Sociolinguistics ch.1

Question 1

Linguistics

Answer 1

scientific study of human language (what is language, how it’s used, analysis)

Question 2

Language

Answer 2

System of arbitrary vocal/signed symbols used for human communication

Question 3

sociolinguistics

Answer 3

is a subfield of linguistics that examines the relationship between language and society

Question 4

central concerns of sociolinguistics

Answer 4

create and express identities, and relate to one another in groups, and resist various kinds of power

Question 5

descriptive approach to language

Answer 5

describes analyses and explains how people actually use language

Question 6

prescriptive approach to language

Answer 6

concerned with how a language “should” be spoken. Views one variety of language as inherently correct and tries to impose this variety. Notions of good and bad language

Question 7

competence

Answer 7

a person’s unconscious knowledge of the grammatical rules of a language

Question 8

perfomance

Answer 8

the way individuals actually use a language

Question 9

communicative competence

Answer 9

to refer to the ability to produce and understand utterances which are socially appropriate in particular contexts: knowing how to use a language properly

Question 10

idiolect

Answer 10

an individual’s distinctive way of speaking

Question 11

identity

Answer 11

a socially constructed affiliation with particular social categories

Question 12

society

Answer 12

a group of people drawn together for particular purposes and who share at least some cultural norms

Question 13

culture

Answer 13

knowledge about how a society works, its values and practices

Question 14

power

Answer 14

the ability to control the actions of self and others

Question 15

solidarity

Answer 15

a common bond between individuals, usually associated with identification with the same social group

Question 16

linguistic determinism

Answer 16

the language you speak determines your thoughts or what you are able to think about and how your perceive things (if a person does not have a clear image for a particular concept, then that concept is difficult or impossible to imagine

Question 17

linguistic relativism

Answer 17

language influences the way we think or perceive things, but it does not prevent us from seeing things from different perspectives and forming new ideas

Question 18

indexicality

Answer 18

the association of a code or a linguistic form with a particular social meaning (e.g. the accent related to a social group)

Question 19

linguistic profiling

Answer 19

coined by Baugh, refers to the practice of using a person’s accent, speech and other auditory cues to identify the social characteristics of an individual