Tema

13

General Linguistics
Language in Society

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Index Page

13. Language in Society 3

13.1 Idiolect 3
13.2. Dialect 3
13.3. Regional Dialects 4
13.4. Social Dialects 4
13.5 Standard American English (SAE) 6

13.6 Codeswitching 7

13.7 Lingua Franca 8

13.8 A Pidgin Language 9

13.9 Creole languages 12

13.10 Styles or Registers, Slang, Argot, Jargon,

and euphemisms 12

Complementary Resources 14

Bibliography 15

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Difference Between Language and Dialect

Definition
Language is the method of human communication, either spoken or

written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional

way.

Dialect is a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific

region or social group.

Categories
Language can be categorized into two main parts: spoken language and

written language.

Dialects can be categorized into two main parts: standard dialects and non-

standard dialects.

Mutually Intelligibility
Languages of the same language family are often not mutually intelligible.

Dialects of the same language are often mutually intelligible.

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13. Language in Society

13.1 Idiolect
Idiolect refers to the unique way of speaking of each person (Fromkin et al.,

2014, 326). Nordquist, 2020 claims that An idiolect is the distinctive speech of

an individual, a linguistic pattern regarded as unique among speakers of a

person's language or dialect. But it is even more granular, more narrow than

just all the speakers of a particular dialect (https://n9.cl/8tcsh).

13.2. Dialect
Dialect is the language used by a group of speakers (Fromkin et al., 2014, 326).

Dialect, a variety of a language that signals where a person comes from. The

notion is usually interpreted geographically (regional dialect), but it also has

some application in relation to a person’s social background (class dialect) or

occupation (occupational dialect)( https://n9.cl/zxj1q ) (Crystal & Ivic, 2014).

The development of dialects is the result of changes in languages, and the

changes which occur in an area or group of people are different from those

which occur in another area or group of people. The dialects of a language are

the understandable forms of that language that differ in systematic ways from

each other (Fromkin et al., 2014, 326). i.e. In Ecuador, we have different

dialects. For example, people from the coastal region speak in a way and

people from Cuenca sing when they talk, but it does not mean that we can not

understand each other.

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13.3. Regional Dialects

A regional dialect, also known as a regiolect or topolect, is a distinct form of a

language spoken in a particular geographical area (https://n9.cl/kswsg ).

(Nordquist, 2020).

“Varieties of regional dialects in the U.S. may be traced to the dialects spoken

by colonial settlers from England. Those from southern England spoke one

dialect and those from the north spoke another. In addition, the colonists who

maintained close contact with England reflected the changes occurring in

British English, while earlier forms were preserved among Americans who

spread westward and broke communication with the Atlantic coast. The study of

regional dialects has produced dialect atlases, with dialect maps showing the

areas where specific dialect characteristics occur in the speech of the region. A

boundary line called an isogloss delineates each area” (Fromkin et al., 2014,

326).

13.4. Social Dialects

“In sociolinguistics, social dialect is a variety of speech associated with a

particular social class or occupational group within a society. Also known as a

sociolect, group idiolect, and class dialect” (https://n9.cl/zetb6 )(Nordquist, 2020)

Douglas Biber distinguishes two main kinds of dialects in linguistics:

"Geographic dialects are varieties associated with speakers living in a particular

location, while social dialects are varieties associated with speakers belonging
to a given demographic group (e.g., women versus men, or different social
classes)"

(Dimensions of Register Variation, 1995).

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“Social dialects arise when groups are isolated socially, such as Americans of
African descent in the United States, many of whom speak dialects collectively
called African American (Vernacular) English, which are distinct from the
dialects spoken by non-Africans. Dialect differences include phonological or
pronunciation differences (often called accents), vocabulary distinctions, and
syntactic rule differences. The grammar differences among dialects are not as
great as the similarities, thus permitting speakers of different dialects to
communicate” (Fromkin et al., 2014, 326).

It is worth noting that dialects develop because languages change. But the
question is. Why does the language change? The Language changes because
the needs of its speakers change. For example, human beings have developed
new technologies, new products; consequently, they need to create new words
to refer to them clearly and efficiently. Consider the words cell and texting:
originally they were called cell phone and text messaging. These words became
more common; therefore, people began using the shorter form cell and text
(https://n9.cl/894d )(Linguistic Society of America, 2021).

