Lecture 1

Question 1

What is Sociolinguistics?

Answer 1

Sociolinguistics studies the relationship between language and society.

Question 2

Sociolinguistics explains why people ________.

Answer 2

speak differently in different social contexts

Question 3

Sociolinguistics is concerned with identifying the _________.

Answer 3

social functions of language and the ways it is used to convey social meaning

Question 4

The way people talk is influenced by ________.

Answer 4

the social context in which they are talking

Question 5

It matters who can hear us and where we are talking, and how we are feeling.

Answer 5

V

Question 6

We use different style in different social contexts.

Answer 6

V

Question 7

The same message may be expressed differently to different people.

Answer 7

V

Question 8

Ray talking to the school principle would say something like: Good afternoon, sir.
Why?

Answer 8

This response reflects Ray’s awareness of the social factors which influence the choice of appropriate ways of speaking in different social contexts.

Question 9

Language serves a range of functions. We use it to ________ and ________.

Answer 9

Convey information

Express feelings

Question 10

We also indicate aspects of our social identity through the way we talk. How?

Answer 10

Our speech provides clues to others about who we are, where we come from, and the social experiences that we have.