Language variation

A detailed Summary of Language variation

In order to understand how language variation descriptors are used, we first must understand what language variation is. We can say that the U.S. is linguistically diverse because of the multitude of languages spoken here, but we can also find diversity within these languages. All languages have both dialectical variations and registral variations. These variations, or dialects, can differ in lexicon, phonology, and/or syntax from the Standard Language that we often think of as Œcorrectı Language, although they are not necessarily less proper than, say, Standard English. It depends on where, by whom, and in what situation the dialect is used as to whether or not it is appropriate.

Most people are familiar with regional dialects, such as Boston, Brooklyn, or Southern. These types of variations usually occur because of immigration and settlement patterns. People tend to seek out others like

themselves. Regional variations tend to become more pronounced as the speech community is more isolated by

physical geography, i.e. mountain ranges, rivers. Linguists have done extensive studies on regional dialects,

producing detailed Linguistic Atlases. Many linguists can tell where a person is from just by knowing whether a

attention to our speech. The more attention paid, the more formal the style. Style effects speech throughout a personıs lifetime, but there is less style variation found among young people and older people. Young people, particularly adolescents, tend to use informal speech; probably because they are not comfortable with more formal styles. 'Older people tend to use the style they have become accustomed to, be it formal or informal, with less variation in style than their adult children' (Ferguson 59).

Closely related to these social class factors are education and occupation. While occupations often produce their own jargons, a personıs occupation will also determine what style of speech is used. A lawyer and a

changes from one time period to another. The second way that age produces change is over time, to correspond

There are three main types of reactions to these socially significant items.

184). And the person who comes home from the supermarket with a paper sack serves to remind us that language variation is not a discrete, but rather a continuous variable. Characteristics of the dialect are more

as the norm, they also think of it as the more perfect English.

concluded "that women are more apt to use prestigious forms of speech, while males tend to use more stigmatized

2. Social markers - the speaker is sensitive to these items and will avoid them in a more formal style of

other dialects are often quantitative. Certain elements of one dialect are found in other dialects, to a greater or lesser degree or frequency. "Using "in" for "ing", as in "goin" is universal across status groups, but it is found almost twice as often in the lower working class than in the lower middle class, and almost four times more than in the upper

nonstigmatized (Ferguson 52). Stigmatized items include use of the double negative (grammar), substituting the d

Some common words found in the essay are:
Arabic Russian, Linguistic Atlases, Black English, Brooklyn Southern, , Chicano English, American English, Standard English, English Ethnicity, Standard Language, language variation, speech community, style speech, regional dialects, social dialects, standard english, formal style, understand language variation, you're cutest, social indicators, ferguson 52, home supermarket paper, you're cutest little,

Approximate Word count = 1287
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English