Unit 3 & 4 , An introduction to sociolinguistics , Janet Holmes (2012) Lecturer and Slide provider: Maryam Farnia (PhD)

1. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Janet Holmes, 2012) - 4th edition
Week 2- Unit 3
Lecturer and slide provider: Maryam Farnia (PhD)
Payame Noor University
mfarniair@gmail.com

2. “The study of how languages survive, or the
continuing use of (minority) language in the
face of a more regionally, socially or
politically dominant language.” (Van Herk,
2012)

3. “The change from the habitual use of one
language to that of another” (Weinreich, 1953,
p.63)
“When a community does not maintain its
language, but gradually adopts another one, we
talk about language shift.” (Hoffman, 1991)
“The gradual replacement of one language by
another as the primary language of
communication and socialization within a
speech community” (Van Herk, 2012)

4. What are some factors which accelerate a
language shift?
“Social bilingualism, migration,
industrilization, the school’s and
government’s use of language, urbanization,
the prestige level of language, etc.
(Cavallaaro, 2005)

5. Migrant minorities
Non-migrant minorities
Migrant majorities

7. Language death and language loss
• Language death: a complete language shift in which
the original language is no longer used by anyone,
anywhere, e.g. some Australian aboriginal languages.

8. When all the people who speak a language die, the
language dies with them:
• In 1992, death of Tefvik Esenc, death of Caucasian language
Ubykh
• In 1974, death of Ned Maddrell, death of Manx
• In 1777, death of Dolly Pentreath, death of Cornish
 In Tasmania, 3000-4000 people exterminated
within 75 years.
 As the domains in which speakers use the language
shrink, the speakers of the dying language become
gradually less proficient in it.

9. Economic, social and political factors
Demographic factors
“Demographic factors are those relating to
personal characteristics such as age, gender,
social class, level of education, family, or
race/ethnicity”.
Attitude and values

10. To consider language an important symbol of a
minority group’s identity
To live close to each other and see each other
frequently
To increase the degree and frequency of contact
with the homeland
To encourage members of a minority
community to take active steps to protect their
language
To use the language in different settings
To have the support of institution

11. The maintenance of a language can be
measured by the following factors:
1. The status of the language as indicated by
attitudes towards it.
2. The size of the group who uses the language
and their distribution
3. The extent to which the language enjoys
institutional support

12. “Linguistic landscape refers to the visibility
and salience of languages on public and
commercial signs in a given territory or region.
It is proposed that the linguistic landscape may
serve important informational and symbolic
functions as a marker of the relative power and
status of the linguistic communities inhabiting
the territory.” (Landris and Bourhis, 1997)

14. Some communities take action to revitalize
the languages in danger of disappearance ,
e.g. Maori in New Zealand
The attitude of the people who use the
language is very important, e.g. Hebrew in
Israel
Immersion: bilingual schooling

15. Dimension for analyzing language maintenance and shift

16. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Janet Holmes, 2013) - 4th edition
Week 2- Unit 4
Lecturer and slide provider: Maryam Farnia (PhD)

17. A vernacular is the native language or native
dialect of a specific population, as opposed
to a language of wider communication that is
a second language or foreign language to the
population, such as a national language,
standard language, or lingua franca.
17

18. A language which has not been standardized
and does not have official status, e.g. Buang in
PNG
The many different ethnic or tribal languages
used by different groups
Three components of the term vernacular:
1) It is an uncodified or unstandard variety.
2) The way it is acquired- in the home , as a first
variety.
3) It is used for relatively circumscribed functions.

19. It might refer to any language which is not the
official language of a country, e.g. Spanish in
USA; Greek in Australia and New Zealand
It refers to most colloquial variety in a person’s
linguistic repertoire.
It is used to indicate that a language is used for
everyday interaction, without implying that it is
appropriate only in informal domains, e.g.
Hebrew in Israel (as a process of
vernacularisation)

20. A standard variety is generally one which
is written, and which has undergone some
degree of regularization or codification (for
example, in a grammar and a dictionary); it is
recognized as a prestigious variety or code by a
community, and it is used for H functions
alongside a diversity of L varieties.

23. Lingua franca (or working language, bridge
language, vehicular language) is a language
systematically used to make communication
possible between people not sharing a
mother tongue.

24. A lingua franca is a language used for
communication between people whose first
languages differ.
In some countries, the most widely used lingua
franca is an official language or the national
language.
In multilingual communities, lingua francas are
so useful they may eventually displace the
vernacular.
Lingua francas often develop initially as trade
languages.
The most interesting lingua francas are pidgin
and creaole languages.