Another example of language change is that the speakers of a language have

had different language experiences. All the speakers of a language know a
slightly different set of words and constructions, depending on their age, job,
education level, social class, region of the country, religion, etc. The speakers
pick up new vocabulary, phrases from all the different people they talk with, and
these combine to make something new and unlike any other speaker’s
particular way of speaking. Another reason why a language change is that it
takes words from other languages; for example, Spanish speakers from
Ecuador have adopted the words corner, referee, fault, etc. from the English
language (https://n9.cl/894d ) (Linguistic Society of America, 2021). Likewise,
various groups in society use language as a way of marking their group identity,
showing who is and is not a member of the group. There are more reasons for
language change. We have mentioned just some of them. As we have seen
language is always changing, evolving, and adapting to the needs of its users.
The changes that occur in one group or area may differ from those that occur in
another group or area so it gives rise to regional dialects and social dialects
(Fromkin et al., 2014, 326).

13.5 Standard American English (SAE)

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“Standard American English (SAE) is the form of the English language

used in the United States in formal and professional speech and writing, as
taught in schools and heard on newscasts, adhering to fixed norms of spelling,
grammar, and usage in written and spoken contexts, and neutralizing
nonstandard dialectal variation. Abbreviation: SAE” ( https://n9.cl/2tmbh )
(DICTIONARY.COM, 2021)

Another definition found at Study.com (2021) states that “Standard

American English is a version of English that should be easily understood by
just about anyone in the country. Turn on the TV, and unless they are focusing
on a specific accent, chances are they are speaking in Standard American
English. Want a better example? Find some clips from local news channels
around the country - with a few exceptions, they all sound the same
(Study.com, 2021) .

Still, despite being so standardized, Standard American English has changed

greatly over the past decades, and it continues to change” (Study.com, 2021).
In short, we would say that standard English is formal and professional speech
and writing. Which is understood but all the speakers in a country. It is taught in
schools and broadcast on television when we watch the news.
In many countries one dialect or dialect group is viewed as the standard, such
as Standard American English (SAE) (Fromkin et al., 2014,326). Here in
Ecuador the dialect spoken in Loja is considered by many people as our
standard Ecuadorian Spanish, but there are a lot of discrepancies about it.
What everybody agrees is that the Spanish spoken in the news is our Spanish
Standard.
Some language purists consider SAE as linguistically superior, and that
it is the only correct form of the language. This point of view is completely
erroneous since it means that some nonstandard dialects are deficient.
However, a study of African American English shows it to be as logical,
complete, rule-governed, and expressive as any other dialect (Fromkin et al.,
2014,326). Consequently, we can say that none dialect is superior to others. All
dialects are understandable forms of a language.
In the United States there are a lot of dialects due to a lot of people who
have migrated to live there have different native languages the same ones who
have a great influence in the way immigrants speak English. For example, One
Latino dialect spoken in the Southwest, referred to as Chicano English (ChE),
shows systematic phonological (production of speech sounds, accent) and
syntactic differences (variation in the syntax) from SAE that stem from the
influence of Spanish (Fromkin et al., 2014, 326).

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13.6 Codeswitching

Pidgins and Creoles Taken from:https://n9.cl/i0do2

There are a lot of definitions of codeswitching. Fromkin et al. (2014, 327)

hold that “codeswitching is shifting between languages within a single sentence
or discourse by a bilingual speaker. It reflects both grammars working
simultaneously and does not represent a form of “broken” English or Spanish or
whatever language”.

Likewise, Shofner (2021) claims that code-switching is used within bilingual and
multilingual communities. It occurs when speakers of a language alter or
combine two or more languages. i. e. Speakers of a language use words or
short phrases from different languages interchangeably as they suit a
conversation (https://n9.cl/h7uqv ). But the question is why do people alter or
combine two or more languages? It happens because people need to fit in with
a group, as a force or habit, or because people want to convey thoughts and
concepts which are easier to explain in their mother tongue or in the second
language. It is worth noting that when you are bilingual and you plug in a word
in a sentence you unconsciously apply syntax rules to make the phrases
understandable and natural

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Typical examples of code-switching are: ¿Cuál es tu schedule? ¿Estas busy?

Let’s have a fiesta!.

13.7 Lingua Franca

According to Norquist (2020) “A lingua franca (pronounced LING-wa FRAN-ka)
is a language or mixture of languages used as a medium of communication by
people whose native languages are different. It is from the Italian, "language" +
"Frankish" and also known as a trade language, contact language, international
language, and global language.
The term English as a lingua franca (ELF) refers to the teaching, learning, and
use of the English language as a common means of communication for
speakers of different native languages” (https://n9.cl/qcsgf ).
Giving a simple concept we have Fromkin et al. ( 2014). They hold that in
places where many languages are spoken, one language may become a lingua
franca to ease communication among people.

