MLL 191 4th Exam

sign language

SIGN LANGUAGES MLL 191 - Dr. Renée Lambert-Brétière What is non-verbal communication? 3 •"Oral and non-oral messages expressed by other than linguistic means." •Messages transmitted by vocal means that do not involve language •Sign language and written language are not considered non-verbal communication = they are non-verbal LANGUAGES. Loading... Sign languages 51 •Used primarily by hearing-impaired people •Uses a different medium: hands, face, and eyes (rather than vocal tract or ears). •NOT derived from spoken language •Developed naturally by Deaf people, as opposed to signed languages (Signed English, Cued Speech, Manually Coded English, and others) invented by non-Deaf people. Why Study Sign Language? 52 •Sign Language exhibits same functional properties and follow same universal principles as spoken language •Study of sign language provides unique insight into the nature of language itself. •Brain function similarities indicate language not based on hearing and speech. Loading... MYTHS about sign language •It's universal: NO. •ASL ≠ British sign language ≠ Spanish sign language ≠ etc... •Different SL - Different signs! 54 •It's like mime: NO. Some signs may be iconic, but others are not (see Figure 1). •Has no grammar on its own: NO. ASL is NOT "English on the hands". English grammar and ASL grammar are very different. •Cannot convey the same meaning/complexity as spoken language. NO. ASL speakers can express anything they want in ASL. MYTHS about sign language Signs 56 •In spoken language, phonemes occur linearly; in ASL signs don't have to (spatial) •ASL involves discrete components, just like spoken language •ASL has minimal pairs, as does spoken language (words differing in only one aspect). Five parameters •Shape of the hand •Place of articulation (location) •Movement •Palm Orientation •Region of the hand contacting body •Orientation of the hand to body •Orientation of hands to each other •Facial Expressions Which parameters? Shape of the hand Place of articulation Variation •Speakers of both can have linguistic varieties (dialects) and be perceived to have accents. •There are differences between groups within the same language. Black ASL may have properties (handshapes, certain position of certain fingers, size of spaced used, etc) different from other forms of ASL. •Also, formal vs. informal contexts affect some properties of ASL. For example, deletion is not common in formal contexts; the signing space is bigger in formal contexts, etc. Loading... Ethnicity 'well-dressed' 'pregnant' 57 Similarities and differences •Similarities: •Movement to express aspectual distinctions (e.g. progressive) •Grammatical functions (Subject, object) mark in a simultaneous rather than a sequential fashion •Facial expressions for questions, negation, subordination •European and North-American sign languages! Similarities and differences •Differences: •The range of possible structures in sign languages expands considérably when we consider non-Western, lesser-known sign languages! •Example: Chinese Sign Language: •Borrowings imitate characters from the Chinese writing system •Negation with little finger •Paradigm of question signs

Domains of use

(People sometimes switch code within a domain or social situation.) Social factors that affect the user of language when choosing language 1- who you are talking to (addressee) 2- the social context of the talk (setting) 3- the topic of discussion (topic)

Socio-economic

1. A community sees an important reason for learning the second language: A. Economic: Obtaining well-paying jobs B. Political: Allegiance to the government and language policies C. Social: Fitting in 2. Bilingualism is usually an indicator, a forerunner, of language shift; although stable diglossic communities demon-strate that bilingualism does not always result in language shift. 3. Language shift is inevitable without active language maintenance. Thinking that a language is no longer needed or that it is in any danger of disappearing may result in language loss. 4. Rapid shift occurs when speakers are eager to 'fit in' or 'get on' in society; young people and job seekers are the fastest to shift languages.

Acculturation

1. It begins with the political, economic or social pressure exerted by people who speak the dominant language and can be either explicit an coercive or else underlie subtler pressures. 2. The result is a period of bilingualism, (...). In principle, people acquire the new language without losing competence in their original language. 3. When identification with the new language becomes widespread in the younger generations and the original language is no longer necessary, (...), [acculturation] is complete.

Attitudes & values

1. Language shift tends to be faster among communities where the ethnic language is not highly valued. 2. It also occurs where the ethnic language is not seen as a symbol of identity. Language is an important component of identity and culture; maintaining a group's identity and culture is usually important to it, so they maintain their ethnic language to maintain their identity. Positive attitudes of speakers support efforts to use the ethnic language in a variety of domains, these attitudes help people resist the pressure from the majority group to shift to their language. 3. The international status of the ethnic language either accelerates or slows down language shift e.g. French in Maine (U.S.A.) and Quebec (Canada).

