Social domain
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A social domain refers to communicative contexts which influence and are influenced by the structure of such contexts, whether social, institutional, power-aligned. As defined by Fishman, Cooper and Ma (1971), social domains "are sociolinguistic contexts definable for any given society by three significant dimensions: the location, the participants and the topic".[1] Similarly, Bernard Spolsky defines domains as "[a]ny defined or definable social or political or religious group or community, ranging from family through a sports team or neighborhood or village or workplace or organization or city or nation state or regional alliance".[2]
Social domains are relevant to such fields in the social sciences as anthropology, linguistics, and sociology. Some examples of social domains include the domains of school, family, religion, workplace, and government.
Social domains in scholarly research
Education and schools
Because of the differences in vernacular or dialects between home and schools, some children may experience a
Family
When considering the impact of the family on language two considerations should be made. On the one hand, family domains serve as speech communities in which the linguistic variety is different when compared to other domains.[6] On the other hand, family is another crucial social institution in determining language policies.
With respect to the first consideration, it is a common fact that individuals modify the way they speak by changing their vocabulary, pronunciation, and syntax of their speech according to who it is they are talking to and the circumstances and surroundings of their conversation. The family social domain is not the exception. Different factors contribute to what a family domain becomes: socioeconomic class, number of parents in the family, the number of children, etc.[2] Considering that many factors can contribute to this domain, the variation within the domain is determined by the influences of the practices and ideologies that the family has. What contributes to the linguistic repertoires within the family social domains may include the proficiency of a speaker in this language; the context of speaking, for example, making sure that the language used is well understood by everyone who's present; association with positive experiences; and acknowledgement of the effects of using this language.[2]
With respect to language policy, family domain is a major locus of multilingual and monolingual experiences. The decisions of retaining the language or undergoing the language shift are often based in the families and they may not have any official status.[7] For example, a decision of immigrant parents to only speak an L2 language with their child may lead the child being proficient only in that language and never acquiring L1 of his/her parents.[8] Without this domain there would be loss in the way that information is transmitted through language. The three-generation theory argues that without family there is a loss of 'natural intergenerational transmission.'[9] According to the three generation theory, the first generation of an immigrant family may not fully acquire the dominant language of the new location, but the second generation will learn this language and grow up bilingual. Meanwhile, by the third generation the knowledge of the L1 of the first generation will dissipate leading the immigrant family through language shift.[10] To ensure the preservation of the language across generations, Fishman argued 'natural intergenerational transmission' is key.[11]
Religion
Language choice varies among religious affiliations and congregations. Islam and Judaism traditionally provide religious texts in the original languages of Arabic and Hebrew, respectively. Islam has strict standards regarding the required use of Arabic in the religious domain, even if the user's mother tongue is not Arabic. Meanwhile, Judaism accepts translations of the religious text, although Hebrew is still central.[2] These are distinct languages that have specific uses within the domain of religion.[12] Variation of language ideologies within the domain of religion, even within a single religion, is common. Some Christian groups promote translating the Bible into the vernacular, while some Roman Catholics have a history of keeping the Bible in Latin and holding masses in Latin as well. On a micro-scale, a single person might use various languages in practice while praying, singing hymns, reading religious texts, confessing, or attending religious services. Knowing which language to use is dependent on the broader sociocultural expectations as well as the expectations of the religion itself, place of worship one attends, or specific congregation.
Workplace
The workplace is a setting where everyone needs to communicate with each other to get a task done. There are many different types of workplaces. There are different language norms depending on the workplace and the position of the people in conversation. The office workplace is a professional setting where more sophisticated words and different tones of voice are being used.[13] Sometimes there are handbooks with the rules of the office everyone must obey including sections on language. Leaders in the workplace which are generally managers not only put on the linguistic model for their workers but also get to initiate the pathway. The more motivational leaders are the more passionate and effective the workers become.[14] They use motivational language in conversation and meetings to provide an effective environment to work in. They act as enforcers to use speech to connect with everyone. There is also communication used through technology such as emails that are very professional. There are different audiences as well as conversations at work.
Government
As a Social Domain, Governments and their affiliated agencies can generally be defined as businesses or workplaces. Just as businesses are growing ever more diverse in our globalizing world, governments, too, are adapting, expanding, and developing on various social practices to create social domains within their structure that are conducive to an appropriate atmosphere for what they want to accomplish and the presence they wish to portray to their superiors, subordinates, constituents, and possibly even foreign bodies.[15] Some governments and their affiliates may have strict limitations on what is considered appropriate topics of conversation in the workplace while others may be more accepting of more diverse forms and topics of conversation. Governments also tend to have a specific language, or certain languages, which is considered appropriate to speak in the workplace. This can be as rigid as disallowing all non-conforming languages from the workplace or as loose as having a rule of thumb such as certain languages being okay for interpersonal communication, but official documentation being required to be submitted in a specific language.[15]
Similar concepts
Semantic domains
A semantic domain applies to word usage such as choosing to say 'hoagie' instead of 'sandwich', with this choice not necessarily being dependent on one's social domain, but rather contextual relevance. Another example is choosing not to say "It is raining cats and dogs outside" when it is just drizzling. Semantic domains involve using words that have the same meaning and also certain language the speaker is familiar with.
Speech communities
A speech community is a group of people who share the same linguistic ideologies. Speech communities can be more or less inclusive than social domains, for example a group of German-speakers getting coffee together can constitute a speech community as can an entire city.
References
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- ^ Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: a sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4–5), 585–614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407
- ^ ISSN 1523-5882.
- ^ a b Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove (1989). "Multilingualism and the education of minority children". Estudios Fronterizos. VIII: 18-19: 36–67.
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- ^ Fishman, Joshua A. (1991). Reversing language shift: theoretical and empirical foundations of assistance to threatened languages. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
- OCLC 9785326.
- ^ Fishman, Joshua A. (1966). Language loyalty in the United States. The Hague: Mouton.
- ^ Rahimi, Ali. (2011). "Language and Religion; Linguistic Religion or Religious Language". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
- ISSN 0267-1905.
- ^ Mayfield, J., & Mayfield, M. Motivating Language Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
- ^ OCLC 807298834.