Chapter 4 - Codes in society Flashcards
Do monolingual countries exist?
NO.
- even a very unified country like german has many different language communities in it
What is Bilingualism
- allows an individual to function at some level in more than one language
- Same as Multilingualism
What is code switching?
Switching from one language to another
- Extremely common and normal for people who control more than one language
Is anyone monolingual?
NO. everyone controls multiple varieties of their native language
Choosing the right code is NOT the same as…
choosing the correct grammar
What is a balanced bilingual?
Equal abilities in multiple Ls - VERY RARE
What determines the code we select
The social context
typical interaction
Are called Domains
What are th 5 domains of typical interaction discovered by Joshua Fishman
Home, education, employment, religion, friendship
What is happening with Guarani in Paraguay
- interesting multilingualism
- half were bilingual (guarnani and spanish)
- 40% monolingual Guarani
- 10% spanish
What is the functional distribution in paraguay
Guarani - less formal situations - friendship, family, education
Spanish - More formal: Religion, employment, education
= NO competition called functional specialization
Bilingualism can lead to…
- Language loss
- Diffusion – certain features spread from one language to the other language
- After many years even syntax can be affected
Which levels of languages are quickly changed? which are stubborn?
- phonology is the easiest to change
- morphology is stubborn but does change
- syntax is the most resistant to change
Explain the Example in the village of Kupwar about how bilingualism affects languages
• 4 languages are spoken:
o Marathi (lowest class/caste) & Urdu (Muslims)
o Kannada (highest class/caste)
o Telugu (rope makers)
• Trilingualism is normal
• Consequence: convergence of varieties (syntax)
• Lexicon distinguishes varieties
who coined the term Diglossia
• Charles Ferguson
what are the 3 features of diglossia according to Charles Ferguson
- 2 varieties of the same L in the community, HIGH (h)-official L & LOW(L) - spoken at home
- They have Distinct functions (no overlap)
- No High language for everyday communication
Example of a diglossia
- Everyone learns standard german (H) in school but they use swiss german (L) to talk to their family
What are the 5 characteristics of Diglossia
1) Persistency
2) Functional Distribution
3) Prestige
4) Literary Heritage
5) All members learn (L) variety
Explain Persistency
– every diglossia is a societal arrangement that persists for several generations
Explain Functional Distribution
- the functions that each language fulfills do not overlap so there is no competition between the languages
ex. England after the Norman Conquest (english and French)
What did Jeffery Chaucer do?
broke the diglossia when he wrote a book in English not french
Explain Prestige
- the high variety must have power while the low variety lacks said power
- H language = codified
ex. Swiss german doesn’t have same political power as standard german
ex 2. mennonites use german bible but they don’t understand it