2. Sociolinguistic
Variables
• Variation ( linguistics )
• Dialectology
• Language and gender
3. Variety (linguistics)
• In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a
specific form of a language or language cluster.
This may include languages, dialects, accents,
registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation,
as well as the standard variety itself.
• Variation at the level of the lexicon, such as slang
and argot, is often considered in relation to
particular styles or levels of formality (also called
registers), but such uses are sometimes discussed
as varieties themselves.
4. Dialects
• O'Grady et al. define dialect as, "A regional or
social variety of a language characterized by its
own phonological, syntactic, and lexical properties.
The term dialect is often associated with regional
varieties of speech. In addition, though, there are
dialect varieties associated with particular ethnic
groups (sometimes called
ethnolects), socioeconomic classes (sometimes
called sociolects), or other social or cultural
groups.
5. Registers and
Styles
• A register (sometimes called a style) is a variety of
language used in a particular social setting.
Settings may be defined in terms of greater or
lesser formality, or in terms of socially recognized
events, such as baby talk, which is used in many
western cultures when talking to small children, or
a joking register used in teasing or playing the
dozens.
6. Idiolect
• An idiolect is defined as "the language use typical
of an individual person." An individual's idiolect
may be affected by contact with various regional
or social dialects, professional registers, and in the
case of multilinguals , various languages.
7. general
interchangeably,however, dia
lect is often considered as
sub-variety of language. What
is considered a language
then?
• Bell (1976) says that a language has the following criteria:
• Standardization (codified/put into a system) which functions
to unify individuals and groups, symbolize identity
(regional, social, ethnic, or religious), give prestige to
speakers, reduce or eliminate diversity and variety, assert
independence
• Vitality (the existence of a living community of speakers)
• Alive and dead languages
• Historicity (sense of identity)
8. • Autonomy (people feel their language is
different)
• Reduction (not necessarily to be the
representative speakers of a language)
• Mixture (speaker’s feeling of the purity of
the language they speak)
• De facto norms (speakers realize there are
good and bad speakers)