lesson 1

Question 1

what varies outside the language?

Answer 1

What varies outside the language?
● temporal space
● geographical space
● social space
○ social groups
○ social settings
○ interlocutor

Question 2

what varies within the language?

Answer 2

What varies within the language?
● phonetics and phonology
● lexicon
● morphology
● syntax
● pragmatics

Question 3

standard notation

Answer 3

Standard notation
● (variable) : variant ~ variant ~ variant ~ …
● (soft drink) : soft drink ~ soda ~ pop ~ coke ~ fizzy drink ~ …
● (FACE) : [eɪ] ~ [eː] ~ [æɪ] ~ [ɪə] ~ …

Question 4

informants

Answer 4

Find the oldest sane guy in the village thatʼs never been away NORMs
● non-mobile ● older ● rural ● male

Question 5

isogloss

Answer 5

An isogloss is the geographical border between variants By definition, isoglosses are idealised interpretations ● borders are always messy ● variant use is not black and white
Multiple isoglosses together define dialect areas

Question 6

variable

Answer 6

the thing

Question 7

variety

Answer 7

a specific form of language (dialects, registers, styles, et.)

Question 8

variation

Answer 8

there are different ways of saying the same thing

Question 9

variant

Answer 9

the different ways of saying the thing

Question 10

constrain/constrains

Answer 10

if the distribution of variants is neither random nor free, and instead shows systematic correlations with independent factors (= due to other factors), those factors can be said to constrain the variation or to be the constraints on the variable.

Question 11

free variation

Answer 11

th idea that variants alternate with each other without any reliable constraints on their occurrence in a particular context or by particular speakers

Question 12

linguistics and non-linguistics factors

Answer 12

Sometimes referred to as ‘internal’ and ‘external’ factors, respectively. The distribution of the variants of a variable may be constrained
by or depend on
other factors in the linguistic system. (For example: Is the subject a pronoun or a full NP? Is the following phonological segment coronal or velar?)
The distribution may also be constrained by factors that lie outside of the grammar or core linguistic system. (For example: Is the speaker talking to
a close friend or a stranger? Is there a lot of background noise?)

Question 13

regional dialectology

Answer 13

The identification and mapping of boundaries between different varieties on the basis of clusters of similar and different features in particular regions, towns or villages.

Question 14

principle of maximum differentiation

Answer 14

An idea that there may be functional constraints on phonological variation preventing the realisations of one phoneme overlapping or encroaching
too much on the realisations of another.

Question 15

reallocation

Answer 15

Reassignment or reanalysis of forms in contact in a systematic way, e.g., as allophonically distributed variants of a phoneme. -> both

Question 16

intermediate forms

Answer 16

Forms emerging following contact between closely related varieties that fall in between the various input forms. -> new

Question 17

social dialectology

Answer 17

The study of linguistic variation in relation to speakers’ participation
or membership in social groups, or in relation to other non- linguistic factors.

Question 18

interspeaker variation

Answer 18

Differences and variation that is measured between different speakers (individuals or social groups).

Question 19

intraspeaker variation

Answer 19

Differences in the way a single person speaks at different times, or with different interlocutors, or even within a sentence. Intraspeaker variation is a necessary corollary of inherent variability in grammars.

Question 20

vernacular

Answer 20

In this text, usually used to refer neutrally to the linguistic variety used by a speaker or
a community as the medium for everyday and home interaction. In some linguistic work, the term may
be associated with the notion of non-standard norms.

Question 21

Index score

Answer 21

A means by which scalar variables like raising of a vowel can be converted into quantifiable data. For example, very low variants can be assigned a score of 0, and very raised ones a score of 3 with two intermediate levels. Aggregate scores across all tokens allow the researcher to identify some speakers or groups of speakers as more or less conservative/ innovative than others.

Question 22

Envelope of variation

Answer 22

All, and only, the contexts in which a variable occurs.

Question 23

synchronic/diachronic variation

Answer 23

Synchronic variation
Variation occurring now.
Diachronic change
Change realised over chronological time.

Question 24

stereotype

Answer 24

A linguistic feature that is widely recognised and is very often the subject of (not always strictly accurate!) dialect performances and impersonations.

Question 25

marker

Answer 25

A marker is something in the way people talk that they may not even realize they’re doing. It’s like a clue that gives away information about their background or where they come from. It’s not as obvious as a stereotype, but it still shows up consistently.

conscious!!

Question 26

indicator

Answer 26

An indicator is a way of speaking that doesn’t change much, no matter who the person is talking to. It’s like a linguistic clue that can tell us about the groups people belong to. It’s mostly divided between different groups, so it can give us hints about someone’s social background.

unconscious!!

Question 27

personal reasons for variation

Answer 27

(i) a desire to show how you fit in with some people and are different from others;
(ii) a desire to do things that have value in the community (and associate yourself with that
value);

(iii) a desire not to do things that are looked down on in the community (and have others look down on you);
(iv) a desire to work out how others are orienting themselves to the concerns in (i) – (iii).

Question 28

group differentiation

Answer 28

A hypothesised function for language variation. Social varieties, including regional ones, help define the boundaries between different groups.
In some theories of social psychology differentiation between groups is argued to
be an important basis for forming positive self-image.

Question 29

motivaion

Answer 29

which drive or motivate variation. Speakers of a language may be able to talk about the different goals, intentions or motivations that are served by using one variant rather than another, but some motivations may be subconscious and not available for such comment.