Transcript The Social Classes

Dialectology
-Regional dialect
-Social dialect
The scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of
sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily
on geographic distribution and their associated features.
• Accent: accents are distinguished from each other by
pronunciation.
E.g. water in Cockney accent
water in London accent
• Dialect :A regional or social variety of
a language distinguished by pronunciation , grammar,
or vocabulary, especially a way of speaking that differs
from the standard variety of the language
Commonly studied concepts in dialectology
include the problem of
Mutual intelligibility
Diaglossia
Dialect continuum
•
• A situation in which two or more
speakers of a language (or of closely
related languages) can understand
each other
• In sociolinguistics, a situation in which two
distinct varieties of a language are
spoken within the same speech community.
• Bilingual diglossia: is a type of
diglossia in which one language is used for
writing and another for speech.
• A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was
defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a
range of dialects spoken across some
geographical area that differ only
slightly between neighboring areas, but
as one travels in any direction, these
differences accumulate such that speakers
from opposite ends of the continuum are
no longer mutually intelligible
• An isogloss—also called is the locative boundary of a
certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a
vowel, the meaning of a word, or use of some syntactic
feature. Major dialects are typically demarcated by
groups of isoglosses; for example the Benrath line
distinguishes High German from the other West Germanic
languages; and the La Spezia–Rimini Line divides the
Northern Italian dialects from Central Italian dialects.
However, an individual isogloss may or may not have any
coincidence with a language border
Definition:
Isogloss: a term that refers to the boundary lines
that mark the areas in which
certain dialect words are used.
• Definition:
Regional dialects: involve features of pronunciation
, vocabulary and grammar which differ according
to the geographical area the speakers come from .
If the form of speech transmitted from a parent to a
child is a distinct regional dialect, that dialect is
said to be the child's vernacular.
The chapter focuses on language variation in
monolingual communities. In UK for example, the
English variety used in Scotland differs than that
used in England.
Standard language:
Is a highly elevated language that’s used within
governments ,school , educated people for a formal
usage .
Vernacular language:
It generally refers to a language which has not been standardized or
codified and which does not have official status un-codified
or standardized variety. It generally refers to the most colloquial
variety in a person's linguistic repertoire .
British English
American English
barrister
attorney
bill (restaurant)
bill, check
biscuit
cookie
block of flats
apartment building
bonnet (clothing)
hat
bonnet (car)
hood
boot
trunk
‫‪Najdi‬‬
‫‪Hijazi‬‬
‫‪Eastern‬‬
‫بياله‬
‫ـ‬
‫استكانه‬
‫اطلع‬
‫اندر‬
‫ـ‬
‫ـ‬
‫طعم‬
‫ناطع‬
‫طاقية‬
‫ـ‬
‫قحفية‬
1. On the accent level:
The word (dad) pronounced by a New Zealander would sound like (dead) to a British speaker.
(Bad) would also sound like (bed). The word (god) pronounced by an American would sound like
(guard) to a British speaker. (Latter) would also sound like (ladder).
2. On Vocabulary level:
Australians use the form (sole parents), while the people of England use (single parents), and New
Zealanders call them (solo parents). The American speaker would say (gas) while the British would
say (petrol), (elevator) instead of (lift), and (luggage) instead of (baggage).
3. On the grammatical level:
The Americans would use the form (do you have) rather than (have you got), and (did you play?)
rather than (have you played?) They would also use the form (gotten) while the British use (got).
The Spanish or French varieties also differ on these levels the same way the English verities differ.
Canadian French and Parisian French are different French dialects. For example, the word (job) is
(Travail) in Paris, while it is (djobe) in Montréal. The word beggar is (mendiant) in France while
(queteux) in Quebec. The word cinema is (vues) in Canada while it is (cinema) in France. On the
level of grammar, grammatical gender also differs. For example, the word appetite (appetite) and
midday (midi) are feminine in Canada while they are masculine in France. Also, the pattern of using
the two verbs (avoir) and (etre) to mark the aspect tense differ from Canada to Paris.
• Here the focus is on the dialect differences within one country. For
example, in U.K. the Cockney differs from Scouse and from Geordie. The
Cockney is distinguished with its glottal stop /?/ instead of /t/ in words
like (butter) or (bottle). USA is also divided by dialectologists into three
divisions: Northern, Midland and Southern. For example, within the
midland area, Boston dialect differs from NY. Within NY Brooklynese is
also different. In the rural Appalachians you can hear words like Clifft or
acrosst, or verbs with a-prefixes such as a-fishin, a-comin. In the eastern
states, words for (dragonfly) include snake feeder, snake doctor, snake
waiter or darning needle, while New York uses only darning needle.
