Language,Culture &
Society
Language is a System of
Symbols
? symbols are objects,events,speech sounds,
written forms,gestures,which humans attach
meaning
? Symbols operate in changing fields of social
relationships
? symbols are multivocal -- enables a wide
range of groups & individuals to relate to the
same symbol in a variety of ways
Language in its Social &
Cultural Settings
? Does language influence the
perception of reality and
cultural behavior?
? Does language reflect
reality in a culture?
? Or,is it both?
LINGUISTIC RELATIVISM and
DETERMINISM
? Edward Sapir/Benjamin Lee Whorf – the
“Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis”
? language & culture intrinsically linked
? "language is a guide to social reality..,it
powerfully conditions all our thinking about
social problems and processes."
Language and Thought
? Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
? Language predisposes people
to see the world in a
certain way guiding behavior
? Language reflects reality
? Rich vocabulary reflects a
cultural focus
GRAMMAR AND CONSCIOUSNESS
? linguistic conditioning of behavior
–,linguistic determinism”
? language is not simply a way of
voicing ideas,but the very thing
which shapes those ideas
Lexicon and Focal Vocabulary
? lexicon – a vocabulary; a dictionary of terms
? focal vocabulary -- specialized set of terms & distinctions that
are particularly important to a certain group
? tell us something about world view,historical events,ideas,
influences,perceptions important to a particular group
? Inuit terms for snow; skiers terms for snow
Ethnolinguistics/Ethnoscien
ce/Ethnosemantics
?, the new ethnography” (1960s)
? emics and etics
? maps of a lexicon and its focal vocabularies
? method of studying parts (domains) of a culture
primarily on the basis of how they are lexically
encoded by native speakers
SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND
ETHNOGRAPHY OF
COMMUNICATION
? Trace connections among linguistic and social
variables
? speech – the way people use a language
? Linguistic features as markers of class divisions
in society
? Languages in contact
Sociolinguistics
? Sociolinguistics - the study of the
relationships between a language system
(langue) and speaking (parole) in a social
and cultural context
? Study of the structure and use of language
as it relates to its social setting
Ethnography of
Communication
? the descriptive study of the use of
language,deeply embedded in its cultural
context (Dell Hymes)
The acronym SPEAKING
? S – setting and scene
? P – participants
? E – ends,the desired or expected outcome
? A – Act,how form and content are delivered
? K – key,mood or spirit (serious,ironic,etc.)
? I – instrumentalities,the dialect or language
variety
? N – norms,speaking conventions
? G – genres,different types of performance (speech,
joke,sermon,etc.)
Paralinguistic Features
? Body language and extralinguistic noises
At least 90% of emotional information in English is
transmitted by,body language” and tone of voice
Kinesics
System of notating and
analyzing postures,
facial expressions,and
body motions that
convey messages
Social Dialects
? Forms of a language
? Reflecting regions or social classes
? Similar enough to be mutually intelligible
? Social dialects (or sociolects) are language
varieties that are correlated not so much with
geographic as with social space
? Examples – black English,Spanglish,inner city
Boston,Newfie
Regional/Geographic
Dialects
? Define people by where they live
?,southern” dialect
?,newfie”
Language and Gender
? Linguistic features as markers of social
divisions in society
North American society
? Men and Women use English differently
? Language reflects traditional gender
inequality
Are Women More Polite than
Men? N,America
? Women typically use more polite speech
? Characterized by a high frequency of
honorific and softening devices such as
hedges and questions
?,act like a lady”,respect those around you”
? Boys and men & the,masculine voice”
Languages in Contact
? Diglossia
? Bilingualism
? Pidgins and creoles
DIGLOSSIA
? Speech communities in which two or more
varieties of the same language are used by
some speakers under different conditions
? Classic Arabic of the Koran and diversified
local forms of Arabic
? Java – Javanese and Bahasa Indonesia
BILINGUALISM
?, native-like” control of two languages
? A gradient
? Degrees or stages of bilingualism based on
performance – the ability to understand and
produce meaningful utterances in the second
language
Pidgin Languages
? a pidgin is a lingua franca that comes into
use in situations where a group of
individuals with no language in common find
a need to communicate
? a minimal language
? a mixed language,bulk of vocab usually from
the language of the dominant power
? many pidgins are short-lived
Creole Languages
? a creole – a pidgin that remains in use and
is expanded to serve the whole range of
functions necessary to a speech community –
over the course of two or more generations
? Reflects hybrid origins
SPEECH EVENTS
? how individuals behave with speech in a
specific,culturally defined situation
LINGUISTIC CODES AND SPEECH
COMMUNITIES
? Speech communities – a real social unit within
which speakers share a repertoire of ?ways of
speaking?
