn.pl. Retrieved
2019-04-26.
 7. Mistrík, Jozef (1993). Encyklopédia
jazykovedy (in Slovak) (1 ed.).
Bratislava: Obzor. p. 385.
ISBN 8021502509.
OCLC 29200758 .
8. Eifring, Halvor. "7 Language and
Variation". Linguistics for Students
of Asian and African Languages .
9. Trudgill, Peter. A Glossary of
Sociolinguistics. Oxford; New York:
Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.
10. Halliday, M. Language and Society.
London; New York: Continuum,
2007. Print.
11. Labov, William. Dialect Diversity in
America : the Politics of Language
Change. Charlottesville: University
of Virginia Press, 2012. Print.
12. Hervey, Sándor; Higgins, Ian;
Loughridge, Michael (2003).
Thinking German Translation: A
Course in Translation Method .
Thinking Translation. Routledge.
pp. 85–86. ISBN 9781134818976.
13. Agha, Asif. Language and Social
Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2007. 135. Print.
14. Murray, Thomas E.. "From Trade
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16. Trudgill, Peter. On Dialect : Social
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17. King, Russell; Mai, Nicola;
Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie
(2005). The New Albanian
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ISBN 978-1-903900-78-9.
18. Greece of Tomorrow. George H.
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4067-0758-9
19. Advisory Committee on the
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Second Opinion on Albania , 29 May
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20. Vance, Charles; Paik, Yongsun
(2006). Managing a Global
Workforce Challenges and
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M.E. Sharpe. p. 682. ISBN 978-0-
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21. Bon 2008a, p. 111.
22. Bon 2008a, p. 60; Bon 2008b, pp. 7–
29.
23. Garrett, Peter. Investigating
Language Attitudes: Social
Meanings of Dialect, Ethnicity and
Performance. Cardiff: University of
Wales Press, 2003. Print.
24. "Albania: The Greek Minority" .
Hrw.org. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
25. ALBANIA: FAILURE TO END POLICE
ILL-TREATMENT AND DEATHS IN
CUSTODY
26. ALBANIA 2008 HUMAN RIGHTS
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27. ALBANIA 2009 HUMAN RIGHTS
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30. ALBANIA 2012 HUMAN RIGHTS
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31. ALBANIA 2013 HUMAN RIGHTS
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32. ALBANIA 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS
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33. ALBANIA 2015 HUMAN RIGHTS
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34. ALBANIA 2016 HUMAN RIGHTS
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