SLI effects

1. Linguistic insecurity (vulgarisms, provincialisms, faults: "English as spoken by nearly everyone was in a dire state and people needed to act to improve their language.") 2. No attention to dialects (Only the standard counts. Dialects are just different manner of expression) 3.Self-appointed authorities (contradictory information = doubts "who pronounce on 'correctness' without necessarily having external legitimacy to do so" )

Demographic

1. Social integration leads to language shift; social isolation, on the other hand, may result in resistance to language shift. Isolated rural communities of minorities tend to resist language shift. E.g., Ukrainians in the Canadian farmlands. Improved roads, buses, TV, telephone, internet are agents of language shift. 2. Size of community of speakers tends to influence language shift. Where there is a large number of speakers of the minority language, language shift is slowest. To maintain a language, there must be people who can use it with one another; the larger the group, the more social pressure to speak the ethnic language. Shift tends to occur faster in some groups than in others. 3. Intermarriage can accelerate language shift towards the language of the partner who speaks the language of the majority, unless multilingualism is the norm in society. Mothers tend to influence language change either by accelerating it towards the language of the majority or by slowing it down if her native language is that of the minority.

Function of Standard

1. Unifying function: this is the function of a standard language to serve as a unifying bond in spite of dialectal and other differences. 2. Separatist function: this is the function of a standard language to affirm the separate identity of a speech community in the face of other speech communities. 3. Prestige function: this is function that confers a certain prestige on a speech community that possesses a standard language and on an individual that masters it.

Function of standard 2

4. Participatory function: this is the function by which a speech community use its own language to participate in the cultural, scientific and other developments of the modern world. 5. Frame of reference function: this is the function of a standard language to serve as a frame of reference primarily in matters of language correctness but also in other respects. (cf. Bourdieu)

Relational 2

A final kind of identity, relational identities, refers to the kind of relation-ship that a person enacts with a partic-ular conversational partner in a specific situation. Relational identities reference the interactional qualities of the parties. Are the people equal? Near equal? Is one party superior? Which one? Are the parties friendly or hostile, distant or close, trusting or wary with each other? Relational identities are negotiated moment-to-moment and are highly variable. They are what people monitor most to see if a relationship is impro-ving or disintegrating. As with the other types of identities, relational identities do not exist apart from other kinds of identities. Persons in an employee-supervisor relationship, for example, would be expected to enact an une-qual relationship at least part of the time. However, there may be other occasions--having coffee in the mor-ning, a beer after work--in which the relational identities enacted between the two become equal. For many Americans, having equal (or near-equal) relations with a superior on at least some occasions is the mark of a good work relationship.

Circle2

Dividing English speakers into Inner, Outer and Expanding circles is preferable to the traditional native, ESL and EFL labels which involve the dichotomy between native and nonnative speakers Inner circle: English=native language (native accent, comes for 'free', but has little enthusiasm to learn other languages) Outer circle: English=2nd language (ESL)(pros, colonial legacy, official lang. in many public domains like media, administration, legislation, education). Expanding circle: English=foreign language (EFL)

Forensic document types and how they can serve to identify their author.

Emergency calls Ransom demands and other threat texts Suicide letters Final death row statements Confessions and denials by public persons

Forensic document types and how they can serve to identify their author 2

Emergency calls: Operators' skills: Intonation, Voice Speech, Timely responses, Cooperation How to discover a hoax call: Hesitation, Incomplete or short answers, Avoid giving information

Why it exists

English is not spoken by people everywhere in the world. It is not an official language in every country in the world. There are limits to what can be done through translations. Traditionally the "language contact" problem has been solved by using a lingua franca (or common language). Sometimes in the form of a pidgin Sometimes as a particular indigenous language (usually the language of the most powerful ethnic group in the area) It is often argued that the modern "global village" needs a "global language", and that (particularly in a world of modern communications, globalized trade and easy international travel) a single lingua franca has never been more important Many of these universal languages (including Esperanto) were specifically developed with the view in mind that a single world language would automatically lead to world peace and unity. Setting aside for now the fact that such languages have never gained much traction, it has to be said this assumption is not necessarily well-founded. For instance, historically, many wars have broken out within communities of the same language (e.g. the British and American Civil Wars, the Spanish Civil War, Vietnam, former Yugoslavia, etc) and, on the other hand, the citizens of some countries with multiple languages (e.g. Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, etc) manage to coexist, on the whole, quite peaceably.

