Linguistic Variation: Speech Communities

1. Linguistic Variation: Speech Communities The totality of messages we exchange with one another while speaking a given language constitutes a speech community…(Rossi-Landi 1973: 83)

2. Overview • Language variety • Speech community • Social stratification: Class and Caste • Limitations of Labov’s concept of speech community • Video: Chronique Urbaine (Urban Chronicle)

3. Two working definitions • Language variety: refers to a set of communicative forms and norms for their use that are restricted to a particular group, community or activities • Speech community: a group of people who share something about the way in which they use language

4. Social Factors: • Gender • Age • Class: social stratification • Race • Ethnicity • Etc.

5. Speech and Social Stratification • Access to economic power and language • Marker of individual and social identities • Absolute ( Caste system) ---Flexible (Class system)

6. Caste and Language Use • Based on birth, Determines: residence, occupation, marriage choice and language • Castes: Khalapur, India,( Brahmins, Ragouts and Untouchables) variation in pronunciation according to cast

7. Class and Language • Determines economic and social relations: fluid, mobility, class based on occupation, income, etc • Language use: reflects and reinforces class differences • Labov’s New York Study (1966) ( postvocalic r ) ---marker of standard English, absence stigmatized---Department stores: Saks, Macy’s and S.Klein • Lindenfeld (1969) France: syntactic complexity related to class position

8. We learn that: 1.there is a link between structures of economic, social and political power and the use of language • That variation of the use of language is linked to other social systems of organization

9. Racial Differences and Language • Their own phonological, grammatical rules, Selectivity of use of dialects • AAVE = social solidarity • AAVE; phonological variation: multiple negation and deletion of suffixes

10. Stigma and AAVE • Perception: wrong, not important, etc • Power who controls the media, schools, education, etc

11. Limitations of present def of Speech Community • participation in a set of shared norms for the use of language and for interpretation of linguistic behaviour

12. Critique of Labov’s conceptualization of Speech Community • Sutherland (Scotland), Semi-speakers • Nancy Dorian (1981), Lack of linguistic norm does not exclude people

13. “A speech community is made up of people who regard themselves as speaking the same language; it need have no other defining attribute” (Corder, 1973: 53).

14. The case of Vaupes (Colombia) • Language criteria for exogamy • Multilingualism in the community • Lingua Franca also utilized: Tukano • They do not share norm of a single language

15. Chronique Urbaine (Urban Chronicle) • By Yanick Letourneau • Hip hop artist (Urban Franco Hip Hop) • Artist: Kamenga Mbikay (Pressureless

16. Themes to consider Race and language Ethnicity and language Class and language Language and power

17. Discussion • Can Urban Franco Hip Hop music be considered part of a linguistic network? Is this type of music, in the context of Montreal, articulated in terms of race, ethnicity or age?

18. Discussion Questions (Video) • Do you think Hip Hop music can be considered a marker of personal or/and group identity? How? Why? • Are power relations evident in the story? How is power related to language in this case? • Can Urban Franco Hip Hop music be considered part of a linguistic network? Is this type of music, in the context of Montreal, articulated in terms of race, ethnicity or age?

19. Summary • connection between social stratification and language use • Anthrop critique the notion of speech community that is bounded by norms • More open conceptualization of speech community: emphasis on social communicative interaction