Module 1: Language Acquisition Theories theory, children learn a language out of a desire to

communicate with Module 1 Language Acquisition

Language Acquisition Theories There are three major
theories about language acquisition: the behaviorist theory, Theories Republic of the Philippines Mindanao State
the nativist theory, and the sociocultural theory University Main Campus Bataraza Extension the world
(interactionist approach). around them through social interaction. Vygotsky
(1978) believes that parents, caregivers, peers, and the
Behaviorist Theory.
culture at large were responsible for developing higher-
As one of the pioneers of Behaviorism, B.F. Skinner (1957) order functions, such as language acquisition. This
posits that language is development by means of means that the environment a person grows up in will
environmental influence. Children acquire a language through heavily affect how well and how quickly he learns to
imitation or mimicry. Accordingly, children copy the words talk. For example, infants being raised by only their
and the sounds heard around them otherwise known as mother are more likely to learn the word “mama”, and
input. Skinner further argued that children learn a language
less likely to develop “dada”. Vygotsky also puts forward
and associate words with meaning based on reinforcement
the concept of Zone of Proximal Development.
principles. When utterances are positively reinforced, they
are maintained and eventually become a habit. For example, According to Vygotsky (1978), the ZPD "is the distance
when the child says ‘milk’ and the mother smiles and gives between the actual development level (current ability)
her some as a result, the child will find this outcome and the level of potential ability with adult guidance or
rewarding, enhancing the child's language development in collaboration with more capable peers. Essentially, it
(Ambridge & Lieven, 2011). includes all of the knowledge and skills that a person
The Nativist Theory
cannot yet understand or perform on their own, but is
capable of learning with guidance. As children are
More than just absorbing inputs from the environment, the allowed to stretch their skills and knowledge, often by
nativist theory suggests that humans are born with the innate observing someone who is slightly more advanced than
ability us to learn a language. Chomsky (1950) argued that
they are, they are able to progressively extend this zone
children will never acquire the tools needed for processing an
of proximal development.
infinite number of sentences if the language acquisition
mechanism was dependent on language input alone. He Developmental Sequence of First and Second Language
claims that there is a theoretical language acquisition device Acquisition. Researchers have carried out numerous
(LAD) somewhere in our brains that is responsible for learning
studies to understand the nature of first and second
a language. Although no physical “language organ” exists in
language acquisition. These studies have revealed that
the brain, language acquisition can be hampered if certain
parts of the brain are damaged during critical periods of both first and second language learners follow a pattern
language development. He also maintains that the infinite of development, which is mainly followed despite
amount of utterances that humans produce is due to rules exceptions. Rod Ellis (1984) covers the idea of
somehow biologically programmed in the brain called the developmental sequences in detail and outlines three
Universal Grammar (UG). Universal Grammar is considered to developmental stages: the silent period, formulaic
contain all the grammatical information needed to combine speech, and structural and semantic simplification.
categories, such as noun and verb, into phrases. For example,
children instinctively know how to combine a noun (e.g. a The silent period. Children acquiring their first language
boy) and a verb (to eat) into a meaningful, correct phrase (A go through a period of listening to the language they
boy eats). Accordingly, this explains why majority of world are exposed to. During this period the child tries to
languages have verbs and nouns, how young children can discover what language is. In the case of second
learn such complicated grammatical ideas so quickly, or why language acquisition, learners opt for a silent period
there are so many similarities in languages around the world. when immediate production is not required from them.
The Social Interaction Theory The formulaic speech stage. Krashen (1982) suggests
that formulaic expressions can be memorized chunks
Acknowledging the biological innateness of language (e.g. I don't know.) or patterns where some
acquisition, the sociocultural theory (interactionist components are replaced to fit a situation (e.g. ‘Can I
approach) combines ideas from sociology and biology to have a ____?’). Further, Ellis (1994) suggests that these
explain how language is developed. According to this
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expressions can consist of entire scripts such as difference between first and second language
greetings (e.g. ‘Good morning ___, how are you feeling acquisition through lateralization in the brain. Steinberg
today?’). (1997) explains lateralization as follows, "the brain
assigns certain structures and functions to certain
The structural and semantic simplifications stage.
hemispheres of the brain”. Language, logical and
Structural simplifications take the form of omitting
analytical operations, and higher mathematics, for
grammatical function words (e.g. articles, auxiliary
example, generally occur in the left hemisphere of the
verbs) and semantic simplifications take the form of
brain, while the right hemisphere is superior at
omitting content words (e. g. nouns, verbs).
recognizing emotions, recognizing faces and taking in
Module 2 Second Language Acquisition Theories the structures of things globally without analysis. This
separation of structure and function in the hemispheres
The Acquisition vs. Learning Hypothesis Krashen (1982) is technically referred to as lateralization".
claims that there are two ways for an adult to approach
a second language: "adults can (1) 'acquire,' which is Thomas Scovel (1969) put forward that there is a
the way children 'get' their first language, relationship between lateralization and second
subconsciously, through informal, implicit learning. language acquisition. Scovel suggests that the plasticity
Once you have acquired something you're not always of the brain before puberty enables first and second
aware you have done it. It just feels natural; it feels as if language acquisition to take place easily. After puberty,
it has always been there. Quite distinct from acquisition the brain loses its plasticity and lateralization is
is (2) conscious learning. This is knowing about accomplished. He argues that lateralization makes it
language, explicit, formal linguistic knowledge of the difficult for people to be able ever again to easily
language." Krashen continues to argue that learning acquire fluent control of the second language or
does not turn into acquisition. He obviously sees first native-like pronunciation (Brown, 1994).
language acquisition and second language acquisition as
2. Psychomotor Consideration These considerations try
two different phenomena. Yet, he suggests that
to explain the reason why adult second language
acquisition may occur in the classroom when
learners cannot obtain native-like pronunciation in the
communication is emphasized through dialogues, role
second language. Starting from birth, speech muscles
playing, and other meaningful interaction.
gradually develop until after the age of 5. Then, until
1.Neurological Considerations puberty the speech muscles maintain their flexibility.
Scientists argue that the flexibility of children's speech
The Critical Period Hypothesis holds that there is "a muscles is the reason why they can easily acquire
biologically determined period of life when language native-like pronunciation both in the first and in the
can be acquired more easily and beyond which time second language. The decline of the flexibility in the
language is increasingly difficult to acquire” (Brown speech muscles, however, prevents adult second
1994). This hypothesis is based on the ideas of the language learners to reach native-like pronunciation in
psychologist Eric Lenneberg. His argument was that the second language (Brown, 1994).
various capacities mature according to a fairly fixed
schedule during which language emerges in children 3. Affective Considerations Stephen Krashen has
when anatomical, physiological, motor, neural, and developed The Affective Filter Hypothesis to account
cognitive development allow it to emerge. He added for the effects of affective variables on second language
that there is a critical, biologically determined period of acquisition. He argues that affective variables can act as
language acquisition between the ages of 2 and 12 a mental block, also termed affective filter, and prevent
(McLaughlin, 1987). Consequently, it is argued that a comprehensible input to be absorbed. When the
critical period for second language acquisition is due learner is unmotivated and lacks confidence the
until puberty. This explains why adult language learners affective filter goes up. When the learner is not anxious
are not able to reach full competence and native like and wants to be a member of the group speaking the
pronunciation in the second language (Brown, 1994). target language the filter goes down. He adds that
Lateralization There is an attempt to explain the children are at an advantage when learning a first or
2
second language because their affective filter is low satisfaction from it. When one is extrinsically motivated,
while adults are likely to have a higher affective filter he does something in order to gain an external reward
due to events that occurred in adolescence (Krashen, or to avoid negative consequences. This can mean
1982; McLaughlin, 1987). The affective domain includes getting something in return, such as money, or avoiding
many factors such as inhibition, attitude and getting into trouble, such as losing your job. L1 learners
motivation, learn their first language not because they want reward
or avoid punishment, but because they naturally feel
a. Inhibitions While inhibitions pose no difficulty for
the need to learn the language for expression and other
children acquiring their first or second language, they
transactions.
seem to be intervening in adult second language
acquisition. Inhibitions can be defined as ego 4. Social Factors Ellis (1994) differentiates between two
boundaries the person builds in order to protect his or social contexts in second language learning and outlines
her ego. As the child matures it develops a sense of self- them as follows:
identity and towards puberty it acquires the feeling to
a. Natural Contexts Second language learning in
protect this self-identity and develop inhibitions which
majority language contexts: the target language serves
are heightened during puberty. Alexander Guiora (cited
as the native language and the language learner is a
in Brown, 1994) proposed the idea of the language ego
member of an ethnic minority group (e.g. Turkish
to account for the identity a person develops in
workers in Germany).Second language learning in
reference to the language he/she speaks. Through
official language contexts: the second language
puberty the child's ego is flexible and dynamic but as
functions as an official language (e.g.English in
the child reaches puberty the language ego becomes
Nigeria).Second language learning in international
protective due to physical, cognitive, and emotional
contexts: the second language is used for interpersonal
changes at this stage. The language ego tries to protect
communication in countries where it is neither learnt as
the ego of the young adult by clinging to the security of
a mother tongue nor used as an official language (e.g. in
the native language. Acquiring a second language
arts, science, academic, etc.)
means also acquiring a new language ego which can be
very difficult for adults who have built up inhibitions to b. Educational Contexts
protect their ego. Mistakes can be seen as threats to
one's ego. With the fear to make mistakes the adult Segregation: the second language is taught to learners
language learner can resist to speak in the classroom. in a separate context from the native speakers of the
target language.
b. Attitude A second affective factor, which is formed
by the cognitive development of a person that can make Mother tongue maintenance: learners of minority
second language acquisition difficult for an adult is groups are either given classes in their mother tongue
attitude. Young children are not cognitively developed or they are educated through the medium of their
enough to possess attitudes towards races, cultures, mother tongue.
ethnic groups, and languages. As the child reaches Submersion: right from the beginning L2 learners are
school age, attitudes are acquired. It is agreed that taught with native speakers.
negative attitudes towards the target language, target
language speakers, the target language culture, and the The language classroom: the target language is taught
social value of learning a second language can impede as a subject only and is not commonly used as a
language learning while positive attitudes can enhance medium of communication outside the classroom.
learning (Ellis, 1994; Brown, 1994). The difference of the contexts of first and second
c. Motivation 3 | Teaching English in Elementary language acquisition play an important role in the
Grades (Language Art) Intrinsic motivation comes from acquisition process. While it is possible to learn a
within, while extrinsic motivation arises from outside. second language in various contexts, first language
When one is intrinsically motivated, he engages in an acquisition takes place only in a natural context and in
activity solely because he enjoys it and gets personal the social group the child is growing up and where the
3
child gets L1 input only. The different contexts for negative feedback helps avoid fossilization) Based on
second language acquisition can also lead to variations the factors related to fossilization it can easily be
in second language proficiency due to affective factors. inferred that fossilization is unique to L2 acquisition. It is
hardly possible to see a child acquiring his/her first
Schuman (1986) claims in his Acculturation Theory that
language to fossilize certain forms of language (Ellis,
contact with the target language and culture is crucial.
1994 & McLaughlin, 1987)
The process of acculturation requires both social and
psychological adaptation. Learning the appropriate MODULE 3: LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN
linguistic habits to function within the target language
Neurolinguistics The branch of linguistics concerned
group is one part of this process. Acculturation is
with the role the brain plays in language and speech
determined by the degree of social and psychological
processing. The human brain is most complexly
'distance' between the learner and the target-language
organized
culture. According to this hypothesis, the greater
contact with target second language (L2) speakers and CEREBRUM Largest part situated at the top of the brain
culture takes place the more acquisition occurs. consisting of two lobes
Another social factor that leads to a difference between
Right cerebral hemisphere for tactile recognition of
first and second language acquisition is that of the
material qualities, visuospatial, nonlinguistic auditory
learner's choice of target language variety. SLA assumes
stimuli (including music), left visual field, some use of
that learners are targeted at the standard dialect of the
language in social context and others.
L2. The choice of the reference group is determined by
the social context and the learner's attitude to that Left cerebral hemisphere specialized for associative
variety of language. thought, calculation and analytical processing, right
visual field, temporal relations and other functions
It is important to note here that in first language
acquisition; one has no chance to make such a
conscious choice. The environment and social group a
person is born into automatically determines the
language variety to be acquired.

