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Speech Communities and Language Variation

 Top left: GreekBottom left: CherokeeMiddle: ArabicTop right: Russian

What is language?

A system of symbols with standardmeanings. Allows humans to communicate and isthe main vehicle of transmission ofculture. Language provides context for symbolicunderstanding.

PIE

Speech Community

“some kind of social group whosespeech characteristics are of interestand can be described in a coherentmanner” Wardhaugh 116

“fuzzy” Wardhaugh 116 Groups? What does that mean? How do weavoid stereotyping? Ethnicity, class, geography, etc

“…a search for the variouscharacteristics which makeindividuals feel that they aremembers of the samecommunity” (Wardhaugh 118)

“r” dropping in NY, thoughcommonly done, is considered“low” pahk de cah“r” dropping in South England isconsidered “posh” ‘fahthah’

A speech community is defined as much bywhat it is not as what it is. The group mustmanifest regular relationships betweenlanguage use and social structure, and theremust be norms (Wardhaugh 120)

Language and Culture not alwaysconnected:

Groups in North America withculture but not language?

Which ones Are these “speech communities?” Magdalene College, Cambridge!

Hypercorrection

• Lower Middle Class speakers sometimesuse prestige features at a greater rate thanUpper Middle Class speakers.• And LMC speakers use stigmatizedfeatures at a lower rate than the UMC.• Because the LMC wish to achieve the nexthigher level of status, they attempt to talklike members of the next higher class, butthey go too far.

Discussion Questions p. 122 Take30 minutes in groups

1. Try to label yourself according to what kind(s) of English youspeak. Explain why you choose the specific terms you use andany connotations these terms have for you, e.g. Lancastrian,Bakersfeldian, Texan English, Californian, American 3. In what respects do the following pairs of people belong tothe same speech community or to different ones: Presidents BillClinton and GWBush; Madonna and Guy Ritchie; Hugh Grantand Carey Grant; Sean Connery and Ewan McGregor 4. Describe the linguistic uses of some bilinguals with whom you are familiar.When do they use each of the languages? If you are bilingual yourself, in whatways do you identify with people who show the same range of linguisticabilities? A different range? 5. Answer question 5, time permitting.

Intersecting Communities

A great deal of bilingualism in themodern world Most speech communities are fairly fluid What should the ‘target’ language anddialect be? Individuals shift identities and speechand languages freely

• Look at questions 1 and 2 on p.

What is Social Class?• Social class involves grouping people together and accordingthem status within society according to the groups theybelong to.What is Social Class?• A number of modern thinkers have tried todefine what makes a particular “socialclass.”– Is it accent?–…neighborhood?–…occupation?–…income?–…wealth?