25. It is a language used for
communication between
people whose first
languages differ, e.g.
Tukano in Colombian
Indians
Vaupes has two lingua
franca: Tukano and that of
Portuguese, Spanish and
Brazilians.
A MAN PLAYS PAN PIPES AS MEMBERS OF COLOMBIAN
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES PARTICIPATE IN A PEACEFUL
MARCH IN MEDELLIN
(THE TELEGRAPH)

26. .
HULI WIGMEN FROM PAPAU
NEW GUINEA
BY GIL NAMUR
A MORAN IN TANZANIA

27. In a multilingual community, it might displace
the vernacular, e.g. the marriage in the Congo-
Zaire, Tanzania, PNG
But it never happens to
Tukano in Vaupe!!!!!!
Lingua franca often develop
initially as a trade languages,
e.g. Hausa in West Africa
Swahili in East Africa

29. The original word pidgin
It is a language with no native speaker and is
developed as a means of communication
between people who do not have a common
language.
It is exclusively referential.
It is not used as a means of group
identification or to express social distance.

30. The vocabulary is provided by the prestigious language
and the grammar is under the influence of the vernacular
language, e.g. in Tokpisin in PNG, 77% English, 11% Tolai.
Lexifier (Superstrate): a variety that has influenced the
structure or use of another, less dominant variety, i.e. the
one which supplies the vocabulary.
Substrate: a variety that has influenced the structure or
use of another, more dominant variety, i.e. the one which
supplied the grammar.
Pidgins usually have simplified structure and a small
vocabulary, e.g. no affixes, being referentially redundant,
no tense, no gender marker

31. Pidgin languages do not have high status or
prestige.
They are referred to as Broken English,
Kitchen Kaffir (i.e. Frangalo)
Sharing vocabulary from European language
Pidgins often have short life because they
develop for a restricted function and
disappears when the function disappears.

32. Creole language, or simply a Creole, is a stable
natural language developed from the mixing of parent
languages
A Creole comes into being when children are born
into a pidgin-speaking environment and acquire the
pidgin as a first language. What we know about the
history and origins of existing creoles suggests that
this may happen at any stage in the development of a
pidgin.“ (Sebba , 1997)
Creoles have expanded in structure and vocabulary to
stand for more meanings and functions.
32

33. The linguistic complexity is often not
appreciated by outsiders.
The substrate is a source of structural
complexity of a Creole.
Creolization: a process by which a pidgin
becomes a Creole.
Linguistics find the study of Creole and Pidgin
fascinating because of the observing the process
of language change.

34. Once expanded, Pidgin can be used as a
lingua franca among people who share a
tribal language.
When developed, Creole can be applied in
different functions of any language- politics,
education, administration, etc.

35. Though some outsiders have negative
attitudes about Creole and Pidgins, this is not
always the case for those who speak the
language, e.g. Tok Pisin in PNG, Haiti Creole
in Haiti

36. Pidgin language is the language of a mixture of
two or more languages that form can not be
categorized into one of the original language.
Pidgin languages are temporary because there is
no native speaker. Used in markets, trading
centers and others which are visited by native
language
Creole language is a pidgin language which is
accepted as the original language that already
has-native speakers and it can be said is the
mother tongue or first language to a group

37. Decreolization: a reduction in the number of
Creole features in the speech of an individual or
community.
Acrolect: it refers to less-Creole like, or more
standard or prestigious variety.
Basilect: it refers to more-Creole like variety
Mesolect: it refers to the intermediate variety
between basilect and acrolect.

40. Harada, S. (2009). The Roles of Singapore Standard English and Singlish. Availble
at
http://www.bunkyo.ac.jp/faculty/lib/slib/kiyo/Inf/if40/if4006.pdf
Landris, R. and Bourhis, R. Y. (1997).Linguistic landscape and Ethnolinguistic
vitality. Journal of Language and Social Psychology . 16(1),23-49.
Sebba, Mark. (1997) Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles. Palgrave Macmillan.
Van Herk, (2012). What is sociolinguistics? Willey Publication.
Image # Bukavo
http://www.znanje.org/i/i19/99iv09/99iv0925/Image12.jpg
Image # Polynesia
http://www.beautifulpacific.com/polynesia-islands.php
Image# Kachru’s circle http://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/pics/three_circles.gif