W11: Culture, Gender, Pidgins & Creoles

Question 1

What does psycholinguistics consider language to be?

Answer 1

A method of communicating meaning - looking at the abstract system, its design and structure as well as how it is learned

Question 2

What is sociolinguistics?

Answer 2

Language as a method for establishing and maintaining social relationships

Question 3

Sociolinguistics seek…

Answer 3

Seeks socially relevant explanations for regular patterns of variation in language use

Question 4

The speech style chosen depends on both…

Answer 4

Person and situation

Question 5

What is standard english?

Answer 5

Variety of english used in print

Question 6

Where may standard english be used?

Answer 6

Schools, ‘educated people’, news broadcasts

Question 7

Does everyone use standard english?

Answer 7

No

Question 8

How are accents distinguished?

Answer 8

Through pronunciation alone

Question 9

Where does pronunciation vary?

Answer 9

Between both within and between countries

Question 10

Do all countries have variations in regional accents?

Answer 10

No - there is more variation in some countries than others. In Australia we are known for having little regional variation. It is more so in the US and the UK

Question 11

What is regional dialect?

Answer 11

Differences in vocab and grammar

Question 12

Explain the variety in Australian English

Answer 12

Many Australians can move between varieties according to the situation

Cultivated: consonants clear, vowel pronunciations not different from English received pronunciation

General: most widely used - somewhere between extremes

Broad: vowels are broad, consonants are sometimes unclear and prone to assimilation and elision

Question 13

What is the observer’s paradox when it comes to observing speech?

Answer 13

People often change when they know they’re being examined

Question 14

What ethical issues may arise when trying to fix the observer’s paradox?

Answer 14

You can’t just not let them know they are being observed - it raises ethical concerns

Question 15

What is the clandestine recording method of speech enquiry?

Pros, cons?

Answer 15

Where you are in a social situation or on a phone call and you slyly record the persons speech

Does allow you to see naturalistic speech but it is uncontrolled data as you can’t get them to say certain things and there is poor quality of recordings because you are trying to record without being obvious

GRAVE ETHICAL CONCERNS

Question 16

What is covert but non-intrusive recording methods of speech enquiry?

Pros, cons?

Answer 16

Done by recording in person or on the phone, but you ask innocuous questions to get well-controlled data of naturalistic speech - minimal ethical concerns with the Q’s not being harmful

However again have poor quality recordings.

Question 17

What is the sociolinguistic interview method of speech enquiry?

pros, cons?

Answer 17

Interviewer will try to elicit samples of various types of speech

However may be hard for the people to relax and speak normally
You do get structured data and clear recordings - no ethical concerns

But takes time and is expensive

Question 18

What does it mean to converge and diverge accent?

Answer 18

Converge: make yourself stand out less, so you dont appear different
Diverge: show that you are different

Question 19

What kind of choices are made in linguistic situations?

Answer 19

• Vocab
• Pronunciation
• Grammar
• Entire language (local vs. national language)

Question 20

What are linguistic choices influenced by?

Answer 20

Participants (who is speaking and to who)
Topic of conversation
Social context
Function of conversation (why are we talking?teaching, conversing, entertaining)

Question 21

Does it matter how we speak?

Answer 21

Yes - imagine trying to land a high stakes job, book a fancy hotel room or impress a potential partner

The prestige variety is often rewarded and the non-standard variety is stigmatised

Question 22

Are there any sex differences in language?

Answer 22

Yes - sociolinguistic studies have found that in many cultures women and men speak differently

Question 23

What are the two categories of sex-based differences in language? what do they mean?

Answer 23

Complete: whole different language and grammar
Subtle: differences in some vocab or expressions

Question 24

Explain Dyirbal taboo

Answer 24

Spoken in north east queensland (only about 30 people)

Speaker is forbidden to speak with, approach or look straight at mother-in-law, child-in-law, fathers sisters child or mothers brothers child

If in hearing range of these ‘taboo’ relatives, they would need to use a separate form of dyirbal

Same phonemes, same grammar, but entirely different lexicon - all words are different!

Question 25

Are there any sex differences in english-speaking communities? if there is, explain them

Answer 25

No major differences - but some distinctions may occur

Women tend to use more standard pronunciation and grammar, use more pleasant adjectives (adorable, sweer) and non-primary colour names (mauve, crimson). Women also use more patterns of surprise/politeness, rising inotation and tag questions (aren’t they? isn’t he?)

Question 26

Much of the research on language sex differences are considered ‘classic’ due to being from 1960’s-70’s. What might this mean today?

Answer 26

These differences may be decreasing - research may need updating

May be more relevant in older generations but not newer

Question 27

What do women express in their use of language more than men?

Answer 27

Women use language more frequently than men, using more words

Express social warmth (eg. terms of endearment)

in digital messages: women communicate expressiveness or friendliness with emojis, xx’s and affection whereas men are more likely to show aggression in digital messages

Question 28

What does cooperation differences mean for research?

Answer 28

Women are more cooperative than men and may accommodate their speech in interviews for the interviewer (typically seen as being well-educated) - converge speech to be more similar to that of the interviewer

Men may react with even greater vernacular language which may explain why research indicates more standard forms of language from women than from men

Question 29

Is language sexist? give examples

Answer 29

No language in itself is not sexist - it reflects sexism in society

Male terms are unmarked - prince, actor, hero (assumed to include women)

female forms marked (bound morphemes) - princess, actress, heroin - however we are dropping these more and more

Question 30

Why are pidgins formed?

Answer 30

There is a need to find a common system of communication between speakers of different languages
E.g. slave plantations, trade

Speakers of the 2 inferior languages need to speak to each other and those of the dominant language
- done by simplifying the dominant language

Question 31

What is a pidgin?

Answer 31

It is a language with no native speakers - a contact language (speak when in contact with another group)

Those wishing to communicate in a multilingual station need to improvise a simple code

Question 32

What is a creole?

Answer 32

A pidgin that has become the first language of a new generation of speakers

After growing up hearing pidgin language, over a few generations it becomes their first language

Question 33

Speaking a creole language is often associated with…

Answer 33

A sense of inferiority - ‘its not a real langugae’

Statistics say 6-17 million people speak a creole but hard to know for certain because of the stigma surrounding it

Question 34

What are the language components of a pidgin language like?

Answer 34

Phonology: variation tolerated
Morphology: simplified
Word order: unstable, often follows speakers native language
function words: not used consistently

Whereas creole language components are like a regular language

Question 35

Is it hard to tell when…

Answer 35

A language is a creole or pidgin

Takes generations of change

Question 36

What if a pidgin doesnt turn into a creole?

Answer 36

It will phase out

Question 37

Pidgins and creoles are mainly spoken in:

Answer 37

Developing countries where there is history of slaving, migrations, colonists

As well as places near the equatorial belt where it is warmer and people travel to

Places with direct and easy access to the water

Question 38

Pidgins and creoles are uncommon in:

Answer 38

More extreme northern and southern regions

The interiors of continents (harder to travel to so no languages bought there and it is not warm enough for plantations etc)

Question 39

How are pidgin/creole languages potential evidence towards innate language abilities?

Answer 39

Children who do not know any other language take impoverished pidgin language and turn it into a grammatical one - because of innate language abilities?

Some researchers have said innate ‘bioprogram’ compels children to develop a full language