5. Fossilization is used to label the process by which

non-target norms become fixed in interlanguage. The
possible causes for fossilization are suggested to be:

1. age (learners' brains loose plasticity at a critical age,

therefore, certain linguistic features cannot be
mastered)

2. lack of desire to articulate (learners' make no effort

to adopt target language norms because of various
social and psychological factors) 4 | Teaching English in
Elementary Grades (Language Art)

3. communicative pressure (the learner is pressured to

communicate ideas above his/her linguistic
competence)

4. lack of learning opportunity

5. the nature of the feedback on learners' use of L2

(positive cognitive feedback leads to fossilization while

4
 part is the left thalamus, the largest subdivision of the
posterior of the forebrain

thalamus Is the body's information relay station; it

relays sensory impulses from receptors in various parts
of the body to the cerebral cortex. Your thalamus also
plays a role in sleep, wakefulness, consciousness,
learning and memory. Injuries to specific areas of the
language dominant hemisphere from such a gunshot
wound, tumor, stroke, or infection results in different
aphasias or other impairments of linguistic capabilities

Aphasia Is an impairment of language that can affect

both the production and comprehension of speech and
impair a person’s ability to read and/or write

Types of Aphasia: Is the most severe type of aphasia. It

90% of right-handed people's language functions are is caused by injuries to multiple parts of the brain that
centralized in the left hemisphere of the brain while are responsible for processing language. Patients with
left-handed people are somewhat more likely to have global aphasia can only produce a few recognizable
language centralized in the right hemisphere but still words and can understand very little or no spoken
70% of them will have language centralized in the left language. (this type of aphasia can improve as the brain
hemisphere heals but there may be lasting damage).
Broca's area Location: Left frontal lobe 1. Global Aphasia Also referred to as expressive or
motor aphasia is characterized by omission of function
Major Function: Speech production
words (articles, prepositions, demonstratives, and
Wirnicke's area Location: Left temporal lobe Major conjunctions) and past tense and plural endings, as well
Function: It is important for comprehension of speech as by faulty word order and distortion of sounds. a.
sounds and is considered to be the language "Catch train home now." b. "Dog bite man."
comprehension center
2. BRoca's Aphasia; Is a type of aphasia that have
limited and effortful speech, similar to patients with
Broca’s aphasia. However, their comprehension abilities
are more limited than patients with Broca’s aphasia.
(They may be able to read and write, but not beyond an
elementary school level).

