Transcript Sociolinguistics

Chapter Seven
Language, Culture,
and Society
1. Language and Culture
What is Culture?

Broadly speaking, it means the total way of
life of a people, including the patterns of
belief, customs, objects, institutions,
techniques, and language.

In a narrow sense, it refers to local or
specific practice, beliefs or customs.
Two Types of Culture


Material culture: concrete, substantial, and
observable
Spritual culture: abstract, ambiguous,
hidden
1.1 The relationship between L & C

To sum up, the relation of L to C is that of part
to whole, for L is part of C.

The knowledge and beliefs that constitute a
people’s culture are habitually encoded and
transmitted in L.

Anthropological study of linguistics: study
of language in a sociocultural context.

Malinowski’s field work on the Trobriand
Islands off eastern New Guinea:
The meaning of a word greatly depends
upon its occurrence in a given context.

Anthropological study of linguistics:

J. R. Firth: theory of context of situation
1. The relevant features of the participants,
persons, personalities.
1) the verbal action of the participants.
2) the non-verbal action of the participants.
2. The relevant objects.
3. The effects of the verbal action.



Two comments upon Firth’s theory:
1. suggesting the creativity and diversity of
idiosyncrasy in language use.
2. “who speaks what to whom and when and
to what end”

Hymes: Ethnography of communication
1.
Speech community.
2.
Situation, event, and act.
3.
SPEAKING: situation, participants, ends,
act sequence, key, instrumentalities, norms,
and genres

Speech community: a group of people who
“share not only the same rules of speaking,
but at least one linguistic variety as well.
BACK

Situation, event, and act: three units of
interaction. Put together, these units form a
nested hierarchy that can be used to study
how members from a given community
speak to each other. “Speech acts are part of
speech events which are, in turn, part of
speech situations”
BACK

SPEAKING: a mnemonic way of
summarizing certain components of speech
which make possible the description and
analysis of communicative behavior.
S=situation, P=participants, E=ends, A=act
sequence, K=key, I=instrumentalities,
N=norms, and G=genres
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (重点)

Our language helps mould our way of
thinking and consequently, different
languages may probably express speakers’
unique ways of understanding the world.
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (重点)

Linguistic determinism: L may determine
our thinking patterns.

Linguistic relativity: different languages
offer people different ways of expressing the
world around.


Strong version: the language patterns determine
people's thinking and behavior. It lays emphasis
upon the decisive role of language as the shaper of
our thinking patterns.
Weak version: the language patterns influence
people's thinking and behavior. It suggests a
correlation between language, culture, and
thought, but the cross-cultural differences thus
produced in our ways of thinking are relative,
rather than categorical.

Linguistic evidence of cultural differences

Terms of address

Greetings

Thanks and compliments

Privacy and taboos

Color words
1.2 Culture-loaded words

烫手的山芋 vs. hot potato

雨后春笋 vs. spring like mushroom

大鱼大肉vs. meat and potatoes





kill the goose that lays the golden eggs” vs.“杀
鸡取卵”
Cold words vs. 冷言冷语
Constant dropping wears the stone. 滴水穿石
Diamond cut diamond. 棋逢对手
Kill a man when he is down. 落井下石
1.3 Cultural overlap and diffusion

Through communication, some elements of
culture A enter culture B and becomes part
of culture B.
Loan words: examples of cultural
overlap and diffusion

肥皂剧、卡通、布丁、苹果派、雀巢、巴士、
排挡、耐克、因特网、KTV、EMAIL

wonton, gongfu, kowtow, etc.
netspeak










顶(支持)
555(呜呜呜)
ding(顶)
mm/MM(妹妹)
LZ(楼主)
DD/dd(弟弟)
88(拜拜)
偶(我)
马甲(ID)
ID










斑主(版主)
恩(嗯)
汗或寒(敬畏)
晕(非常惊异)
ps/PS(photoshop的简称)
灌水(发帖子)
ddd(顶顶顶)
bs/BS(鄙视)
楼猪(楼主)
滴(的、地)
2006年中国主流报纸十大流行语
（综合类）

和谐社会、社会主义新农村、青藏铁路、自
主创新、社会主义荣辱观（八荣八耻）、中
非合作论坛、长征精神、消费税、非物质文
化遗产、倒扁
2007年春夏季中国主流报纸十大
流行语 （综合类）

企业所得税法、黑砖窑、气候变化、牙防
组、外资银行、印花税上调、香港回归十
周年、人民币升值、火炬手选拔、基民
2008年中国主流媒体十大流行语
（综合类）

北京奥运、金融危机、志愿者、汶川大地
震、神七、改革开放３０周年、三聚氰胺、
降息、扩大内需、粮食安全
Language and Society

Language is not always used to exchange
information as is generally assumed, but
rather it is sometimes used to fulfill an
important social function – to maintain social
relationship between people.

