Language variation
Language
use varies in many dimensions. Three major dimensions are the following:
- Regional: dialect variation.
- Social: sociolect or class dialect variation.
- Functional: register or functional style variation.
·
Dialect
Variation
It is important to note that
dialects are never purely regional, or
purely ethnic. For example, the
distinctive ozark and appalachian dialects are not merely dialect spoken by any of the inhabitants of those geographical
areas. Rather, they are dialect used primarily by a certain social class in
these regional, social, and ethnic factors combine and intersect various ways
in the identification of dialects. In popular usage the term dialect refers to
a form a language tagat is regarded as “substandard”, “incorrect”, or
“corrupt”, as opposed to the standart, correct, pure form of a language. In
popular terms, to speak a dialect is to be uneducated and ignorant. In sharp
contrast, the term dialect, as a technical term in linguistics carries no value
judgement and simply refers to so-called standard english as a dialect of
english, which form a linguistic point of view, is no more “correct” than
any other form of english. From this
point of view, the monarchs
of english.
Language variation does not
end with dialects. For each recognizeable dialect of a language is itself
subject to considerable internal variation. No two speakers of a language, even
if they are speakers of the same dialect, produce and use their language in
exactly the same wa. We are able to recognize different individuals by their
distinct speech and language patterns: indeed, a person’s language is one of
the most fundamental features of self identity. The unique characteristics of the language of an individual speaker are
referred to as the speaker’s idiolect, and every speaker of a language has a
distinc idiolect. There are many english language and what the context of use
is. Consider the well known phenomenon of variation in vocabulary words that
exists among speakers of english:
a.
Dope
means “cola” in some parts of the south.
b.
Pocketbook
means “purse” in boston ans in parts of the south.
c.
Fetch
up means ”raise”(children) I the south.
As the last
three example indicate, vocabulary difference between Americam and British
english are common and often amusing. In the following section we find more
examples of correspondences between American and British English.
British American
Car park parking
lot
Coach bus
Garage service
station
Lay by rest
area
Lift elevator
Lorry truck
Petrol gasoline
Undergroud subway
Cail box telephone
booth
Telephonist switchboard
operator
Gin and french dry
martini
Minerals soft
drinks
Suspenders garters
Vest undershirt
·
Accent
This
article had two aims: to provide a thorough review of the existing literature
examining overall degree of foreign accent in a second
language (L2), and to present a new foreign accent
experiment. The literature review suggested that a wide variety of variables
influence degree of foreign accent. These variables
include age of L2 learning, length of residence in an L2-speaking country,
gender, formal instruction, motivation, language learning aptitude and amount
of native language (L1) use. Age of L2 learning appears to be the most
important predictor of degree of foreign accent.
However, the relative importance of the other variables is uncertain. This is
because many variables relating to subject characteristics tend to be
confounded, and because of lack of adequate experimental control in some
studies. The experiment presented here examined the influence of
Italian-English bilinguals' age of L2 learning, length of residence in an
L2-speaking environment (Canada), gender, amount of continued L1 (Italian) use
and self-estimated L1 ability on degree of L2 foreign accent.
As expected from the literature review, both age of L2 learning and amount of
continued L1 use were found to affect degree of foreign accent.
Gender, length of residence in an L2-speaking country and self-estimated L1
ability, on the other hand, were not found to have a significant, independent
effect on overall L2 pronunciation accuracy.
·
Standard
nonstandard language
American
education has always considered the non-standard or sub-standard form of speech
used by children to be an imperfect copy of standard English. The defects of
this approach have now become a matter of urgent concern in the face of the
tremendous educational problems of the urban ghettos. This paper reverses the
usual focus and looks directly at non-standard English--not as an isolated
object in itself, but as an integral part of the larger sociolinguistic
structure of the English language. To do this, the author first presents some
linguistic considerations on the nature of language itself, and then a number
of sociolinguistic principles which have emerged in the research of the past
ten years. The relation of non-standard dialects to education is reviewed,
bearing in mind that the fundamental role of the school is to teach the reading
and writing of standard English. Finally, the author turns to the question of
what research teachers and educators themselves can do in the classroom--the
kind of immediate and applied research which will help them make the best use
of teaching materials.
The author hopes that this paper will put the
teacher directly into touch with the students' language, help him to observe
that language more directly and accurately, and enable him to adjust his own
teaching to the actual problems that he sees. A 36-item bibliography covering
all areas of the paper is included.
