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Introduction to Sociolinguistics TOPIC 2 Language in societ

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Introduction to Sociolinguistics TOPIC 2 Language in society Bilingualism and bilingual societies Societal Bilingualism Bilingual/multilingual countries and societies ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Introduction to Sociolinguistics TOPIC 2 Language in societ


1
Introduction to Sociolinguistics
  • TOPIC 2
  • Language in society

2
Bilingualism and bilingual societies
  • Societal Bilingualism
  • Bilingual/multilingual countries and societies
    are normal

3
Second language vs. foreign language
  • Second language can be used to describe a
    language widely spoken in the country of the
    learner
  • Foreign language refers to a language taught in
    school which is not normally used as a means of
    instruction in schools or as a language of
    communication within the country, in the
    community or in bureaucracy.

4
Is English a second or foreign language in Hong
Kong?
  • Tsang Yok-sing Lesson in double standards
    22/2/94 SCMP
  • our language education mistakes English as a
    second language in the territory, which is why we
    spend so much on teaching the language, yet
    achieve so little. In fact, English has never
    been and will never be, anywhere near a second
    language in Hong Kong, which is truly recognised
    as a foreign language can there be any hope of it
    being taught and learned properly.

5
How do bilingual societies operate?
  • What are the roles and functions of different
    languages/varieties in a society?
  • E.g. Cantonese, Putonghua and English in Hong Kong

6
Diglossia
  • Holmes The use of two varieties in a society,
    distinguished by function
  • High and Low varieties
  • Typical functions of the H variety
  • Literature, education, law, government
    administration, news broadcasts
  • H variety used on formal/official occasions e.g.
    delivering a speech holding a meeting. The H
    variety is usually learnt in school.
  • L variety used for everyday, more informal
    purposes. L variety is usually an L1 and learnt
    at home.

7
Attitudes to H and L varieties
  • H variety has high prestige
  • Why doesnt a society use only the H variety?
  • Overt prestige
  • Covert (hidden) prestige

8
The Case of Singapore
  • Holmes Table 2.4 (p.32)
  • H (Mandarin, Singapore English formal variety)
  • L (Cantonese, Hokkien, Singapore English
    informal variety)

9
  • Watch the video on Singapore and compare its
    linguistic situation with that of Hong Kong
    (level of individual and societal bilingualism)

10
Diglossia without bilingualism
  • Luke Richards (1982)
  • A society where two or more languages are
    commonly used but in which
  • i) individual linguistic repertoires are largely
    confined to one of the languages
  • ii) a single language is used for intra-group
    communication
  • iii) bilingualism is restricted to certain areas
    of public life
  • iv) the bilingual population is small
  • v) the two speech communities rarely mix
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