LANGUAGE:
•“A code whereby ideas…are
represented through a conventional, rule-based, system of arbitrary symbols for
communication.”
Language
vs. Dialect
Usually “language” refers to
the DOMINANT dialect, which is perceived as closest to the
STANDARD form used in writing.
We often think of dialects
of a language as being mutual intelligible with one another (speakers of each
dialect can understand speakers of the other dialects and vice versa)
Popular
understanding:
1.
A dialect is a type
of language spoken by uneducated or country people. It is a corrupt form of the
“correct” language. It is derived from the “corrrect” form. Those who speak the language “correctly” do not speak
“dialect”.
Or:
2.
A language is a
collection of dialects, one of which has been adopted as the standard
variety, which people think of as “the language”. The standard variety is simply another dialect.
Dialects (Varieties)
A dialect is a regionally or socially
distinctive variety of a language, identified by a particular set of words
(vocabulary) and grammatical structures, as well as a certain phonology.
To avoid the stigma of “dialect,” most
linguists use the word “linguistic variety” instead
Prestige and Stigma
·
A prestige variety is a dialect associated
with mainstream social prestige – for example a dialect that sounds “educated”
or “sophisticated”
·
A stigmatized variety is a dialect
associated with negative features, from a mainstream social perspective: e.g. “uneducated” “lower class”
Regional Dialect Classes
•
General American (Standard American)
–
Pacific NW, Pacific SW, Central, North
Central
•
Eastern American
–
New England, New York City, Mid-Atlantic,
Western Pennsylvania
•
Southern American
–
South Central, Southern, Appalachian
All languages consist of dialects (a
language is a group of dialects; to speak a language is to speak a dialect of
that language). Therefore, everyone speaks at least one
dialect. Dialect differences are usually minor and
dialects of a language are usually mutually intelligible. Dialects are geographically, socially, politically determined.
Dialects can vary with
respect to:
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Phonology – pronunciation or the sound system
of a language, e.g. r-less dialects of East Coast, pin/pen
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Morphology – the smallest meaningful units
of a language, e.g., ‘He don’t know.’ ‘The house needs painted.’
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Syntax – grammar or the words are put
together to form sentences, e.g., ‘We prevented the house (from) being
destroyed.’
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Lexicon – vocabulary or the words of a
language (e.g., lift/elevator,
truck/lorry, pail/bucket)
- Some
linguists distinguish between ‘dialect’ and ‘accent’:
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Different dialects have differences of
grammar and vocabulary;
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Different accents have differences of
pronunciation;
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Every user of English uses one dialect or
another, and one accent or another.
IDIOLECT:
Each individual’s own dialect, affected by numerous variables.
•
Where have you lived?
•
Where did your parents grow up?
•
Who were your friends? Where did they grow
up?
•
What languages do you know?
REGISTER:
Styles of speech, adjusted
to the needs of our listeners
How does your speech change when you talk to
•
Your pastor?
•
Your mom?
•
Your roommate?
•
Your college professor?
•
Your waitress?
•
Your best friend?
•
Your 3 year old niece?
What is Standard
English?
•
What it is not:
–
An arbitrary, a priori description
of English
–
The usage of a particular group
–
The statistically most frequently
occurring forms of English
–
A form imposed upon those who use it.
Definition of Standard English:
- A particular dialect of
English, being the only non-localized dialect, of global currency without
significant variation, universally accepted as the appropriate educational
target in teaching English; which may be spoken with an unrestricted
choice of accent.
- Strevens
defines ‘Standard English’ as that dialect of English that is not
associated with any particular locality, and therefore occurs in any and
every locality. It is not paired with a specific accent.
