APPLIED LINGUISTICS

The study of the link between language and society, of language variation, and of attitudes about language Spolsky, 2010.. A study of the relationship between language and social factors

APPLIED LINGUISTICS Group 3:

1 Le Thi Hanh Duyen

2 Nguyen Thi Mai Dan

3 Huynh Huu Duc

4 Phan Dieu Hanh

5 Nguyen Thi Thanh Hien

Topic 3 SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING (FLT)

I DEFINITION OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS

There are numerous definitions of sociolinguistics However, each of these definitions does not fail to acknowledge that sociolinguistics has to do with language use and a society’s response to it Let us examine some of them:

1 The study of the link between language and society, of language variation, and of attitudes about language (Spolsky, 2010)

2 A branch of anthropological linguistics that examines how language and culture are related, and how language is used in different social contexts (Bell, 1976)

3 A study of the relationship between language and social factors such as class, age, gender and ethnicity (Hudson, 1996)

4 The study of stylistic and social variation of language (Wardhaugh, 2010)

5 The study of language in relation to its socio-cultural context (Van Dijk, 2009)

6 Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context on the way language is used (Trudgill, 2000)

In all these definitions, it is clear that sociolinguistics is a discipline that makes a link between sociology and linguistics It is a branch of sociology and as a concept it is concerned with how language use is a determinant of a given society’s linguistic requirements

II KEY CONCEPTS OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS

2.1 Language and languages

The study of language is an activity very different from the learning or the study of languages The former, which is the study of language, is the work of a linguist who wants to discover the particular characteristics of human language in general The linguist does this through the study of human language in all its various manifestations

As to the second activity, it is the work of the future language performer who studies pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary manifestations of a specific language or specific languages The linguist talks about the language whereas the language performer talks languages

2.2 Dialect

Dialect is a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group The term dialect is often used to characterize a way of speaking that differs from the standard variety of the language

Generally, a dialect is just spoken until it is promoted to the status of language usually for political purposes When a dialect becomes a national language, it then becomes codified into that nation’s literary tradition and acts as an identifier or national identity

2.3 Idiolect

An idiolect is the distinctive speech of an individual, a linguistic pattern regarded as unique among speakers of a person's language or dialect

A person's idiolect also includes the levels of diction or language that he or she uses in different social situations The speech of each individual is somewhat different from the other individual

2.4 Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language or mixture of languages used as a medium of communication by people whose native languages are different A lingua franca is any language used as a medium or means

of communication among people who have any other language in common For example, English is as the world's lingua franca for communication in world sport events, travelling, international trade, etc

2.5 Pidgin

Pidgin is a word originates from the English word business The non-English created it It was used in china in the sense of business Nowadays, pidgin denotes a language that is used as a mean of communication among people who have other languages in common However, the language should be a resultant of another language but reduced as contrasted with the latter

Three conditions must meet in order to obtain a true pidgin

- The language must arise from another one called based

- The grammatical and vocabulary features of the resultant language must be sharply reduced

- The resultant language must be native to none of those who use it

2.6 Social dialect

In sociolinguistics, social dialect is a variety of speech associated with a particular social class or occupational group within a society

Social dialects, or sociolects, are motivated by the socio-economic status, level of education, profession, age, ethnicity, or sex of the speaker Sociolects are intimately linked to the speaker's sociological background

2.7 Register

In sociolinguistics, the term register refers to specific lexical and grammatical choices as made by speakers depending on the situational context, the participants of a conversation and the function of the language in the discourse (Halliday, 1989)

The register is defined as the way a speaker uses language differently in different circumstances

III LANGUAGE CHOICE AND USE

3.1 Bilingualism

3.1.1 Definition

Bilingualism as an individual attribute: a psychological state of an individual who has access to two language codes to serve communication purposes

Bilingualism as a societal attribute: two languages are used in a community and that a number of individuals can use two languages

3.1.2 Types of Bilinguals

- Compound Bilinguals: Has one semantic systembut two linguistic codes Usually refers tosomeone whose two languages are learnt atsame time, often in same context

- Coordinate Bilinguals: Has two semantic systemsand two linguistic codes Usually refers tosomeone whose two languages are learnt in twolanguages are learnt in distinctively separatecontexts

- Subordinate bilingual: The weaker language isrepresented to the stronger language

3.1.3 Benefits of bilingualism

- Cognitive Advantages

- Increased job Opportunities

- Expanded Travel Experiences

- Lower high school drop out rates

- Development of skills in collaboration

3.2 Intercultural/cross-cultural communication

3.2.1 Definition

Intercultural communication is communication between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems are distinct enough to alter the communication event

Intercultural communication refers to any communication between two members of any cultural communities

3.2.2 Forms of Intercultural communication

- International communication: International communication takes place between nations and governments rather than individuals it is quite formal and ritualized

- Interracial communication: Interracial communication occurs when the sender and the receiver exchanging messages are from different races

- Interethnic communication: Ethnic groups usually form their own communities in a country or culture These groups share a common origin or heritage that is apt to influence family names, language, religion, values, and the like

- Intracultural communication: It is defined as communication between or among members of the same culture

3.2.3 Elements of Intercultural communication

- Perceptions (beliefs, values, attitudes, world views, social organizations)

- Verbal processes (the ways in which cultures employ symbols to portray things and experiences)

- Nonverbal processes (share thoughts and feelings by way of bodily behavior, time and space)

- Contextual elements (business, education and health care, tourism and personal relationships)