Diglossia

Ferguson's definition (1959): the side-by-side existence of historically & structurally related language varieties the Low variety takes over the outdated High variety Fishman's reformulation (1967): a diglossic situation can occur anywhere where two language varieties (even unrelated ones) are used in functionally distinct ways the Low variety loses ground to the superposed High variety problematic as it creates an opposite situation to widespread bilingualism. A situation in which two languages (or two varieties of the same language) are used under different conditions within a community, often by the same speakers. The term is usually applied to languages with distinct "high" and "low" (colloquial) varieties, such as Arabic.

Bilingualism 3

Individual bilingualism often intersects with societal bilingualism: I.E., A Gujarati spice merchant in Bombay uses Kathiawadi (his dialect of Gujarati) with his family, Marathi (the local language) in the vegetable market, Kutchi and Konkani in trading circles, Hindi with the milkman and at the train station, and even English on formal occasions. Defining different dialects and languages is difficult. The bilingual-bidialectal distinction that speakers make reflects social, cultural, and political aspirations or realities rather than any linguistic reality

Standard language ideology and effects

SLI is bias toward an abstract, idealized homogeneous language, which is imposed and maintained by dominant institutions and which has as its model the written language, but which is drawn primarily from the spoken language of the upper middle class. Part of this ideology is a belief that standard languages are internally consistent. Variation is intrinsic to all spoken language, including standard varieties. BRITAIN Important transformations on the economic and social levels from the 19th century, and following the Industrial Revolution. Conflicts between social classes strengthen British language ideologies. The notion of "Accent" becomes a national obs-ession. Received Pronunciation is enforced in public use, and considered the "best English".

personal internet3

Second, what counts as expression of a personal identity is going to depend on a communicator's master and interactional identities. For example, although being fair may be valued across situations, the communicative actions that realize fairness will shift across interactional identities. Being a fair judge is going to be different than being a fair friend or a fair group member for a school project. Too, what a culture may count as adequately enacting a personal identity may depend on one's master identity. The judgment that a person is supportive or aggressive, for instance, rests not only upon the person's communicative actions, but also whether that person is male or female.

Who decides

Self-appointed authorities contra-dictory information = doubts "who pronounce on 'correctness' without necessarily having external legitimacy to do so"

Interactional

interactional identities, such as friend or employee refer to specific roles that people take on in a communicative context with regard to specific other people. For instance, Jason may be a friend in one context, an employee of Pizza-Plus in another, a college student, hospital volunteer, son, or husband in yet ano-ther. Interactional identities are situ-ation- and relationship-specific. Inte-ractional identities are distinct from master identities but are not indep-endent of them. In American society, for instance, the interactional identities of elementary school teacher, secr-etary, or nurse are expected to go with the master identity of being female whereas the interactional identities of surgeon, engineer, or manager are expected to go with the master identity of male. To the degree an interactional identity is strongly associated with a master identity, whether it is gender, race or age, that interactional identity takes on some of the broader master identity features with which it is asso-ciated. A consequence of society's deep-seated expectations about what identities are natural partners, is that persons who take on identities that are not seen as going together (e.g., a male nurse, a female judge) will experience some communicative difficulties enacting both identities satisfactorily.

Master

master identities, such as race or gender references those aspects of personhood that are presumed to be relatively stable and unchanging: gender, ethnicity, age, national and regional origins. Any particular person is male or female, Hispanic-, European-, or African-American, 20, 40 or 60 years of age, and so on. Master identities do not change from situation to situation. But while master identities are fixed and pre-interactionally given in one sense, in another they are not. That is, what it means to be young, middle-aged or old, or an American, a Colombian, or an Egyptian person shifts across time and interactions among people. Through the ways people with different master identities deal with each other, the meanings of particular identities are established. Meanings can, and do, change over time and across situations. Of note is the fact that master identities frequently are conceived as contrastive sets. The meaning of being male is deeply bound up with the meaning of being female; each gender category informs and contrastively defines the other. Similarly, what it means to be a South-erner is understood in terms of the visible ways it contrasts with being a Midwesterner, a Northerner or a Westerner.

how to choose 2 (leaking)

