Transcript Sociolinguistics

Chapter Seven
Language, Culture,
and Society
1. Language and Culture
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What is culture?
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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.
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1.1 The relationship between L & C
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Generally, 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.
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Anthropological study of linguistics:
study of language in a sociocultural
context.
Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942):
The meaning of a word greatly depends
upon its occurrence in a given context.
2. Language functions as a link in human
activity, a mode of action.
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J. R. Firth (1890-1960): theory of the
context of situation
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The relevant features of the
participants, persons, personalities.
The relevant objects.
The effects of the verbal action.
“who speaks what to whom and when
and to what end”
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 Dell
Hymes (1927- ):
Ethnography of
communication
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Speech situation.
Situation, event, and act.
SPEAKING: situation,
participants, ends, act sequence,
key, instrumentalities, norms,
and genres
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Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
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Edward Sapir (1884 - 1939) and
Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941)
Our language helps mould our way
of thinking and, consequently,
different languages may probably
express speakers’ unique ways of
understanding the world.
Linguistic determinism: L may
determine our thinking patterns.
 Linguistic relativity: different
languages offer people different ways
of expressing the world around.
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English: horseshoe
French: fer a cheval ——
iron for horse
 German: hufeisen ——
hoof iron
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The Eskimos have
countless words for snow.
The Arabs, for camels.
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Linguistic evidence of cultural differences
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Terms of address
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Greetings
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Thanks and compliments
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Privacy and taboos
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Color words
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1.2 Culture-loaded words
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烫手的山芋 vs. hot potato
雨后春笋 vs. spring like
mushroom
大鱼大肉、鱼肉百姓、酒肉
朋友
meat and potatoes, meat and
drink to someone
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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
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1.3 Cultural overlap and diffusion
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Through communication, some elements of
culture A enter culture B and becomes part
of culture B.
Loan words in Chinese and English.
肥皂剧、卡通、布丁、苹果派、雀巢、巴士、
排挡、耐克、因特网、KTV、EMAIL
 Typhoon, gongfu, etc.
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Netspeak 网络语言
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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
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斑竹(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)
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2007年中国主流报纸十大流行语
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综合类：十七大、嫦娥一号、民生、
香港回归十周年、CPI（居民消费价
格指数）上涨、廉租房、奥运火炬
手、基民、中日关系、全球气候变
化
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国际时政类：韩国人质、库尔德工
人党武装、红色清真寺、和平使命、
萨科齐、核设施去功能化、贝·布托、
慰安妇问题、反导、达尔富尔
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国内时政类：物权法、又好又快发
展、中央宣讲团、入联公投、“和
谐号”、国家大剧院、郑筱萸、黑
砖窑、道德模范、铁路第六次大提
速
社会生活类：华南虎、熊猫烧香、
食品安全专项整治、群租、东方田
鼠、小产权房、零就业家庭、独居
老人、金猪、关停小火电
经济类：企业所得税法、节能减排、
土地增值税、人民币升值、燃油附
加费、财产性收入、第二套房贷、
从紧货币政策、成品油价格调整、
贷款基准利率
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教育类：师范生免费教育、方永刚、
农村义务教育、助学贷款、绿色通
道、孔子学院、校园集体舞、创业
教育、港校、网游防沉迷系统
文化娱乐类：《变形金刚》、《集
结号》、80后、帕瓦罗蒂、藏友、
新七大奇迹、《士兵突击》、社区
文化、孙道临、好男儿
科技类：南海I号、动车组、绕月探
测工程、Vista、阿特兰蒂斯、中华
鲟、干细胞、支线飞机、京沪空中
快线、海上丝绸之路博物馆
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构建和谐社会专题：社区卫生服务、预防
腐败局、生态文明、轨道交通、和谐文化
建设、最低生活保障制度、服务型政府、
劳动合同法、农民专业合作社、带薪休假
民生专题：经济适用房、法定节假日调整、
手机单向收费、农民低保、民生净福利指
标、惠农政策、居民基本医疗保险、个税
起征点、交强险费率浮动、农民合作医疗
金融专题：加息、QDII基金、股指期货、
认沽权证、理财产品、跨行通存通兑、新
股民、港股直通车、第三方存管、次级抵
押贷款
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奥运专题：上海特奥会、好运北京、倒计
时一周年、无车日、奥运门票、祥云、奥
运测试赛、奥运火炬、微笑圈、金镶玉
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2006年中国主流报纸十大流行语
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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
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文化类：文博会、文化创意产业、
孔子、原生态、百家讲坛、于丹、
潜规则、易中天、草根文化、恶搞
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2005年中国主流报纸十大流行语
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综合类：保持共产党员先
进性教育、“十一五”规
划、神舟六号(神六)、节
约型社会、和平发展、一
篮子货币、油价上涨、同
一个世界同一个梦想、连
宋大陆行、取消农业税。
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2004年中国主流报纸十大流行语
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综合类：执政能力、
雅典奥运、刘翔、审
计风暴、零关税、科
学发展观、失地农民
补助、反分裂国家法、
中法文化年、海啸。
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2. Language and Society
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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.