·
Formal
and informal language style
The style dimension of language variation has
not been adequately explained in sociolinguistic theory. Stylistic or
intraspeaker variation derives from and mirrors interspeaker variation. Style
is essentially speakers' response to their audience. In audience design,
speakers accommodate primarily to their addressee. Third persons – auditors and
overhearers – affect style to a lesser but regular degree. Audience design also
accounts for bilingual or bidialectal code choices. Nonaudience factors like
topic and setting derive their effect by association with addressee types.
These style shifts are mainly responsive – caused by a situational change. Speakers
can also use style as initiative, to redefine the existing situation.
Initiative style is primarily referee design: divergence from the addressee and
towards an absent reference group. Referee design is especially prevalent in
mass communication. (Sociolinguistic variation, code-switching. bilingualism,
accommodation theory, ethnography of communication, mass communication)
Formal language
Formal
language theory (FLT), part of the broader mathematical theory of computation,
provides a systematic terminology and set of conventions for describing rules
and the structures they generate, along with a rich body of discoveries and
theorems concerning generative rule systems. Despite its name, FLT is not
limited to human language, but is equally applicable to computer programs,
music, visual patterns, animal vocalizations, RNA structure and even dance. In
the last decade, this theory has been profitably used to frame hypotheses and
to design brain imaging and animal-learning experiments, mostly using the
‘artificial grammar-learning’ paradigm. We offer a brief, non-technical
introduction to FLT and then a more detailed analysis of empirical research based
on this theory. We suggest that progress has been hampered by a pervasive
conflation of distinct issues, including hierarchy, dependency, complexity and
recursion. We offer clarifications of several relevant hypotheses and the
experimental designs necessary to test them. We finally review the recent brain
imaging literature, using formal languages, identifying areas of convergence
and outstanding debates. We conclude that FLT has much to offer scientists who
are interested in rigorous empirical investigations of human cognition from a
neuroscientific and comparative perspective. English is often spoken informally
especially in the States, Canada, and Australia. Although English does
not have a strong set of rules for formal language, speakers need to be
careful how they speak in different situations. Formal language
is often used in official public notices, business situations, and polite
conversations with strangers. Formal language has stricter grammar
rules and often uses more difficult vocabulary. For examples:
-He is going to the dance tonight.
NOT He's going to the dance tonight. (no contractions)
George has received the letter. NOT George received the letter. (use the present perfect more often)
George has received the letter. NOT George received the letter. (use the present perfect more often)
She wore the hat that I gave her. NOT She wore the hat I gave her. (keep the relative pronoun 'that')
Do you want to go to the park? NOT You want to go to the park? (do not delete words)
Vocabulary
is often a little different as well.
Please refrain from
smoking. (formal)
Please don't smoke. (informal)
Please don't smoke. (informal)
You must adhere to these
guidelines. (formal)
You must follow these guidelines. (informal)
You must follow these guidelines. (informal)
There are numerous
differences with vocabulary that can't all be listed here.
Informal language
Is all right for friends,
co-workers, host family, or service staff (at a restaurant for example). Informal language
has less strict grammar rules and often has shortened sentences. For
example: Y'wanna go to
the dance tonight? NOT Do you want to go to the dance tonight?
I dunno NOT I don't know.
I can't speak English. NOT I can not speak English.
I dunno NOT I don't know.
I can't speak English. NOT I can not speak English.
Regional and Social
Dialects
"The classic example of a dialect is the regional dialect: the distinct form of a language spoken in a certain geographical area. For example, we might speak of Ozark dialects or Appalachian dialects, on the grounds that inhabitants of these regions have certain distinct linguistic features that differentiate them from speakers of other forms of English. We can also speak of a social dialect: the distinct form of a language spoken by members of a specific socioeconomic class, such as the working-class dialects in England."
(A. Akmajian, Linguistics. MIT, 2001)
"The classic example of a dialect is the regional dialect: the distinct form of a language spoken in a certain geographical area. For example, we might speak of Ozark dialects or Appalachian dialects, on the grounds that inhabitants of these regions have certain distinct linguistic features that differentiate them from speakers of other forms of English. We can also speak of a social dialect: the distinct form of a language spoken by members of a specific socioeconomic class, such as the working-class dialects in England."
(A. Akmajian, Linguistics. MIT, 2001)
References
Chaer, Abdul. 1994. Linguistik Umum. Jakarta :
PT.Rineka Cipta.
Kardimin, Akhmad. 2004. Fundamental English
Grammar. Yogyakarta : Pustaka
Pelajar.