What is language?

*A tool that humans use in order to exchange meaningful messages with other fellow human beings.
*The functions of language: helps us express observations (reports on sensory information), thoughts
(conclusions and judgments based on observations or ideas), feelings, and needs.
Language is powerful in that it expresses our identities through labels used by and on us, affects our
credibility based on how we support our ideas, serves as a means of control, and performs actions
when spoken by certain people in certain contexts.
*The different grammatical aspects of the language system

Language Meaning
Concept

Phonetics The study of speech sounds

Phonology The study of the sound pattern system

Lexis The study of the actual words a writer or speaker chooses

(vocabulary) to use

Morphology The study of how words are formed

Syntax The study of how words combine to form sentences and

the rules that govern the formations.

Orthography Writing systems

Semantics The study of meaning and how meaning is made and

understood

Pragmatics The study of the use of language in communication i.e.

sentences as used in contexts and situations.

Discourse The study of how language is organized beyond the

sentence i.e. in larger texts

Language varieties: varieties of a language that is used in social contexts wherever the speakers are
located. E.g. the English spoken in Jamaica will differ to that spoken in South Africa.
These varieties manifest at different linguistic levels. The distinguishing characteristics of a speech
variety may be phonological (sounds), morphological (word-building), syntactic (sentence
construction) or lexical (vocabulary) and semantic (meaning).
Varieties of language develop for a number of reasons: differences can come about for geographical
reasons; people who live in different geographic areas often develop distinct dialects—variations of
standard English. Those who belong to a specific group, often academic or professional, tend to
adopt jargon that is known to and understood by only members of that select group. Even individuals
develop idiolects, their own specific ways of speaking.
Functional speech varieties/registers: This refers to language use according to different
situations/contexts/domains. E.g. the register used between a doctor and patient is different than that
used between a judge and defendant.
Registers: speech varieties that have a function in the speech communities/situations/context/domains
where they are spoken. Also refers to the level of formality of the speech/writing (informal like
colloquialisms, contractions, slang, incomplete sentences or formal) The same speaker may use
different registers for different purposes. VARIATION IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FUNCTION
THE SPEAKER HAS IN MIND FOR THE LANGUAGE CHOICE.
Registers vary depending on the social context, education level, age, gender, ethnicity, and
profession.

Social Relationships and Social Practices

Social Networks: important for understanding how social conditions and facts (e.g.gender issues, age,
ethnicity, culture or professionalism) explain why people use language varieties. Examples are
discussed.
*Is there a difference between JARGON and REGISTER?*
Register- A variety used in a specific social setting or for a specific reason. For example, formal
language is more likely to be used in a job interview.
Jargon- specific words or lexicon used in a profession or community of practice. The specialist
terminology of a given discipline or profession. ‘register’ is part of the jargon for linguists.

Language and Gender

*Gender-exclusive differentiation: Instances where, in most societies, a man or a woman may not
normally be allowed to speak a variety of the other gender.
The varieties are gender exclusive- typically in societies where the roles assigned to these two genders
are rigid.
Example: In the English culture, there was a time when only female speakers used words like ‘lovely’
or ‘nice’ (there is not much difference today, women use these these terms more often than men. In
some social networks, male users of these words are considered effeminate.
On the contrary, men are believed to have a larger vocab in areas associated with traditional male
activities i.e. sports.
We can therefore conclude that English speakers exhibit gender-preferential differentiation in
that regard.
*Other differences between men’s and women’s language are seen in women’s more frequent
use of politeness forms and markers of tentativeness.

Women (more of a request) Men (more of a command)

Please open the window Open the window

Lexicon:
vocab of a
Would you please open the window? Boy, it’s stuffy in here, why don’t you
open the window?

Would you mind opening the window? Hell, why are the windows not open?

