Chapter 1
Linguistics: scientific study of human languages.
“Sociolinguistics is a study of ideas about how societal norms are intertwined with our
language use.” (relationship society-language).
Code: system people use when they communicate (language).
Descriptive approach to language: describes/analyzes/explains how people speak their
language (without notions of what is correct etc.).
Prescriptive approach to language: prescribes how a language should be spoken (rules of
language, what is correct/proper).
Chomsky (linguist): competence (unconscious knowledge of the grammatical rules of a
language) and performance (the way individuals use their language). Linguists are interested
in competence.
Sociolinguistics: “the linguistic behaviour of individuals cannot be understood without
knowledge of the communities that they belong to.” Concerned with the performance part.
Communicative competence: knowing how to use a language appropriately (knowing when
not to curse etc.) → knowing social rules.
Definitions:
Idiolect: an individual’s distinctive way of speaking (dialect of one person).
Identity: a socially constructed connection/link with particular social categories.
Language plays an important role.
Society: a group of people drawn together for particular purposes and who share at least
some cultural norms.
Culture: knowledge about how a society works, its values and practices.
Possible relationships between culture and language:
- Social structure can influence or determine linguistic structure/behaviour.
- Linguistic structure can influence or determine social structure/worldview.
- Bi-directional influence.
- No relationship, no influence.
Power: the ability to control the actions of self and others (not only physical).
Speaking a certain language gives you power: it might be necessary for employment
or give you more authority.
Solidarity: a common bond between individuals, usually associated with identification with
the same social group.
Languages have a lot of variations, but there are also variations within the language of a
single person → language is not an abstract object of study.
But, there are regulations within your language can vary (word order etc.). Most people have
no awareness that their linguistic behaviour is being conditioned by social rules.
Social groups also vary: in some contexts you form a group based on age, in others on
language, sexual orientation and so on.
, Sapir thought that language and culture were inextricably related (you cannot understand or
appreciate the one without the other).
Whorfian hypothesis:
Strong version: linguistic determinism:
How we experience the world and the social structures we make are determined by
language (language determines thought).
So: language limits the way we see the world (you cannot experience gezelligheid,
because you do not have the word).
Very few linguists support linguistic determinism.
Weaker version: linguistic relativism:
Language influences thought, but it doesn’t prevent us from seeing things from
different perspectives.
Habitual modes of thinking can be changed, but require effort and will.
Boas: no necessary connection, because people with kind of the same culture can have very
different language structures and people with kind of the same language can have very
different cultures.
Variationist sociolinguistics: focuses on correlations and the quantitative analysis of them.
Sociolinguistics (micro-sociolinguistics): investigates the relationship between language and
society to understand the structure of language and how languages function in
communication.
Sociology of language (macro-sociolinguistics): tries to discover how social structure can be
better understood through the study of language.
Key concept: indexicality of language: “language indicates one’s social class, status, region
of origin, gender, age group and so on.”
Indexicality: the association of a code or linguistic form with a particular social
meaning.
Linguistic profiling: using a person’s accent etc. to identify the social characteristics of an
individual.
US: often used to discriminate.
Linked to indexicality of language.
Chapter 2
Variety: neutral term for a particular way of speaking (any kind of language or dialect → can
be used for a language in general, but also for a particular way of speaking, like ‘baby talk’).
Vernacular: relaxed, spoken, most natural way of speaking (when you pay no attention to
your speech) → used in everyday social interactions.
Ideology: ideas, beliefs and values held by individuals or groups which form the basis for and
serve to legitimate cultural behaviors or political actions.
Linguistics: scientific study of human languages.
“Sociolinguistics is a study of ideas about how societal norms are intertwined with our
language use.” (relationship society-language).
Code: system people use when they communicate (language).
Descriptive approach to language: describes/analyzes/explains how people speak their
language (without notions of what is correct etc.).
Prescriptive approach to language: prescribes how a language should be spoken (rules of
language, what is correct/proper).
Chomsky (linguist): competence (unconscious knowledge of the grammatical rules of a
language) and performance (the way individuals use their language). Linguists are interested
in competence.
Sociolinguistics: “the linguistic behaviour of individuals cannot be understood without
knowledge of the communities that they belong to.” Concerned with the performance part.
Communicative competence: knowing how to use a language appropriately (knowing when
not to curse etc.) → knowing social rules.
Definitions:
Idiolect: an individual’s distinctive way of speaking (dialect of one person).
Identity: a socially constructed connection/link with particular social categories.
Language plays an important role.
Society: a group of people drawn together for particular purposes and who share at least
some cultural norms.
Culture: knowledge about how a society works, its values and practices.
Possible relationships between culture and language:
- Social structure can influence or determine linguistic structure/behaviour.
- Linguistic structure can influence or determine social structure/worldview.
- Bi-directional influence.
- No relationship, no influence.
Power: the ability to control the actions of self and others (not only physical).
Speaking a certain language gives you power: it might be necessary for employment
or give you more authority.
Solidarity: a common bond between individuals, usually associated with identification with
the same social group.
Languages have a lot of variations, but there are also variations within the language of a
single person → language is not an abstract object of study.
But, there are regulations within your language can vary (word order etc.). Most people have
no awareness that their linguistic behaviour is being conditioned by social rules.
Social groups also vary: in some contexts you form a group based on age, in others on
language, sexual orientation and so on.
, Sapir thought that language and culture were inextricably related (you cannot understand or
appreciate the one without the other).
Whorfian hypothesis:
Strong version: linguistic determinism:
How we experience the world and the social structures we make are determined by
language (language determines thought).
So: language limits the way we see the world (you cannot experience gezelligheid,
because you do not have the word).
Very few linguists support linguistic determinism.
Weaker version: linguistic relativism:
Language influences thought, but it doesn’t prevent us from seeing things from
different perspectives.
Habitual modes of thinking can be changed, but require effort and will.
Boas: no necessary connection, because people with kind of the same culture can have very
different language structures and people with kind of the same language can have very
different cultures.
Variationist sociolinguistics: focuses on correlations and the quantitative analysis of them.
Sociolinguistics (micro-sociolinguistics): investigates the relationship between language and
society to understand the structure of language and how languages function in
communication.
Sociology of language (macro-sociolinguistics): tries to discover how social structure can be
better understood through the study of language.
Key concept: indexicality of language: “language indicates one’s social class, status, region
of origin, gender, age group and so on.”
Indexicality: the association of a code or linguistic form with a particular social
meaning.
Linguistic profiling: using a person’s accent etc. to identify the social characteristics of an
individual.
US: often used to discriminate.
Linked to indexicality of language.
Chapter 2
Variety: neutral term for a particular way of speaking (any kind of language or dialect → can
be used for a language in general, but also for a particular way of speaking, like ‘baby talk’).
Vernacular: relaxed, spoken, most natural way of speaking (when you pay no attention to
your speech) → used in everyday social interactions.
Ideology: ideas, beliefs and values held by individuals or groups which form the basis for and
serve to legitimate cultural behaviors or political actions.
