The History of Sociolinguistics

1. The History of Sociolinguistics Seminar:Language Variation & Change Lecturer:Prof. R. Hickey Term: WS 07/08 Hildegard Schnel (LN, HS) Nadja Höckesfeld (TN, HS) Meike Strohn (TN, HS)

2. Introduction • From Dialectology to Sociolinguistics • William Labov’s studies- Martha‘s Vineyard- The Social Stratification of English in New York City

3. From Dialectology to Sociolinguistics HS: Language Variation and Change Prof. Dr. Hickey WS 2007/08 Hildegard Schnel

4. Content • Definition: Dialectology • Dialectological Terms • Aims • Methods • Urban Dialectology • Significance for Sociolinguistics • References

5. Definition: Dialectology • study of language in relation to dialects from a regional angle • begun by Georg Wenker in 1876 • also called 'Dialect Geography' • sub-discipline of linguistics • ignoring social factors in language use and change

6. Dialectological Terms • Dialect / Dialect areas • Language • Variety • Accent

7. Dialectological Terms • Dialect • not the standard form of a language • notion of low-status (working-class) • associated with the peasantry • lacking in prestige • differs grammatically, lexically and phonologically Example: "I done it last night“ [Cockney-English] "I did it last night“ [RP-English]

8. Dialectological Terms • Dialect areas • London and the Home Counties • East Anglia • The South • The South-West • The Midlands (West Midlands; the East Midlands border on the Home Counties; East Anglia) • The North • the north-west (Merseyside, Lancashire, Cumbria) • the north-east (Lincolnshire, Yorkshire) • the far north (Northumberland, north-east).

9. Dialectological Terms • Language • non-technical term; less specific • “a language is a dialect with an army or a navy” • one dialect is not linguistically superior to any other • historical, political, geographical, sociological, cultural and linguistic reasons Example: German, Swedish, Danish

10. Dialectological Terms • Variety • neutral term; specific • any particular kind of language • referring to language as a single entity Example: Yorkshire English Leeds English middle-class Leeds English

11. Dialectological Terms • Accent • a speaker‘s way of pronouncing • refers to a variety • differs phonetically or phonologically Example: /bvt/ ; /bv?/

12. Aims • registering language use • focusing on regional variants • documenting individual place dialects • linguistic geographic data • producing linguistic maps • analyzing language variation (phonology, semantics, syntax, lexis and morphology) • ignoring social apects

13. Methods • tape-recording • non-mobile, elderly, uneducated, untravelled, rural males > biased choice of informants • list of items • questionnaire (written/oral) • direct: one-word answers • indirect: natural responses • formal: questions in advance • informal: free to form questions

14. Urban Dialectology • mid-20th century • dialects are both: regional + social • trying to integrate social factors • Linguistic Atlas of the United States and Canada (by Hans Kurath, 1930) • focusing on urban dialects • interested in phonology and grammar • quasi-conversational speech • choice of informants still biased • considering the linguistic variable

15. Significance for Sociolinguistics • arose out of Dialectology • unbiased choice of informants • random sampling required • Dialectology • provided analytic tools for dealing with language variation in actual speech • provided the linguistic variable Example: but > /bvt/ ; /bv?/

16. References • www.uni-due.de/ELE • Chambers, J.K.: Dialectology. Cambridge. 1980. • Geobl, H. (ed): Dialectology. Quantitative Linguistics, Vol. 21. Brockmeyer. Bochum 1984.

17. The History of Sociolinguistics I HS: Language Variation and Change Prof. Dr. Hickey WS 2007/08 Nadja Höckesfeld

18. Sociolinguistics • from the combining form socio- (referring to society) and linguistics • scientific study of social language aspects • focuses the relationship between language and social life • emphasizes the communicative competence of speakers (communication abilities) • stresses language variation (i.e. due to different backgrounds) • language is not only used for communication and exchange of information but also to create identity • there is not one sociolinguistic theory but different approaches exist depending on the linguistic interest

19. William Labov • American linguist • professor at the University of Pennsylvania • regarded as founder of sociolinguistics • his goal: to identify how language varies in the community and draw conclusions from that for linguistic theory and everyday life (e.g. education) • his methods for collecting data have become very influential in social dialectology

20. Case Study 1: W. Labov, Martha‘s Vineyard Setting: • Martha‘s Vineyard is an island about 3 miles off the East Coast of the USA • permanent population of about 6,000 inhabitants • more than 40,000 visitors a year • island is can be separated in different parts according to the people living there • a part of the original inhabitants was very opposed to the summer visitors

21. W. Labov, Martha‘s Vineyard About the study: • study took place from 1961 to 1963 • Labov studied the variations in diphthongs • the pronunciation of the diphthongs varies in the community and is called a linguistic variable • 69 tape – recorded interviews with speakers from different ages and ethnic groups from the island • Labov used a scoring system for his analysis • interviewees are divided into age groups

