Unit 1: Languages, Dialects and Varieties

Factors that influence style

Participants (who), setting (where), topic (what), function (why)

Urdu words from __ and ___ scripts, Hindi words from ___

Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit

Chinese reason for grouping languages as one?

Political reasons. Don't want separatist movements because there's differences in wealth among different regions

examples of register (2)

commentators of sports events, tobacco auctions, japanese department stores

Social dialect

differing forms of language which vary not according to geographical locations but according to different social class and different religious and ethnic groups

Negative feelings can result from a language/variety being a ____ of languages. True of ___ and ___ languages

mix, Pidgin, Creole

Standard Japanese from , form chosen:

modern Tokyo (Yamanote area), Edo

Clear isogloss when there's a ____ boundary

physical

Why are different types of speaking in US not considered dialects?

pronunciation is different but not grammar or vocab

Expect to find differences in dialects in 3 areas:

pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary

Caribbean English is ____ to only ______ can cause people to not view as real language

reduced, very specific situations

Standard French from

Paris

How do Danish, Swedish and Norwegian relate to MIH?

All considered to be separate languages but they can undertand each other when they speak

What is MIH? two parts!

1) if speakers of two varieties of a language can understand each other, they are the same variety of a single language 2) If two speakers of variety A and variety B cannot understand each other, then A and B are not varieties of single language C so they must be independent languages

Types of functions for speaking? 2

Affective (small talk, greetings), referential (newspapers, documentaries, giving info)

Ex of social dialect related to religion

Baghdad - Christian, Muslim, jews all speak different varieties of Arabic

Isogloss

Boundary that marks where people stop speaking one way and speak in another

Hindi and Urdu related to MIH

Can understand each other really well, only some items of vocab are different. But considered diff languages

Hypothesis 1 about how language is defined:

Combination of grammar and set of vocabulary shared and used by particular community

Chinese related to MIH

Considered same language but no undertanding between Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Shanghainese etc

Dialect continuum, and ex

Dialect that blends and there are no borders. Vienna -> amsterdam is an example

Arabic related to MIH

Different arabic (Moroccan, Lebanese, Syrian) but all considered one language. There's a unifying form used in formal situations

Speakers may consider a particular variety important and of language status if ____, ex: (2)

Distinguishes them significantly from speakers who have standard languages, Dutch and Norwegians, Ukranians and Russians

Why difference in Hindu/Urdu languages emphasized?

Early half of 20th century, anticipation of independence -> formed political parties -> each party chose language to speak -> try to emphasize differences in varieties used

Ethnic dialect differentiation example:

Immigrant groups of Italians and Jews in NY have strong accents. Want to identify self as distinct group

Ex of dialect variation related to social class:

India caste system has different dialects

Hindi used in ___, Urdu used in ____

India, Pakistan

Ex of Linguistic orphan (2)

Japanese, Basque

Linguistic orphan: definition, they are ___ and not considered to be a ____

Language with no obvious parents, isolated, dialect

Standard English from:

London area

What is second hyp called for how to define language

Mutual intelligible hypothesis

Selection of a variety to be promoted to language?

Naturally happens with expansion of power of certain group or deliberate selection

Variety

Neutral term used to describe either a language or a dialect

Problem w/ hyp 1 about how language is defined

No one follows these rules about language and each person speaks somewhat differently because of different exposures

How intimate and close the participants in a conversation are with each other

Solidarity

Term that relates to the "who" part of style choice

Solidarity

Serbo/Croat situation? Used to speak ___ but because of ____ in ______

Speak same language essentially. Serbo-Croatian, conflict in Yugoslavia, recognized as different languages

Ideolect

Unique way that each individual speaks his or her own language.

Style

Ways of speaking depending on formality

Language dialect division is

arbitrary

Dialects are associated with ___/____

area, regional

Variety can be considered as an important or "real language" if there is ____ by speakers, or ___ ties, ex:

attachement, historical, Arabic has strong cultural, religious ties

Standardization involves development of :

grammar dictionaries, written form, literature

Could be close to someone who is of ____ power or distant from someone who is of same social status

high

High solidarity -> ___, low solidarity -> ____

intimate, distant

Dialect is a ____ term. definition:

relational, a variety that is related to other dialects and to a language

Relative _____ status can affect language too

social

Formality relates to ___ and how it can influence choice of language/style, can also relate to:

social setting, email vs in person

Languages are defined in ____ terms and not a result of any purely objective ______

sociopolitical, linguistic properties

In addition to geographical dialects and social dialects, each individual ___

speaks in different ways

After being selected as a language, the variety must go through ____

standardization

Register:

type of speech which is specficially used for a particular activity (often an occupation or a job)

Result of standardization: ____ the people, give speakers of standard variety _____, creates _____ language norm -> can result in non-standard varieties being seen as ___-standard

unites, greater prestige, prototype, sub