13.8 A Pidgin Language

Pidgins and Creoles Taken from:https://n9.cl/2o09k

According to Fromkin et al. (2014) In cases “where traders, missionaries, or
travellers need to communicate with people who speak a language unknown to
them, a pidgin may be developed. A pidgin is a simple language with
properties of both the superstrate (lexifier) and substrate languages”. In order
to understand this concept it is necessary to know what is a lexifier, a
superstrate and a substrate. According to Wikipedia (2020)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexifier ) “a lexifier is the language that provides
the basis for the majority of a pidgin or creole language's vocabulary (lexicon).

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Often this language is also the dominant, or superstrate language, though this
is not always the case, and can be seen in the historical Mediterranean Lingua
Franca. In mixed languages, there are no superstrates or substrates, but
instead two or more adstrates. One adstrate still contributes the majority of the
lexicon in most cases, and would be considered the lexifier. However, it is not
the dominant language, as there are none in the development of mixed
languages, such as in Michif.
Likewise the concept of a substratum is provided by Google Arts
&Culture(https://n9.cl/2rufb ) it claims that “In linguistics, a stratum or strate is a
language that influences, or is influenced by another through contact. A
substratum or substrate is a language that has lower power or prestige than
another, while a superstratum or superstrate is the language that has higher
power or prestige. Both substratum and superstratum languages influence each
other, but in different ways. An adstratum or adstrate is a language that is in
contact with another language in a neighboring population without having
identifiably higher or lower prestige. The notion of "strata'' was first developed
by the Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli, and became known in the English-
speaking world through the work of two different authors in 1932”.
According to Nordquist (2020)” In linguistics, a pidgin (pronounced PIDG-in) is a
simplified form of speech formed out of one or more existing languages and
used as a lingua franca by people who have no other language in common.
Also known as a pidgin language or an auxiliary language.
English pidgins include Nigerian Pidgin English, Chinese Pidgin English,
Hawaiian Pidgin English, Queensland Kanaka English, and Bislama (one of the
official languages of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu).
"A pidgin," says R.L. Trask and Peter Stockwell, "is nobody's mother tongue,
and it is not a real language at all: it has no elaborate grammar, it is very limited
in what it can convey, and different people speak it differently. Still, for simple
purposes, it does work, and often everybody in the area learns to handle it"
( Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts, 2007).
Many linguists would quarrel with Trask and Stockwell's observation that a
pidgin "is not a real language at all." Ronald Wardhaugh, for example, observes
that a pidgin is "a language with no native speakers. [It is] sometimes regarded
as a 'reduced' variety of a 'normal' language" (An Introduction to
Sociolinguistics, 2010). If a pidgin becomes the native language of a speech
community, it is then regarded as a creole (Bislama, for example, is in the
process of making this transition, which is called creolization)”
To give you a clear idea of what a pidgin is, we introduce these videos.

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Ten Common Nigerian Pidgin Phrases Taken from:https://n9.cl/q2ah5

Nigerian Pidgin English Taken from:https://n9.cl/tvlig

To conclude, we would say that a pidgin is a simple language used and created
by people with different native languages in order to communicate for different
purposes like job, businesses,

13.9 Creole languages

As we said before pidgins languages do not have native speakers. Pidgins are
created for the need of a Lingua Franca. But if a pidgin survives and becomes
the native language of the next generation, it is a creole language. Some
creoles are based on English; For example Jamaican Creole. Creole languages

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have grammars like other languages. Nowadays we even have creole sign
languages.

Jamaican Creole Taken from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNM-BE4xAyo

13.10 Styles or Registers, Slang, Argot, Jargon,

and euphemisms
We will say that styles or registers are situation dialects. It means that we speak
one way with our friends, another with our boss, another talking with toddlers,
another with our children, etc. We have different styles (formal or informal) to
talk with different people in different situations.
As for slang, It is defined by Maurer (2020) as “unconventional words or
phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way. It is
flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene”.
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/slang).
The most common examples of slang are: Rona for coronavirus, weed, and pot
for marijuana; pig, and fuzz are derogatory terms for police officers, etc. Take
into account that slang is an informal or colloquial language spoken by a group
of people. For example, making dough is used for rappers and means making
money
With respect to jargon which is the same as Argot Norquist (2020)holds that
“Jargon refers to the specialized language of a professional or occupational
group. While this language is often useful or necessary for those within the
group, it is usually meaningless to outsiders. Some professions have so much
jargon of their own that it has its own name; for example, lawyers use legalese,
while academics use academese. Jargon is also sometimes known as lingo or
argot. A passage of text that is full of jargon is said to be jargony”. Notice that
jargon or argot is formal language (https://n9.cl/yi7xj ).