22. Linguistic theory Linguistic variable: • feature that has two or more identifiable linguistic forms • variants differ in form but that does not afflict their linguistic meaning Criteria for a linguistic variable: • frequent enough in ordinary conversation • structurally linked to other linguistic elements • exhibit a pattern of stratification due to social factors

23. W. Labov, Martha‘s Vineyard Results:

24. W. Labov, Martha‘s Vineyard Possible explanations: • a high degree of centralization shows belonging to the island and resistance against the summer people • young people are still somewhat ambiguous and therefore do not have such a strong centralization • Older people follow an older way of speaking which does not involve that much centralization • People of the age group 31 – 45 probably have recently made experiences which lead to the centralization of the diphthongs

25. W. Labov, Martha‘s Vineyard Possible explanations: • Centralization indicates ‘Islander‘ status, loyalty, solidarity • Portuguese and Native people use centralization to show equality with original inhabitants

26. Bibliography Wardhaugh, Ronald. 1995. An Introduction To Sociolinguistics. Oxford UK & Cambridge USA: Blackwell. Mesthrie, Swann, Deumert, Leap. 2006. Introducing Sociolinguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Coulmas, Florian (ed.). 2000. The Handbook of Sociolinguistics. Oxford UK & Cambridge USA: Blackwell. Meyerhoff, Miriam. 2006. Introducing Sociolinguistics. Abingdon: Routledge. Holmes, Janet. 1992. An Introduction To Sociolinguistics. New York & Harlow Essex: Longman.

27. The History of Sociolinguistics II HS: Language Variation and Change Prof. Dr. Hickey WS 2007/08 Meike Strohn

28. The Social Stratification of English in New York City – William Labov • Labov´s study of the varieties of English in New York City • Techniques for gathering data • Labov’s findings • Conclusion

29. 1. Labov´s Study of the Varieties of English in New York City • “The Social Stratification of English in New York City” (1966) • social stratification:the condition of being arranged in social strata or classes within a group (www.thefreedictionary.com)  “soziale Schichtung” • Correlation between linguistic variation and social variation

30. S. Klein

31. Macy’s

32. Saks Fifth Avenue

33. 1. Labov´s study of the varieties of English in New York City • the three department stores show different levels of PRESTIGE: Saks Fifth Avenue Macy’s S. Klein • the work at either store is valued accordingly • prediction: the personnel will be stratified according to these levels and will show respective linguistic features

34. 1. Labov´s study of the varieties of English in New York City • the linguistic variable (r) has two variants:[r] and Ø • example: a salesperson at Saks would presumably pronounce the (r) in far, a salesperson at S. Klein would use the r-less variety more often • another possible linguistic variable: initial consonant (th) as in thing, three variants: 1) [t], 2) [t2], 3) [2] ( not dealt with in this presentation)

35. 1. Labov´s Study of the Varieties of English in New York City • Hypothesis: The linguistic variable (r) differentiates English in New York City- STATUS: correlation with social class- STYLE: if formality increases, r-usage increases as well- POSITION OF OCCURENCE: more likely at the end of words than before consonants- AGE: rather a feature of younger speakers

36. 2. Techniques for gathering data • usage of rapid and anonymous speech events to circumvent the “observer’s paradox” • as informal and casual as possible • in this case: - interviewer in the role of a customer- informants do not know that their language is being investigated • „Where can I find lady‘s shoes?“„Fourth floor.“ • repetition emphatic speech

37. 3. Labov’s findings - STATUS Percentage of r-use in three NYC department stores (based on Labov 1972) • The pronounciation of postvocalic [r] functions as a marker of the highest-ranking status group

38. 3. Labov’s findings - STYLE R-pronunciation in NYC by social class & style of speech (based on: Labov 1966) • The more formal the situation, the more usage of postvocalic [r]. exception: hypercorrection of LMC

39. 3. Labov’s findings - POSITION OF OCCURENCE • The r-pronunciation is more common at the end of a word than before a consonant

40. 3. Labov’s findings - AGE • Saks and S. Klein: older people used less r-pronunciation than younger people • Macy‘s: older people used more r-pronunciation than younger people • conclusion:  variable (r) is not generally a feature of young people members of middle social groups tend to change their pronunciation after adolescence; highest and lowest social groups rather do not

41. 4. Conclusion • speakers who are ranked in a scale of social stratification will be ranked in the same order by their different use of a linguistic variable • socioeconomic differences cannot be ignored in linguistic studies

42. References • Labov, William. 1966. The Social Stratification of English in New York City. Washington DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. • Labov, William. 1976. Sprache im sozialen Kontext. Kronberg: Scriptor Verlag. • Mesthrie, Rajend et al. 2006. Introducing Sociolinguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. • Wardhaugh, Ronald. 1995. An Introduction To Sociolinguistics. Oxford UK & Cambridge USA: Blackwell.