Sociolinguistics assignment questions

Any discussion of the relationship between language and society, or of the various
functions of language in society, should begin with some attempt to define each of these
terms. We have said that a society is any group of people who are drawn together for a
certain purpose or purposes. By such a definition, ‘society’ becomes a very
comprehensive concept, but we have seen how useful such a comprehensive view is
because of the very different kinds of societies we must consider in the course of the
various discussions that have had. We have attempted an equally comprehensive
definition of language: a language is what the members of a particular society speak.
However, as we have seen, speech in almost any society can take many very different
forms, and just what forms we choose to discuss when we attempt to describe the
language of a society may prove to be a contentious matter. In addition, a society may
be plurilingual; that is, many speakers may use more than one language, however we
define language. We should also note that our definitions of language and society are
not independent: the definition of language includes in it a reference to society
(Wardhaugh, R.; 2006)

Select one of the following topics:

1. Languages contain a great deal of variety. What evidence can you cite to show
some of the variety? Consider, for example, how many different ways you can
ask someone to open a window or seek permission to open the window yourself
because the room you are in is too warm. How many ways can you pronounce
variants of and, have, do, of, and for? When might Did you eat yet? sound like
Jeechet? What did you do with the words and sounds? Do you speak the same
way to a younger sibling at home over the breakfast table as you would to a
distinguished public figure you meet at a ceremonial dinner? If you do not, and

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 it is almost certain that you do not, what are the differences in the linguistic
choices you make? Why do you make them?
2. . Describe some aspects of your own speech which show how it varies from the
speech of certain other people you know. Do you pronounce words differently,
use different word forms, choose different words, or use different grammatical
structures? How do you view, i.e., judge, the speech of those who speak
differently from you?
3. Does an esquimo ‘see’ a snowscape differently from a native of Chad visiting
the cold north for the first time because the Inuit must be using a language
developed to deal with the surrounding snowscape?
4. If men and women speak differently, is it because the common language they
share has a gender bias, because boys and girls are brought up differently, or
because part of ‘gender marking’ is the linguistic choices one can – indeed, must
– make?
5. Is language just another cultural artifact, like property, possessions, or money,
which is used for the expression of power and/or as a medium of exchange?
6. Studies of linguistic variation make use of the concept of the ‘linguistic
variable.’ One simple linguistic variable in English is the pronunciation of the
final sound in words like singing, running, fishing, and going (-ing or -in’) in
contexts such as ‘He was singing in the rain,’ ‘Running is fun,’ ‘It’s a fishing
boat,’ and ‘Are you going?’ and on various occasions (e.g., in casual
conversation, in formal speech making, or in reading individual words out
aloud). What do you find? How might you try to explain any differences you
find
7. A question found on many national census forms concerns the language or
languages spoken (or known). It may ask respondents either to check one or
more language names or to volunteer a name or names. What problems do you
see in collecting data in such a way? Think of countries like China, the United
States, Canada, India, France, Spain, and Norway.
8. Is Afrikaans a dialect of Dutch or a different language? To attempt an answer to
this question you will have to consider a variety of issues: What is the origin of
Afrikaans? Are Afrikaans and Dutch mutually intelligible? How different are the
orthographies (i.e., systems of spelling), sounds, vocabularies, and grammars?
How important is the factor of the national consciousness of those who speak