3. mixed non-fluent aphasia Also known as sensory or

receptive aphasia is characterized by circumlocutions,
impaired ability to understand written and spoken
language and occasional substitutions of inappropriate
Wirnicke's area appears to generate the basic structure words leading in severe cases to nonsensical utterances.
of sentences, which are then encoded in Broca's area. a. "I called mother on the tv and did not answer the
Comprehension of speech takes place in Wirnicke's area door." b. "The chair run making sunglasses menu."
after acoustic signals are transferred there from the ear 4. Wirnicke's Aphasia: Is unable to come up with the
by the auditory cortex. right words for what they want to talk about. They have
Apart from the cerebral cortex several other parts of a grasp on grammar and speech output, but they simply
the brain contribute to language processing. One such cannot find the words to discuss what they want to.

5
Example: A person may know what a computer is used A particular people is a rule linked with the particular
for but is unable to name it. language more than anything else serves as the people's
badge of ethnic identity and uniqueness. The world of
5. anomic Aphasia Is a neurological syndrome in which
human societies is divisible by to communicative Units "
someone loses their ability to use language slowly and
composed of repertoires of codes and rules of code
progressively. While most other forms of aphasia are
use" (Dell hymes, 1968)
caused by stroke, PPA is caused by neurodegenerative
diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease. People who have it
can have trouble expressing their thoughts and
understanding or finding words.

6. primary progressive Aphasia (PPa) In general,

speaking and writing are more likely to be affected by
damage to the front part of the brain, listening and
reading by damage to the rear part. Among the many
activities the human brain controls are speech, writing
and reading. Different parts of the brain contribute to
different aspects of language processing. Injuries to the
areas of the brain, result in corresponding language and
speech impairments

bilingual and multilingual brains

Bilingual or Multilingual can mean a variety of things.

Some people may learn two languages, and just get by
in the other. Some people may be passive or receptive
bilinguals, having the ability to understand a second
language but not being able to speak it. Bilingualism, The most common instance of multilingualism is
them, should be viewed as a continuum from the bilingualism, characterized by the ability to speak two
relatively monolingual speaker to the highly proficient languages.
speaker of two languages.
Relatively stable bilingualism characterized the situation
For our purposes here, speaking in very broad terms, in Switzerland, which accords national status to four
the childhood bilingual acquisition process may be languages — German, French, Italian, and Romansh—
considered as three developmental stages. First, the and where bilingualism is common and tri-lingualism is
child builds up a set of words from both languages, but far from rare.
usually keep them separate, and not as translations of
Almost every member of at least twenty different tribes
each other. Second, as sentences begin to appear,
in a culturally homogeneous area is fluent in three, four,
words from both languages can be used. The mixing
or more regional languages. The source of this
rapidly declines, however, dropping almost completely
phenomenon is Strict tribal exogamy, a custom
by the end of the third year. Lastly, Vocabulary in both
requiring marriage partners to be from different tribes.
languages grows, but a single grammatical patter is
used. Usually by the fourth year, however, the syntax of Children first learn their parents' languages, acquire two
each language becomes distinct as the child becomes or more additional ones during adolescence, and often
more cognizant that the two languages are not the learn still others in adulthood.
same. It is the that they become aware of the
sociolinguistic power of each language – the ways each Multilingualism is a transitional and asymmetrical
language is to be used, and for what purposes phenomenon. During the latter part of the nineteenth
century, few working immigrants from continental
The social aspects of multilingualism

6
Europe to Americans learned to speak the languages of activity where the participants, in order to infer what is
their newly adopted country to extent, if at all. intended, must reconcile what they here with what they
understand. Code-Mixing
Native Americans in the United States: The transition
from their native language to English. An example of the former would be the Spanish/English
bilingual who says: Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in
Speakers of minority languages in the U. S have always
English y termino en español ["and finish it in Spanish"]
been numerous. Twenty percent of Americans speak a
(Poplack 2000:221). An example of the latter would be
language other than English at home.
the Japanese/English bilingual who says Kawaisō sono-
Seven states—Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New bug! ("That bug is so pitiful" or "Oh, that poor bug"),
Jersey, New York, and Texas — have more than 2 million incorporating the English word for insect into the
speakers of languages other than English. In half the 50 Japanese sentence.
states, speakers of minority languages equaled or
The important thing in these situations is that a person
exceeded 10 percent of the population. In most of these
capable of using two languages. Mixing and switching
states the largest minority language is Spanish.
probably occur to some extent in the conversations of
According to 2008 survey by U. S census, there are all bilinguals. Code-mixing and code-switching can serve
some 35 million speakers of Spanish in United States. a variety of functions, such as building or reinforcing
solidarity among speakers who share these languages
The demand on the bilinguals to use two different
linguistic systems may result in various forms of The use of two distinct varieties of a language for two
simplification for one of the two languages. Among different sets of functions is called diglossia. The
Mexicans- Americans bilinguals living in a common language is the colloquial, or the "low, "
predominantly Spanish-speaking section of Los Angeles variety (L). A second, "high" variety (H), is used in formal
in 1980s. circumstances: It is taught in schools and assumes
administrative, legal, religious, and literary functions.
This simplification affected there Spanish in a variety of
ways. From anthropological viewpoint, the value of Of the two varieties, the colloquial typically is learned
diversity and gradual voluntary assimilation is first and is used for ordinary conversation with relatives
preferable to the imposition of inflexible language laws and friends or servants and working persons, in
that would try to produce a common culture by decree. cartoons, popular radio and television programs, jokes,
traditional narratives, and the like. The formal variety,
Code-switching, code-mixing, and diglossia which carries prestige, is taught in schools and assumes
In most places in the world, there are not only dialects most of the literary, administrative, legal, and religious
but several languages present in a community, the functions. Instances of diglossia are fairly common.
speakers possessing varying degrees of facility. In these Those Swiss who use Standard German as their formal
multilingual situations the codes—that is, language variety are fluent in the Swiss German dialect
varieties or languages —often become blended. This is (Schwyzertütsch), the low variety, in addition to the
so common that linguists have special terms for this other national languages they may have learned
blending: code-switching and code-mixing. MODULE 4: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION Refers to
Code Switching- Einar Haugen (1956:40), who most the transmission of signals accomplished by means
likely coined the term code-switching, defined it as other than spoken or written words.
"when a bilingual introduces a completely unassimilated The term includes bodily gestures, facial expression,
word from another language into his speech. " spacing, touch and smell as well as whistle, smoke signal
Code-mixing- Eyamba Bokamba (1989:3) distinguished and drum languages and such optional vocal effects as
code-mixing is the embedding of various linguistic units those that accompany spoken utterances and can be
such as affixes (bound morphemes), words (free considered apart from actual words.
morphemes), phrases and clauses from a co-operative DERIVED FROM SPOKEN LANGUAGES
7
Writing system

• Morse Code

• An alphabet or code in which letters are PARALINGUISTICS

represented by combinations of long and short
Characteristics of vocal communication considered
signals of light or sound.
marginal or optional and therefore excludable from
• Braille Code linguistic analysis are referred to as Paralinguistic.