Users of the same language in a sense all
speak differently. What each of them chooses
to use is in part determined by his social
background. When we speak we cannot
avoid giving our listeners clues about our
origin and our background.

The social environment can also be reflected
in language, and can often have an effect on
the structure of the vocabulary. For example, a
society's kinship system is generally reflected
in its kinship vocabulary.
Sociolinguistics

The sub-field of linguistics that studies the relation
between L and society, between the uses of L and
the social structures in which the users of L live.

Two approaches to sociolinguistic studies
Micro-studies: sociolinguistic study of language
Macro-studies: sociolinguistic study of society

Micro-studies: To look at society from the
point of view of an individual member within
it, or a worm’s-eye view of L in use.

Macro-studies: To look at society as a whole
and consider how L functions in it and how it
reflects the social differentiations, a bird’s eye
view of the language used in society.
Sociolinguistic study of language






People who claim to be users of the same
language do not speak the language in the
same manner.
The different manners of speaking are
known as language varieties.
Social factors influencing one’s language
varieties:
class, gender, age, ethnic identity
educational background, occupation
religious belief

The varieties of a language are the actual
manifestations of the general notion of the
language and they are assumed to be related
both to the language user and to the use to
which the language is put. Varieties related
to the user are normally known as dialects
and varieties related to use as registers.
Dialects




Regional dialects
Social dialects
Idiolects
Standard dialect

Regional dialects are linguistic varieties used
by people living in different regions.

Regional dialect boundaries often coincide
with geographical barriers such as
mountains, rivers, or swamps.
English:
Scottish:
It needs washing
It needs washed
BACK

Social-class dialect, or sociloect, refers to the
linguistic variety characteristic of a particular
social class.

Social dialect has to do with separation
brought about by different social conditions.

The upper class: America, cake, helping, ice, lavatory, looking
glass, pudding, relatives, rich, Royalties, scent, scurf, sick,
sofa, writing paper, spectacles,

The lower class: the States, pastry, portion, ice-cream, toilet,
mirror, dessert, relations, wealthy, Royals, perfume, dandruff,
ill, settee, notepaper, glasses

Speaker A
Speaker B
I did it yesterday.
I done it yesterday.
He hasn’t got it.
He ain’t got it.
It was she that said it.

It was her what said it.
When we look at the language used by two
speakers A and B, we can estimate roughly their
relative social status.
In Britain, accent — marker of status

RP: a non-localized form of pronunciation,
refers to the particular way of pronouncing
standard English, an indicator of a public
school education and thus a high social status
on the part of the speaker.


Language and Gender: A Specific Case of
Social Dialect
1. Compared with men, women tend to use
such adverbs：horridly, abominably,
immensely, excessively, amazingly, so, most,
etc.
The overuse of these words imply that the
users are sentimental, shallow and not
objective enough.
(1) An
example from “Pride and Prejudice”: Oh!
My dear Mr. Bennet, we have had a most
excellent ball. …Jane was so admired. Every
body said how well she looked. Mr. Bingley
thought her quite beautiful, …I was so vexed
to see him stand up with her. … I am quite
delighted with him. He is so excessively
handsome!
(2) Wife: You always leave your papers about
dear!
Husband: Really? Didn’t I put them in place
yesterday?

In a sense, the overuse of the words of
absoluteness or extremity may cause changes
in the meaning of a word at least in the eye of
a man.
2. Women have their own vocabulary for
emphasizing certain effects:
females: so good, such fun, exquisite, lovely,
divine, precious, adorable, darling, fantastic.
neutral: great, terrific, cool, neat
3. Aside from specific lexical items, there are
differences between the speech of women and
that of men in the use of particles that
grammarians often describe as “meaningless”.

Male: Shit, damn, darn it, the hell

Female: Oh dear, dear me, goodness me, my
goodness,
4. Women use more tag questions.
5. Women use more statement questions with a
rising intonation at the end.
6. Women’s linguistic behavior is more indirect
and more polite.
Why are the differences?

These differences are brought about by
nothing less than women’s place in society.
More convincingly, the linguistic differences
between mend and women are culturally and
socially governed. Some sociologists and
linguists even claim that the so-called
women’s register is not only used by women
but also by powerless members in society.
BACK

Idiolect is a personal dialect of an individual
speaker that combines elements regarding
regional, social, gender, and age variations.
BACK
Standard dialect:

Socially prestigious dialect.

Based on a selected variety.

By the government, mass media, schools.

Any member can possibly use.

Not acquired naturally, superimposed.

