Language & Social Groups Terms

Question 1

Convergence

Answer 1

Changing one’s language to move towards that of another speakers

Question 2

Divergence

Answer 2

Changing one’s language to move away from that of another individual

Question 3

Density

Answer 3

The number of connections that people have

Question 4

Social Network

Answer 4

A network of relations between people in their membership of different groups

Question 5

Dialect

Answer 5

A style of language used within a particular geographical region

Question 7

Ethnolect

Answer 7

A style of language which is characteristic of a particular ethnic group

Question 8

Familiect

Answer 8

A style of language which is used within a family

Question 9

Genderlect

Answer 9

A style of language thought to be distinctive of either men or women

Question 10

Social Practices

Answer 10

The ways in which people in groups habitually behave.

Question 11

Sociolect

Answer 11

A style of language used within a particular social group

Question 12

Community of Practice

Answer 12

A group of people who share understanding/ language use as a result of meeting regularly over time

Question 13

Elaborated code

Answer 13

An idea that middle class speakers use context-free, complex forms of language

Question 14

Restricted code

Answer 14

An idea that working-class speakers use context and limited forms of language

Question 15

Pragmatic rules

Answer 15

Unspoken rules that operate in interactions between people who share a common understanding