Social factors that affect the user of language when choosing language: 1- who you are talking to (addressee) 2- the social context of the talk (setting) 3- the topic of discussion (topic) Domain: Family, Friendship, Religion, Education, Employment (With addressee, setting, topic, code?) The components of a domain do not always fit with each other. They are not always 'congruent'. Within any domain, individual interactions may not be 'typical' in the same sense in which 'typical' is used in the domain concept. People may select a particular variety or code because it's easier to discuss a particular topic, regardless of the setting. It's called 'leakage', suggesting it is in some way irregular: the code associated with one domain is 'leaking' into another. Particular topics may regularly be discussed in one code rather than another, regardless of the setting.

Global Language 3 (internet)

There is another way in which a language can achieve this "special place" in non-mother tongue places. It can be made a priority in the country's foreign-language teaching (without formal official status). The language most accessible to children in school. Most available to adults for continued education etc. English is currently taught as a second language in over 100 countries including China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Egypt, Brazil... IF English is your mother tongue why would you have mixed feelings about this? IS it a good thing? or bad? Good: pride that your language is the one which has been so successful Bad: that means that other people can change it without consulting you as an "authority" b/c you are a native speaker and they (for now) are not. After all - who are they to abuse YOUR language?

Global Language a good thing?2

There is concern that natural speakers of the global language may be at an unfair advantage over those who are operating in their second, or even third, language. The insistence on one language to the exclusion of others may also be seen as a threat to freedom of speech and to the ideals of multiculturalism. Another potential pitfall is linguistic complacency on the part of natural speakers of a global language, a laziness and arrogance resulting from the lack of motivation to learn other languages. Arguably, this can already be observed in many Britons and Americans.

Acculturation 2

Those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original culture patterns of either or both groups. May be defined as the process through which someone learns a foreign culture, that is, a culture other than their own. Culture here includes moral values, behaviors, and language. Most commonly occurs with a member of a minority culture being exposed to a majority culture, such as the situation with an immigrant moving into a new country. For language, this means there are two things to consider: the degree to which person learns the language of the new country, and the degree to which the old language is retained.

Personal internet

expected to be relatively stable and unique. When people are characterized in terms of their attitude about a local issue (e.g., in a Western US city, people may be seen as pro-growth or anti-growth, a Buffs football fan or not-a-sports kind of person), a personal kind of identity is being invoked. Personal identities also include those aspects of personhood that reference ways people talk and routinely conduct themselves with others (hot-headed, honest and forthright, reasonable, fair, a gossiper, a brown-noser). In contrast to master and interactional identities, personal identities are frequently contested. Others do not automatically grant a person's claims to be honest, reasonable, thoughtful, and so on. They may imply or even directly challenge whether those qualities apply ("that was inconsiderate," or "you're the most inconsiderate person I've ever known.").

Confusion

Participants negotiate their way out of identity confusion by co-construction. (Seinfeld episode)

Why saving? 2

Languages also convey unique cultures. Cherokee, for example, has no word for goodbye, only "I will see you again". Things that convey a culture, a way of interpreting human behavior and emotion that's not conveyed the same way as in the English language. Without the language, the culture itself might teeter, or even disappear. If we are to survive, to continue on and to exist as a people with a distinct and unique culture, then we have to have a language.

Endangered Languages

A language disappears when its speakers disappear or when they shift to speaking another language - most often, a larger language used by a more powerful group. Languages are threatened by external forces such as military, economic, religious, cultural or educational subjugation, or by internal forces such as a community's negative attitude towards its own language. Today, increased migration and rapid urbanization often bring along the loss of traditional ways of life and a strong pressure to speak a dominant language that is - or is perceived to be - necessary for full civic participation and economic advancement.

Bilingualism 2

Code-switching is a creative style of bilingual communication To negotiate meaning with each other To construct a unique identity To clarify To emphasize a message To control the interlocutor Code-switching was a way of saying that one belongs to both worlds Code-switching refers to CHOICE: NOT when the speaker has to change because she is not proficient in a given code. NOT when there is no word available in the code being used. Code-switching enables bilinguals to use their linguistic repertoire to respond positively to changes in social factors. Result of Societal: Canada- english and french. Individual- personal experiences, parents of different mother tongues

Naming Practices

Combination of the four identities! Personal Master (gender: "A boy named Sue", Johnny Cash) Boys with names most commonly given to girls (Taylor, Dominique) may be prone to misbehavior at school as they get older. Other master identities? Social class, ethnicity? Interaction and relational: Imagine calling these people up on the phone and identifying yourself. How do you name yourself . . . To your parents? To your friends? To your teachers? To your best friend? To your partner? How do these people name you?

