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2024 Session 1 - 2

The document discusses the relationship between language and social context, introducing key concepts such as bi/multilingualism, diglossia, domains of language use, and code-switching. It emphasizes how language choice is influenced by social factors like distance, status, and formality, and highlights the fluid nature of language in social interactions. The session concludes with a preview of future topics, including language shift and maintenance.

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Nguyen Dieu Hoa
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3 views23 pages

2024 Session 1 - 2

The document discusses the relationship between language and social context, introducing key concepts such as bi/multilingualism, diglossia, domains of language use, and code-switching. It emphasizes how language choice is influenced by social factors like distance, status, and formality, and highlights the fluid nature of language in social interactions. The session concludes with a preview of future topics, including language shift and maintenance.

Uploaded by

Nguyen Dieu Hoa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

G 11383
Language choice

Dr Tam NGUYEN
Introduction

This session has two parts:

1. Quick review
2. New concepts
2.1 Bi-/multilingualism
2.2 Diglossia
2.3 Domains of language use
2.4 Code-switching
Quick review

Sociolinguistics studies the relationship between language and society.


Important concepts already introduced:

• Codes/varieties: People choose between linguistic codes (or varieties)


• Speech functions: Speech functions can be expressed differently
• Social influences on language
• Linguistic influences on society
• Linguistic repertoire
• Social factors: Who? Where? What? Why?
• Social dimensions: social distance, status, formality, topic (referential vs. affective)
New concepts

• Bi-/multilingualism
• Diglossia
• Domains of language use
• Code-switching
Bi-/multilingualism

• Monolingualism = ability to use only one language,


• Bilingualism - ability to use two (or more) languages
• Bi/multilingualism can be looked at a societal level and individual level
• Example of a multilingual family
Diglossia

• Refers to two varieties of the same language used in the community:


­ High variety (H)
­ Low variety (L)
= narrow or classic definition
• Examples:
­ Hawaii: Standard English & Hawaiian English
­ Haiti: Standard French & Haitian French
­ Egypt: Classical Arabic & Colloquial Arabic
­ Australia: Standard English & Aboriginal English
Diglossia

• High variety is not used in everyday conversation


• H and L varieties: complement each other and are used for distinct functions
• A broader definition includes unrelated languages
­ Peru: Spanish & Quechua
­ Israel: Hebrew & Arabic
­ India: English & Tamil or Bengali or Marathi, etc.
­ Solomon Islands: (Longgu), Solomons Pijin, English
H variety

• Standardised, codified
• Grammatically more complex [narrow view]
• Spoken by high socioeconomic groups
• Vehicle for respected literature
• Maintained through education
L variety

• Unstandardised, uncodified
• Grammatically more simple [narrow view]
• Spoken mainly by low socioeconomic groups [narrow view]
• Not generally linked to literacy/literature
• Actively discouraged by education [generally]
Domains of language use

• A domain involves typical interactions between typical participants in typical


settings
• ‘Typical’ interactions involving certain social factors
• Draws on participants, setting and topic

Topic

Domains of use in Setting


a community
Participants
Domains of language use

• Examples: family, friendship, religion, employment, education


• Each of these can be defined according to their prevalent social factors
• Multilingual communities tend to associate domains with certain languages/codes
Example: Education domain

• The participants: student speaking to teacher


• The setting/social context: classroom
• The topic: Sociolinguistic assignment
• The function: to ask about the feasibility of a project

What code would you use?


How would that affect your Word choice? Syntax? Pronunciation?
Example: Friendship domain

• The participants: Greek Australian person speaking to friend who is also of Greek
ancestry
• The setting/social context: over lunch in the square
• The topic: current political situation
• The function: to complain about the government

What code would s/he use?


How would that affect Word choice?
Syntax? Pronunciation?
Poststructuralist view

Language not as static “codes” with solid boundaries but rather, as fluid resources in
meaning-making practices (Pennycook, 2010).

“code-meshing” (Canagarajah, 2011a, 2011b);

“translanguaging” (García, 2009; Creese & Blackledge, 2010)

Code-switching is reconceptualized as a social practice that is part and parcel of


everyday social life
Code-switching

How do we account for situations where people switch between two or more codes
within a particular domain?
1. Inter-sentential
Example of English-Chinese code-switching:
“People here get divorce too easily. Like exchanging faulty goods. In China it’s not the
same. Jia gou sui gou, jia ji sui ji“
[Literally: You follow a dog if you marry a dog, and follow a chicken if you marry a
chicken]
Code-switching

2. Intra-sentential
Example of English-French switch:
Je suis une Canadienne-Francaise, I guess.
[I’m a French Canadian, I guess.]
Reasons for code-switching

•Result of dual heritage


•Mark of solidarity/in-group
•Replacement for less familiar term
•Choice of topic
•Speaker identity
•The speech community norms
Code-switching in ELT classrooms

• Code-switching (alternation at the inter-clausal/sentential level)


• Code-mixing (intra-clausal/sentential alternation)

(Lin, 1990, 2008)


Reflection

1. Did your English teachers code-switch in the English classroom?


2. What types of code switching occurred in the classroom?
3. Why did they code-switch?
4. How often did you and your classmates code-switch in the English lesson?
5. How did you feel about code-switching in the English lessons?
Factors affecting code (language) choice

Social distance

Code choice
Code choice

Domain
Status relationship
Addressee
Formality

Setting Function
Conclusion: Language choice

• People can use and choose codes that are very different from each other (like Maori
and English, or the boy in the video)
• Also, all of us use different ways of saying things all the time
• People have a linguistic repertoire of codes
• Whenever we speak (or write), certain:

­ Social factors play a role


­ Social dimensions are being considered by both parties
­ Identity is key
Summary

• Linguistic repertoire
• Domains
• Diglossia
• Code-switching
Next session

•Language shift
•How language shift can lead to language loss and death
•Language maintenance & revival

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