? may include one or several languages
? Members of such communities engage in verbal
interaction that is not randomly alternating
between distinct LINGUISTIC CODES but choose
systematically among them and put them to
specialized uses
CODE SWITCHING
? Crystal (1987) suggests that code,or
language,switching occurs when an
individual who is bilingual alternates
between two languages during his/her speech
with another bilingual person
WHY CODE SWITCH?
? a speaker may not be able to express
him/herself in one language so switches to
the other to compensate for the deficiency
? switching commonly occurs when an
individual wishes to express solidarity
with a particular social group
? to create a special effect
CODE SWITCHING AS
METACOMMUNICATION
? Code switching is an indirect form of
social commentary
? code switching is a linguistic device for
FRAMING verbal messages
? it is a fine-grained technique for
identifying stretches of talk as particular
kinds of doings that are intended to
accomplish particular kinds of work
Language Registers
? A variety of language that serves a
particular social situation
? Monolingual code switching – styles of
speaking
? The vernacular,the standard,the honorific
? Specifically defined varieties – scientific,
legal,religious,intimate,etc.
LANGUAGE SHIFTS
? the social meaning communicated by language
shifts
? reflexive statements about social structure
Language,Nationalism,
Ethnicity
? Linguistic nationalism – attempt by ethnic
minorities and even countries to proclaim
independence by purging their languages of
foreign terms or reviving unused languages
Language Planning and
Identity
? Purification
? Revival
? Reform
? Standardization
? Modernization
A SPEECH EVENT IN A SPEECH
COMMUNITY
Discourse,Subjectivity,
Power
? Discourses
? Ways of talking about the world
? a system of representation
? Codes and conventions
? rules and practices that produced meaningful statements and
regulated discourse in different historical periods
? about language and practice
? Discourse is "a group of statements which provide a
language for talking about,..a particular topic at a
particular historical moment."
? "Discourse,Foucault argues,“constructs the topic,It
defines and produces the objects of our knowledge,It
governs the way that a topic can be meaningfully talked
about and reasoned about.”
Discourse,Subjectivity,
Power
? Discourse -- the bearer of various subject positions
? Subject positions -- specific positions of agency and
identity in relation to particular forms of knowledge and
practice
? Subjectivity --produced within discourse,subjected to
discourse.
? subject position--[for us to become the subject of a
particular discourse,and thus the bearers of its
power/knowledge] we must locate ourselves in the position
from which the discourse makes most sense,and thus become
its 'subjects' by subjecting' ourselves to its meanings,
power and regulation,
Discourse,Subjectivity,
Power
? power follows from our casual acceptance of the
"reality with which we are presented"
? Power a field of possibilities in which several ways
of behaving,several reactions and diverse
comportments may be realized
? the totality of practices,by which one can constitute,
define,organize,instrumentalize the strategies which
individuals in their liberty can have in regard to
each other,
Discourse,Gender,Power
? sexuality and the body -- sites of power
and politics
? socially imposed structures that
objectified sexual identity and gender
differences
? socially imposed structures that shape
gender relations and behavior
Society
Language is a System of
Symbols
? symbols are objects,events,speech sounds,
written forms,gestures,which humans attach
meaning
? Symbols operate in changing fields of social
relationships
? symbols are multivocal -- enables a wide
range of groups & individuals to relate to the
same symbol in a variety of ways
Language in its Social &
Cultural Settings
? Does language influence the
perception of reality and
cultural behavior?