How it expands

HOWEVER, while military might establish a language — a Powerful economy is needed to maintain and expand it. Communication: telegraph, telephone, radio, TV... Commerce: international marketing and advertising Entertainment: Movies, Music, (maybe even video games) Education: Drive to make progress in science and technology - intellectual research and scholarship

Haugen's model

Haugen's language planning model was initially conceived as 4 stages of language development in taking crucial steps from a "dialect" to a "language." The four sequential steps are: 1. Norm Selection- This is the choice of a language variety for specific pur-poses. It is associated with official status or national roles in status planning. 2. Codification- This step is related to the stabilization of the norm selected. It is also related to the standardization process in corpus planning. 3. Implementation-This step involves the actions of government agencies, instututions, and writers in adopting and using the selected and codified norm. It involves (among other things) the production of newspapers, textbooks, and other publications, as well as adoption for mass media. 4. Elaboration-This step involves the expansion of language functions and the assignment of new codes, such as scientific and tecnical. It is also called language modernization by Fishman. do we plan for unity or diversity? For transitional bilingualism or for maint-enance?

Global Language 5 (internet)

Historically, the essential factor for the establishment of a global language is that it is spoken by those who wield power. Latin was the lingua franca of its time, although it was only ever a minority language within the Roman Empire as a whole. Crucially, though, it was the language of the powerful leaders and administrators and of the Roman military - and, later, of the ecclesiastical power of the Roman Catholic Church - and this is what drove its rise to (arguably) global language status. Thus, language can be said to have no independent existence of its own, and a particular language only dominates when its speakers dominate (and, by extension, fails when the people who speak it fail)

Co-construction of identity

How do the self's construction and the social construction by others interact? 1.Speech accommodation 2.Resistance 3. Confusion Participants negotiate their way out of identity confusion by co-construction. (Seinfeld episode). In a broad sense, identities are nego-tiated or, co-constructed, against the background of different perspectives between the dialog partners. From this point of view, identity construction is a joint activity with no one having full control over its outcome. In contrast, identities rather "happen" in dialog.

Acculturation 3

However, acculturation may also occur in situations where one culture is not clearly dominating the other in a mutual flow of language shifts. For instance, consider the number of foreign phrases that exist within the English language, from tornado to bon appetit! In such cases, people within one culture have to a degree acculturated to another not necessarily dominating culture. Some-times, a third language may even be created out of the blend of the two cultures. Consider the prevalence of Denglisch, for instance, a blend of English and German, or the varieties of Creole. This is to be differentiated from enculturation, which is slightly different. Enculturation has come to mean the process by which you learn your "home" culture and language, whereas acculturation generally refers to the process by which one learns a second culture and language.

Resistance

Identity claimed by one participant may be rejected by another, and an identity that is ascribed may be resisted. (The day Beyonce turned black). Identity is constructed and co- constructed by one-self and others bearing in mind the way social dynamics are developed and what the different roles individuals assign or are assigned according to specific situations are.

Global Language 4 (internet)

If English becomes a global language it is no longer OWNED by anyone. American speakers might complain that they cannot understand the tech support person in India who also grew up as a native speaker of English British speakers may look around and say "Look what the Americans have done to English" There is no official definition of "global" or "world" language, but it essentially refers to a language that is learned and spoken internationally, and is characterized not only by the number of its native and second language speakers, but also by its geographical distribution, and its use in international organizations and in diplomatic relations. A global language acts as a "lingua franca", a common language that enables people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities to communicate on a more or less equitable basis.

Forensic Linguistics

It is a branch of applied linguistics. Forensic linguistics is the application of linguistics to legal matters. Forensic linguistics is based on the study, understanding and use of LANGUAGE for FORENSIC purpose In a broadest sense, "forensic linguistics" covers all areas where law and language intersect. Lawyers and linguists have DIFFERENT AIMS: Lawyers: to persuade the jury. Linguists: to present an opinion and explain that opinion.

