Variety (linguistics)
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Insociolinguistics,avariety,also known as alector anisolect,[1]is a specific form of a language orlanguage cluster.This may includelanguages,dialects,registers,styles,or other forms of language, as well as astandard variety.[2]The use of the wordvarietyto refer to the different forms avoids the use of the termlanguage,which many people associate only with the standard language, and the termdialect,which is often associated withnon-standard language formsthought of as lessprestigiousor "proper" than the standard.[3]Linguists speak of both standard and non-standard (vernacular)[4]varieties as equally complex, valid, and full-fledged forms of language.Lectavoids the problem in ambiguous cases of deciding whether two varieties are distinct languages or dialects of a single language.
Variation at the level of thelexicon,such asslangandargot,is often considered in relation to particular styles or levels of formality (also called registers), but such uses are sometimes discussed as varieties as well.[2]
Dialects
[edit]O'Grady et al. definedialect:"A regional or social variety of a language characterized by its ownphonological,syntactic,andlexicalproperties. "[5]A variety spoken in a particular region is called a regional dialect (regiolect, geolect[6]); some regional varieties are called regionalects[7]or topolects, especially to discussvarieties of Chinese.[8]In addition, there are varieties associated with particular ethnic groups (sometimes calledethnolects),socioeconomic classes(sometimes calledsociolects), or other social or cultural groups.
Dialectologyis the study of dialects and their geographic or social distribution.[5]Traditionally, dialectologists study the variety of language used within a particularspeech community,a group of people who share a set of norms or conventions for language use.[2]
In order to sidestep the vexing problem of distinguishingdialectfromlanguage,some linguists have been using the termcommunalect[9][10]– defined as "a neutral term for any speech tradition tied to a specific community".[11]
More recently,sociolinguistshave adopted the concept of thecommunity of practice,a group of people who develop shared knowledge and shared norms of interaction, as the social group within which dialects develop and change.[12]SociolinguistsPenelope EckertandSally McConnell-Ginetexplain: "Some communities of practice may develop more distinctive ways of speaking than others. Thus, it is within communities of practice that linguistic influence may spread within and among speech communities."[13]
The wordsdialectandaccentare often used synonymously in everyday speech, but linguists define the two terms differently.Accentgenerally refers to differences inpronunciation,especially those that are associated with geographic or social differences, whereasdialectrefers to differences in grammar and vocabulary as well.[14]
Standard varieties
[edit]Many languages have astandard variety,some lect that is selected and promotedprescriptivelyby either quasi-legal authorities or other social institutions, such as schools or media. Standard varieties are accorded moresociolinguistic prestigethan other,nonstandard lectsand are generally thought of as "correct" by speakers of the language. Since the selection is anarbitrary standard,standard forms are the "correct" varieties only in the sense that they are tacitly valued by higher socio-economic strata and promoted by public influencers on matters oflanguage use,such as writers, publishers, critics, language teachers, and self-appointed language guardians. As Ralph Harold Fasold puts it, "The standard language may not even be the best possible constellation of linguistic features available. It is general social acceptance that gives us a workable arbitrary standard, not any inherent superiority of the characteristics it specifies."[15]
Sociolinguists generally recognize the standard variety of a language as one of the dialects of that language.[16]
In some cases, an authoritativeregulatory body,such as theAcadémie Française,[17]maintains andcodifiesthe usage norms for a standard variety. More often, though, standards are understood in an implicit,practice-basedway. Writing about Standard English, John Algeo suggests that the standard variety "is simply what English speakers agree to regard as good".[18]
Registers and styles
[edit]Aregister(sometimes called astyle) is a variety of language used in a particular social setting.[19]Settings may be defined in terms of greater or lesser formality,[20]or in terms of socially recognized events, such asbaby talk,which is used in many western cultures to talk to small children or as a joking register used inteasingor playingThe Dozens.[19]There are also registers associated with particular professions or interest groups;jargonrefers specifically to the vocabulary associated with such registers.
Unlike dialects, which are used by particularspeech communitiesand associated with geographical settings or social groupings, registers are associated with particular communicative situations, purposes, or levels of formality, and can constitute divisions within a single regional lect or standardized variety. Dialect and register may thus be thought of as different dimensions oflinguistic variation.For example, Trudgill suggests the following sentence as an example of anonstandard dialectthat is used with the technical register of physical geography:
There was two eskers what we saw in them U-shaped valleys.[16]
Most speakers command a range of registers, which they use in different situations. The choice of register is affected by the setting and topic of speech, as well as the relationship that exists between the speakers.[21]
The appropriate form of language may also change during the course of a communicative event as the relationship between speakers changes, or different social facts become relevant. Speakers may shift styles, as their perception of an event in progress changes. Consider the following telephone call to theEmbassy of CubainWashington, DC.
Caller:¿Es la embajada de Cuba?(Is this the Cuban embassy?)
