Language choice in multilingual nations

language & society

Overview

Your linguistic repertoire Diglossia Code-switching or code mixing

HOW MANY LANGUAGES DO YOU SPEAK?

Linguistic repertoire

  The number of languages you can speak is your linguistic repertoire. The languages you speak in a multilingual community are ‘varieties’ or ‘codes’.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR VARIETY OR CODE IN A MULTILINGUAL SPEECH COMMUNITY?

A speech community

 "A speech community is a group of people who do not necessarily share the same language, but share a set of norms and rules for the use of language . The boundaries between speech communities are essentially social rather than linguistic... A speech community is not necessarily co extensive with a language community." (Romaine, 1994) http://www.missiontolearn.com/2009/12/learn-foreign-language-online/

Domains of language use

  The underlying concept  different settings characteristically call for the use of different languages in a multilingual society. A domain  Typical interactions between typical participants in typical settings  Participants   Setting  Topics The domain helps determine which language (variety or code) you would use

Domains of language use

 Domain  Typical interactions between typical participants in typical settings  Participants  Setting  Topics  The linguistic domain helps determine which language (variety or code) you would use

Domains of language use

(Fishman, 1972) Domain Family Participants Setting Parents Home Topic Planning a family party Language Friendship Friends Education Café Talking about weekend plans Professors University Lecturing linguistics

Q: The determinant of using one language variety over another is the physical setting. Agreed?

A: THE ‘EVENT’ CONVENTIONALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SETTING

Social factors affecting language choice Participants Setting Topic Social distance Status Social roles Formality Function/goal of the interaction • Who are the speakers?

• In what context is the language used?

• What are the speakers talking about?

• How well do the speakers know each other?

• The social status • Teacher-student; doctor-patient; father-son • Formal vs. informal • What is the language being used for?

DIGLOSSIA

Diglossia

Two distinct varieties of the same language in a speech community High (H) variety Low (L) variety

Diglossia

H=High prestige • H variety is not used in daily conversation L=Low prestige • H and L are used in complementary situations.

Example:

Latin

H=Classic Latin L=Vulgar Latin

Arabic

H=Classical Arabic L=Colloquial Arabic

German

H=high German L=low German

Attitudes to H vs. L

H variety • Norm • respect • Prestigious L variety • Below average • Not very respected • Non-prestigious

Situation Literature Public institution Gossiping Election campaign speech H or L

Polyglossia

  Situations where two or more distinct codes or varieties are used for clearly distinct purposes. A Chinese Singaporean speaks   English Chinese  Mandarin Chinese   Cantonese Hokkien

CODE-SWITCHING

Code switching

 Alternative use between two or more languages.

 Discuss homework in Mandarin Chinese and English

Why switches codes?

Identity /solidarity/social distance Status Formality Topic Affective function

Code switching at the lexical level

  Lack of vocabulary To express a concept not readily available in the language speakers are using.

Read the following dialogue in Taiwanese and note the code-switched part. What do you code-switch?

A: 你看你看，這是我跟我男（女）朋友的定情物！ B: 甚麼，你好俗喔，甚麼時代了還定情物。 A: 拜託，你不懂啦！這代表我們之間的愛！不論距離再遠，看到這個，就 好像男（女）朋友就在身邊一樣。 B: 講的好像情竇初開的年輕人一樣，別以為我不知道你的秘密。 A: 甚麼秘密，我沒有啊！ B: 沒有？我之前看到你跟別的男（女）人打情罵俏，還說沒有？ A: 不可能，你甚麼時候看到的？ B: 就之前我看到你們兩個人在喝咖啡，我還想說，厚 … 你真的是兩個通殺， 明明都有男（女）朋友了。 A: 我真的沒有啦，我知道你在說誰啦，他只是普通朋友，而且他也不是我 的菜啊！我們真的只是普通的喝咖啡啦！ B: 好啦，我知道啦，跟你開玩笑啦！ A: 吼，真的被你嚇死。

   Select a short clip of local soap operas. Note the code-switched part. What kind of vocabulary or expressions are code-switched?

Questions?