? Does language reflect
reality in a culture?
? Or,is it both?
LINGUISTIC RELATIVISM and
DETERMINISM
? Edward Sapir/Benjamin Lee Whorf – the
“Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis”
? language & culture intrinsically linked
? "language is a guide to social reality..,it
powerfully conditions all our thinking about
social problems and processes."
Language and Thought
? Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
? Language predisposes people
to see the world in a
certain way guiding behavior
? Language reflects reality
? Rich vocabulary reflects a
cultural focus
GRAMMAR AND CONSCIOUSNESS
? linguistic conditioning of behavior
–,linguistic determinism”
? language is not simply a way of
voicing ideas,but the very thing
which shapes those ideas
Lexicon and Focal Vocabulary
? lexicon – a vocabulary; a dictionary of terms
? focal vocabulary -- specialized set of terms & distinctions that
are particularly important to a certain group
? tell us something about world view,historical events,ideas,
influences,perceptions important to a particular group
? Inuit terms for snow; skiers terms for snow
Ethnolinguistics/Ethnoscien
ce/Ethnosemantics
?, the new ethnography” (1960s)
? emics and etics
? maps of a lexicon and its focal vocabularies
? method of studying parts (domains) of a culture
primarily on the basis of how they are lexically
encoded by native speakers
SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND
ETHNOGRAPHY OF
COMMUNICATION
? Trace connections among linguistic and social
variables
? speech – the way people use a language
? Linguistic features as markers of class divisions
in society
? Languages in contact
Sociolinguistics
? Sociolinguistics - the study of the
relationships between a language system
(langue) and speaking (parole) in a social
and cultural context
? Study of the structure and use of language
as it relates to its social setting
Ethnography of
Communication
? the descriptive study of the use of
language,deeply embedded in its cultural
context (Dell Hymes)
The acronym SPEAKING
? S – setting and scene
? P – participants
? E – ends,the desired or expected outcome
? A – Act,how form and content are delivered
? K – key,mood or spirit (serious,ironic,etc.)
? I – instrumentalities,the dialect or language
variety
? N – norms,speaking conventions
? G – genres,different types of performance (speech,
joke,sermon,etc.)
Paralinguistic Features
? Body language and extralinguistic noises
At least 90% of emotional information in English is
transmitted by,body language” and tone of voice
Kinesics
System of notating and
analyzing postures,
facial expressions,and
body motions that
convey messages
Social Dialects
? Forms of a language
? Reflecting regions or social classes
? Similar enough to be mutually intelligible
? Social dialects (or sociolects) are language
varieties that are correlated not so much with
geographic as with social space
? Examples – black English,Spanglish,inner city
Boston,Newfie
Regional/Geographic
Dialects
? Define people by where they live
?,southern” dialect
?,newfie”
Language and Gender
? Linguistic features as markers of social
divisions in society
North American society
? Men and Women use English differently
? Language reflects traditional gender
inequality
Are Women More Polite than
Men? N,America
? Women typically use more polite speech
? Characterized by a high frequency of
honorific and softening devices such as
hedges and questions
?,act like a lady”,respect those around you”
? Boys and men & the,masculine voice”
Languages in Contact
? Diglossia
? Bilingualism
? Pidgins and creoles
DIGLOSSIA
? Speech communities in which two or more
varieties of the same language are used by
some speakers under different conditions
? Classic Arabic of the Koran and diversified
local forms of Arabic
? Java – Javanese and Bahasa Indonesia
BILINGUALISM
?, native-like” control of two languages
? A gradient
? Degrees or stages of bilingualism based on
performance – the ability to understand and
produce meaningful utterances in the second
language
Pidgin Languages
? a pidgin is a lingua franca that comes into
use in situations where a group of
individuals with no language in common find
a need to communicate
? a minimal language
? a mixed language,bulk of vocab usually from
the language of the dominant power
? many pidgins are short-lived
Creole Languages
? a creole – a pidgin that remains in use and
is expanded to serve the whole range of
functions necessary to a speech community –
over the course of two or more generations
? Reflects hybrid origins
SPEECH EVENTS
? how individuals behave with speech in a
specific,culturally defined situation
LINGUISTIC CODES AND SPEECH
COMMUNITIES
? Speech communities – a real social unit within
which speakers share a repertoire of ?ways of
speaking?
