Chapter 1 Flashcards
language
structured system of arbitrary vocal/signed symbols used to make human connection
arbitrary
no inherent relationship between form of word and sound.
linguistics
scientific study of human language
society
group of individuals that depend on eachother, that develop own internal norms+values
sociolinguistics
subfield within linguistics that examine :
- how society affects language
- how language affects society
–> try to make generalisations how language used in different context+understand social norms intertwined with language use
people use language to…
- create+express identities
- relate to one another in groups
- resist, protect, increase various kind of power
whorfian hypothesis
theory that focusses on question: how does a particular language you speak affects the way you think about the world?
can be divided in two versions:
- strong: linguistic determinism
- weaker: linguistic relativism
linguistic determinism
language determines ability to categorise, think, perceive etc–> frames the way we think about the world–> if your language doesn’t have a word for it, you can’t understand it
linguistic relativism
language influences ability to categorise, think, perceive etc–> doesn’t determine it tho–> can still understand a concept if your language doesn’t have a word for it
why is linguistic determinism not very plausible?
because translation is possible/ you can get a good idea idea of what a word means even if you don’t have that specific word in your language/acquire new word for that meaning–> this wouldn’t be possible if determinism was real
Chomsky
competence=
unconscious knowledge everyone has over grammatical rules language. These rules are mostly unwritten, just the norm. It’s an abstract process you can’t record
chomsky
permance=
way individuals actually use language. This can be directly observed, measured, recorded etc
(SCL focusses on performance)
idiolects
individuals’ distinctive way of speaking
communicative competence
how to use language appropriately in the real world. Different (social)situations ask for adaption, if not done correctly there are social consequences
descriptive
focusses on describing how language users actually use their language, making sense of, comparing that etc
–> doesn’t come with preconceived notions of correctness or preferring certain language of social group better over others
prescriptive
concerned with how language should be used correctly and enforcing these rules
–> one of the places where power comes in–> enforcing certain variety of language can give individuals power of others that don’t use it
power
ability to control actions of self and of others–> linguistic recources we have play important rolein how much power we have
identity
not a fixed thing, construct and change in particular context you are in–> draw conclusion/make assumptions about people and their identities based on language they use and how
indexical
association of a code/linguistic form with particular social meaning
linguistic profiling
using accent, speech and other auditory cues related to language to identify social charecteristics of individual (usually for purpose of discriminating against)
code
system with two/more people communicate with eachother
variants
different structures of expressing the same meaning
variation accross speakers
reflections of different ways people speak in different regions/social groups
variation within single speaker
no one speaks same all the time, exploit variation within language for different purposes/social meanings
solidarity
motivation which causes individual to act together+feel common bond which influences social actions–> intertwined w identity formation+group formation