3.3 Language and power

3.3.1 Function of Language

- To communicate and express

- Unites or divides people

- Means of asserting power

-Maintaining power relations

- Maintaining/imposing identities

3.3.2 Role of Power

- Shapes language

- Exercised through discursive practices

- Control over discourse

- Agenda Setting

- Persuasion, Regulation, Inducement

- Turn-taking; who, when and how much

3.3.3 Kinds of power

- Hard Power: state-of-the-art military, economy, science and technology etc

- Soft Power: literature, art, media, cultural and linguistic influence etc

- Smart Power: a combination of both

For today’s global power, Language has become a vital part of its policy

3.4 Language and gender

It is an area of study within sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and related fields that investigates varieties of speech associated with a particular gender, or social norms for such gendered language use

Language and gender consist of:

- Minimal response is one of the ways in which the communicative behavior of men and women differ

- Question: men and women differ in their use of questions in conversations

- Turn-taking: gives rises to complex forms of interaction in relation to the more regimented form

of turn-taking

- Changing the topic of conversation: This difference may well be at the root of the conception that women chatter and talk too much, and may still sparker the same thinking in some males

- Self-disclosure is the process was originally defined as telling others about the self

- Politeness is best expressed as the practical application of good manners or etiquette

IV LANGUAGE PLANNING AND LANGUAGE POLICY

4.1 Definition

Language planning is a body of ideas, laws and regulations (language policy), change rules, beliefs, and practices intended to achieve a planned change in the language use in one or more communities Language planning involves deliberate future oriented change in systems of language code and or speaking in a societal context (Kaplan 1997)

Language policy iswhat governments (or organizations – both national and international) do through legislation, policies, or legal decisions to determine how languages are used (which languages may be used for what purposes), to cultivate second language skills in chosen languages, or to establish minority language rights (Lewis & Henson 2013)

4.2 Types of language planning

Language planning can be subdivided into the following four areas:

- Status planning: Decisions and activities aimed at changing the functions or uses of languages (or language varieties) within a particular speech community

- Corpus planning: Decisions and activities required to fit the forms and structures of languages to the assigned functions

- Acquisition planning: Decisions and activities required to enable current or potential users of the language to implement the status and corpus decisions, including activities aimed at helping people to learn the language, or to acquire specific skills (such as literacy) in the language

- Prestige planning: Decisions and activities aimed at creating positive attitudes towards the language, which are vital to the long-term success of other language planning activities

These four areas of language planning do not exist in isolation Activities aimed at changing the functions of a language (status planning) often require changes in the form or structure of the language (corpus planning), and may also involve education and training (acquisition planning) Status planning activities will only succeed if positive attitudes towards the language are adopted (through prestige planning) by both the speakers of the language and others in the wider society such as government officials, teachers, pastors

4.3 The process of language planing

Planning a language goes under four steps:

1 Selection: Choosing the variety to be developed

2 Codification: Standardising its structural or linguistic features This step is also called Corpus Planning.

3 Elaboration: Extending its functions for use in new domains

4 Securing its acceptance: Enhancing its prestige and encouraging people to develop pride in it and loyalty towards it

V THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND FLT

5.1 Introduction

Educational sociolinguistics is the subfield of sociolinguistics dealing with relationships between language and education Most research in this sub-field has examined these relationships within classroom settings, though recent interests in informal education, community-centred instruction and media/distance education raise interesting questions about language and education relationships outside of the schools We begin by offering brief definitions of education and schooling, and by showing how language, broadly defined, is important to the teaching and learning experiences which occur in school settings Particularly important here for sociolinguists are the differences between language use in the classroom and language use commonly found in the students’ homes and communities Sociological explanations for differences in characteristic habits of pupils from different social backgrounds have also proved of relevance to educational sociolinguistics

5.2 Teaching, Learning and Schooling

In every society, there is information which members of the society need to know, and skills which they need to acquire, in order to meet the responsibilities and obligations of citizenship Education refers to the teaching and learning activities through which members of a society gain access to this information and to these skills Often, the teaching and learning is supervised by older members of a society and conducted for the benefi t of the society’s younger members, a process which some researchers term ‘child socialisation’ But teaching and learning also unfolds within generations, as well

as between them In state societies, the transfer of information and skills also takes place throughout the community However, the ‘official’ responsibility for education is assigned to particular social institutions – most notably, the school – and not left in the hands of individuals What people learn in these settings may or may not be consistent with what they learn at home or elsewhere in the community These home/school language and cultural differences are one of the sources of classroom-related educational problems, and are a topic of great interest for educationally focused sociolinguistics research

5.3 Classroom language

Children learn early in life that speaking is an adult privilege; children are expected to listen quietly to adult conversations, and to learn from what they hear Once children reach adulthood, they will have acquired enough information to have things worth saying, and will, in turn, provide verbal lessons for the next generation of younger listeners In classroom settings, the social meanings associated with silence are read quite differently by teachers and other school personnel Here, a child’s silence signals the failure to complete homework assignments, to pay attention to class discussion, or to be an active and participatory learner in other ways

VI.CONCLUSION

All in all, language is an important aspect in human interaction Sociolinguistics is a branch of science that tries to study the link between sociology and linguistics If linguistic choices are made in accordance with the orderings of society, then every choice carries social information about the speaker/writer Consequently, some linguists reason that the communication of social information presupposes the existence of regular relationships between

language usage and social structure In short, sociolinguistics has added a lot to the field of the social study of the language.

A language teacher's role is not only critical in teaching a language, but also in teaching the cultures and societies that surround the language Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching looks at the relationship between language and society and the importance of showing language

in a real social setting The easy-to-follow and reflective guide covers multilingualism, gender bias, identity development, and the role of gatekeepers in language learning policy and practices.

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