Why it is needed

It is often argued that the modern "global village" needs a "global language", and that (particularly in a world of modern communications, globalized trade and easy international travel) a single lingua franca has never been more important. With the advent since 1945 of large international bodies such as the United Nations and its various offshoots - the UN now has over 50 different agencies and programs from the World Bank, World Health Organization and UNICEF to more obscure arms like the Universal Postal Union - as well as collective organizations such as the Common-wealth and the European Union, the pressure to establish a worldwide lingua franca has never been greater. As just one example of why a lingua franca is useful, consider that up to one-third of the administration costs of the European Community is taken up by translations into the various member languages.

Insecurity

Linguistic insecurity- vulgarisms, prov-incialisms, faults: "English as spoken by nearly everyone was in a dire state and people needed to act to improve their language." refers to feelings of anxiety, self-consciousness, or lack of confi-dence in the mind of a speaker surro-unding the use of their own language. Often, this anxiety comes from speakers' belief that their use of language does not conform to the perceived standard and/or the style of language expected by the speakers' interlocutor. situationally induced and is often a matter of the feeling of inadequacy regarding personal performance in certain contexts, rather than a fixed attribute of an individual. This insecurity can lead to stylistic, and phonetic shifts away from an affected speaker's default speech variety; these shifts may be performed consciously on the part of the speaker, or may be reflective of an unconscious effort to conform to a more prestigious or context-appropriate style of speech

Language vs. Dialect 2

Linguists have a different criterion: if two related kinds of speech are so close that speakers can have a conversation and understand each other, they are dialects of a single language. If comprehension is difficult to impossible, they are distinct languages. Of course, compre-hensibility is not either-or, but a continuum—and it may even be asymmetrical. Nonetheless, mutual comprehensibility is the most objective basis for saying whether two kinds of speech are languages or dialects. By the comprehensibility criterion, Cantonese is not a dialect of Chinese. Rather, it is a language, as are Shang-haiese, Mandarin and other kinds of Chinese. Although the languages are obviously related, a Mandarin speaker cannot understand Cantonese or Shanghaiese without having learned it as a foreign language (and vice versa, though most Chinese do learn Mandarin today).

Bilingualism

Many bilingual speakers are able to switch from language to language with ease, sometimes in mid-sentence. Attempts to define such patterns have not, however, met with much success. Research reports on the subject are cluttered with such obscure terms as 'diglossia', 'domain', 'code-switching' and 'ethnolinguistic vitality', but reduced to the level of a layman's understanding, the less than original conclusion would seem to be that choice of language is dictated primarily by the milieu in which the speaker finds himself.

Why is it needed 2

Many of these universal languages (including Esperanto) were specifically developed with the view in mind that a single world language would auto-matically lead to world peace and unity. Setting aside for now the fact that such languages have never gained much traction, it has to be said this assumption is not necessarily well-founded. For instance, historically, many wars have broken out within communities of the same language (e.g. the British and American Civil Wars, the Spanish Civil War, Vietnam, former Yugoslavia, etc) and, on the other hand, the citizens of some countries with multiple languages (e.g. Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, etc) manage to coexist, on the whole, quite peaceably.

Naming Practices

Naming a child is a practice that is often taken for granted in our lives. A child's name may be chosen by various people (e.g., parents, paternal or maternal family members, and comm-unity members) around the child and may reflect those individuals' tastes and values. As Bodenhorn and Bruck noted, however, names provide important information about an individual, such as kinship, ethnicity, religion, and gender. Naming is not an arbitrary labeling action, but rather a "meaningful action ... situated in a [particular] context" Names and naming practices are closely connected to cultural values and beliefs. Names are deeply connected to individuals' identities

Linguistic repertoire

The total range of linguistic resources available to an individual or a community. The variety of languages used by the members of a particular speech community. Monolinguals: Range of regional, social, functional & stylistic varieties Bilinguals: Varieties of same language & different languages

Overt vs. covert codification.

