Ch 10 terms - Language Variation

topicalization

A syntactic process by which (in English) a syntactic constituent occurs at the beginning of a sentence in order to highlight the topic under discussion.

language variation

The property of languages having different ways to express the same meanings in different contexts according to factors such as geography, social class, gender, etc.

prescriptive standard

The standard by which a society makes judgements of "right" or "wrong"

covert prestige

Type of prestige that exists among members of nonstandard speech communities that defines how people should speak in order to be considered members of those particular communities

extralinguistic factor

a factor influencing language variation not based on linguistic structure, such as region, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and so on.

speech community

a group of people speaking the same dialect, usually defined by factors such as geographical distribution, age, gender, and socioeconomic status

community of practice

a group of people who come together to share some activity or lifestyle

non-rhotic

a language variety in which sequences of vowel-/r/-consonant or vowel-/r/-word boundary are not permitted to occur

rhotic

a language variety in which sequences of vowel-/r/-consonant or vowel-/r/-word boundary are permitted to occur

isogloss

a line drawn on a dialect map marking the boundary of an area where a particular linguistic feature is found

emblematic language

a particular language variety used to refer symbolically to a particular cultural heritage or identity

dialectologist

a person who studies regional dialects and regional variation

bundles of isoglosses

a set of isoglosses surrounding the same geographic region or distinguishing the same group of speakers, marking a specific language variety

in-group slang

a type of slang that is associated with a particular group at a particular time

common slang

a type of slang that is fairly neutral and is simply informal, everyday language

nonstandard dialect

any variety of a language not considered to be representative of the prestige or standard variety

prestige

having high standing or respect in a community

bidialectal

having mastery of two dialects

regional variation

internal variation of a language based on region or geography

style shifting

process of automatically adjusting from one speech style to another

communicative isolation

situation in which a group of speakers forms a coherent speech community relatively isolated from speakers outside that community

dialect continuum

situation in which a large number of contiguous dialects exist, each mutually intelligible with the next, but with the dialects at either end of the continuum not being mutually intelligible

mutual intelligibility

situation in which speakers of different language varieties are able to understand and communicate with one another

jargon

speech usually associated with or used within a particular occupation, hobby, or sport; technical language

accent

systematic phonological variation inherent in any person's language

copula absence

the absence of inflected present-tense forms of the verb "to be" in sentences for which Standard American English would use an inflected form

hypercorrection

the act of producing nonstandard forms by way of false analogy to standard forms

idiolect

the language variety of an individual speaker

a-prefixing

the process of attaching the prefix "a-" to the beginning of certain verbs in english, as in "a-running"

/l/-vocalization

the process of pronouncing syllable-final /l/ as a vowel or a glide

multiple negation

the process of using more than one marker of negation when only one such marker would be used in Standard American English

internal variation

the property (of languages) of having more than one way of expressing the same meaning

Standard American English (SAE)

the standard dialect of English spoken in the United States

Northern Cities Shift

the systematic rotation of the vowel space found in speakers in the northern region of the United States

habitual be

the use of an uninflected form of the verb "to be" to indicate that a state or activity is habitual

double modal

the use of two modals in a single verb phrase, as in "might could" or "might should"

standard dialect

the variety used by political leaders, the media, and speakers from higher socioeconomic classes, an taught in schools; the variety associated with (overt) prestige

overt prestige

type of prestige attached to a particular variety of language by the community at large that defines how people should speak in order to gain status in the wider community

social dialect

variety of a language defined by social factors such as age, religion, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status

regional dialect

variety of language defined by region or geography

speech style

way of speaking marked by degrees of formality; also called register

near merger

when two sounds have become so phonetically close to one other that observers claim they are merged and even their speakers have trouble perceiving the distinction

slang

words or expressions used in informal settings, often to indicate membership in a particular social group

near-homophones

words that are sometimes pronounced the same, but sometimes are pronounced differently; often the result of a near merger