专八英语语言学笔记纲要（8）

会计考友

　　Chapter 8 Language in Social Contexts
　　l        What is sociolinguistics?
0 X  ~9 v; V$ }7 L0 G　　n        The sociolinguistic study of language
　　u      Language in relation to society
　　u      Diversity of language, variation between societies or within a society
) f% x& s" p+ b0 s; w' [　　n        The distinction between “language” and “a language”
; Y/ S9 {/ G1 L( _　　u      Try to answer the following three questions:
4 |) @8 K; `: O$ @5 h. \　　l        Can language be defined in terms of geography?
　　l        Can language be defined in terms of nationality?
1 e" F3 k1 k0 d　　l        Should language be defined by mutual intelligibility?
　　u      The answer to these questions should all be no. All languages are equal. If you define language in terms of these factors, you are speaking of “a language”.
　　l        Varieties of language
　　n        A language varies according to the following factors:
$ {: P  D( ~+ w3 q　　u      Situation
　　u      Geographical areas
1 S! ^, L$ x+ s" p! ], f　　u      Social factors
! t" A$ f' h& r) j　　u      Purposes and subject matters
" D! z& x" U! E9 Z" j+ W　　u      Time (through which the language develops)
3 m/ ~8 z% Z# b3 e　　n        Geographical varieties and regional dialects
# i; ~0 v6 R( f% u, ~7 ~　　u      What’s the relationship between a regional dialect and the national standard speech?
　　l        A regional dialect is a variety of the national standard speech.
　　u      Accent
　　l        Pronunciation:
　　l        Spelling: -our/-or
& K% S' c5 O; T0 K# C, C, A　　l        Vocabulary:
: b; z9 g' |. p  s- G6 T　　l        Grammar: have you/do you have…
: z9 i! u- ~3 D: Z0 a　　u      Social varieties
/ F3 }7 n8 P0 t" S- P# V1 }) T2 n　　l        Sociolects are forms of a language that characterize the speech of different social classes.
　　l        A social variety is a variety of language brought about by the social factors.
9 l4 d+ v' i( c  f# x+ f/ ~　　l        Language plays the role of a social indicator.
+ o# L3 ]8 b; _% X0 _/ K1 m　　l        Social classes and variation
; q$ c, u7 l4 u8 g& a8 L　　n        Grammar: third person singular
6 P+ ?% @. D5 e! l( v　　n        Pronunciation: popular contracted forms
  p: F# b; s! J, x, o4 g/ p　　l        Sex and variation
# l8 ?, S$ P1 `% D7 T: R" ?  K0 }4 d  p　　n        Women tend to speak more standard, decent variation.
) K0 T, k: Q7 u8 x" i9 ^　　n        Women tend to make overstatements, especially when making comment.
: N0 p6 \, v' r% [% P　　n        Women prefer to use certain adjectives which are not used normally.
: g) p+ I$ x/ f* b# r1 X　　n        Women tend to avoid the use of vulgar words.
7 E+ j3 m! C8 z　　n        Women tend to use certain expressions to show happiness or surprise.
* J+ W( t. _! l　　l        Age and variation
0 L. m6 l! N- ~" y; b6 r# R! V, s, h$ c　　l        Race and variation
. l. O- Q! o. t* B. I) \# A+ w　　n        Racial difference
　　n        Black English
　　-         Pronunciation
　　-         Grammar
　　l        Temporal dialects
　　n        Standard dialect and idiolect
% A7 u& t; G) V　　u      Standard dialect is the highest prestige in a society or a nation. It is usually based on the well-educated speech.

会计考友

　　l        It is used in news media and literature.
+ e4 ]5 g( {6 b7 ?6 r* O8 b　　l        It is described in dictionaries and grammar books.
　　l        It is taught in schools and to non-native learners.
　　u      Idiolect is the language system of an individual. It is one’s particular way of speaking and/or writing.
　　n        Register – situational variety