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To conclude, we will say that all languages have taboo words or phrases that
are forbidden to use. So, it motivates the creation of euphemisms. A
euphemism is an inoffensive word or expression that replaces a taboo, an
offensive word, or sensitive subjects in order to avoid frightening or unpleasant
situations (Fromkin et al., 2014, 322). For example instead of saying “Peter
died” we use the euphemism “Peter passed away” Euphemisms are
considered by many people as the language of evasion, hypocrisy, prudery, and
deceit (https://n9.cl/a1cb ).
Here we present several examples of euphemisms related to death or dying
and examples related to unemployment (https://n9.cl/kgbb ).

● Passed away instead of died

● Dearly departed instead of died
● Ethnic cleansing instead of genocide
● Negative patient outcome instead of died
● Collateral damage instead of accidental deaths
● Put to sleep instead of euthanize
● Pregnancy termination instead of abortion
● Bite the big one instead of die
● Bought the farm instead of died
● Wearing cement shoes instead of killed
● Bit the dust instead of died
● Croaked instead of died
● Kick the bucket instead of die
● Whacked instead of killed
● Passed away instead of died
● Dearly departed instead of died
● Ethnic cleansing instead of genocide
● Negative patient outcome instead of died
● Collateral damage instead of accidental deaths
● Put to sleep instead of euthanize
● Pregnancy termination instead of abortion
● Bite the big one instead of die
● Bought the farm instead of died
● Wearing cement shoes instead of killed
● Bit the dust instead of died
● Croaked instead of died
● Kick the bucket instead of die
● Whacked instead of killed (https://n9.cl/kgbb )

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All the concepts presented in this unit contribute to understanding how

language is used in society, how it changes and how it evolves.

Complementary Resources

● Video about How to have an American English Accent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAhZeLytIk0

Bibliography

David, C., & Pavle, I. (2014, Jul 22). Dialect. Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/dialect/Standard-languages

DICTIONARY.COM. (2021). Standard American English.

DICTIONARY.COM. https://n9.cl/2tmbh

The Free Dictionary by Farlex. (2021). The Free Dictionary by Farlex.

https://www.freethesaurus.com/deictic+word

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Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2014). An Introduction to

Language (Vol. 10th Edition). Wadsworth. https://n9.cl/9406t

Glossary of Linguistic Terms. (2020). Glossary of Linguistic Terms.

Glossary of Linguistic Terms. https://n9.cl/y83q

Lingualinks Library. (2003). Glossary of Linguistic Terms. Glossary of

Linguistic Terms. https://glossary.sil.org/bibliography

Linguistic Society of America. (2021). Is English Changing? Linguistic

Society of America. https://n9.cl/894d

Maurer, D. W. (2020, Feb 20). Slang. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/slang

Nordquist, R. (2020, Aug 26). Definition and Examples of a Lingua

Franca. ThoughtCo. thoughtco.com/what-is-a-lingua-franca-1691237

Nordquist, R. (2020, Aug 26). "Idiolect (Language)." ThoughtCo.

thoughtco.com/idiolect-language-term-1691143.https://n9.cl/8tcsh.

Nordquist, R. (2020, August 26). Social Dialect or Sociolect Definition

and Examples. Thoughtco. https://www.thoughtco.com/social-dialect-

sociolect-1692109

Nordquist, R. (2020, Aug 26). "What Is a Pidgin? ThoughtCo.

https://n9.cl/tpztj

Nordquist, R. (2020, Aug 27). Definition and Examples of Jargon.

ThoughtCo. thoughtco.com/what-is-jargon-1691202

Nordquist, R. (2020, Aug. 28). "Regional Dialects in English."

ThoughtCo. thoughtco.com/regional-dialect-1691905.

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Nordquist, R. (2020, Oct 29). ThoughtCo. Euphemism (Words).

https://n9.cl/a1cb

Oxford Reference. (2021). Oxford Reference.

https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095

415248

Shofner, K. (2021). Linguistic Code-switching: What it is and Why. United

Language Group. https://n9.cl/h7uqv

Study.com. (2021). Standard American English: Usage and Language

Conventions. Study.com. https://n9.cl/xv4c

Your Dictionary. (2020). Your Dictionary. Your Dictionary.

https://n9.cl/f3wla

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