Q.2Write short notes on the given topics. The notes must include relevant examples.(20)i.Distinguish between standard language and dialect.ii.Distinguish between dialect and idiolect.iii.Distinguish between pidgin and Creoleiv.What is an isogloss?

DialectThe term dialect (from the ancient Greek word dilektos, "discourse", from di, "through" and leg, "I speak"). A variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially. OR

Standard LanuageA standard language is a language diversity used by a group of people in their conversation.

Difference between Language and a Dialect

A language is a well developed form of communication that is shared by members of a particular group, whereas a dialect is a form of variation that occurs within that language based on several reasons.

One reason variation occurs is because of geographical proximity. For example, a people settled on two banks of a large river. Prior to their settlement, they spoke the same dialect of the same language. However, many years later, since they failed to cross over to interact with each other, their language experienced independent growth on both banks of the river and ultimately formed two different dialects [of the same language]. When the people finally crossed over to interact for the first time, they noticed that they understood most of each other's speech.

Another way a dialect can be formed is by external influence. For example, a people (who speak a singular dialect of the same language) settled in a valley and were bordered by another people (who speak a totally different language) to their north. Those people who bordered these strange people began interacting with them, while their counterparts to the south didn't. Over a series of years, the northern half of the people started speaking differently from the southerners (although they still spoke the same language). The southern people then realized that they could only understand bits of the speech of their northern counterparts. This signals the development of a new dialect within their language.

Q.7What is Sociolinguistics? Explain in detail its continuum as a subject of linguistics.

Sociolinguistic is essentially a study of language used in society. Certainly, language is a very significant and unique feature of the culture of any society since it gives clear indication as to how people behave. The relationship between a language and its users is both complicated and informative. Society shapes and colours language. A society is represented by its language. Language in various forms and uses is the prime concern of the sociolinguistics. They study society to get better view and understanding of the language- to be better informed about the diverse linguistic choices that speakers have to make.

Sociolinguists argue that language exists in context, dependent on the speaker who is using itand dependent on where it is being used and why. Speakers mark their personal history and identity in their speech as well as their sociocultural, economic and geographical coordinates in time and space. So taking a broad approach to the subject of sociolinguistics would mean to include in it everything: from considering 'who speaks', what language, to whom, and when and to what end, i.e. the social distribution of linguistic items, to considering how a linguistic variable might relate to the formulation of a specific grammatical rule in a particular language or dialect and, finally, to the processes through which languages change. (Wardhaugh 1992) It is important to recognize that much of the interest in sociolinguistics has come from people who have a practical concern for language, rather than a desire simply to understand better how languages work. In particular it became possible in the US in the 1960s & 1970s to fund relatively large scale research projects connected with the speech of underprivileged groups, on the ground that the findings would make possible a more satisfactory educational policy.

Relationship between language and society

There is a variety of possible relationships between language and society.

a) Social structure may either influence and determine linguistic structure such as children speak differently from other children and, in turn, children speak differently from mature adults. Variety of language may also reflect regional, social or ethnic origin and possibly even gender of people.

b) A second possible relationship is directly opposed to the first: linguistic structure and/or behaviour may either influence or determine social structure. (The Whorfian hypothesis - e.g. Bernstein claims that languages rather than speakers of these languages can be 'sexist'). c) There is another view which states that there is no relationship at all between linguistic structure and social structure and that each is independent of the other. And it is thought that linguistics differs from sociolinguistics in taking account only of the structure of language to the exclusion of the social contexts in which it is learnt and used.

d) The fourth one is that the influence is bi-directional: language and society may influence each other. This influence is considered to be dialectical in nature, i.e. that speech behaviour and social behaviour are in a state of constant interaction' and that 'material living conditions' are an important factor in the relationship (Dittmar 1976).

In fact, there are different ways that society can impinge on language which makes the field of sociolinguistic reference extremely broad. Studies of the various ways in which social structure and linguistic structure come together include personal, stylistic, social, sociocultural and sociological aspects. But sociolinguistics should not be viewed as a mechanical amalgamation of standard linguistics and standard sociology. Del Hymes has pointed out that specific points of connection between language and society must be discovered , and these must be related within theories that throw light on how linguistic and social structures interact. Or, as Gumperz (1971) has observed, sociolinguistics is an attempt to find correlations between social structure and linguistic structure and to observe any changes that occur. Social structure itself may be measured by reference to such factors as social class and educational background; we can then attempt to relate verbal behaviour and performance to these factors.

The scope of sociolinguistic research is extremely broad. To sum up, we can say that linguistics, sociology and sociolinguistics are complementary. The teacher of any foreign language needs to have both a knowledge if the formal systems of that language (its grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation) and an understanding of the social norms that govern appropriate choices of such systems.

Q.3Discuss the importance of the term bilingualism and multilingualism in the field of Sociolinguistics. Write their definitions, differences, similarities and their importance with special reference to Pakistani society.

Q.5What do you understand by language variation? Is there any variation present in English language? If yes, then please mention the variation with examples.

Variation in language use among speakers or groups of speakers is a notable criterion or change that may occur in pronunciation (accent), word choice (lexicon), or even preferences for particular grammatical patterns. Variation is a principal concern in sociolinguistics.Studies of language variation and its correlation with sociological categories, such as William Labov's 1963 paper "The social motivation of a sound change," led to the foundation of sociolinguistics as a subfield of linguistics. Although contemporary sociolinguistics includes other topics, language variation and change remains an important issue at the heart of the field.