Communication Studies MODULE 2 - Language and Community THIS MODULE seeks to develop in you the ability to discuss how language may be defined and characterized as well as to consider ways in which language affects society and is in turn affected by society. This study of language is investigated within the Caribbean context. You should be able to describe the salient features of the interactive relationship among communication technologies, language and society. In addition, your ability to examine the significance of communication technologies in cultural interaction ought to become evident. This section carries much content and so you need to read all that is relevant andcan be found on the various aspects of the module. You may read the following texts which, together, provide adequate information on this module: * West Indians and their language by Peter Roberts * English for Academic Purposes by Barbara Lalla * Writing in English: A Coursebook for Caribbean Students by H. Simmons- MacDonald, L. Fields and P. Roberts. * Grammar, Structure and Style - A Practical Guide to A-Level English by Shirley Russel * Language: Exposition and Argument(Readings and Exercises)compiled by K. Shields-Brodber, |. McLaren, M. Thompson, E. King and M. E. Taylor DEFINING LANGUAGE Language is recognized as having two possible interpretations: language and a language. When we think of language we think of it in a general way. Language: is the verbal form of human expression. As such, it is therefore confined to a human context and not extended to any other species. It also relates to a human being's ability to communicate, verbally and non-verbally, with other human beings as well as with himself. It allows the transmission ofdesires, ideas and emotions from individual to individual and within the same individual. Language is external in the form of sounds and symbols and it is internal as mental activity A Language: means any distinct system of verbal expression, distinguished from other such systems by its peculiarities of structure and vocabulary. That is to say that every language is distinct from other languages because of these features. E.g. Spanish, Jamaican Creole, English, French and Chinese are each categorized as a language; while all who are speakers of these languages, in verbally expressing themselves, use language. CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE1. Human Where other creatures seem to have communication systems which enable them to perform basic functions, only the human species has one which allows such complexity and range of performance. We know of no other species which can express meanings about past or future events, articulate abstract ideas or construct advertisements. 2. Verbal Human beings make language. It is first spoken then written. The complex anatomy in the throat and mouth allows us to modify this vibrating air in order to make the vowels and consonants of speech and to manipulate its melodies, the intonation system. We have ears to hear what otherssay as well as to monitor ourselves. 3.Symbolic Language has an arbitrary nature. The connection between the things signified (e.g. Objects) and the words used to signify them, that is the symbol the word ‘book’ and the symbolized the actual book, is arbitrary. There is nothing inherent in the word 'book' for us to refer to the object as such. 4.Systematic Language is rule governed. It follows observable patterns that obey certain inherent ‘rules’. To be fluent in a language requires both a mastery of its grammatical rules and competence in the appropriate use of the sentences that are structured bythose rules. 5.Maturational A language is always developing. Most languages do so as they acquire vocabulary. 6.Non — instinctive Language is naturally acquired. It is suggested that there is a built-in mechanism which gives human beings the ability to acquire and learn language; we are biologically conditioned to learn language. 7.Dynamic Language is not static, it is always changing. Language changes because thelives of speakers change, for example, as speakers come into contact with other cultures or as new discoveries change their way of life. The Jamaican Language Situation The Jamaican Language situation is referred to as a continuum. It depicts the range of languages and language dialects spoken in Jamaica. (Indeed there are a few other Caribbean territories which are described in a similar manner.) This range is represented as a continuum because: 1. Not every point on the continuum is a separate language 2. Jamaicans will switch from one to the other continuously in conversation and in different situations.The diagram below should give you a visual image of the Jamaican Language Continuum BASILECT >MESOLECT >ACROLECT BASILECT is the form of Creole with more African derived features than other forms and is said to be the first point on the continuum. It is most often spoken in rural areas and by uneducated persons. MESOLECT is the form of Creole with more English derived features than the basilect and is said to be the point on the continuum next to the basilect. It is most often spoken by urban and educated persons.ACROLECT is the Jamaican Standard English and it is the last point on the continuum. It is most often spoken in formal situations. Undoubtedly this notion that each form is most often spoken by particular persons is debatable as the increased accessibility of new technological mediums of communication throughout the country has enabled Jamaicans to choose even more freely any variety they wish to use along the continuum. CHARACTERISTICS OF CREOLE LANGUAGES There are several features of Creoles andCreole-influenced vernacular which make them different from Standard English. These features may be categorized as grammar, sound, vocabulary and semantics. Grammar: Within Creole grammar, for example, nouns, verbs and pronouns are not treated in the same way in which they are in Standard English [SE].To illustrate plurality as in the noun ‘books’, in Jamaican Creole [JC] plurality is shown by the use of the word ‘dem’ as in 'buk dem’. (Polard: 1993) Sound: The creole sound does not use the "th" sound this is usually substituded by the letter 'd". The "h’, or "ing" sound is normally not pronounced. To illustate sound formation in Jamaican Creole [JC] we generally hear the words "dem" "tief ","comin" and "ungry". Vocabulary: Most of the vocabulary used in the Jamaican Creole [JC] can only be found in that language. To illustrate this we often find words such as "nyaam" and "pickney". Semantics: In the Jamaican Creole [JC] words that are used may be shared with Standard English [SE] however they have different denotative and connotative meanings. To illustrate this the word "ignorant" in Standard English [SE] may refer to someone who is lacking in knowledge, while in Jamaican Creole [JC] it refers to someone who gets easily upset/ angry. LANGUAGE IN SOCIETYlanguage is used in various forms and capacity within our society today. These factors give rise to the issues which perpetuate the prevailing attitudes, both negative and positive, to language in Jamaica and some other territories in the Caribbean. The following are some of the factors affecting language: 1. SOCIAL FACTORS: * Interaction with peers * Media * Interaction with others [different age groups] * Structure of the society cultural plurality [several cultural groups existing in the same environment 2. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:* Occasion determines the register [formal or informal] * Interaction in the home [What registers are used? How do members relate to each other?] * Church ceremonial language is used * School language of instruction and interaction with peers 3. HISTORICAL FACTORS: * Slavery and plantation life * Dispersion of tribes on the plantations and in colonies * The need to communicate * Sovereignty who colonized which territory 4. EDUCATIONAL FACTORS:* Level of educational background * Availability of educational materials which foster the development of language * The teacher * Interaction with students during class * Accessibility of and exposure to training * Level of literacy 5. ECONOMIC FACTORS * Availability of materials which foster language development * Exposure to modes of communication * Travel 6. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION * Rurality vs. urbanizationReferences: Polard, Velma 1993, From Jamaican Creole to Standard English. A handbook for Teachers, Caribbean Research Centre, New York: Medgar Evers College. Roberts, Peter 2002. West Indians and their Languages, Cambridge University Press.