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Sociolinguistics is one of my favorite
fields in linguistics.
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Sociolinguists focus on things like
social norms, language varieties,
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group memberships, and
language attitudes.
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So, stick around, and let's take a look
at sociolinguistics.
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Hi!
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Welcome to Snap Language.
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I'm Marc Franco.
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Sociolinguistics is a broad subfield
in linguistics, so I'll go into
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some of its main areas of interest.
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I'll go into other details in future videos.
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Think of a natural language you don't
know anything about.
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It could be any language.
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How would you get to know it?
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You might start with some vocabulary...
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As soon as you start learning
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some basic words and expressions,
you notice it has different sounds.
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You also start noticing
how sentences are put together...
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As you're learning things about it,
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let's say you find out
it has several words for "you."
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Huh...
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And it uses these different forms of "you"
in very specific social situations.
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You also realize you use
different grammar depending on,
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again, who you're talking to
and what the social situation is.
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Well, now you've entered the realm
of sociolinguistics.
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Sociolinguistics is the study of
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how social norms and the social context
affect language use.
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In English, we have only
one word for "you,"
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so initially, having multiple ways to say
"you" may not make much sense.
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But when you get into the social aspect
of a language that has, for example,
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a formal and an informal "you,"
you realize that the distinction
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plays an important role
for the speakers of that language.
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It's an important social role.
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If you think about it,
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although in English we use "you"
to address people in any situation,
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we still change the way we address them
in different social contexts.
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Where would you place these
along a continuum of formality?
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Probably like this:
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"Hey!
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How's it goin'?"
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"Hello, how are you?"
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"Good morning, sir.
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How are you doing today?"
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So, English does reflect social norms
for formality; it's just not in the pronoun.
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Some people may judge
the social norms of a culture
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based on a superficial linguistic feature.
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So, to speakers of a language that has
formal and informal forms of "you"
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English may sound "too direct" or "rude."
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But a sociolinguist would analyze
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a number of possible features
in the language that reveals
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how social norms drive language use.
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Let's look at another example in English.
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We have only one imperative form of
the verb, as in "Come with me!"
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Direct commands are not always
socially appropriate,
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so we might add "please" to
add a level of politeness.
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But it still sounds a bit direct,
so how about adding a question tag?
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"Come with me, will you please?"
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"Come with me, would you please?"
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Hah... that makes the command sound
friendlier and friendlier, doesn't it?
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But the verb is still in the imperative form.
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What if we got rid of it altogether?
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"Will you please come with me?" or
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"Would you please come with me?"
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Oh, that's even more polite.
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We could go a step further with
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"Would you mind coming
with me, please?"
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We could even say,
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"Sorry to bother you, sir.
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Would you mind
coming with me, please?"
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An important point to take away from this
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is that sociolinguistics studies
how language reflects social norms.
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Different languages may have
different mechanisms to follow
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social norms and, for example,
mark levels of formality.
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You can use different pronouns or words.
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In some languages you use particles
whose sole function is to add nuance
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to the statement.
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You may achieve the same effect
using syntax.
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And social norms are not just about
levels of formality.
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(I've used this just as an example.)
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Social norms can regulate
how people take turns in a conversation,
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how we show interest in the speaker,
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how people of different social status
talk to each other,
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and so forth.
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So, knowing the "grammar" of a language
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isn't always enough to be able to
use the language appropriately.
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Languages are used in social and
cultural contexts that have
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specific social norms.
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Unless you're aware of
these social norms
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and how the language is used
to reflect them,
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the grammar alone isn't enough
to use the language effectively...
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in its social context, that is...
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That's why there are all these anecdotes
about people learning a new language,
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producing a perfectly well built sentence,
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and causing some colossal
social blunder.
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[transition]
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Another interesting area within
sociolinguistics
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has to do with language variation
in distinct social groups.
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In the United States, for example,
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you can tell what part of
the country someone is from
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based on the language variety
they speak.
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Sometimes an accent tells you if
someone is from the North or the South...
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... sometimes it tells you even
what city that person's from.
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And it's not just the phonology.
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You can find variation in
all aspects of the language.
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For example, in some parts of
the US, you may hear something like,
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"I might could go tomorrow."
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In standard American English,
this is considered
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grammatically incorrect but, for the
speakers of some regional dialects,
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it's perfectly fine.
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It conveys meaning in a way that's
shared by that linguistic community.
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SPEAKER: ".... tell the young doctor
what he done well,
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and what he might could've done differently"
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Another example is what people
call a soft drink
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depending where you are
in the country.
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Some people call it "soda," others "pop."
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Or whether you say "dinner" or "supper,"
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"faucet" or "spigot,"
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"bubbler" or "water fountain..."
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So?...
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How's this interesting
for a sociolinguist?
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Language varieties are not just a curiosity.
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Accents and regionalisms are also used
as markers of group membership.
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Even within the same geographical area,
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you'll find language variation that
signals what groups people belong to.
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So, these are groups within a group.
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Even in the same area,
you may find language variation
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depending on the speaker's age,
gender, social status, and so forth.
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An example everyone can relate to
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has to do with distinct language varieties
in different age groups.
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The younger generation tends to create
changes in the language
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-- innovations in vocabulary
and language use.
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Nick Statt: "Because, reasons."
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You end up with a language variety
that's distinctive of that generation.
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Some innovations by millennials,
for example, include
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"salty," "woke," "thirsty,"
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"clap back," "cancel,"
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"lit," "adulting,"
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and "yaaas."