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 Afrikaans? Is the initial question clearly answerable from the kinds of theories
and data that are currently available to us?
9. Speakers of Faroese are said to understand speakers of Icelandic but not vice
versa. Danes seem to understand Norwegians better than Norwegians understand
Danes. Monolingual speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese cannot communicate
with each other in speech. What do such facts have to say about using the
criterion of mutual intelligibility in deciding whether we are dealing with a
single language, with two dialects of one language, or with two separate
languages? Consider the following pieces of evidence in arriving at your answer.
Speakers of Isoko in Nigeria say they cannot understand those who speak other
Urhobo languages/dialects; but these others apparently understand them. This
situation seems to have developed concurrently with demands for greater
political autonomy and ethnic self-sufficiency.
10. Standard languages are usually based on an existing dialect of the language. For
example, the British variety of English is based, historically at least, on the
dialect of the area surrounding London, Continental French on the dialect of
Paris, and Italian on the dialect of Florence or Tuscany (although Rome and
Milan became important influences in the late twentieth century). In other
countries the situation is not so clear-cut. What can you find out about the
difficulties of choosing a variety for standardization in Denmark, Indonesia,
Greece, China, Haiti, and the Arab world?
11. ‘A language is a dialect with an army and a navy’ is a well-known observation.
(Today we would add an ‘airforce’!) True? And, if so, what are the
consequences?
12. The fact that Standard English can be spoken with a variety of accents often
poses certain difficulties for the teaching of English in non-Englishspeaking
countries. What are some of the problems you might encounter and how might
you try to solve them?
13. Hudson (1996, p. 46) says ‘your dialect shows who (or what) you are, whilst
your register shows what you are doing.’ He acknowledges that ‘these concepts
are much less distinct than the slogan implies’; however, you might use them to
sort out what would be dialect and register for a professor of sociology from
Mississippi; a hairdresser from Newcastle working in London; a British naval

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 commander; a sheep farmer in New Zealand; and a ‘street-wise’ person from
any location you might choose.
14. Mugglestone (1995, p. 330) writes as follows: ‘The process of standardization . .
. can and will only reach completion in a dead language, where the inviolable
norms so often asserted by the prescriptive tradition (and the absolutes of
language attitudes) may indeed come into being.’ If variation sets limits to
language standardization, why do some people still insist that rigid standards
should be prescribed (and followed)?
15. Some communities regard bilingualism as a serious threat; it has even been
referred to as a ‘Trojan horse,’ initially attractive but ultimately fatal. Why might
this be so? (Consider the experience of migration and also the sorry state of
many minority languages in the world.)
16. Labov’s major study of New York City is based on a sample from the Lower
East Side. Labov (1966, pp. 4–5) claims that this area ‘exemplifies the
complexity of New York City as a whole with all its variability and apparent
inconsistencies.’ Try to assess this claim.
17. Look at the English kinship system, particularly your own version of it, and
consider the various relationships covered by terms such as great grandfather,
uncle, niece, cousin, step-sister, half-brother, second cousin once removed, and
father-in-law. Where are distinctions made to do with such factors as gender,
generation, blood, and marriage? Where are such distinctions not made? Is
godson part of the system?
18. Terms such as uncle, father, mother, sister, brother, son, and cousin are
sometimes used outside the English kinship system. Describe these uses and try
to account for them.
19. Try to account for the often reported finding that, for English at least, males
usually display less ability than females in dealing with matters having to do
with colour, including the actual use of colour terminology.
20. Women are usually expected to react differently from men to jokes, particularly
risqué jokes. Describe any differences you have observed between men and
women, not only in reactions to jokes but also to various other kinds of
boisterous or playful linguistic behavior. Account for the differences.

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Steps to follow:

a) Review the literature on the selected topic. For your selected topic, use at least
three peer-reviewed articles that can answer the questions related to it.
b) Summarize the evidence you have found and then critically examine it. Engage
your critical thinking skills. For instance, ask yourself if the available
evidence is sufficient to support the interpretations that researchers have
proposed, and/or whether there are ambiguities and unknowns.
c) Begin your paper with an introduction to the selected topic in which you define
all concepts that will be discussed in the paper. Include a brief summary of the
content of the selected article according to the guidelines described above.
d) Analyze the key findings, illustrating the consistencies and inconsistencies.
e) Include a conclusion expressing your thoughts about the strengths and
weaknesses of the available evidence. If possible, suggest the course that future
research should take if answers are less than conclusive.
Your Paper must be five to six double-spaced pages in length (not including title and
references pages) and formatted according to APA style.
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style.
The assignments will be submitted on 30 June 2023 to the following email address:
cmataruca@yahoo.com . Then, prepare a five-slide presentation to deliver to the class.
You will have fifteen minutes for your presentation.