普通话的定义是：

以北京语音为标准音, 以北方话为基础方
言, 以典范的现代白话文著作为语法规范
的现代汉民族共同语。

Halliday: Register

L varies as its function varies; it differs in
different situations.

The type of L which is selected as appropriate
to the type of situation is a register.



Field of discourse
Tenor of discourse
Mode of discourse



Field of discourse: what is going on, purpose and
subject-matter of communication., why, what
Field of discourse may be non-technical or
technical: shopping, game-playing, and a personal
letter are instances of non-technical fields.
Technical fields refer to the specialized fields such
as a linguist giving a lecture in class and
meteorologists talking about the weather.
The field of a discourse determines to a great
extent the vocabulary to be used in
communication and it also determines the
phonological and grammatical features of the
language.
BACK


Tenor of discourse refers to the role of
relationship in the situation in question: who the
participants in the communication groups are
and in what relationship they stand to each other.
It answers the question of 'to whom' the speaker
is communicating.
This dimension to a great extent determines the
level of formality and the level of technicality of
the language we use.
BACK


Mode of discourse mainly refers to the
means of communication. It is concerned
with "how" communication is carried out.
Fundamental to the mode of discourse is the
distinction between speaking and writing.
But there are finer distinctions, e.g. spoken
language may be spontaneous or prepared
beforehand and written language may be
intended to be read with the eye or to be
spoken.
Any instance of communication can be analyzed in
terms of these three dimensions. For example, a
lecture on biology in a technical college could be
identified as
Field: scientific (biological)
Tenor: teacher-students (formal, polite)
Mode: oral (academic lecturing)
The three variables are the features of the context of
situation which determine the features of language
appropriate to the situation, i.e. register. And they
determine the register collectively, not piecemeal.

Martin Joos: 5 degrees of formality

Visitors would make their way at once to the upper floor by
way of the staircase. (frozen)

Visitors should go up the stairs at once. (formal)

Would you mind going upstairs please? (consultative)

Time you all went upstairs now. (casual)

Up you go, Chaps! (intimate)
2.2 Sociolinguistic study of society

To know more about a given society by
examining the linguistic behavior of its
members.

Bilingualism & Diglossia

Pidgin & Creole

Code-switching

Monolingual: Speakers of a single language
control different varieties of that language.

Bilingual: People develop some ability in a
second language.

Monolingual speech communities are rare;
monolingual countries are even rarer.

Bilingualism — the two languages are in
contact.

This contact may lead to interference.

Pidgin, Creole, diglossia

Pidgin: not a native language of anyone.

learned informally in contact.

used esp. as trade language.

involves the mixture of two or more Ls.

Eg. Nigerian Pidgin English; Vietnamese
Pidgin French; New Guinea Pidgin German,
etc.

上海话中的洋泾浜英语

“蹩脚”（BILGE，船底污水，引申为肮脏
的、下三滥的、劣质的）

“大兴”（DASHY，浮华的，华而不实的，
引申为假的、冒牌的、劣质的）

"肮三"（ON SALE，二手货贱卖，引申为垃
圾货、形容人的品质低劣）

“瘪三”（BEG SIR，乞丐先生，用来形容
叫花子、难民、逃荒者等各式穷人，后引
申为最广泛的骂人用语之一：

"赤佬"是英语"CHEAT"（欺骗）和中文"
佬"的混生词语，一个鲁迅时代最流行的
洋泾浜俚语（隐语）；

From pidgin to Creole

As a result of intermarriage, the pidgin is
spoken at home and learned by children as a
mother tongue.

Pidgin is not just a contact language with
limited social functions, but can deal with more.

Eg. Haitian Creole, Hawaiian Creole English

Diglots: Two distinct varieties of the same
language are used, side by side, for two
different sets of functions.

Switzerland:
High German as the standard (public, official)
Swiss German as the vernacular (informal, daily)

Code-Switching: Bilinguals often switch
between their two languages in the middle of
a conversation.

“Hi，你好呀！This morning，我们对你的case
进行了discuss，我们发现，这对我们没什么
benefit。所以我们不得不遗憾地告诉你：与这
件事相关的所有Project都将被cancel掉。”

“事实证明，Download已经不吃香了，Portal
也正在逐渐没落。ISP与ICP都没有什么很
Power的招数了。My God，我们的前途究竟在
哪里？Page view、Impression，我们真正缺乏
的是如何让访问者Once again的内容与形式。”
1. “我是beast……那你呢……”
“我比你少一个A, ……所以我是Best。”
2. 辛楣吃晚饭回来, ……问鸿渐道:“你在英国
到过牛津、剑桥没有? 他们的tutorial system
是怎么一回事?”
3. 这种同情比笑骂还难受, 鸿渐咬牙来个中西
合璧的咒骂: “To Hell 滚你妈的蛋!”

