Language and community

Question 1

Language and identity

Answer 1

1. Language is intrinsic to the expression of culture. Language is a fundamental aspect of cultural identity. 2. It is the means by which we convey our innermost self from
   generation to generation. It is through language that we transmit and express our culture and its values.

Question 2

Language and Community

Answer 2

1. Language is a community effort.
2. Developing a shared language builds a community.
3. Language can also be used to isolate, show disapproval to
   individuals and certain groups.
4. As social outreach expands we become members of different
   groups which are instrumental in our developing a sense of
   community.
5. Each group has its discourse of interaction: its language and other
   ways of communicating

Question 3

Key terms

Answer 3

Accommodation: An adjustment of language to reflect a desire for proximity with another person or community.
❖ Divergence: An adjustment of language to show distance from another person or community

Question 4

Marking Social Categories

Answer 4

1. Language is used objectively our bio data with reference to social categories such as age, gender, race, social class and occupation.
2. It is also used to define, stereotype, express and sometimes reinforce perceive social differences.
3. We can trace the evolution of certain roles and attitudes through them.
4. Language allows us to share our ideas, thoughts, and feelings with others. It has the power to build societies, but also tear them down.

Question 5

Language and social value (more language)

Answer 5

1. Our language is integrally related to who we are individually, socially and culturally.
2. Its is the reflection of our social characteristics our age, gender, educational background, social class and occupation.
3. Its instrumental in determining our social worth and the value society
   attaches to these and it may ultimately be a tool for stigmatising and controlling us.
4. Society establishes hierarchies reflecting the differentials in power, authority, respect and value it accords to social groups

Question 6

Language and social value (more social)

Answer 6

1. Social profiling may facilitate social engineering and control by those
   in authority and their restricting of the freedoms of others.
2. It sometimes results in limiting the employment, education, legal
   representation, freedom of associations and other rights and
   privileges of harassed groups.
3. When such groups are also cut off from participation in the media,
   their voices and concerns will ultimately be muzzled.

Question 7

Language and culture

Answer 7

1. Language is a roadmap of a culture
2. Culture impacts our core traditions, values and the way we interact with others in society. On the other hand, language makes those
   interactions easy. Simply put, language facilitates social interactions while culture helps us to learn how to behave and interact with others.
3. A renowned linguist Ken Hale shares his views on the culture-language relationship. He says that when a language is lost, a part of the culture gets lost as well as culture is significantly encoded in language.