• Created by Luis Braille, Braille code is a writing 3 Categories of Paralinguistic

system which enables blind and partially sighted
Voice Qualifiers
people to read and write through touch
Have to do with the tone of the voice and pacing of the
• It consists of patterns of raised dots arranged in
speech, and they include variations in volume or
cells up to six dots in a 3x2 configuration
intensity, pitch, tempo and articulation.
Another way of classifying nonverbal communicative
Voice Characteristerizers
systems is according to channel, or the medium by
which signals are conveyed. There are various voice characteristics that accompany
speech or more precisely, through which one talks.
The channel employed in Drum language, method of
communication that uses drum/s, and in Whistle These ranges from laughing and giggling to crying and
language, used as method of communication that uses sobbing to yelling, moaning, groaning, whimpering, and
whistling to simulate and articulate words, is acoustic whining.
Whereas sign language or smoke signals use the optical Voice Segregates
channel
Vocal segregates represented for the most part by such
Individuals who are blind make use of touch when they extra linguistic sounds, as the ones graphically
feel the raised dots of the braille system and those who represented in English text as uh-huh to indicate
are deaf as well as blind may learn to monitory agreement or gratification, uh- uh to indicate
articulatory movements by placing a hand on the disagreement, tsk- tsk to express mild disapproval and
speaker’s neck or face (Tadoma method) other graphic approximations of different kinds of
snorts and sniffs.
Independent from spoken languages
Other example of Paralinguistic Behavior:
• Facial expressions
Highly Controlled Articulation
• Gesture
• Produces crisp
• Eye contact
• Precise pronunciation is expected of formal
• Posture
pronouncements addressed to large audiences
• Appearance
Relax Speech
SEMIOTICS
• Speech become slurred
• The study of the properties of signs and symbols
• Most heard on sleepy, tired and under the
and their functions in communication
influence of drugs or alcohol.
BIO-SEMIOTICS
Other examples are whispering (to not wake people up-
• The semiotic study of living systems understanding), (to avoid being overheard-
consideration of privacy), (to convey a secret or
8
conspiracy or to spread rumors- AKA whispering attitudes, and feelings. Eye contact is a direct and
campaign) powerful form of non-verbal communication.

and silence – depending to context, silence indicates a Body posture- conveys the individual’s attitude to the
variety of meaning or feelings (ex. In tense situations face to face interaction he or she is participating in: It
silence can be threatening if it is used deliberately can signal feelings ranging from interest, concern, or
instead of an appeasing remark, in contrast it may help anticipation to boredom, depression, or impatience.
to lessen the tension by withholding a comment to
Example: During some ritual occasions, of course,
worsen the situation.) example when your partner ask
specific body postures are expected or required- for
to marry and you stay quite in that certain situation
example, kneeling, standing, or bowing.
silence can be indicate as NO
Hand gesture- hand gestures are too many to classify in
this brief survey, and two are mentioned to illustrate.
the study of body language, it is a study of the way in One purpose the serve is to emphasize what is being
which certain body movements and gestures serve as a said and, two, handshaking as a greeting can be
form of non- verbal communication. combined together in various ways, and one’s second
hand can be used to impart emphasis to the handshake
Body gestures serve as an important means of
with one hand.
communication. The basic assumptions that underlie
kinesics is that no body movement or facial expression Hand shaking may be elevated to the hand clasping,
is likely to lack meaning because, just like other aspects arm clasping, shoulder clasping, or shoulder embracing.
of voluntary human behavior, body movements, All these gestures involve touching behavior, and that is
posture, and facial expressions are patterned and occur culture-specific.
together.
Types of Kinesics
Example: Accidental meetings of good male friends are
Emblems- non-verbal signals or body movements that
commonly characterized by a brief raise of hand first,
have specific meanings.
then a firm handshake, a brief rising of eyebrows, and a
smile. Illustrators- body movements that complements verbal
communication
Ray L. Birdwhistell (1918-1997) in the 1950s developed
a method of studying and describing the body-motion Affective display- facial expression and body posture
aspects of human communicative behavior by means of that express emotions.
units that parallel those employed in linguistics analysis.
Regulators- Non-verbal messages that accompany
One such unit, the kineme (analogous to the phoneme) speech, a body movement that control the flow of
conversation and often used as a feedback.
Kineme –the smallest discriminable contrastive unit of
body motion. Adaptors- - body movement that satisfy physical needs.
Occur at low level of personal awareness.
Example: Raising an eyebrow
• Scratching an itch.
Basic Components of Kinesics
• Putting your hands on your stomach
Facial expression- signal a wide range of emotions from
when hungry
pleasure, happiness, and pleasant surprise, sadness,
fear, anger, disapproval, or disgust- to list only the most • Adjusting one’s glasses to relieve eye
common feeling. strain during reading or working at the
computer screen for long periods
Eye contact- eyes are considered to be the windows of
without breaks.
the soul. We look to the eyes of a speaker to help find
out the truthfulness of someone speech, intelligence, • Rubbing one’s neck after long day
9
 • stretching before getting out of bed in individual receives the body heat as well as any odor or
the morning. scent emanating from the other individual, and the
other person’s breath is felt; because of the closeness,
• Clenching one’s jaw
vision may be blurred or distorted and speaking is at a
• Chewing or biting finger nails minimum. As is obvious, this narrowest of all
Distance Zone Physical Acoustic- Olfactory
• Hair twirling
Distance Auditory Channel
body language can be very different across cultures. (approx.., Channel
in feet
Example:
Intimate Close 0 - .5 Grunts, groans
• Sitting cross legged is seen as disrespectful in
Far
japan, especially in the presence of someone Whispers or
older or more respected than you. very low voice
• Showing the soles of your shoes or feet can Personal Close .5 – 1.5 Soft voice Almost all
offend people in parts of the Middle East and Far odors
India. 2.5 – 4 Moderate voice
disapproved
• The “ok” sign made with the hand usually of
convey a positive message in English-speaking
countries while it is considered offensive in Social- 4–7 Normal voice Almost all
countries such as Germany, Russia, and Brazil. Consultative odors
7 – 12 Louder voice
Close Far disapproved
PROXEMICS
of
In the early 1960’s, the interdependence between
communication and culture stimulated Edward T. Hall Public Close Far 12 – 25 Loud voice Almost all
to develop proxemics, the study of the cultural odors
25+ Full-volume
patterning of the spatial separation individuals maintain disapproved
voice
in face-to-face encounters.
of
The term has subsequently come to embrace studies
interpersonal distances is suited to love making,
concerned with privacy, crowding, territorially, and
protecting, or comforting.
designing of buildings, private as well as public, with the
view of meeting the different cultural expectations of 2. Personal distance 4ft
their prospective users.
-this space is used I conversation with friends/family
According to Hall, the distances individuals maintain members, to chat with association, and in group
from one another depend on the nature of their mutual discussion. Include standing closer to someone when
involvement and are culture-specific. we are about to share something private.

For example, under normal circumstances, middle-class 3. Social (9ft)-consultative distance

American adults of northern European heritage make
-business is transacted at the social-consultative
regular use of four proxemics zones, or distances,
distance the close phase is characteristics of contact
ranging from intimate to public, each of the zones
among people who worked together or are participants
consisting of a close and a far phase.
at casual social gatherings; the far phase characterizes
1. Intimate distance 1.5 ft more formal business transactions, such as interviews
or situation in which two or more people find
-the individuals are close enough to be encircled by
themselves in the same space and do not want to
each other’s arms. All senses are engaged. Each

10
appear rude by not communicating. Addressing a example, the fixed spacing for classroom desks may not
customer/employee at a store. be the most proxemically satisfactory for the thousands
of foreign students who study in the United States.

