Language Variation

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Language Variation
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Some examples

• Right before starting second grade, Pauline and
  Lenore, moved from the Bronx to Bayside, Queens

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• When Pauline and Lenore were around 8, they went
  away to camp and Pauline got sick.

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Comparing the two examples

• Both differences in lexicon or vocabulary
• How are they different?

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Some factors involved in studying language
variation

• How does language change?
• Why does language change?
• People often
• are aware of aspects of language variation.
• have strong emotional commitments to one view or
  another.

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Whats a dialect?

• Dialects varieties of languages that
  systematically differ from each other
• Dialects differ on many levels phonological,
  syntactic, lexical, etc.
• The term dialect is sometimes used negatively.
  So linguists often use the term variety.

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Who speaks a dialect?

• Everyone speaks a dialect.
• Some dialects have more sociolinguistic prestige
  than others.
• There may be a standard dialect. Other dialects
  non-standard dialects.
• All dialects (standard and non-standard) are
  structured and rule-governed.

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Dialect vs. language

• No clear cut distinction between a language and a
  dialect.
• One factor mutual intelligibility
• Choice of terminology is often influenced by
  socio-political factors.
• E.g., American English vs. British English and
  Dutch vs. Afrikaans.

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Idiolect

• Idiolect the form of the language spoken by one
  person

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Dialect vs. accent

• Accent systematic phonological variation
• Dialect systematic variation on many levels

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In what ways do dialects vary?

• Lexical vocabulary items and pronunciations
• pop, soda, coke, tonic
• pajamas
• compass

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• Phonetic
• different articulations of /r/ in English
• tense vs. non-tense ash

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• Phonological different phonological contrasts
• Some American English varieties /a/ vs. open-o
• Cot vs. caught, Don vs. Dawn

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• Phonological different phonological contrasts
• Some varieties of British English /U/ vs. wedge
• All have /U/ in good, put. But contrast lost in
  cup, but, flood.

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• Morphological different morphemes or different
  use of morphemes
• Appalachian English a- prefix
• We went a-hunting.

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• Morphological different morphemes or different
  use of morphemes
• Some varieties of British English -s not just
  3rd singular present tense, but generalized to
  all present tense forms he goes, but also I
  goes, you goes, we goes, they goes

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• Syntactic whole syntactic constructions used
  differently
• Many American dialects (especially Southern)
• done used as AUX. She done told you.
• right as an adverb. A right good meal.

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• Syntactic whole syntactic constructions used
  differently
• Many American dialects (including some Ohio
  dialects)
• needs selects a past participle rather than a
  passive infinitive
• The car needs washed.
• The car needs to be washed.

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What differences are you aware of in your own
speech and in the speech of others?