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Users of the same language in a sense all
speak differently. What each of them chooses
to use is in part determined by one’s social
background.
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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 and the vocabulary.
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For example, a society's kinship system is
generally reflected in its kinship vocabulary.
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The social environment can also be reflected
in language, and can often have an effect on
the structure and the vocabulary.
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For example, a society's kinship system is
generally reflected in its kinship vocabulary.
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2.1 Sociolinguistics
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The sub-field of linguistics that studies the
relation between L and society, between the
uses of L and the the social structures in
which the users of L live.
Micro-studies
 Macro-studies
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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.
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Variationist perspective:
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People who claim to be users of the same
language do not speak the language in the
same manner.
Varieties related to the user are normally
known as dialects and varieties related to use
as registers.
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Regional dialects are linguistic varieties used
by people living in different regions.
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Regional dialect boundaries often coincide
with geographical barriers such as mountains,
rivers, or swamps.
English
Scottish
It needs washing
It needs washed
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Social-class dialect, or
sociolect, refers to the
linguistic variety
characteristic of a
particular social class.
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Social dialect has to do
with separation brought
about by different social
conditions.
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Upper class: America, cake, helping, ice,
lavatory, looking glass, pudding, relatives, rich,
Royalties, scent, scurf, sick, sofa, spectacles,
writing paper
Lower class: the States, pastry, portion, icecream, toilet, mirror, dessert, relations,
wealthy, Royals, perfume, dandruff, ill, settee,
notepaper, glasses
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Speaker A
I did it yesterday.
He hasn’t got it.
It was she that said it.
Speaker B
I done it yesterday.
He ain’t got it.
It was her what said it.
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When we look at the language used by two
speakers A and B, we can estimate roughly their
relative social status.
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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.
 EE: Estuary English, commonly used by
educated people in the region around London.
Less rigid than RP but more standard than
Cockney.
 Cockney: lower class dialect of East London,
considered non-standard by educated people.
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Language and Gender
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.
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example from Pride and
Prejudice:
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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!
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Wife: You always leave your papers about
dear!
Husband: Really? Didn’t I put them in place
yesterday?
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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.
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Women have their own vocabulary for
emphasizing certain effects:
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Female: so good, such fun,
exquisite, lovely, divine,
precious, adorable, darling,
fantastic.
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Neutral: great, terrific,
cool, neat
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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
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Women use more tag questions.
Women use more statement questions with a
rising intonation at the end.
Women’s linguistic behavior is less direct and
more polite.
Idiolect is a personal dialect of an individual
speaker that combines elements regarding
regional, social, gender, and age variations.
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Standard dialect:
Socially prestigious dialect.
 By the government, mass media, schools.
 Any member can possibly use.
 Based on a selected variety.
 Not acquired naturally, superimposed.
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普通话的定义：
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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。
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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.
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Field of discourse: what is going on, purpose
and subject-matter of communication, why,
what
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Tenor of discourse: the role of relationship in
the situation, who, to whom
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Technical vs. non-technical
The level of formality
Mode of discourse: the means of
communication, how
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A lecture on biology
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Martin Joos: Degree of formality
Frozen
Formal Consultative Casual
Intimate
Formal <------------------------------> Informal
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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)
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2.2 Sociolinguistic study of society
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To know more about a given society by
examining the linguistic behavior of its
members.
Diglossia
 Bilingualism & Multilingualism
 Code-switching
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Monolingual: Speakers of a single language
control different varieties of that language.
Bilingual: People develop some ability in a
second language.
How to describe?
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to identify each of the languages.
2. the way each language was acquired.
“X is a native speaker of Cantonese and
learned English in school.”
3. mastery of skills: reading, writing, speaking.
4. function or domain: for each of the domains,
a bilingual tends to prefer a certain language.
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Monolingual speech communities are rare;
monolingual countries are even rarer.
Bilingualism —— the two languages are in
contact.
This contact may lead to interference.
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Pidgin, Creole, diglossia
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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.
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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）。
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From pidgin to creoles
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
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Diglossia: 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)
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Code-Switching: Bilinguals often switch
between their two languages in the middle of
a conversation.
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Metaphorical switching: the purpose of
communication
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Situational switching: role-relationship
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Mixed code: words from new languages are used
in old languages, e.g. New Zealand English
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“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。”
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“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。MyGod，我们的前途究竟在
哪里？Pageview、Impression，我们真正缺乏
的是如何让访问者Onceagain的内容与形式。”
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“我是beast……那你呢……”
“我比你少一个A, ……所以我是best。”
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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?”
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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!”
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歌曲：快乐崇拜
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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
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