BOX 5.1 HALL OF PROXEMICS IN A CROSS-CULTURAL

4. Public distance
CONTEXT
-Includes anything more than 12 feet away, and is used
In Latin America the interaction distance is much less
for speeches, lectures, and theater. Public distance is
than it is in the United States. Indeed, people cannot
essentially that range reserved for larger audiences.
talk comfortably with one another unless they are very
The manner in which members of different societies close to the distance that evokes sexual or hostile
space themselves in each other’s presence varies along feelings in the North American. The result is that when
a contact-noncontact continuum. For example, Arabs, they move close, we withdraw and back away. As
other Mediterranean peoples, and Latin Americans consequence, they think we are distant or cold,
prefer socially close interactions; northern Europeans withdrawn and unfriendly. We on the other hand, are
prefer to keep their distance, literally and figurative. constantly accusing them or breathing down our necks,
crowding us, and spraying our faces.
Haptic is the discipline which studies the sense of touch.
It is a form of nonverbal communication and the way by Americans who have spent some time in Latin America
which people communicate via touching. without learning these space considerations make other
adaptations, like barricading themselves behind their
Touches that can be defined as communication include desks, using chairs and typewriter tables to keep the
handshakes, holding hands, kissing (cheeks, lips, hand), Latin American may even climb over the obstacles until
back slap, high-five and, shoulder pat. he has achieved a distance in which he can comfortably
However, some differences in proxemics and haptic talk.
behavior (haptic behavior relates to the sense of touch) From Edward T. Hall, The silent Language
may be noticeable even among members of societies
who live in close proximity. According to the recent Many Americans feel that (older) Germans are overly
study, Dutch dyads (two individuals) maintain greater rigid in their behavior, unbending and formal. Some of
distances than French and English dyads. this impression is created by differences in the handling
of chairs while seated. The Americans doesn’t seem to
And one who would be justified in undertaking a study mind if people hitch their chairs up to adjust the
to determine whether people born and raised in distance to the situation- those that do not mind would
southern France have the same proxemics and haptic not think of saying anything for to comment on the
behaviors as those who have grown up and mad their manners of others would be impolite.
homes in northern France.
In Germany it is violation of the mores the change the
Without being acquainted with Hall’s proxemics matrix, position of you chair. An added deterrent for those who
people are aware when someone encroaches into their don’t know better is the weight of most German
personal zone, or into the zone of someone for whom furniture..To a German, light furniture is anathema, not
they think they have special claim. An example of the only because it seems flimsy but because people move
latter would be a young male seeing his girlfriend being it and thereby destroy the order of things, including
spoken to by another young male who is using the close intrusions on the “private sphere.” In one instance
personal zone that touches the intimate zone. The male reported to me, a German newspaper editor who had
who feels “threatened” is likely to join the talking moved to the United States had his visitor’s chair bolted
couple to alter the proxemics situation. to the floor “at the proper distance” because he
Finally, it should be mentioned that personal space is couldn’t tolerate the American habit of adjusting the
occasionally modified by conditions imposed by the chair to the situation.
physical situation in which people find themselves. For From Edward T. Hall, The Hidden Dimension
11
 However, the subject that is communicated by
whistling is usually easily identifiable from the context.

Whistle Language
Whereas Mazateco whistle speech makes use of the
Among the various systems of nonverbal
prosodic features of the language from which it
communication, of particular interest are those speech
derives,
surrogates that depend on and are derived directly from
spoken language. Some of these “languages” are • the whistle speech employed on La Gomera, one of
produced in the vocal tract- the so-called whistle the Canary Islands, is based on articulations.
speech.
• The reason for the development of the silbo (Spanish
Whistling as a means of serviceable communication is for whistle), is apparently the island’s rugged terrain,
not very common which alternates between mountains and gorges.

• it is known to occur in such widely separated areas of • According to André Classe (1957), accomplished users
the world as Myanmar (formerly Burma), Mexico, the of the silbo can be heard and understood over a
Canary Islands, the French Pyrenees, Cameroon, and distance of three miles, and perhaps even more.
New Guinea.
•The native language of the inhabitants of La Gomera is
•One of the better-known instances of whistle speech a dialect of Spanish.
concerns the Mazateco Indians of northern Oaxaca,
•Many members of the island’s peasant class, men and
Mexico.
women, are proficient in the silbo by the time they have
•The language of the Mazateco is a tone language, reached their teen years.
one in which relative variations in pitch are used to
•The whistled sounds approximate the sounds of the
distinguish words of different meanings that would
spoken language, making the silbo in effect whistled
otherwise sound alike.
Spanish.
There are four distinctive pitch levels, or tonemes, in
•Whether or not the whistler uses one or two fingers in
Mazateco,
the mouth, the dorsal part of the tongue is the only
• High active articulatory organ.

●Semi-high •Because Spanish is not a tone language, whistled

vowels can be differentiated by varying pitches, and
●Semi-low
most of the consonants of the relatively simple sound
●Low system of the spoken language are heard as
modifications of the whistled vowels that come before
Under special circumstances, as when the distance or after them.
between two Mazateco men is too great for them to
shout, they use whistle speech. •Communicative whistling is closer to home than most
of us may realize. What we are referring to is the so-
•By reproducing, with a few modifications, the four called wolf whistle. Typically it was a two- toned
tonemes and other whistleable features (glides, whistle, with the second tone a falling guide, sounded
different types of syllabic units, and pauses),they are by a boy or man to express his appreciation of a girl or
able to carry on an effective conversation concerning a woman nearby. Although not as popular as it was a few
variety of topics. decades ago, it is still a signal recognizable by most
Even though in principle there are no limitations on Americans.
what can be signaled by whistling, identical tonal •That the whistling by the Mazateco and the people of
patterns can give rise to ambiguities or confusion. La Gomera is so effective is excellent proof of the high
12
redundancy that characterizes all natural languages. tilt, eye- brow and lip configuration, and other body
Even when some features are eliminated from the code, motions are frequently used to add to the expressive
there is no appreciable loss of essential information. capacity of manual gestures.

The following exchange was observed by George M.

Cowan (1948), to whom we are indebted for the
description of Mazateco whistle speech:
Sign Language
A Mazateco standing in front of his hut whistled to
•From the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans, we another man a considerable distance away on a trail
know that their deaf made use of signs. below. After several exchanges in whistle talk, the man
on the trail turned around and walked up to the hut
• Sign languages used to the exclusion of spoken with the load of corn leaves he had been carrying to
language-for example, by people born deaf-are referred market. At the hut, he dumped his load on the ground
to as primary. and received some money from the first man. The
•Sign languages found in communities of speaker- entire transaction, including the customary bargaining
hearers as regular or occasional substitutes for speech over price, had been carried on exclusively through
are termed alternate sign languages. whistling.

