An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
Types
of Language
a variety of terms distinguish the
kinds of languages and vocabularies that exist outside the mainstream of
standard, formal language. Here are twelve words and phrases that denote
specific ideas of language usage.
1. Argot
An argot is a language primarily developed to disguise conversation, originally because of a criminal enterprise, though the term is also used loosely to refer to informal jargon.
An argot is a language primarily developed to disguise conversation, originally because of a criminal enterprise, though the term is also used loosely to refer to informal jargon.
2.
Cant
Cant is somewhat synonymous with argot and jargon and refers to the vocabulary of an in-group that uses it to deceive or exclude nonusers.
Cant is somewhat synonymous with argot and jargon and refers to the vocabulary of an in-group that uses it to deceive or exclude nonusers.
3.
Colloquial Language
Anything
not employed in formal writing or conversation, including terms that might fall
under one or more of most of the other categories in this list, is a
colloquialism. Colloquial and colloquialism may be perceived
to be pejorative terms, but they merely refer to informal terminology.
Colloquial language — whether words, idiomatic phrases, or
aphorisms — is often regionally specific; for example, variations on the term
“carbonated beverage” — including soda, pop, and coke
— differ in various areas of the United
States.
4.
Creole
A creole is a more sophisticated development of a pidgin, derived from two or more parent languages and used by people all ages as a native language.
A creole is a more sophisticated development of a pidgin, derived from two or more parent languages and used by people all ages as a native language.
5.
Dialect
A dialect is a way of speaking based on geographical or social factors.
A dialect is a way of speaking based on geographical or social factors.
6.
Jargon
Jargon is a body of words and phrases that apply to a specific activity or profession, such as a particular art form or athletic or recreational endeavor, or a medical or scientific subject. Jargon is often necessary for precision when referring to procedures and materials integral to a certain pursuit. However, in some fields, jargon is employed to an excessive and gratuitous degree, often to conceal the truth or deceive or exclude outsiders. Various types of jargon notorious for obstructing rather than facilitating communication are given names often appended with -ese or -speak, such as bureaucratese or corporate-speak.
Jargon is a body of words and phrases that apply to a specific activity or profession, such as a particular art form or athletic or recreational endeavor, or a medical or scientific subject. Jargon is often necessary for precision when referring to procedures and materials integral to a certain pursuit. However, in some fields, jargon is employed to an excessive and gratuitous degree, often to conceal the truth or deceive or exclude outsiders. Various types of jargon notorious for obstructing rather than facilitating communication are given names often appended with -ese or -speak, such as bureaucratese or corporate-speak.
7. Lingo
This term vaguely refers to the speech of a particular community or group and is therefore loosely synonymous with many of the other words in this list.
This term vaguely refers to the speech of a particular community or group and is therefore loosely synonymous with many of the other words in this list.
8.
Lingua Franca
A lingua franca is a language often adopted as a common
tongue to enable communication between speakers of separate languages, though
pidgins and creoles, both admixtures of two or more languages, are also
considered lingua francas.
9.
Patois
Patois refers loosely to a nonstandard language such as a creole, a dialect, or a pidgin, with a connotation of the speakers’ social inferiority to those who speak the standard language.
Patois refers loosely to a nonstandard language such as a creole, a dialect, or a pidgin, with a connotation of the speakers’ social inferiority to those who speak the standard language.
10.
Pidgin
A simplified language arising from the efforts of people speaking different languages to communicate is a pidgin. These languages generally develop to facilitate trade between people without a common language. In time, pidgins often evolve into creoles.
A simplified language arising from the efforts of people speaking different languages to communicate is a pidgin. These languages generally develop to facilitate trade between people without a common language. In time, pidgins often evolve into creoles.
11.
Slang
A vocabulary of terms (at least initially) employed in a specific subculture is slang. Slang terms, either invented words or those whose meanings are adapted to new senses, develop out of a subculture’s desire to disguise — or exclude others from — their conversations. As US society becomes more youth oriented and more homogenous, slang becomes more widespread in usage, and subcultures continually invent new slang as older terms are appropriated by the mainstream population.
