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?
　　n        The sociolinguistic study of language
　　u      Language in relation to society
　　u      Diversity of language, variation between societies or within a society
　　n        The distinction between “language” and “a language”
5 L, V  K- h% w- r; S  T# g　　u      Try to answer the following three questions:
7 N; j) T# W( W, c; I; i* d　　l        Can language be defined in terms of geography?
  F6 }5 G& U" H. @8 O3 P+ l　　l        Can language be defined in terms of nationality?
3 S0 p0 j9 ]$ c8 L. W　　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”.
) n( E% [- ^: x" X0 h6 r　　l        Varieties of language
　　n        A language varies according to the following factors:
　　u      Situation
　　u      Geographical areas
/ i) B" S' G# c  w　　u      Social factors
3 z( x* W- m$ H0 e1 q( i$ M　　u      Purposes and subject matters
　　u      Time (through which the language develops)
　　n        Geographical varieties and regional dialects
　　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.
8 r8 |: [* T/ C; }" J4 G- _　　u      Accent
　　l        Pronunciation:
* Q, l; A1 H# n( o　　l        Spelling: -our/-or
5 I  X/ }4 v* R8 F+ S　　l        Vocabulary:
4 I2 g6 z3 g; ?. d; O7 F, X2 t8 H! b8 g　　l        Grammar: have you/do you have…
　　u      Social varieties
　　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.
! Y" t1 X/ D7 N2 m# g7 h　　l        Language plays the role of a social indicator.
  L$ ^3 D5 G- x1 `　　l        Social classes and variation
　　n        Grammar: third person singular
; H* V# v8 \) J( _2 Z　　n        Pronunciation: popular contracted forms
3 I0 T, B4 w: P% @　　l        Sex and variation
' L+ ]# L& i% I5 |0 K  D& q　　n        Women tend to speak more standard, decent variation.
* G5 o6 k7 g: E) H　　n        Women tend to make overstatements, especially when making comment.
  h+ t) Z/ i& |8 D0 g- L+ F( r　　n        Women prefer to use certain adjectives which are not used normally.
4 z( ^7 t" y, l/ n: S7 e　　n        Women tend to avoid the use of vulgar words.
　　n        Women tend to use certain expressions to show happiness or surprise.
　　l        Age and variation
　　l        Race and variation
　　n        Racial difference
% X. L7 q( B1 c$ `. B2 M* H% \' r0 i　　n        Black English
2 Y" S( X' M: X9 o" Y　　-         Pronunciation
　　-         Grammar
　　l        Temporal dialects
! E( [9 q- n9 i2 _5 o$ ]: m　　n        Standard dialect and idiolect
1 \8 S% n$ D, _0 n. _9 K" `　　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.
" D7 p+ D! S: Y5 n　　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.
$ {" R* U- ^# M8 Z- Q/ I　　n        Register – situational variety