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If you don't know exactly
what these mean,
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you're probably not a millennial.
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Other generations may end up adopting
some of these innovations...
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DR. FLETCHER: "So, if you're woke,
you get it."
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... but often the older generation judges
the younger generations' language use.
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as "corrupting the language."
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"They're butchering the language!"
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"They're killing the art of conversation."
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"They can't even write anymore."
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If you think like that... well...
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you're probably not a sociolinguist;
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SHTEYNGART: But maybe I'm just
too old to appreciate it, you know...
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... and you should also remember
that probably
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your generation was probably accused
of the same thing...
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and today's younger generation will
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probably say the same things
about the generation after them.
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For example, in the 1300s,
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a Japanese monk wrote this about
what was going on at the time:
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"In all things I yearn for the past.
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Modern fashions seem to keep on
growing more and more debased.
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. . .
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And as for writing letters,
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surviving scraps from the past reveal
how superb the phrasing used to be.
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The ordinary spoken language
has also steadily coarsened.
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. . .
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a deplorable corruption.
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. . .
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Dude, that's harsh!
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For a linguist, language change is
just a natural process.
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For a sociolinguist, these differences in
language use simply help us understand
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how they're used to identify
group memberships.
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And many linguistic features can mark
group membership.
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As I mentioned before,
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phonological differences are perceived
as accents that identify certain groups.
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Differences in vocabulary,
grammatical constructions,
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and even suprasegmental features
such as voice quality and intonation...
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"Like, this whole vocal fry and upspeak
situation..."
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[transition]
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Human beings are social animals.
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It's important to be part of a group,
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and it's important for the group to be
able to identify other members.
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Our appearance can signal
group membership.
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We also feel we're part of a community
if we behave more like its members.
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And of course, language variation
is a strong signal of group membership.
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In turn, that creates another phenomenon
sociolinguists are interested in:
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Language attitudes.
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Because the language variety people use
is associated with group membership,
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it's also a social cue used to judge them.
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In very simple terms, we have
in-groups and out-groups.
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And, as you'd expect,
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we favor the behaviors and
the language variety of our in-group.
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If someone uses a language variety
that's distinct from ours, we quickly
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put them in the out-group category.
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And just as quickly,
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the language attitude associated with
this perceived group membership
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triggers stereotypical perceptions.
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In the United States,
the language variety that's considered
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the "standard American English"
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is associated with generally positive
or neutral attributes.
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Speakers of so-called Southern dialects
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are often associated with
less-than-positive attributes
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such as "uneducated."
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Female speakers using some
vocal qualities and intonation
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(like the "California Valley girl")
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are associated with being
"clueless" or "superficial."
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Sometimes the stereotype
associated with a New York accent
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is "rough" or "rude."
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But... wait a minute...
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sometimes people perceive
a Southern accent as... sexy.
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And a New York accent as
outgoing and approachable.
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There's something sociolinguists
call language prestige and non-prestige.
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Non-prestige dialects are said to
trigger negative stereotypes,
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and the opposite is true with
prestige dialects.
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But that's a bit simplistic.
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Stereotypes are not always negative,
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and the same language variety can trigger
both positive and negative stereotypes.
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For example, speakers with a Southern
accent can be perceived as friendly
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and charming...
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Someone with a British accent can be
perceived as educated and elegant
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and, at the same time,
stuck up or arrogant.
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And, obviously, non-native accents
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are not immune to these
stereotyped perceptions.
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In the United States, a French-accented
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speaker can sometimes be perceived as
sophisticated and sometimes as arrogant;
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a Spanish-accented speaker as friendly
and as low-status;
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a German-accented speaker as
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someone who strives for perfection
and as overly strict or stern.
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Of course, these are all based on
stereotypical group attitudes.
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The same language variety
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(or a language, for that matter)
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can be considered
prestige or non-prestige
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by different social groups.
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This means there's nothing
intrinsically good or bad
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about a language variety or
the people who use it.
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Stereotypical perceptions can be
powerful and difficult to shake.
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They're triggered very quickly,
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and we're usually unaware of them
at a conscious level.
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Even when you point them out,
people often still resist changing them.
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And, sadly, they end up acting on
these perceptions, even when they know
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they're not grounded on reality.
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Ugh...
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I can already hear the comments...
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"Yeah, but all stereotypes are based on
something for reals..."
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Dude, this a video about sociolinguistics,
not about justifying your isms.
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Wink!
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In sociolinguistics,
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understanding the mechanisms
involved in language attitudes is
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a fascinating and very complex
field of study.
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In a future video, I'll go into some of
these mechanisms in a little more detail.
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[transition]
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Sociolinguistics sometimes intersects
other fields of study.
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It relies on subfields of linguistics
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to make sense of the role of society
on language use.
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Pragmatics, for example, is the study of
how context influences meaning,
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so it's very useful for sociolinguists.
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You can draw on social psychology
to understand stereotypical attitudes.
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And sociology of language
is the other side of the coin;
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it contributes to an understanding of
the impact of language on society.
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I'm planning on a series of videos
related to sociolinguistics but,
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you see, it wouldn't make sense to
make new videos on a topic
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unless there's a positive response
from viewers.
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So, if you enjoyed this video,
please give it a like,
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and don't forget to subscribe
and hit the bell button
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so you know when we post
a new Snap Language video.
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And until the next time,
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thanks for stopping by
and watching this video.
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♫
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Millennials talk funny.
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[laughs]
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No, they don't.
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♫
