ChapterLanguageandsocietyPPT教学课件

1、The relation between language and society Language is often used to establish and maintain social relationships. (e.g. greeting)The use of language is in part determined by the users social background. (social class, age, sex, education level, etc.)Language, especially the structure of its lexicon,

2、reflects both the physical and the social environments of a society. (“snow” for Eskimo) As a social phenomenon, language is closely related to the structure of the society in which it is used, the evaluation of a linguistic form is entirely social ( the postvocalic r 元音后的).第1页/共18页Speech community

3、and speech variety Speech community - the social group that is singled out (chosen) for any special sociolinguistic study is called the speech community. 第2页/共18页 Speech variety or language variety - any distinguishable form of speech used by a speaker or a group of speakers. In sociolinguistic stud

4、y three types of speech variety are of special interest, i.e. regional dialects, sociolects and registers.第3页/共18页Two approaches to sociolinguistic studies Macro sociolinguistics, i.e. a birds-eye view of the languages used in society;第4页/共18页Micro sociolinguistics, i.e. a worms-eye view of language

5、 in use.第5页/共18页Varieties of language Dialectal varieties (regional dialects) Register Degree of formality 第6页/共18页Dialectal varieties Regional dialect is a linguistic variety used by people living in the same geographical region(e.g. Br.E. & Am.E.). Sociolect is a linguistic variety characteristic

6、of a particular social class. (e.g. Received Pronunciation) Language and gender (e.g. intonation, lexicon) Language and age (Lexical difference: icebox- fridge, wireless-boombox)第7页/共18页第8页/共18页 Idiolect - a personal dialect of an individual speaker that combines elements regarding regional, social,

7、 gender, and age variations (e.g. Hemingway, Luxun). Ethnic dialect - a social dialect of a language that cuts across regional differences; it is mainly spoken by a less privileged population that has experienced some form of social isolation such as racial discrimination or segregation (e.g. Black

8、English). 第9页/共18页Register 语域 Register, in a restricted sense, refers to the variety of language related to ones occupation. In a broader sense, according to Halliday, “language varies as its function varies; it differs in different situations.” The type of language which is selected as appropriate

9、to the type of situation is a register. Halliday further distinguishes three social variables that determine the register: field of discourse, tenor of discourse, mode of discourse. 第10页/共18页Three social variables Field of discourse: w h a t i s g o i n g o n : t o t h e a r e a of operation of the

10、language activity. It is concerned with the purpose (why) and subject matter (about what) of c o m m u n i c a t i o n . I t c a n b e e i t h e r technical or non-technical.第11页/共18页 Tenor of discourse: the role of relationship in the situation in question: w h o a r e t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s

11、 i n t h e communication and in what relationship they stand to each other. (customer-shop-assistant, teacher-student, etc.) Mode of discourse: the means of communication It is concerned with how communication is carried out. (oral, written, on the line) 第12页/共18页Degree of formality -Five stages of

12、formality (Martin Joos) Intimate: Up you go, chaps! Casual: Time you all went upstairs now. Consultative: Would you mind going upstairs right away, please? Formal: Visitors should go up the stairs at once. Frozen: Visitors would make their way at once to the upper floor by way of the staircase. -Not

13、e: Different styles of the same language can be characterized through differences at three levels: syntactic, lexical and phonological(P121).第13页/共18页Standard dialect The standard variety is a superimposed（叠加）, socially prestigious（有名望的） dialect of a language. It is the language employed by the gove

14、rnment and the judiciary system, used by the mass media, and taught in educational institutions, including school settings where the language is taught as a foreign or second language. 第14页/共18页Pidgin洋泾浜语 and Creole混合语 A pidgin is a special language variety that mixes or blends languages and it is u

15、sed by people who speak different languages for restricted purposes such as trading. When a pidgin has become the primary language of a speech community, and is acquired by the children of that speech community as their native language, it is said to have become a Creole.第15页/共18页Bilingualism and Di

16、glossia （双语） In some speech communities, two languages are used side by side with each having a different role to play; and language switching occurs when the situation changes. This constitutes the situation of Bilingualism. According to Ferguson (1959), diglossia refers to a sociolinguistic situation si