Receptionist:Sí. Dígame.(Yes, may I help you?)
Caller:Es Rosa.(It's Rosa.)
Receptionist:¡Ah Rosa! ¿Cóma anda eso?(Oh, Rosa! How's it going?)
At first, the receptionist uses a relatively formal register, as befits her professional role. After the caller identifies herself, the receptionist recognizes that she is speaking to a friend, and she shifts to an informal register ofcolloquialCuban Spanish.[21]The shift is similar tometaphoricalcode-switching,but since it involves styles or registers, it is considered an example of style-shifting.
Idiolect
[edit]Anidiolectis defined as "the language use typical of an individual person".[22]An individual's idiolect may be affected by contact with various regional or social dialects, professional registers and, in the case ofmultilinguals,various languages.[23]
For scholars who view language from the perspective oflinguistic competence,essentially the knowledge of language and grammar that exists in the mind of an individual language user, the idiolect, is a way of referring to the specific knowledge. For scholars who regard language as a shared social practice, the idiolect is more like a dialect with a speech community of one individual.[24]
See also
[edit]- Abstand and ausbau languages
- Language localization
- List of language subsystems
- Koiné language,a standard language or dialect that arises due to contact between mutually intelligible varieties (dialects) of the same language
References
[edit]- ^Hudson, Alfred B. 1967.The Barito isolects of Borneo: A classification based on comparative reconstruction and lexicostatistics.Data Paper no. 68, Southeast Asia Program, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University,
- ^abcMeecham, Marjorie and Janie Rees-Miller. (2001) "Language in social contexts." In W. O'Grady, J. Archibald, M. Aronoff and J. Rees-Miller (eds)Contemporary Linguistics.pp. 537-590. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
- ^Schilling-Estes, Natalies. (2006) "Dialect variation." In R.W. Fasold and J. Connor-Linton (eds)An Introduction to Language and Linguistics.pp. 311-341. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^Wolfram, Walt; Schilling-Estes, Natalie (1998).American English: dialects and variation.Malden, Mass.: Blackwell. pp. 13–16.
- ^abO'Grady, William, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff, and Jane Rees-Miller. eds. (2001)Contemporary Linguistics.Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
- ^Christopher D. Land (21 February 2013), "Varieties of the Greek language", in Stanley E. Porter, Andrew Pitts (ed.),The Language of the New Testament: Context, History, and Development,BRILL, p. 250,ISBN978-9004234772
- ^Daniel. W. Bruhn,Walls of the Tongue: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed(PDF),p. 8
- ^"topolect".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language(4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2010.
- ^Pawley, Andrew& Timoci Sayaba. 1971. Fijian dialect divisions: eastern and western Fijian.Journal of the Polynesian Society80.4 (1971): 405-436.
- ^See p.8 of:Ross, Malcolm D.(1988).Proto-Oceanic and the Austronesian languages of Western Melanesia.Canberra: Australian National University.ISBN978-0-85883-367-8.OCLC20100109.
- ^See p.89 ofFrançois, Alexandre(2012),"The dynamics of linguistic diversity: Egalitarian multilingualism and power imbalance among northern Vanuatu languages"(PDF),International Journal of the Sociology of Language(214): 85–110,doi:10.1515/ijsl-2012-0022,S2CID145208588.
- ^Lave, Jean & Etienne Wenger. (1991)Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^Eckert, Penelope & Sally McConnell-Ginet. (2003)Language and Gender.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^Lyons, John (2002) [1981].Language and Linguistics: An introduction.Cambridge University Press. p. 268.ISBN0-52-123034-9.
- ^Fasold, Ralph. (2006) "The politics of language." In R.W. Fasold and J. Connor-Linton (eds)An Introduction to Language and Linguistics.pp. 371-400. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^abTrudgill, Peter(1999). "Standard English: what it isn't". In Bex, T.; Watts, R.J. (eds.).Standard English: The Widening Debate.London:Routledge.pp. 117–128. Archived fromthe originalon 21 March 2009.
- ^"Le Dictionnaire".Académie française(in French).Retrieved20 July2016.
- ^Algeo, John. (1993) "What Makes Good English Good?" In L. Miller Cleary and M.D. Lin (eds)Linguistics for Teachers.pp. 473-82. New York: McGraw.
- ^abOttenheimer, Harriet Joseph. (2006)The Anthropology of Language.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage.
- ^Joos, Martin. (1961)The Five Clocks.New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.
- ^abSaville-Troike, Muriel. (1982)The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction.Oxford and Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell.
- ^Freeborn, Dennis, Peter French & David Langford. (1993)Varieties of English.Houndsmill and London: MacMillan Press.
- ^Gregory, Michael and Susanne Carroll. (1978)Language and situation: language varieties and their social contexts.London: Routledge.
- ^Barber, Alex. (2004) "Idiolects."Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Retrieved 07-01-2009.
