Ch 10: Language Variation

Syntactic variation deals with variation in syntax within language varieties. Which of the following is an example of syntactic variation?

"The crops need watered" or "The crops need watering"

How does the language of an individual shape how they are perceived by others?

1. Certain lexical items may mark the speaker as coming from a particular region. 2. A speaker's pronunciation may be from the non-prestige dialect, potentially marking socioeconomic class. 3. A speaker's pronunciation may be from the prestige dialect, potentially marking socioeconomic class. (All of the above)

African-American English (AAE) refers to a continuum of varieties spoken by African Americas. What are some of the sources from which AAE evolved?

1. Features of West African languages which were brought to the US during the slave trade. 2. Southern varieties of English which existed at the time of slavery. (All of the above)

Language is social because humans use it to communicate with one another. Why does language serve as a marker of identity within a certain society?

1. Language is a way to demonstrate which groups you associate with. 2. Language is a way to demonstrate which groups you disassociate with. 3. Language is a way to demonstrate community membership. (All of the above)

Regional variation is responsible for many different language varieties, such as the differences between American and British varieties of English. Why does geography play such a large role in determining dialect?

1. Language variety is influenced by face-to-face communication. 2. Isolated communities have less contact with others, leading to the development of a distinct dialect. 3. Patterns of settlement determine speech communities you come into contact with. (All of the above)

Language variety is a broad term to refer to any form of language characterized by systematic features. This includes...

1. Languages themselves. 2. Particular dialects. 3. How an individual speaks. (All of the above)

What are some factors in the development regional variation of English emerge in the United States?

1. Settlements across the east coast developed specific dialects, some becoming prestigious within the wider community. 2. Westward migration from the Atlantic settlements 3. Contact between English and Native American languages 4. The Atlantic Slave Trade (All of the above)

Social dialects are characteristics which are associated with the social groups to which speakers belong. Which of the following is an example of this type of variation?

1. Socioeconomic variation 2. Gender variation 3. Ethnic variation (All of the above)

In the beginning of sociolinguistic research, scholars would work to isolate "essential" elements of a speaker's identity, such as age or gender. Why did this approach limit sociolinguistic research?

1. The factor in question may not have much relevance for the speaker. 2. The research decided which identities would be studied instead of asking the speaker how they identified themselves. 3. You cannot truly isolate essential elements from one another. (All of the above)

Jargon is a language variety that differs only in lexical items, and it sometimes referred to as technical language. What purpose does jargon serve?

1. To impress outsiders 2. To clearly and succinctly express specific ideas related to a job or hobby 3. To show knowledge in a certain field (All of the above)

Research suggests that there is broadly a correlation between femininity and standard language. What are some of the hypotheses which explain this?

1. Women use prestige dialects to be viewed as more prestigious in a society which views them as inferior to men. 2. Women are primary caretakers for children and wish for them to acquire the prestige dialect to ensure their success in society. 3. Cultural norms dictate the social roles of women, which require them to use the prestige dialect. (All of the above)

A dialect is any variety of language spoken by a group of people that is characterized by systematic differences of structural and lexical features from other varieties of the same language. How does this differ from accent?

Accent deals with phonological variation.

Slang deals with stylistic choices in vocabulary and is often considered less formal. Which of the following is not an example of common slang?

Chair

True/False: It is possible to not use a dialect of your native language.

False

True/False: It takes conscious effort to change your speech style when talking with different people.

False

True/False: Linguistically speaking, there are some dialects or languages that are more logical than others.

False

True/False: Lumbee English is a distinct dialect of the Lumbee Indians and many of its features can be attributed to the Lumbee language.

False

True/False: New York City is considered to be part of the New England dialect area.

False

True/False: Speakers of Chicano English are generally first-generation immigrants who do not speak English as a first language.

False

True/False: Standard American English (SAE) is well defined variety of English.

False

True/False: The Midland and Western dialects do not closely resemble one another and are therefore easy to distinguish.

False

True/False: The Midland dialect is purely "standard" English.

False

True/False: The speech of younger generations is less correct than those of older generations.

False

True/False: You have complete control over your linguistic identity.

False

How did Appalachia develop a dialect which is distinct from the South?

Geographical barriers restricted the movement of Anglo settlers.

Speech communities refer to groups of people speaking the same dialect and are often defined in terms of extralinguistic factors. Which of the following is not an extralinguistic factor?

Language structure

Overt prestige and covert prestige are important factors in determining which dialect bidialectal speakers will use at any given time. How do they differ?

Overt prestige is associated with the standard dialect, covert prestige shows membership into non-standard speaking communities.

One way linguists determine if different dialects are from the same language or different ones is if the dialects are mutually intelligible. This means that...

Speakers of the two dialects can understand each other's language variety.

The 1961 William Labov study at Martha's Vineyard analyzed the centralization of various diphthongs within the local population and found that centralization played a large role in terms of group identification. How did he come to this conclusion?

Speakers who wanted to associate themselves with the island did use centralization

The 1972 William Labov study in New York City examined how the use of prestige versus non-prestige dialects in three different stores associated with different levels of prestige. He found that:

The salesclerks at the highest socioeconomic class store most often used the prestige pronunciation of /ɹ/.

The dialect in a particular region which is considered as "standard" is usually due to prestige. This means that:

The standard dialect is the dialect of the most powerful people in that society.

The Baugh, Idsardi, and Purnell study in 1999 demonstrated housing discrimination based on perceived identity of the speaker inquiring about apartments for rent. What does this tell us about signaling identity through language?

There are social stereotypes associated with language use.

True/ False: Phonetic variation occurs where a sound that functions the same in the linguistic systems of two varieties has some difference in its physical characteristics.

True

True/False: An example of speech styles at work in American English can be seen in differences in your speech when talking with your close friends versus speaking with a professor.

True

True/False: Dialectologists conduct field work to determine different dialect regions.

True

True/False: Like jargon, in-group slang can be used to exclude outsiders.

True

True/False: One example of morphosyntactic features specific to Northern speech is the use of with without an object noun phrase, such as "Do you want to come with?"

True

True/False: Phonological Variation occurs when the systems of sounds in two languages are different.

True

True/False: Some examples of a common dialect term in the South would be buggy, roly-poly, and coke.

True

True/False: The "observer's paradox" presents a challenge within sociolinguistic research because speakers often change their speech when they are being recorded.

True

True/False: The dialect continuum complicates the criterion of mutual intelligibility because certain dialects of different languages may be mutually intelligible, but not all dialects of these languages are mutually intelligible.

True