•For many years, scholars neglected the study of sign Although Mazateco women do not whistle, they
languages, considering them as little more than crude understand whistle talk .In addition to overcoming
substitutes for speech. distance in the hilly terrain in which these people live,
whistling is used to attract the attention of another
• Serious attention to sign languages dates back to the person by sounding his name or to exchange
late 1950s; it was accompanied by renewed interest in information without interfering with a simultaneous
the sign language of the Indians of the Great Plains. Oral conversation carried on by elders.
In the United States, the hearing-impaired use a Finger spelling is considerably slower, but it is
combination of two signing systems. indispensable for proper names or concepts for which
1. One is the manual alphabet, which is made up there are no signs (for example, chemical substances).
of signs representing the twenty-six letters of There are many different manual alphabets, just as
the English alphabet and the ampers. there are many different writing systems; further, sign
2. It is fingerspelled, using one hand only, and languages proper vary internally and among
both the sender and receiver must be themselves, just as do the dialects of a spoken language
acquainted with the orthography of the and as one spoken language differs from another.
language. According to William C. Stokoe Jr. (1960),
• A number of sign languages are in use in English- Ameslan grammar has the same general form as the
speaking countries, most involving some modification of grammars of spoken languages. It is characterized by a
either American Sign Language (ASL or Ameslan) or small set of contrastive units meaningless in themselves
British Sign Language (BSL). (cheremes, on the analogy with phonemes) that
• Within the sign space, the user can specify time combine to form meaningful sign units, the morphemes.
relationships, distinguish among several persons being Cheremes refers to a set of positions, configurations, or
signed about, signal questions and embedded clauses, motions that function identically in a given sign
and express a variety of grammatical categories such as language. And each morpheme of a sign language may
plurality and degree (as in good, better, best) as well as be defined according to hand shape, orientation of the
aspectual differences of a verbal action such as palm and fingers, place of formation, movement and its
habituality, repetition, intensity, and continuity. Head direction, point of contact, and other spatial and
13
dynamic features. Users of Ameslan and other natural Moreover, it was commonplace for members of a tribe
sign languages are no more aware of cheremes than to recount their war exploits or to "narrate" a long
users of spoken English are of phonemes. traditional tale exclusively by means of manual signs,
and it is a matter of record that the Kiowa Indians gave
Contrary to misconceptions, primary sign languages
General Hugh Lenox Scott a detailed account of their
used by the deaf are highly structured, complete, and
sun dance ceremony by using signs. Plains Indian sign
independent communicative systems, comparable in
language consisted of a large repertory of
complexity to spoken and written languages; otherwise
conventionalized gestures performed with one or both
they could not substitute for spoken languages as
hands. The hands were either held stationary in various
effectively as they do.
configurations or moved between the levels of just
Alternate sign languages take a variety of forms, above the ground to over the signer's head.
ranging from occupational sign languages, such as the
For example, to sign snow or snowing, both hands were
one developed by sawmill workers in the northwestern
extended in front of the face, all ten fingers pointing
United States and western Canada, to the performance
downward, and then lowered in whirling motions.
sign language employed in the classical Hindu dance
Abstract concepts were conveyed with equal facility.
tradition to monastic sign languages that make it
The concept of cold or winter was conveyed by
possible for the members of orders who use them to
clenched hands with forearms crossed in front of the
observe the self-imposed rule of silence. The best-
chest, accompanied by shivering movements. The idea
known alternate sign languages, however, are those
of badness was indicated by a motion suggesting
used by the aboriginal peoples of various parts of
something being thrown away: The right fist held in
Australia, and especially the system of signing
front of the chest was swung out and down to the right
developed by the tribes of the North American Plains,
as the hand was opening up.
the most elaborate in the New World. For the earliest Although the bulk of the signs must have been shared
mention of sign language in North America they are by the tribes of the north-central Plains, there were no
indebted to Pedro de Castañeda de Nájera, the most doubt "dialectal" differences similar to those found in
widely read chronicler of Coronado expedition to what widely extended spoken languages. Unlike the whistle
is today the U.S. Southwest. His report described an languages, however, sign languages are independent of
encounter of the Spaniards with what probably was a speech even though they have occasionally been used
band of Apaches along the present-day New Mexico- in combination with it. Only in manual alphabet is there
Texas border. a connection: A manual alphabet represents the
elements of a writing system that in turn derives from
These people were so skillful in the use of signs that it
speech.
seemed as if they spoke. They made everything so clear
that an interpreter was not necessary. They said that by The Morse Code and braille derive from the written
going down in the direction in which the sun rises there representation of a language; whistle "languages," by
was a very large river, that the army could travel along contrast, are based on certain acoustic features of
its bank through continuous settlements for ninety speech. Vocal communication is invariably enhanced or
days, going from one settlement to another. They said modified by so-called paralinguistic features, such as
that the first settlement was called Haxa, that the river extra loudness, whispering, or sounds other than those
was more than one league wide, and that there were of normal speech. Body language includes facial
many canoes. (Hammond and Rey 1940:235-236) expressions, hand gestures, and other body motions.
Hearing-impaired individuals make use of sign systems
For a score of nomadic tribes whose spoken languages
that are very nearly as efficient and expressive as
were either completely unrelated o related but
spoken languages. The Plains Indians of North America
mutually unintelligible, Plains Indian sign language is
used an elaborate sign language to communicate with
known to have been an effective means of intertribal
members of other Plains tribes whose languages they
communication in trade and other negotiations.
could not understand; and by means of signs, they were
14
even able to tell very long and elaborate traditional Women from eight reservations that came from new
myths. work and Ontario were tested in the 1950s, to
determine that Iroquoian dialects classified as individual
MODULE 5 LANGUAGES IN VARIATION and
languages. Iroquoian speech communities have similar
LANGUAGES IN CONTACT
levels of intelligibility, Where the lines between
Strictly speaking, the speech pattern of one individual is intelligibility and unintelligibility were still up for debate.
somewhat different from the speech pattern of the If the line separating languages and dialects had been
next, even though the two speak the same language, established at a mutual understanding level of 25%,
and regional varieties of language differ from each other there would have been four different languages, one of
by features of vocabulary, grammar, and which would have been deemed to have two dialects
pronunciations. and another to have three. If set at 75 percent, there
would have been five languages, two of which would
Languages in Variations have consisted if two dialects each. English is a
IDIOLECT- An idiolect refers to the unique linguistic diversified dialect due to its widespread use and
patterns and characteristics of an individual speaker. It because it is spoken in many different areas of the
is the way in which a person uses language, including world
their vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and other Speakers' home countries can be identified by
linguistic features. pronunciation and words. For example, Bludger
Each person has a unique way of speaking that included in the vocabulary of Australian is bludger
combines their voice quality, pronunciation, grammar, 'loafer, shirker'; of Canadians to book off 'to notify an
and word choice. This unique blend is called an employer that one is not reporting for work'; of the Irish
"idiosyncratic combination". spalpeen 'rascal'; of the Scots cutty sark' short (under)
garment'; and of the British to knock up 'to wake up
Voice quality or timbre is determined by the anatomy of (someone), as by knocking.
the vocal tract (the tongue, the nasal, oral cavities, vocal
cords, larynx, and other parts) which the speaker has a SOCIOLECT- The term sociolect is a combination of the
little or no control. words 'social' and 'dialect'. A sociolect refers to a
specific variety or style of language that is used by a
Other voice features such as tempo, loudness, and pitch particular social group or community. Sociolects reflect
range can be controlled fairly simply but none of these the shared linguistic norms, vocabulary, grammar, and
features is constant. even pronunciation patterns of the community.
Almost all speakers make use of several idiolects, Sociolects typically develop among groups of people
depending on the circumstances of communication. who share the same social environments or
The concept of idiolect therefore refers to a very backgrounds. Social factors that influence sociolects
specific phenomenon—the speech variety used by a includes socioeconomic status, age, occupation, and
particular individual. gender.

DIALECT- People from similar backgrounds often share Slang is an informal nonstandard variety of speech that
similar idiolects, Common characteristics may be shared is characterized by the change of words and phrases
in vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Dialects immediately.
belonging to the same group of speakers are similar, the Example:“Last night was flop. I was supposed to go to a
term dialect, then, is an abstraction: a form of language party with my friends, but they flopped on me. They are
or speech used by members of regional, ethnic, or social all such floppers.”
group. Dialects that are mutually intelligible belong to
the same language, languages spoken by more than one Jargon is language that is used by a particular group or
community have mutual intelligibility. profession. Jargon can be used to describe correctly

15
technical language in a positive way as well as describes A stylistic or dialectal variety of speech that does not
language which is obscure, technical in a negative way. call forth negative reaction, is used on formal occasions,
and carries social prestige is considered standard;
Example: Hyperhidrosis/ sweating a lot
varieties that do not measure up to these norms are
Argot is a secret language used by various groups- referred to as nonstandard or sub- standard
including, but not limited to, thieves and other
According to Martin Joos (1907-1978), five clearly
criminals-to prevent outsiders from understanding their
distinguishable styles were characteristic of his dialect
conversations. The term argot is also used to refer to
of American English (spoken in the east-central United
the informal specialized vocabulary from a particular
States); he termed them frozen, formal, consultative,
field of study, hobby, job, sport, etc.
casual, and intimate (Joos 1962).
Sociolect is divided into two;
Language register is the level of formality with which
1.The formal form- this is the language used by you speak. Different situations and people call for
professional, such as teacher, attorney, nurse, doctor, different registers.
engineer, etc.

