Speech Provides clues

Regional accent

Dialect

Contains features which are unrelated to

regional variations

Two people growing upin the same

geographical area, may speak differently

Is a form of social identity and is used to indicate membership of

Different social groups Different speech communities

Group of people who share a set of norms, rules and expectations

regarding the use of language

Investigating language from thisperpective is known asSOCIOLINGUISTICS

SociolinguisticsDeals with the

inter-relationshipsbetween

Language

Society

Anthropology

Sociology

Social psychology

Investigation of language and culture

Crucial role that language plays in the organization of social groups and

institutions

Attitudes and perceptions are expresedand how in-group and out-group

behaviors are identified

Social dialects

Varieties of language used by

groups defined accordingto:

Class

Education

Age

Sex

Other social parameters

Social values Language use

Prestige

Over prestige

Covert prestige

Generally recognized“better” or

positively valuedways of speaking

in social communities

Often attached tonon-standard

forms and expressionsby certain sub-groups

Social class and education

People leaving the educationalsystem at an early age, use forms which are infrequent

in speech

People who spend a long timegoing through college

or university will tend to havea spoken language featureswhich derive from time spent

working with thewritten language

Higher socioeconomic

status

Lowersocioeconomic

status

More[r]

sounds

Fewer[r]

sounds

Age and gender

Age

Grand-parent – Grandchild time span

Gender

Prestigiousform

Coloquial form

Discuss personalfeelings

Give advicesand

solutions

Ethnic backgroundDifferences

in speech

African-Americans

Black English Vernacular (BEV)

It is a widespreadsocial dialect

Is consideredbad speech

Style

The personaldialect of

each individualspeaker

Idiolect

Fomal speechInformal speech

Register Variation of speech

in contexts

Jargon

Technical vocabulary associated with a special activity

or group.