Variety (linguistics)

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Linguistic variety
)

In

non-standard language forms thought of as less prestigious or "proper" than the standard.[3] Linguists speak of both standard and non-standard (vernacular)[4]
varieties as equally complex, valid, and full-fledged forms of language. Lect avoids the problem in ambiguous cases of deciding whether two varieties are distinct languages or dialects of a single language.

Variation at the level of the

argot, is often considered in relation to particular styles or levels of formality (also called registers), but such uses are sometimes discussed as varieties as well.[2]

Dialects

O'Grady et al. define dialect: "A regional or social variety of a language characterized by its own phonological, syntactic, and lexical properties."[5] A variety spoken in a particular region is called a regional dialect (regiolect, geolect[6]); some regional varieties are called regionalects[7] or topolects, especially to discuss varieties of Chinese.[8] In addition, there are varieties associated with particular ethnic groups (sometimes called ethnolects), socioeconomic classes (sometimes called sociolects), or other social or cultural groups.

Dialectology is the study of dialects and their geographic or social distribution.[5] Traditionally, dialectologists study the variety of language used within a particular speech community, a group of people who share a set of norms or conventions for language use.[2]

In order to sidestep the vexing problem of distinguishing dialect from language, some linguists have been using the term communalect[9][10] – defined as "a neutral term for any speech tradition tied to a specific community".[11]

More recently, sociolinguists have adopted the concept of the community of practice, a group of people who develop shared knowledge and shared norms of interaction, as the social group within which dialects develop and change.[12] Sociolinguists Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet explain: "Some communities of practice may develop more distinctive ways of speaking than others. Thus, it is within communities of practice that linguistic influence may spread within and among speech communities."[13]

The words dialect and accent are often used synonymously in everyday speech, but linguists define the two terms differently. Accent generally refers to differences in pronunciation, especially those that are associated with geographic or social differences, whereas dialect refers to differences in grammar and vocabulary as well.[14]

Standard varieties

Many languages have a standard variety, some lect that is selected and promoted

nonstandard lects and are generally thought of as "correct" by speakers of the language. Since the selection is an arbitrary standard, standard forms are the "correct" varieties only in the sense that they are tacitly valued by higher socio-economic strata and promoted by public influencers on matters of language use, such as writers, publishers, critics, language teachers, and self-appointed language guardians. As Ralph Harold Fasold puts it, "The standard language may not even be the best possible constellation of linguistic features available. It is general social acceptance that gives us a workable arbitrary standard, not any inherent superiority of the characteristics it specifies."[15]

Sociolinguists generally recognize the standard variety of a language as one of the dialects of that language.[16]

In some cases, an authoritative

practice-based way. Writing about Standard English, John Algeo suggests that the standard variety "is simply what English speakers agree to regard as good".[18]

Registers and styles

A register (sometimes called a style) is a variety of language used in a particular social setting.

The Dozens.[19] There are also registers associated with particular professions or interest groups; jargon
refers specifically to the vocabulary associated with such registers.

Unlike dialects, which are used by particular

nonstandard dialect
that is used with the technical register of physical geography:

There was two eskers what we saw in them U-shaped valleys.[16]

Most speakers command a range of registers, which they use in different situations. The choice of register is affected by the setting and topic of speech, as well as the relationship that exists between the speakers.[21]

The appropriate form of language may also change during the course of a communicative event as the relationship between speakers changes, or different social facts become relevant. Speakers may shift styles, as their perception of an event in progress changes. Consider the following telephone call to the

Washington, DC
.

Caller: ¿Es la embajada de Cuba? (Is this the Cuban embassy?)
Receptionist: Sí. Dígame. (Yes, may I help you?)
Caller: Es Rosa. (It's Rosa.)
Receptionist: ¡Ah Rosa! ¿Cóma anda eso? (Oh, Rosa! How's it going?)

At first, the receptionist uses a relatively formal register, as befits her professional role. After the caller identifies herself, the receptionist recognizes that she is speaking to a friend, and she shifts to an informal register of colloquial Cuban Spanish.[21] The shift is similar to metaphorical code-switching, but since it involves styles or registers, it is considered an example of style-shifting.

Idiolect

An

multilinguals, various languages.[23]

For scholars who view language from the perspective of linguistic competence, essentially the knowledge of language and grammar that exists in the mind of an individual language user, the idiolect, is a way of referring to the specific knowledge. For scholars who regard language as a shared social practice, the idiolect is more like a dialect with a speech community of one individual.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hudson, Alfred B. 1967. The Barito isolects of Borneo: A classification based on comparative reconstruction and lexicostatistics. Data Paper no. 68, Southeast Asia Program, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University,
  2. ^ a b c Meecham, Marjorie and Janie Rees-Miller. (2001) "Language in social contexts." In W. O'Grady, J. Archibald, M. Aronoff and J. Rees-Miller (eds) Contemporary Linguistics. pp. 537-590. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
  3. ^ Schilling-Estes, Natalies. (2006) "Dialect variation." In R.W. Fasold and J. Connor-Linton (eds) An Introduction to Language and Linguistics. pp. 311-341. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^ Wolfram, Walt; Schilling-Estes, Natalie (1998). American English: dialects and variation. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell. pp. 13–16.
  5. ^ a b O'Grady, William, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff, and Jane Rees-Miller. eds. (2001) Contemporary Linguistics. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
  6. ^ Daniel. W. Bruhn, Walls of the Tongue: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed (PDF), p. 8
  7. ^ "topolect". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2010.
  8. ^ Pawley, Andrew & Timoci Sayaba. 1971. Fijian dialect divisions: eastern and western Fijian. Journal of the Polynesian Society 80.4 (1971): 405-436.
  9. OCLC 20100109
    .
  10. .
  11. ^ Lave, Jean & Etienne Wenger. (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  12. ^ Eckert, Penelope & Sally McConnell-Ginet. (2003) Language and Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  13. .
  14. ^ Fasold, Ralph. (2006) "The politics of language." In R.W. Fasold and J. Connor-Linton (eds) An Introduction to Language and Linguistics. pp. 371-400. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  15. ^ a b Trudgill, Peter (1999). "Standard English: what it isn't". In Bex, T.; Watts, R.J. (eds.). Standard English: The Widening Debate. London: Routledge. pp. 117–128. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009.
  16. ^ "Le Dictionnaire". Académie française (in French). Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  17. ^ Algeo, John. (1993) "What Makes Good English Good?" In L. Miller Cleary and M.D. Lin (eds) Linguistics for Teachers. pp. 473-82. New York: McGraw.
  18. ^ a b Ottenheimer, Harriet Joseph. (2006) The Anthropology of Language. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage.
  19. ^ Joos, Martin. (1961) The Five Clocks. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.
  20. ^ a b Saville-Troike, Muriel. (1982) The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction. Oxford and Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell.
  21. ^ Freeborn, Dennis, Peter French & David Langford. (1993) Varieties of English. Houndsmill and London: MacMillan Press.
  22. ^ Gregory, Michael and Susanne Carroll. (1978) Language and situation: language varieties and their social contexts. London: Routledge.
  23. ^ Barber, Alex. (2004) "Idiolects." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 07-01-2009.