Lecture 8
SOCIOLINGUISTICS L.8
Examining everyday language, cultural norms, ethnographic approach
Q UALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES:
Some ways of speaking are very context depending
Quantitative approaches: establish general laws of behavior
across different settings/contexts.
Methods include measurements that can be analyzed
statistically (experiments, questionnaires etc). Researches usually
try to nd patterns and provide an account on the phenomenon.
Lastly there is an interpretation
They are good for testing hypothesis based on existing
theories for con rming or discon rming them
Qualitative approach: aim to understand the social reality of
people as nearly as possible to how the participants live it. The
are interested in the interpretations of people in it, like what
aspects to the participants nd relevant etc.
The assumption is that each context and situation is unique and
that there are no universally valid explanations
Methods: people are studied in their natural setting. Methods
include unstructured interviews, diary accounts, participant
observation and ethnography. Respondents use their own words
1
fi fi fi .
fi
.
.
.
.
, Lecture 8
They are good for understanding how and why a particular
phenomenon, behavior etc operates in a particular context
E MIC VS ETIC:
Terms coined by Pike. Etymologically originate from (phon)epic
and (phon)epic to refer to two complementary ways of analyzing
behavioral data
Emic: Categorizing behavior from the perspective of the insider
in ways that are meaningful to the people producing that
behavior
Etic: categorizing behavior from the perspective of an outsider
in ways that are applicable to different systems and can be used
to compare them
Q UALITATIVE METHODS:
Ethnographic research has origins in anthropology and is used
to understand the rules, cultural norms and values connected to
language use
Ethnography: study of people and cultures based on eldwork. It
provides informations on a group from an insider’s point of view
Ethnographic approaches
1. Ethnography of communicatio
2. Ethnomethodology
3. Linguistic ethnography
2
.
.
.
.
:
n
fi .
.
SOCIOLINGUISTICS L.8
Examining everyday language, cultural norms, ethnographic approach
Q UALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES:
Some ways of speaking are very context depending
Quantitative approaches: establish general laws of behavior
across different settings/contexts.
Methods include measurements that can be analyzed
statistically (experiments, questionnaires etc). Researches usually
try to nd patterns and provide an account on the phenomenon.
Lastly there is an interpretation
They are good for testing hypothesis based on existing
theories for con rming or discon rming them
Qualitative approach: aim to understand the social reality of
people as nearly as possible to how the participants live it. The
are interested in the interpretations of people in it, like what
aspects to the participants nd relevant etc.
The assumption is that each context and situation is unique and
that there are no universally valid explanations
Methods: people are studied in their natural setting. Methods
include unstructured interviews, diary accounts, participant
observation and ethnography. Respondents use their own words
1
fi fi fi .
fi
.
.
.
.
, Lecture 8
They are good for understanding how and why a particular
phenomenon, behavior etc operates in a particular context
E MIC VS ETIC:
Terms coined by Pike. Etymologically originate from (phon)epic
and (phon)epic to refer to two complementary ways of analyzing
behavioral data
Emic: Categorizing behavior from the perspective of the insider
in ways that are meaningful to the people producing that
behavior
Etic: categorizing behavior from the perspective of an outsider
in ways that are applicable to different systems and can be used
to compare them
Q UALITATIVE METHODS:
Ethnographic research has origins in anthropology and is used
to understand the rules, cultural norms and values connected to
language use
Ethnography: study of people and cultures based on eldwork. It
provides informations on a group from an insider’s point of view
Ethnographic approaches
1. Ethnography of communicatio
2. Ethnomethodology
3. Linguistic ethnography
2
.
.
.
.
:
n
fi .
.