什么年代吹着什么样的风
我拿我的麦克风
唱出old school show
yall ready to roll
70的年代
复古我最high
disco fever
从来不肯say goodbye

歌曲：快乐崇拜
歌手：潘玮柏vs张韶涵

下面的这首诗歌是介绍澳门的。
莲归
凌空俯瞰那“泉通十字门
宝聚三巴寺”汉夷杂居之地
澳门如一朵莲花悬浮海上
莲茎与香洲、关闸一脉相连
大桥如弓射出辉煌澳门
海堤相接路环岛更加葱茏
CASINO 的轮盘滚动
任君去赢得开心输得高兴
(《羊城晚报》, 1999 年12 月08 日B2 版)
Functions of Code-Switching
为顺应社会规约交际者通过语码转换可以避免社会
性的尴尬Social Embarrassment
(Two flies are copulating in front of a boy and his
mother)
Child: Do you know what these two flies are doing?
Mother: No.
Child: Ils font L'amour [法语意为 "They are making
love".]
Mother: Ok, Ok.
Child: You know, if I'd said this in Arabic, you would
have left the room immediately.


顺应社会规约的另外一个重要内容是文化
(三位研究生在他们坐火车去国内某地开会的途中)
A 去澳大利亚都看了些什么
B 啊看到的东西太多了比如美丽的城市清净的乡村
对了黄金海岸的沙滩和海水太美了
C 有没有去看Stripper
B Frankly speaking, yes. It was really a different
experience. And the performers have excellent
figures. Oh, amazing …
交际者可以利用语码转换实现趋吉避讳、
创造幽默、标志身份等种种心理动机
(C 请Y替她去监考)
C: 星期天你要不要监考?
Y: 监考? 监什么考?
C: 自学考试。我星期天上午正好有课, 所以想
请你帮个忙。
Y: Sorry, I can’t help you, because I have an
appointment .
C: That’s OK。
Y: 那你再问问其他专业的研究生, 看怎么样。
C: 好吧, 谢谢你!


方便功能
Eg. 辛楣吃晚饭回来, ……问鸿渐道: “你在英国
到过牛津、剑桥没有? 他们的tutorial system 是
怎么一回事?”

引用功能
Eg. 今天是作文的日子, 孙小姐进课堂就瞧见黑
板上写着: “Beat down Miss S. Miss S. is
Japanese enemy !”

强调功能
Eg. ……哲学家碰见问题, 第一步研究问题: 这
成不成问题, 不成问题的是假问题Pseudoquestion, 不用解决, 也不可解决。

回避功能
Eg. 柔嘉不耐烦道: “没有结! 要穿, 你自己去
买。我没见过像你这样nasty的人! ……”

社会地位标志功能
Eg. 鸿渐拿了几件, 看都是“成化”、“宣德”、
“康熙”, 也不识真假, 只好说: “这东西很值
钱罢?”
“Sure! 值不少钱呢, Plenty of dough。并且这
东西不比书画。买书画买了假的, 一文不值, 只
等于waste paper。瓷器假的, 至少可以盛菜盛
饭。我有时请外国friends 吃饭, 就用那个康熙
窑油底蓝五彩大盘做Salad dish, 他们都觉得古
香古色, 菜的味道也有点old-time。”

汉语规范受到英语和方言的冲击

趋洋的非常心态
1.
你中午call我,一齐去食lunch, 点啊?
2.
你个computer如果肯贴上写少money，换
一个mon就搞掂。
3.
请每天早上6点半给我一个morning call。
4.
做秀、派对、克力架、芝士
‘Unhealthy’ expressions
Code-mixing expressions

生抽XO

AA制消费

OK, 本店黄金确实OK。

我这单生意OK了。

酒楼OK，住户不OK了。

你体重OK吗？
Cross-Cultural Communication


Cross-cultural communication, also known as
intercultural communication, is communication
between people whose cultural perceptions and
symbol systems are distinct enough to alter the
communication event.
It is frequently used to refer to communication
between people from different cultures, which
implies a comparison between cultures. It centers
on significant differences regarding social
relations and concept of universe from different
perspectives such as language, food, dress,
attitude towards time, work habits, social
behavior that can cause frustration in
communications and contacts.
Cross-Cultural Communication


As a newly-established discipline, cross cultural
communication makes multi-disciplinary study of
politeness across cultures in great details. It helps
to bridge the gap between both cultural and
linguistic differences.
As the world is becoming a "global village", its
significance in international communication in
various aspects and language learning is becoming
more and more self-evident.