2.The informal form- this is the language invented by

1. Frozen or "static" register
ordinary people in the society, a language wherein they
have only a specific group. At this level, language is literally "frozen" in time and
form. It does not change. This type of language is often
EXAMPLES OF SOCIOLECT
learned and repeated by rote. Examples include biblical
1. Gay Language verse, prayers, the Pledge of Allegiance, and so forth.
Example:
2. Formal register
Instead of saying "Joke," they say "Echos” or “Charot."
Instead of saying "Ugly," they say " Chararat." This style is impersonal and often follows a prescriptive
2. Teen Language format. The speaker uses complete sentences, avoids
Example: slang and may use technical or academic vocabulary. It
To be honest- TBH
is likely that the speaker will use fewer contractions, but
As soon as possible- ASAP
opt instead for complete words. (Example: "have not"
What's up- SUP
I don't care- IDC instead of "haven't").
3. Medical Language 3. Consultative register
Example:
Heart- Cardio This is the register used when consulting an expert such
Skin- Derma as a doctor. The language used is more precise. The
4. Conyo Language speaker is likely to address the expert by a title such as
Example: "Doctor", "Mr." or "Mrs.". Some sources say this
Can I punta sa starbucks 'cuz I'm nagugutom na? register is the formal register used in conversation.

STYLE- The way individuals speak varies not only 4. Casual Register
according to their regional and social dialects but also
This register is conversational in tone. It is the language
according to context. The distinctive manner in which
used among and between friends. Words are general,
people express themselves in a particular situation is
rather than technical. This register may include more
referred to as style.
slang and colloquialisms.
Stylistic variations are not only lexical, but also
5. Intimate Register
phonological (for instance, the casual pronunciation of
butter with the flap [r] rather than the dental [t]), The language used by lovers. It is also the language used
in sexual harassment. This is the most intimate form of

16
language. It is best avoided in public and professional 1. BILINGUALISM
situations.
Bilingualism occurs when individuals or communities
Language contact refers to the interaction and are proficient in two languages. They may use both
exchange between different languages when they come languages interchangeably in different contexts, and
into contact with one another through various social, this can lead to the transfer of linguistic features
cultural, and historical circumstances. This interaction between the languages.
can lead to the borrowing of words, grammatical
2. CODE-SWITCHING
features, and linguistic structures, as well as the
development of new languages or language varieties. Code-switching is the practice of alternating between
two or more languages within a single conversation. It
Example:
can occur at the individual level or within a community.
Hawaiian gave English ukulele Code-switching often happens when bilingual speakers
Bantu, gumbo find it more appropriate or convenient to use certain
Czech, polka words or phrases from one language over another.
Cantonese, wok
Arabic, algebra
German, pretzel
3. LANGUAGE BORROWING
Malay, rice paddy
Language borrowing, also known as loanwords or loan
During these centuries of French linguistic dominance, a
phrases, happens when a word or phrase is adopted
large proportion of English vocabulary drastically
from one language into another. This can occur due to
changed. Some words disappeared, others acquired
cultural exchange, trade, colonization, or other
different meanings.
interactions between speakers of different languages.
What are the connections between these two sets of
4. LANGUAGE CONVERGENCE
Modern English terms?
Language convergence occurs when two or more
The column on the left names the live animal. The
languages come into contact and influence each other
column in the middle labels the food derived from that
to the extent that they become more similar in their
animal (e.g., "beef" forms a "cow"). We might say that
grammatical structures, vocabulary, or pronunciation.
the Anglo-Saxon terms became restricted for the names
This can happen in multilingual communities or through
of animals and more prestigious French terms were
prolonged language contact.
applied for the names of animals and more prestigious
French terms were applied to the cooked and prepared 5. LANGUAGE SHIFT
animal brought inside the house (Jackson and Amvela,
2007) Language shift refers to the process in which a
community or group of speakers gradually abandons
their native language in favor of another language. This
can occur due to social, political, or economic factors
and often leads to the eventual loss of the original
language.

TYPES OF LANGUAGE CONTACT

17
 >English-based pidgins were found from the coasts of
Africa to the New World to South Pacific.

Example: First line Shakespeare ' s J ulius Caesar (Act 3,

Scene 2) in Melanisan Tok Pisin compared to the
original English (Murphy 1980: 20)

Pren, man boong Rom, Wantok, harim nau. Mi kam

tasol long plantanim Kaesar. Mi noken beiten longen.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I

come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

Pidgins have a structure of their own and readily adapt

to changing circumstances.

Pidgins are not "broken " languages, a kind of "

primitive " speech or manifestations of " corrupt"
thought processes of simple peoples. They are quite the
opposite;

MODULE 6: Pidgins are demonstrably creative adaptations of

natural languages, with a structure and rules of their
PIDGINS own.
It is a common way in which individuals and groups Language Social Class and Identity
interact across language boundaries.
Language
Originates when speakers of two or more mutually
unintelligible languages develop a need to communicate * Reflects personal identity.
with each other for certain limited or specialized * Exposed many facet of person’s identity.
purposes, especially trade
* It determines how we interact with other people.
It has a much narrower range of functions than the
languages for which they substitute. Social Class and Identity

It possesses a limited vocabulary, because they need to John Joseph Gumperz

be learned rapidly for the sake of efficiency, they have  Who spent two years in the India village of
substantially reduced grammatical structure Khalapur, about eight miles north in Delhi.
Pidgins have developed whenever speakers of different  Reported that although the population of that
languages have been in regular but limited contact. time of his research was only about 5,000, it
>English-based China Coast Pidgin - originated as early
as seventeenth century but became especially
widespread during the course of the nineteenth

> English-based Maori Pidgin - current during the early

years of British colonization of New Zealand

>Trader Navajo, Navajo-based pidgin - used by traders

in the Southwest

18
 was divided into thirty – one endogamous
caste, none of which had equal status.

Hypercorrection
William Labov
> an attempt to approach a presumed standard goes
 founder of sociolinguistic change too far and produce a nonstandard form

 His study showed, the pronunciation of r sounds e..g, You and I instead You and me
in the dialect of New York City was quite
Vernacular
variable, depending on social factors such as
status, class, and speech context. > a casual, normal spoken for the language or dialect of
the person's speech community.
Sociolinguistic Theory
Social network
 Branch of linguistics that study the relationship
between language and society. > Includes all those people with whom speaker interact.
 Studies the how social factors impact High density social network
language use.
> refers to a group of individuals who are in frequent
Language variation is pervasive and highly structured, contact and therefore familiar with each other.
revealing regular patterns of co-occurrence between
language form, such as the pronunciation of particular Multiplex social network
vowel, and social categories. > one which interacting parties share more than one
role.