Overt codification- Adoption of the accepted standard. Maintained in written form Covert codification- Creation of a supraregional standard. Suppression of variation

Co-construction (internet)

The ways in which individuals use language to co-construct their every-day worlds and, in particular, their own social roles and identities and those of others. The studies assume that identity is multiple and varied, individual repre-sentations of which embody particular social histories that are built up through and continually recreated in one's ever-yday experiences. Moreover, it is ackn-owledged that individuals belong to varied groups and so take on a variety of identities defi ned by their member-ships in these groups. These identities, however, are not fixed but rather are 'multifaceted in complex and contra-dictory ways; tied to social practice and interaction as fl exible and contextually contingent resources; and tied to proc-esses of differentiation from other identified groups'

Four kinds of identities

Personal Master Interactional Relational

Personal

Personal identities . . . are expected to be relatively stable and unique. reference ways in which people talk and behave toward others: hotheaded, honest, forthright, reasonable, overbearing, a gossip, a brown-nose. Personal identities are frequently contested. personal identities, which deal with individual attitudes, personality or character

personal internet2

Personal identities are bound up with master and interactional identities in two ways. First, there are expectations about what kind of personal identities are likely depending on existing master and interactional identities. Cultural beliefs about these links are the strongest for gender but operate for other facets of identity as well. In American culture Hispanics, for instance, are usually expected to be more emotionally expressive than Anglos. Arrogance is more likely to be attributed to a doctor or a person in some other high status profession who disagrees with another person. Being cantankerous or spry are identities assigned to older people much more often than 20-year olds.

Language shift

Process by which a language community adopts another language Language shift and death: Cornish (to English), Manchu (to Chinese) Shift without death: Welsh (to English), Norwegian (to English) in the US Death without shift: Tasmanian etc. - normally due to genocide is usually an indicator, a forerunner, of language shift; although stable diglossic communities demonstrate that bilingualism does not always result in language shift Language shift is inevitable without active language maintenance. Thinking that a language is no longer needed or that it is in any danger of disappearing may result in language loss. Rapid shift occurs when speakers are eager to 'fit in' or 'get on' in society; young people and job seekers are the fastest to shift languages.

Global language 2

There are two main ways in which a language can achieve this "special place" in non-mother tongue places. It can be made an official language. One that is used as a medium of communication in domains such as government, law, media, education... Presumes that citizens will be able to master the language at an early age (Often described as a 'second language' - one that complements the mother tongue.) English has achieved this status in over 70 countries in places such as Ghana, Nigeria, India, Singapore, Vanuatu, Rwanda...

Relational

Refer to the kind of relationship that a person enacts with a particular conversational partner in a specific situation. Relational identities are negotiated from moment to moment and are highly variable. referring to the specific relationship between two or more people in a conversational relationship

Krachu's circles

Refers to the traditional bases of English, dominated by the mother-tongue varieties, where English acts as a first language. The countries involved in the Inner Circle include the USA, the UK, Can-ada, Australia and New Zealand. The varieties of English used here are said to be 'norm providing'. The Outer Circle consists of the earlier phases of the spread of English in non-native settings, where the language has become part of a country's chief institutions, and plays an important 'second language' role in a multilingual setting. Most of the countries included in the Outer Circle are former colonies of the UK or the USA, such as Malaysia, Singapore, India, Ghana, Kenya and others. The English used in the outer circle is considered as 'norm-developing'. The Expanding Circle refers to the territories where English is learnt as a foreign language. The territories do not have a history of colonization by members of the Inner Circle and institutional or social role. English is taught asa 'foreign' language as the most useful vehicle of inter-national communication. The countries in the Expanding Circle include China, Japan, Greece and Poland. The English used in the Expanding Circle is regarded as 'norm dependent'.

Why Saving?

Some people argue that language loss, like species loss, is simply a fact of life on an ever-evolving planet. But counter arguments are abundant. A lot of people invoke social Darwinism to say 'who cares'. But we spend huge amounts of money protecting species and biodiversity, so why should it be that the one thing that makes us singularly human shouldn't be similarly nourished and protected? What's more, languages are conduits of human heritage. Writing is a relatively recent development in our history, so lang-uage itself is often the only way to convey a community's songs, stories and poems. The Iliad was an oral story before it was written, as was The Odyssey. How many other traditions are out there in the world that we'll never know about because no-one recorded them before the language disappeared?

Social factors

The components of a domain do not always fit with each other. They are not always 'congruent'. Within any domain, individual interactions may not be 'typical' in the same sense in which 'typical' is used in the domain concept. People may select a particular variety or code because it's easier to discuss a particular topic, regardless of the setting. It's called 'leakage', suggesting it is in some way irregular: the code associated with one domain is 'leaking' into another. Particular topics may regularly be discussed in one code rather than another, regardless of the setting.

