Language and Identity | Key theories and concepts Flashcards
define semiotics
the study of signs and symbols, what they mean and how they are used
what is an icon
a sign that represents or indicates something else
what is sanders peirce’s theory
a sign represents something else
what is a symbol
what you’ve been taught is what you identify
what is an index
a sign and object connected in a logical way
e.g tired (icon)- need sleep (index)
what is syntax
the structure of sentences
what are pragmatics
the context
what does sociolect mean
language belonging to a specific group of people e.g- they have the same social group, share the same social factors- class, age, occupation
what does familect mean
language you and your family use and sometimes create that probably wouldn’t be used elsewhere
what does idiolect mean
the specific way an individual speaks
what is a social network
a social structure made up of individuals who are linked by one or more specific connections
networks can either be ______ or ________
open
closed
what is a closed network
when someone’s personal contacts all know each other
what is an open network
when someone’s contacts tend not to know each other
what does density mean
whether members of a person’s network are in touch with each other
open networks have a low density, closed networks have a high density- T or F
true
what is physical context
where a conversation takes place
what is epistemic context
what the speakers now about the world, background knowledge about the subject of the conversation
what is linguistic context
what’s already been said in the conversation
what is social context
social relationship among speakers and listeners
list thornborrow’s four identities
master
interactional
personal
relational
what is master identity according to thornborrow
this identity is stable and unchanging, e.g gender, ethnicity
what is interactional identity according to thornborrow
the roles people take on in a communicative context with specific other people
what is personal identity according to thornborrow
stable and unique, the way in which people talk and behave towards others
what is relational identity according to thornborrow
the kind of relationship that a person entacts
what is whorfianism (1956)
the structure of a language affects its speaker’s world view: language we use determines the way we think about things
what is tajfel’s theory
an individual acts as a member of a group they identify with
according to tajfel what is social categorisation
the world is divided into ‘them’ and ‘us’
what are grice’s four maxims
quality
quantity
relevance
manner
what does grice’s maxim of quality state
speaker’s contributions ought to be true
what does grice’s maxim of quantity state
speaker’s contributions should not say too much or to little
what does grice’s maxim of relevance state
contributions should relate to the topic
what does grice’s maxim of manner state
contributions should be rude or obscure
what does goffman’s theory entail
he suggested that we present a particular image of ourself to others: this is called presenting a ‘face
what is a adjunct
an additive that is not of importance
what is a disjunct
adverbs that express an attitude
who came up with the accomodation theory
giles
what is giles’ accomodation theory
people adjust their speech to one another
what is accommodation
constant movement toward and away from others by changing communicative behaviour
what is convergence
strategy through which you adapt communication behaviour to become similar to another person
what is divergence
strategy of accentuating the difference between yourself and another person.
what is a denotation
a factual meaning
what is a connotation
inferred, personal meaning
list 3 examples of modal auxiliary verbs (possibility)
will shall could may might must should