Restricted code
Sak's Macy's Klein
Informant departmen department department > Informal speech lacking of stylistic range
t store store store Elaborated code

Fourth > refers to the variety of language use characteristic of

r sound floor - Fourth floor Fourth floor relatively formal speech situation.
Fawth floah
LANGUAGE AND GENDER

 J.K Chambers in his sociology theory states that

The result supported his hypothesis. At Saks, 30 percent
in his virtually all sociolinguistics studies that
of the sales people interviewed always pronounced
include as samples of male and female.
both r-sound of the test phrase.
“Women use fewer stigmatized and non-
“fourth floor” whereas 32 percent pronounced them standard variant than do men of the same social
sometimes and sometimes not (as though “fourth floor” group in the same circumstances.
were written “fawth floah”). For Macy’s result were 20
 Among the several senses of this term is sex-
percent and 31 percent, and for Klien’s 4 percent and 17
meaning one of two forms of most organisms
percent. Furthermore, at Saks the difference between
that are characterized by differences in
casual and emphatic pronunciation was insignificant,
reproductive organs and related structures. The
whereas at the other two stores the difference was
use of the term gender rather than sex avoids
considerable. Careful, emphatic speech appeared to call
the misleading association with sexuality, but
for the final ® of floor, but casual speech did not.
mainly it acknowledges that gender is a social
construct that is likely to vary from society.
19
 We are concerned with the concept of gender cooperative) and mood (tense vs relaxed) of the
as a status ascribed to certain individuals or speaker.
group by an of particular culture or society.
 The choice of words of words by men and
 In American English, some difference has been women varies to the occasion, the type of
noted in international pattern between male audience present, and various other
and female speaker. circumstances. Nevertheless, some lexical
difference between the speech of men and
 Consider this as an example, how are men and
women are fairly common.
women say the phrase “Oh that’s terrible.”
 Men likely to phrase their approval or disliking
 Very rarely heard from men is the full down
for something by using a neutral adjective, such
glide from the highest to the lowest pitch level,
as fine, good, or great, with such as adverb as
as when expressing surprise, excitement,
damn. “That was a damn good show.”
concern, and the like.
 One of the characteristics of women’s speech –
 According to a study conducted by John L.
particularly of older women is the use of “tag
Fisher in New England village, that girls were
questions”. This term refers to a question
more likely to pronounce the present partial
attached to an utterance to obtain the assent of
suffix –ing rather than -in a form used more
the addressed. Seeking confirmation or
frequently among the boys. The choice between
validation. A tag in a form of a question may
–ing and –in appeared to be more related to
also be attached to an order or critism to soften
gender but also to the personality (aggressive vs
it.
cooperative) and mood (tense vs relaxed) of the
speaker.  Ex. “Answer the phone, would you?

 The choice of words of words by men and  Another purpose of the tag question is to
women varies to the occasion, the type of include the person spoken to in friendly
audience present, and various other conversation by offering the opportunity to
circumstances. Nevertheless, some lexical respond.
difference between the speech of men and
 Ex. It’s a beautiful day isn’t?
women are fairly common.
 When men us tags, they do so to obtain or
 Men likely to phrase their approval or disliking
confirm information.
for something by using a neutral adjective, such
as fine, good, or great, with such as adverb as  To sum up, in American English there is no
damn. “That was a damn good show.” pronunciation, grammar forms, words or
sentence construction that are employed
 Very rarely heard from men is the full down
exclusively by men or by women. Rather, what
glide from the highest to the lowest pitch level,
frequency with which some usage is employed
as when expressing surprise, excitement,
by one sex or another.
concern, and the like.
 When women talk with other women on a
 According to a study conducted by John L.
social basis, favored topics are relationships.
Fisher in New England village, that girls were
more likely to pronounce the present partial  When men talk to with other men favored have
suffix –ing rather than -in a form used more been work, recreation, sports, and women.
frequently among the boys. The choice between
–ing and –in appeared to be more related to Language, Race, and ethnicity
gender but also to the personality (aggressive vs

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African-American English. An example of an Ethnic associated with a style of speaking Considered
language variety is African-American English (AAE) in prestigious and worthy of imitating.
the United States.
In comparison with Standard English, Aave is
AAE is characterized by pronunciations, syntactic characterized by multiple negation, as in the following
structures, and Vocabulary associated with and used by sentences that are to be understood as statements
a fairly large number of African-American cans. A The rather than questions: “Didn’t nobody See it”, “wasn’t
speech of a sizable Portion of a Population Living in a nobody home”.
continent-sized area, AAE is not more uniform than the
The verb Form be, as in “she be busy”, contrasts in Aave
English Spoken by other Americans. Some AAE
with its absence, As in The corresponding “she busy”.
Pronunciations characterize Southern speech in
The latter, “she Busy” Means that the person referred Is
General, black and White although they are likely Occur
busy at the time the statements is made. “She be busy”
in Aae with greater Frequency to a larger degreee.
denotes A habitual or repeated State of busyness. While
Aae is used to great effect by African-american ranging in standard English Would be expressed as “She is
from religious and civil rights Leaders to school dropout always busy”,” she keeps busy” Or “she is often busy”.
Spending most of their time in the streets of black
Aave further Differs from standard English in
ghettos.
specialized vocabulary, variant Stress Patterns on
African-American vernacular English - a variety of certain words, and he like. Despite this and other
English Spoken by African-American in urban ghettos of Features That set The two Englishes apart, however, the
the United States. adjustment A non-speaker of Aave Had to make to
comprehend It is no more Than the effort to understand
in pronunciation, the Vowels of aave Tend to be much
Cockney.
more Variable than consonants. The most common
Vowel Contrasts of standard English that are likely to be LANGUAGE AND NATIONALITY
lost Are in such word Pairs as pride, ProUd or find and
Ethnicity is not always the survival of cultural diversity
fond as well As pride and proud or find and found,
born of geographical and social isolation, but may be
which In Aave Tend to be pronounced alike. The loss of
the outcome of intensive interaction, a constellation of
contrast in these and similar word pairs usually Limited
practices that evolve to channel complex social
to the position Before the consonants b, d, g, m, N, R
relations.
and l.
>Should all people in the same nation speak the same
the least Stable Consonants of Aave Are those found at
language?
the end of words. The sound written as “th” may be
heard in the final position as “f”, making The words >Is speaking the same language sufficient grounds for
both and with Rhyme with loaf and Sniff, Respectively. people to establish a nation?
The consonants r and l tend to be weakened or are
Completely lost. After the vowel, the weakened r Makes INDIA- hoe does India, a federal republic deal
such words sure, shoe, and show or your and you Sound administratively with such a vast collection of
alike or nearly so. languages?

A weakened l Before the consonants May heard in such CZECH REPUBLIC- Czechs, who at the time were still
words as Help or Wolf; when it’s completely lost, such citizens of the empire, resented this terminological
word as fooled and food, Toll and toe, or bolt and boat practice which is they applied the concept of language
come to sound alike. od use rather than the concept of mother tongue.

Grammatical differences are usually more noticeable CANADA- the same with India, there is a great linguistic
Than differences in pronunciation and Vocabulary. This diversity in Canada- some 85 languages being spoken—
is so because It is The use of Proper Grammar that is but the biggest issue is the tension between the two
official languages, French and Spanish.
21
About 60% of Canadians claim English as their native
language, as do 23% for French. The majority of these
French speakers, about 85% live in Quebec. More than
17%of the population is bilingual in French and English.

These language issue resulted to have important

political implications. Some believe that the only way to
protect the French language is for Quebec to spit off
from the rest of Canada. This has been an issue in
almost every election. Although it is unlikely to Canada
to divide, the cultural and linguistic tension remains.

SPAIN- although the official language of Spain is

Castillan Spanish, some dozen other languages are
spoken in the country.

Basque- is the language of the Basque people who

inhabitant northeast Spain and Southeast France.

Catalan- is a romance language of Ind0-European Family

and shares 85% similarity with Spanish.

Language and Nationality

Language is an important maker at another level.

Although not every language has a country and few
countries have only one language, for many people
there is an almost visceral connection between a
nation-state and some of the language used within its
borders.

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