Language, Dialect and Accent

Nature of a language The linguist makes no value judgment. S/he recognizes and accepts the existence of language varieties. School traditions emphasize a single “correct” standard form. Linguistics acknowledges that a certain dialect may be treated as a standard form Or is treated as PRESTIGIOUS by some members of society. Regional dialects Social dialects or Sociolects Social dialects or Sociolects LANGUAGE DIALECT St Br English, St Am English Queen’s English Oxford Accent

Linguists in recent decades have become more interested in the language of the people who (by a rigid conception of a St. Language) do not talk “properly”: language of small children and foreigners. The language of children has therefore a linguistic interest quite apart from its psychological interest as the development of speech in infancy. The mixed languages of former colonies (Jamaican Creole or Haitian Creole) have been studied with the same interest as can be studied Fr or Eng.

Language and Dialect Both terms are often used interchangeably. Principle of mutual intelligibility differentiates between them. In most cases, the use of one or another depends NOT on linguistic bases, but rather on socio-political factors. Any 2 varieties which are mutually intelligible are taken to constitute two dialects of the same language. If they are mutually UNintelligible, then they are separate languages. A language is a dialect with a navy and an army. Weinreich, 1945:13. Urdu Hindi

Solely because they are not (or not recognized as) literary languages Because the speakers of the given language do not have a state of their own Because they are not used in press or literature, or very little, Or because their language lacks prestige. Dialect ► Subordinate term Language ► Super ordinate term Dialect ► Subordinate term Language ► Super ordinate term In the Arab world Language ► ARABIC Dialect ► Algerian A., Moroccan A., Syrian A., etc. In the Arab world Language ► ARABIC Dialect ► Algerian A., Moroccan A., Syrian A., etc.

Anthropological linguists define dialect as the specific form of a language used by a speech community. No one speaks a language ; everyone speaks a dialect of a language Those who identify a particular dailect as the standard or proper version of a language, are in fact using these terms TO EXPRESS A SOCIAL DISTINCTION Anthropological linguists define dialect as the specific form of a language used by a speech community. No one speaks a language ; everyone speaks a dialect of a language Those who identify a particular dailect as the standard or proper version of a language, are in fact using these terms TO EXPRESS A SOCIAL DISTINCTION Speech community is a concept in sociolinguistics that describes a more or less discrete group of people who use language in a unique and mutually accepted way among themselves. sociolinguistics

Dialect is also the term used to describe differences in speech that are associated with different regions or different social groups or classes. As we move around a speech community, we find variation in the speech of its members that is associated with their place of living or their social grouping.

Accent Differences in pronunciation between varieties Oxford accent: certain phonological characteristics particular to English spoken in that town. Term is used also to refer to some foreign non native features in the speech of a person (foreigner) You speak English with an accent

Am Eng PronunciationLexisMorphologySyntax Br Eng PronunciationLexisMorphologySyntax /ka:r/ /ka:/ gas dove petrol dived I haven’t a book I don’t have a book

Dialect continuum

Linguistic variable As a basic tool for distinguishing social variation It is a linguistic item which has at least “variant forms the choice of which depends on other (non linguistic ) factors such as age, social status and situation”. /j/ -> /dz/, / ʔ /, /g/, /y/ /q/ -> /q/, /g/, /k/, / ʔ /

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