绮惧搧鏂囨。
绮惧搧鏂囨。
Chapter 8
Language and Society
1. How is language related to society?
绛旓細
There are many indications of the inter-relationship between language and society. One of
them
is
that
while
language
is
principally
used
to
communicate
meaning,
it
is
also
used
to
establish and maintain social relationships. This social function of language is embodied in the use
of such utterances as 鈥淕ood morning!鈥? 鈥淗i!鈥? 鈥淗ow's your family?鈥? 鈥淣ice day today, isn't it?鈥?
Another indication is that users of the same language in a sense all speak differently. The
kind of language each of them chooses to use is in part determined by his social background. And
language,
in
its
turn,
reveals
information
about
its
speaker.
When
we
speak,
we
cannot
avoid
giving clues to our listeners about ourselves.
Then
to
some
extent,
language,
especially
the
structure
of
its
lexicon,
reflects
both
the
physical and the social environments of a society.
For example while there is only one word in
English for 鈥渟now鈥? there are several in Eskimo. This is a reflection of the need for the Eskimos to
make distinctions between various kinds of snow in their snowy living environment.
As a social phenomenon language is closely related to the structure of the society in which
it is used, and the evaluation of a linguistic form is entirely social. To a linguist, all language forms
and
accents
are
equally
good
as
far
as
they
can
fulfill
the
communicative
functions
they
are
expected
to
fulfill.
Therefore,
judgments
concerning
the
correctness
and
purity
of
linguistic
varieties are social rather than linguistic. A case in point is the use of the postvocalic [r]. While in
English accents without postvocalic [r] are considered to be more correct than accents with it, in
New York city, accents with postvocalic [r] enjoys more prestige and are considered more correct
than without it.
2. Explain with an example that the evaluation of language is social rather than linguistic.
绛旓細
The evaluation of language is social rather than linguistic. This is because every language
or language variety can express all ideas that its native speakers want to express. That is to say,
language
and
language
variety
are
equal
in
expressing
meaning.
For
example,
the
much-prejudiced Black English can be used by the black people to communicate with each other
without
feeling
any
hindrance.
But
many
other
people
think
Black
English
is
not
pure
English
because it does not conform to their grammar and not adopted by educated people. As a result,
many
people
feel
shameful
to
use
Black
English.
From
this
example
we
can
know
that
the
evaluation of language is social, not linguistic.
3.
What
are
the
main
social
dialects
discussed
in
this
chapter?
How
do
they
jointly
determine
idiolect?
绛旓細
The main social dialects discussed in this chapter are regional dialect, sociolect, gender and
age.
Idiolect
is
a
personal
dialect,
of
an
individual
speaker
that
combines
elements
regarding
regional, social, gender, and age variations. These factors jointly determine the way he/she talks.
While the language system provides all its users with the same set of potentials, the realization of
these potentials is individualized by a number of social factors, resulting in idiolects.
4. In what sense is the standard dialect a special variety of language?
绛旓細
First of all, the standard dialect is based on a selected variety of the language, usually it is
the local speech of an area which is considered the nation's political and commercial center. For