1. Language, Society, and Culture

2. Sociolinguistics
The way one speaks provides clues not only to a person’s regional background but also to his social one, e.g. his/her education and economic status.
Speech is a form of social identity.
Language indicates the membership of different social group- speech community.
Speech community
A group of people= share a set of norms, rules, and expectation about language use.

3. The Relationship between Language and Society
Linguistics + anthropology
Language and culture
Linguistics + sociology
The role language plays in the organization of social groups
Linguistics + social psychology
In-group and out-group behaviors

4. (investigation of language and culture)
Speech community
Group of people who share a set of norms, rules and expectations regarding the use of language
Anthropology
(investigation of language and culture)
Sociolinguistics
Sociology (role that language plays in social groups and institutions)
Psychology (how attitudes and perceptions are expressed)
Inter-relationships between language and society

5. Varieties of language used by groups defined
Social Dialects
Varieties of language used by groups defined
Education
Other social
parameters
Class
Age
Sex

6. In social dialects…
Over prestige
Positively valued ways pf speaking in social communities
Prestige
Non –standard forms and expressions by certain sub-groups
Covert prestige

7. Differences in pronunciation among social classes from the same place.
SOCIAL DIALECTS
EDUCATION
SOCIAL CLASS
A person who spends a long time going through college or university will tend to have spoken language features.
Differences in pronunciation among social classes from the same place.

8. Differ in form and pronunciation
Social Class
Language
And
Education
Upper class and more educated
Tend to use more complicated forms
Lower class and less educated
Tend to simplify the way of speaking

9. are also factors that can determine language variety Age and gender
MALE SPEAKERS
FEMALE SPEAKERS
Elder people may talk a bit different from youngers
Tend to use simpler ways of speaking
Tend to use more sophisticated language

10. Importan form to determine languages
ETHNIC BACKGROUND
Importan form to determine languages
Is easy to identify people’s belonging place
Black English Vernacular
(speech of many African- Americans)

11. Dialect of each individual speaker of a language
IDIOLECT
Dialect of each individual speaker of a language
Voice quality
Physical state
Contribute to identifying features in an individual’s speech

12. Job interview, business letters, etc.
Formal
Spoken or Written
Job interview, business letters, etc.
Style
Informal Spoken or Written
Speaking to a friend or writing to him.

13. Relations between Language and Culture
Structure of language determines the way that speakers of that language view the world.
Culture is reflected in language. Cultural requirements do not determine structure of language, but influence how it is used.

14. Sapir-Whorf/Whorfian Hypothesis
Edward Sapir: Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language.

15. Sapir’s Idea
The fact of the matter is that the “real world” is unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. We see and hear and…experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation.

16. Benjamin Lee Whorf
The background linguistic system (in other words the grammar) of each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas…the guide for individual’s mental activity…Formulation of ideas is not an independent process, but…is part of particular grammar…

17. Then…
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis = the structure of a language affects the way in which its speakers conceptualize the World.
Different speakers will view the world differently in so far as the languages they speak differ structurally.
Our language controls our world view, thus speakers of different languages will have different world views.

18. What to write for week 4: The Role of Language in Society
The Influence of Society and Culture to the Language