? may include one or several languages
? Members of such communities engage in verbal
interaction that is not randomly alternating
between distinct LINGUISTIC CODES but choose
systematically among them and put them to
specialized uses
CODE SWITCHING
? Crystal (1987) suggests that code,or
language,switching occurs when an
individual who is bilingual alternates
between two languages during his/her speech
with another bilingual person
WHY CODE SWITCH?
? a speaker may not be able to express
him/herself in one language so switches to
the other to compensate for the deficiency
? switching commonly occurs when an
individual wishes to express solidarity
with a particular social group
? to create a special effect
CODE SWITCHING AS
METACOMMUNICATION
? Code switching is an indirect form of
social commentary
? code switching is a linguistic device for
FRAMING verbal messages
? it is a fine-grained technique for
identifying stretches of talk as particular
kinds of doings that are intended to
accomplish particular kinds of work
Language Registers
? A variety of language that serves a
particular social situation
? Monolingual code switching – styles of
speaking
? The vernacular,the standard,the honorific
? Specifically defined varieties – scientific,
legal,religious,intimate,etc.
LANGUAGE SHIFTS
? the social meaning communicated by language
shifts
? reflexive statements about social structure
Language,Nationalism,
Ethnicity
? Linguistic nationalism – attempt by ethnic
minorities and even countries to proclaim
independence by purging their languages of
foreign terms or reviving unused languages
Language Planning and
Identity
? Purification
? Revival
? Reform
? Standardization
? Modernization
A SPEECH EVENT IN A SPEECH
COMMUNITY
Discourse,Subjectivity,
Power
? Discourses
? Ways of talking about the world
? a system of representation
? Codes and conventions
? rules and practices that produced meaningful statements and
regulated discourse in different historical periods
? about language and practice
? Discourse is "a group of statements which provide a
language for talking about,..a particular topic at a
particular historical moment."
? "Discourse,Foucault argues,“constructs the topic,It
defines and produces the objects of our knowledge,It
governs the way that a topic can be meaningfully talked
about and reasoned about.”
Discourse,Subjectivity,
Power
? Discourse -- the bearer of various subject positions
? Subject positions -- specific positions of agency and
identity in relation to particular forms of knowledge and
practice
? Subjectivity --produced within discourse,subjected to
discourse.
? subject position--[for us to become the subject of a
particular discourse,and thus the bearers of its
power/knowledge] we must locate ourselves in the position
from which the discourse makes most sense,and thus become
its 'subjects' by subjecting' ourselves to its meanings,
power and regulation,
Discourse,Subjectivity,
Power
? power follows from our casual acceptance of the
"reality with which we are presented"
? Power a field of possibilities in which several ways
of behaving,several reactions and diverse
comportments may be realized
? the totality of practices,by which one can constitute,
define,organize,instrumentalize the strategies which
individuals in their liberty can have in regard to
each other,
Discourse,Gender,Power
? sexuality and the body -- sites of power
and politics
? socially imposed structures that
objectified sexual identity and gender
differences
? socially imposed structures that shape
gender relations and behavior