• There is less regional variation in the areas where English was introduced
earlier such as New Zealand and Australia although there is a social
variation. In such countries where there is intra-national communication,
and small population, the regional variation was not able to develop. In
New Zealand, dialect differences are greater in Maori than in English.
For example, Maori words starting with (wh) differ in pronunciation from
one palce to another. On the level of vocabulary, the word fish in most
areas is (Ika) but it is (ngohi) in another. The word (kirikiri) means gravel
in the west but means sand in the east of New Zealand.
We have three dialect chains across Europe:
1. One links all dialects of German, Dutch and Flemish from Switzerland
through Austria and Germany to the Netherlands and Belgium.
2. One links dialects of Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, French and Italian.
3. A Scandinavian chain links between Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.
Therefore, the Swedes and Norwegians
The chains are also found in India, and they clarify the arbitrariness of the
distinction between language and dialect. Defining the contrast between
German and Dutch or Swedish and Norwegian using only linguistic features
is difficult. This is because the linguistic features overlap, and usage in one
area emerges to another. Therefore we must look to the social and political
functions of the language as well as its linguistic features. Therefore, a
language is a group of dialects that are usually linguistically similar, used
by different social groups who choose to say that they are speakers of one
language that unite them and represent them to other groups. This explains
why a Chinese who speaks Mandarin does not understand the Chinese who
speaks Cantonese, although the two dialects are dialects of the Chinese
language.
A.C Baugh pointed out that in one place,
at times, you can mark three dialectal regions
in a single shire. Modern American English
consists of dialects such as Eastern
New England, Mid-southern,
Inland Northern, Southern, General
American North, Midland, New York, and Black English Vernacular.
(KSA) is a large country divided into thirteen regions.
Accordingly, many dialects are used by the local citizens of these
specific regions.
Three or four major dialects are spoken.
For example, the Hijjazian dialect is used in the west,
the Najdian dialect is used in the central part of the country,
and the Qasimian dialect is used in the north
· A variety of speech associated with a particular
social class or occupational group within a
society. Also known as sociolect.
· A regional or social variety of a language
distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or
vocabulary, especially a way of speaking that
differs from the standard variety of the
language. Adjective: dialectal.
• Dialectal differences are connected with
social classes, educational levels, or both.
• [More-highly educated speakers and,
often, those belonging to a higher social
class tend to use more features belonging
to the standard language, whereas the
original dialect of the region is better
preserved in the speech of the lower and
less-educated classes]
People can be grouped together on the basis of
similar social and economic factors.
There are caste systems determined by birth, and
strict social rules govern the kind of behavior
appropriate to each group.
The rules cover such matters as the kind of job
people can have, who they can marry, how they
should dress, etc. A person dialect is an
indication of their social background.
--Vocabulary:
Educational differences between speakers affect the
extent of their vocabulary. In addition, practically every
profession has its own expressions, which include the
technical terminology and sometimes also the casual
words or idioms peculiar to the group. Slang too is
characterized mainly by a specific vocabulary and is
much more flexible than an ordinary dialect, as it is
subject to fashion and depends strongly on the speaker’s
age group.
[Example : upper-class speakers (u speakers) used "sitting
room" rather than "lounge" (non-u)]
Example: page 144. The highest social
group drops the least number of "h"s and
the lowest group omits the most.
Grammatical patterns:
Example:
1. Jim isn't stupid
2. Jim ain't stupid
All languages contain social or class
differences in dialects, It is important to
recognize that to some extent one can be
wealthy (or even powerful) and not belong
to the upper class. Social class involves
more than the amount of money one
makes; it includes a variety of overt and
often more subtle cultural behaviors,
including language.
* Upper-Class Dialect
Who uses this dialect?
This is the dialect of the nobility and royalty.
Anyone with a proper title speaks like this.
* Lower class
Who uses this dialect?
This is the dialect of the scum of the earth beggars, thieves, servants of commoners.
class differences are influenced by a variety
of social and economic factors including such
things as income, education, family background,
ethnicity, region, and ethnicity. It might be more
appropriate to say that we don't have one upper
class but many different upper classes that are
related hierarchically to each other based on a
variety of factors. The same thing can be said
for lower socio-economic classes. Therefore,
different regions will construct social classes in
different ways.