Language imperialism

The global spread of the English language can be seen as linked to linguistic imperialism, in particular, where English becomes dominant at the expense of indigenous languages. The spread of English may marginalise other languages since English can be a gatekeeper to education, employment, business opportunities and popular culture.

Forensic Linguistics 2 def

The importance of LANGUAGE in forensic linguistics: - In how conversations are constructed. - The kinds of moves speakers or writers make in a conversation or a written text. - The words and their meaning are very relevant and they can vary depending on the context. Forensic Linguistics works in the JUSTICE SYSTEM and some of the difficulties that linguists and lawyers may have in understanding each others' viewpoints

Global Language 6

The influence of any language is a combination of three main things: the number of countries using it as their first language or mother-tongue, the number of countries adopting it as their official language, and the number of countries teaching it as their foreign language of choice in schools. The intrinsic structural qualities of a language, the size of its vocabulary, the quality of its literature throughout history, and its association with great cultures or religions, are all important factors in the popularity of any language. But, at base, history shows us that a language becomes a global language mainly due to the political power of its native speakers, and the economic power with which it is able to maintain and expand its position.

Language shift 2

The most common process in a language's ceasing to be spoken. Speakers almost invariably shift from a small, local indigenous language to a national or global language. As speakers use the language of prestige (see language prestige) more often, they stop passing on the indigenous language to children. This leads to its demise.

Language vs. Dialect

Two kinds of criteria distinguish languages from dialects. The first are social and political: in this view, "languages" are typically prestigious, official and written, whereas "dialects" are mostly spoken, unofficial and looked down upon. In a famous formulation of this view, "a language is a dialect with an army and a navy". Speakers of mere "dialects" often refer to their speech as "slang", "patois" or the like.

Death scenarios

When a community gradually stops using a language and no longer passes it on to their children. A 'dead' language that has been documented and recorded is sometimes termed a 'sleeping' language. These languages can be awakened or revived through revitalization efforts. When the last speaker of a language dies -Factors which put people in physical danger: Natural disasters leading to death or destruction of habitat. Disease (especially AIDS). Economic exploitation. Political conflict leading to civil war, ethnic murder, or genocide -Factors which change the people's culture: Cultural assimilation, Military dominance, Urbanization, Media, Bilin-gualism

How to choose

Whenever speakers of two or more languages come together, a decision has to be made about which of these languages is to be used. Social factors: Setting (the language of the monolingual area where the couple live), Participants, Topic, Social Distance, Status (the choice of the more prestigious language if the couple live in a bilingual area), Formality (the choice of the non-native or less prestigious language for reasons of solidarity), Affective meaning

Global Language a good thing?

While its advantages are self-evident, there are some legitimate concerns that a dominant global language could also have some built-in drawbacks. Among these may be the following: There is a risk that the increased adoption of a global language may lead to the weakening and eventually the disappearance of some minority languages (and, ultimately, it is feared, ALL other languages). It is estimated that up to 80% of the world's 6,000 or so living languages may die out within the next century, and some commentators believe that a too-dominant global language may be a major contributing factor in this trend. However, it seem likely that this is really only a direct threat in areas where the global language is the natural first language (e.g. North America, Australia, Celtic parts of Britain, etc). Conversely, there is also some evidence that the very threat of subjugation by a dominant language can actually galvanize and strengthen movements to support and protect minority languages (e.g. Welsh in Wales, French in Canada).

It's advantages

World wide communication. No need to learn other languages can focus on more important matters. Harmony and peace - no misunderstandings What about "civil" wars? (USA, Spain, Vietnam, former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland) Or others between "same language speakers"- American Revolution for instance

Global language

a language that has developed a special role that is recognized in every country. What is a "special role"? large numbers of people speak it as a mother tongue in case of English: USA, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, several Caribbean countries, and a few other territories. What about all the places that don't speak English as a mother tongue?

It's dangers

cultivate an elite monolingual social class who have the advantage of being able to use it to get richer while those who are not as proficient or even ever exposed to it stay poor. Linguistic prejudice or discrimination. Hasten the disappearance of minority languages (or make all other languages unnecessary). Will those who speak it as mother tongue be at an advantage? Will research (etc.) carried out in other languages be ignored? Questions of attitude and society, not ability. It could eliminate the motivation for adults to learn other languages.

Standard Englishes

the form of the English language widely accepted as the usual correct form. "children often use native forms at home and speak standard English at school