A vocabulary of terms (at least initially) employed in a specific subculture is slang. Slang terms, either invented words or those whose meanings are adapted to new senses, develop out of a subculture’s desire to disguise — or exclude others from — their conversations. As US society becomes more youth oriented and more homogenous, slang becomes more widespread in usage, and subcultures continually invent new slang as older terms are appropriated by the mainstream population.
12. Vernacular
A vernacular is a native language or dialect, as opposed to another tongue also in use, such as Spanish, French, or Italian and their dialects as compared to their mother language, Latin. Alternatively, a vernacular is a dialect itself as compared to a standard language (though it should be remembered that a standard language is simply a dialect or combination of dialects that has come to predominate).
A vernacular is a native language or dialect, as opposed to another tongue also in use, such as Spanish, French, or Italian and their dialects as compared to their mother language, Latin. Alternatively, a vernacular is a dialect itself as compared to a standard language (though it should be remembered that a standard language is simply a dialect or combination of dialects that has come to predominate).
So, what is actually sociolinguistics?
Sociolinguistics is a branch of major linguistics. It is an inter-discipline that
studies how is language used by society.
Kind
of Sociolinguistics
1. Knowledge
of Language
When two or more people communicate
with each other in speech, we can call the system of communication that they
employ a code. In most cases that code will be something we may also want to
call a language. The system ( the grammar, to use a well-known technical term) I
something that each speaker “knows”, but two very important issues for linguistics
are just what that knowledge is knowledge of and how it may best be
characterized.
2. Variation
The language we use in everyday
living is remarkably varied. Some investigator believe that this variety throws
up serious obstacles to all attempts to demonstrate that each language is truly
a homogenous entity, and that it is possible to write a complete grammar for
language which makes use of categorical rules, and therefore what is
not-possible in the language. When we look closely at any language, we will
discover time and time again that there is considerable internal variation and that
speakers make constant use of the many different possibilities offered to them.
no one speaks the same way all the time they speak for a wide variety of
purpose.
3. Scientific
Investigation
The scientific study of language,
its uses, and the linguistics norms that people observe poses a number of
problems. That would be a rather uninteresting activity, a kind of butterfly
collecting. A more profound kind of theorizing is called for some attempt to
arrive at an understanding of the general principles of organization that
surely must exist in both language and the uses of language.
4. Language
and society
They use concepts as “identity”, “power”,
“class”, “status”, “solidarity”, “accommodation”, “face”, “gender”, “politeness”,
etc. A major concern of this book is to examine possible relationships between “linguistics
items” on the one hand and concepts such as “power”, “solidarity”, etc. on the other.
We should note that in doing so we are trying to relate two different kinds of
entities in order to see what light they throw on each other. That is not an
easy task. Linguistics items are difficult to define.
5. Sociolinguistics
and The Sociology of Language
Some investigators have found it appropriate
to try t introduce a distinction between sociolinguistics or
micro-sociolinguistics and the sociology of language or macro-sociolinguistics.
In this distinction, sociolinguistics is concerned with investigating the
relationship between language and society with the goal being a better
understanding of the structure of language and of how languages function in
communication; the equivalent goal in the sociology of language is trying to
discover how social structure can be better understood through the study of
language, e.g., how certain linguistics features serve to characterize particular
social arrangements.
6. Whatever
sociolinguistics is, it must be oriented toward both data and theory; that is
any conclusions we come to must be solidly based on evidence. Above all, our
research must be motivated by questions that can be answered in an approved
scientific way. Data collected for the sake of little interest, since without
some kind of focus- that is, without some kind of non-trivial motive for
collection- they can tell us little thing. A set of random observation about
how a few people we happen to observe use language cannot lead us to any useful
generalizations about behavior, either linguistics or social. We cannot be
content with “butterfly collecting” no matter how beautiful the specimens are. We
must collect data for a purpose and that purpose should be to find an answer,
or answers, to an interesting question. Questions phrased in ways that do not
allow for some kind of empirical testing have no more than a speculative
interest.
Sociolinguistics are divided into :
Sociolinguistics structure : having grammar
Sociolinguistics Behavior : influenced by
a. Social
class
b. Age
c. Social
status
d. Profession
e. Educational
background
f.
Region
Bibliography
Nicol, Mark. 12 Types
of Language. Retrivied September 27th 2017. From https://www.dailywritingtips.com/12-types-of-language/
Wardhaugh, Ronald. 1986. An Introduction to
Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell
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