Sociolinguistics
The study of language in relation to social factors, including differences of regional, class, and
occupational dialect, gender differences, and bilingualism.
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including
cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on
language. It can overlap with the sociology of language, which focuses on the effect of language
on society.
sociolinguistics, the study of the sociological aspects of language. The discipline concerns itself
with the part language plays in maintaining the social roles in a community.
Sociolinguistics examines all aspects of the relationship between language and society.
And the most important of sociolinguistics in language teaching is to provide the learners with
the appropriate rules of speaking and writing and raise their sociolinguistics awareness, that's to
say, the awareness of the socio-cultural differences across languages.
Sociolinguists might investigate questions such as how mixed-gender conversations differ from
single-gender conversations, how differential power relations manifest themselves in language
forms, how caregivers let children know the ways in which language should be used, or how
language change occurs and spreads to…
In sociolinguistics, language variety—also called lect—is a general term for any distinctive form
of a language or linguistic expression. Linguists commonly use language variety (or simply
variety) as a cover term for any of the overlapping subcategories of a language, including dialect,
register, jargon, and idiolect..
Sociolinguistics refers to the way language is used in society. A dialect is a variety
of language that is systematically different from other varieties of the same
language. The dialects of a single language are mutually intelligible, but when the
speakers can no longer understand each other, the dialects become languages.
Geographical regions are also considered when dialects become languages.
Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish are all considered separate languages because
of regular differences in grammar and the countries in which they are spoken, yet
Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes can all understand one another to a large extent.
Hindi and Urdu are considered mutually intelligible languages when spoken, yet
the writing systems are different. On the other hand, Mandarin and Cantonese are
mutually unintelligible languages when spoken, yet the writing systems are the
same.
A dialect is considered standard if it is used by the upper class, political leaders, in
literature and is taught in schools as the correct form of the language. Overt
prestige refers to this dominant dialect. A non-standard dialect is associated with
covert prestige and is an ethnic or regional dialect of a language. These non-
standard dialects are just as linguistically sophisticated as the standard dialect, and
judgments to the inferiority of them are based on social or racist judgments.
African-American English contains many regular differences of the standard
dialect. These differences are the same as the differences among many of the
world's dialects. Phonological differences include r and l deletion of words like poor
(pa) and all (awe.) Consonant cluster simplification also occurs (passed
pronounced like pass), as well as a loss of interdental fricatives. Syntactic
differences include the double negative and the loss of and habitual use of the verb
"be." He late means he is late now, but he be late means he is always late.
A lingua franca is a major language used in an area where speakers of more than
one language live that permits communication and commerce among them.
English is called the lingua franca of the whole world, while French used to be the
lingua franca of diplomacy.
A pidgin is a language of few lexical items and less complex grammatical rules
based on another language. No one learns a pidgin as a native language, but
children do learn creoles as a first language. Creoles are defined as pidgins that
are adopted by a community as its native tongue.
Besides dialects, speakers may use different styles or registers (such as
contractions) depending on the context. Slang may also be used in speech, but is
not often used in formal situations or writing. Jargon refers to the unique
vocabulary pertaining to a certain area, such as computers or medicine. Words or
expressions referring to certain acts that are forbidden or frowned upon are
considered taboo. These taboo words produce euphemisms, words or phrases that
replace the expressions that are being avoided.
The use of words may indicate a society's attitude toward sex, bodily functions or
religious beliefs, and they may also reflect racism or sexism in a society. Language
itself is not racist or sexist, but the society may be. Such insulting words may
reinforce biased views, and changes in society may be reflected in the changes in
language.
Pidgins
Pidgins generally consist of small vocabularies (Chinese Pidgin English has only 700 words), but
some have grown to become a group's native language. Examples include Sea Island Creole
(spoken in South Carolina's Sea Islands), Haitian Creole, and Louisiana Creole.
Nigerian Pidgin English, Chinese Pidgin English, Hawaiian Pidgin English, Queensland Kanaka
English, and Bislama are examples of English pidgins.
Some of the pidgins that have survived for several generations are also spoken as vernaculars by
some of their users, including Nigerian Pidgin, Cameroon Pidgin, Tok Pisin (Papua New
Guinea), and Bislama (Vanuatu), all of which are based on a predominantly English vocabulary.
Dialect
A particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group.
"the Lancashire dialect seemed like a foreign language"
The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into three general categories:
the British Isles dialects, those of North America, and those of Australasia. Dialects can be
associated not only with place but also with particular social groups.
Languages are broader, and dialects are smaller and more specific, and often regional. Languages
are thought of as more formal and clearly defined, whereas dialects can be looser and more fluid
in use. Oftentimes, languages are adopted as “official” by countries and states, but dialects rarely
are.
A dialect is generally a particular form of a language which is specific to a region or social group
and usually has differences in pronunciation, grammar, syntax and vocabulary. It's still a bit
fuzzy to understand because dialects can be spoken by people living in one particular town or by
a whole nation.
There are always several meanings of each word in Urdu, the correct meaning of Dialect in Urdu
is بولی, and in roman we write it Boli. The other meanings are Zabaan, Boli and Maqaami
Zabaan. Dialect is an noun according to parts of speech.
Sociolect is a variety of dialects associated with particular social groups that arise due to
education, occupation, social class, religion, and a variety of other factors. Idiolect is the
language of a single person, and it's something they made up for their own use
Some examples of dialects include Standard dialect, southern American dialect, African
American Vernacular English, and Appalachian dialect.
Idiolect
1. The speech habits peculiar to a particular person.
"in his strange idiolect, he preferred to call angels ‘angelicals’"
For example, when family members talk to each other, their speech habits typically differ from
those any one of them would use in, say, an interview with a prospective employer. The concept
of idiolect refers to a very specific phenomenon—the speech variety, or linguistic system, used
by a particular individual.
Accents are all about pronunciation and sound. Now, idiolect refers to each individual's unique
usage of words and expressions. Like dialect, idiolect is a variety of language. Your idiolect is
your fingerprint.
Idiolect is an individual's unique use of language, including speech. This unique usage
encompasses vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. This differs from a dialect, a common set
of linguistic characteristics shared among a group of people.
Accent
An accent is simply how one pronounces words—a style of pronunciation. A dialect includes not
just pronunciations, but also one's general vocabulary and grammar.
The 4 Most Common Languages Spoken Around the World
1. English. While only about 360 million people are native English speakers, 1.5 billion people
worldwide can speak English. ...
2. Mandarin Chinese. Over 1.1 billion people speak Mandarin, but Chinese is not a single language.
...
3. Hindustani. ...
4. Spanish.