Other Interesting Language Varieties:

*Euphemism, slang, jargon, argot, cursing and swearing.
*These varieties are interesting because they show that people unconsciously or consciously show
their personal, religious, social or other identity i.e. their membership of a certain social network
a) Swearing or cursing: Taboo, expressions of emotions like hatred, shock, frustration, antagonism.
Often consist of single words or phrases that vary in intensity levels. Superficially, they are an outlet
for frustration or a release of nervous energy after a sudden shock. On a deeper level they can serve as
a marker of group identity and solidarity e.g. in gangs, this language is used as a way to display
aggression without violence.
b) Euphemism: Expresses an unpleasant or uncomfortable situation in a more sensitive, kind and
tactful manner. Its purpose is to soften the hard blow in speech and to protect the feelings of the other
person or to be politically correct. Also used to avoid words that are considered taboo, offensive,
obscene or disturbing to readers or listeners.
c) Slang: A label that is used to refer to informal or faddish usages of nearly everyone is the speech
community. Associated with membership in identifiable, smaller social communities. Its usage is
creative and socially important. E.g. students divide themselves into groups based on the jargon or
slang they use.
d) Jargon and Argot: Often used interchangeably to refer to a secret language used by an identifiable
group.
STANDARD VS NON-STANDARD VARIETIES: Most of the languages have standard and non-
standard varieties. non-standard forms being preferably used by the youth, these language varieties
gradually modify and supplant Standard English. This can especially be seen from the music which
the modern world listens to. The majority of popular and rap music song lyrics today are written in a
non-standard form of English that changes and expands daily while Standard English can mostly be
found in old melodies and is rarely used entirely in a song. As a result more and more “slang” words
and phrases make their way in our daily speech showing the great influence song lyrics can have on
the evolution or annihilation of the Standard English language and especially the way young people
speak. Through a comparative analysis it will be shown that the non-standard varieties of English
used in music lyrics become a part of the common spoken language much faster and easier and
maintain their status through time whereas the Standard English we are taught when learning the
language properly becomes more and more obsolete.
To begin with, standard varieties of languages have a number of peculiarities as for vocabulary and
Grammar. The most important thing to mention is that Standard English, despite the fact that it is
spoken by intelligent people, government agencies, broadcasting services, newspapers, etc (Slim 2),
does not follow any official rules because there is no separate linguistic governance body for English
language. However, Standard English does have definite grammatical rules that demand using certain
structures, tenses, noun and verb phrases, as well as moods, conjunctions, and prepositions in a
definite way. Apart from Grammar, Standard English has certain vocabulary peculiarities. Though the
definitions of certain words and idioms may be different in different countries (such as the word
‘pants’ which has different meanings in British and American English), the vocabulary words are
mostly the same in all the varieties of the language. Finally, there are pronunciation peculiarities;
Standard English may be “accentless” or spoken with Received Pronunciation (or “British” accent).
Argot-
in the narrow sense was the language “used by beggars and thieves in medieval France” (Bussmann,
1998, p. 85);
more broadly, it is “any specialized vocabulary or set of expressions used by a particular group or
class and not widely understood by mainstream society” (Bussmann, 1998, p. 85)

Jargon –
is characterized by extensive use of terminology, exactness, and economy in transmitting meaning.
Foreign words, compounds, special prefixes, and metaphors are common in jargon.
Jargon is used by people belonging to a certain profession; therefore, it is possible to speak about the
jargon of programmers, linguists, or educators. Jargonisms (jargon words) can be used by people
intentionally in order to show that they are knowledgeable in a certain area.

Language is organized into different structural layers- there are FIVE LEVELS OF LANGUAGE
VARIATION- (Varieties can be categorised in terms of features that make it more or less unique)
1) PHONOLOGICAL VARIATION: Related to sound- study of sound systems in language, and
varieties differ in the way their sound systems are organised.
2) LEXICAL VARIATIONS: Concerns differences in the words that speakers use i.e. different
words that occur only in certain dialects.
3) MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATIONS: Has to do with differences in internal word structures.
i.e. how words are formed .One type is the variation in the way GRAMMATICAL AFFIXES
ARE USED i.e. prefixes and suffixes use and how it is changed based on the variation used.
Past tense ‘ed’ ending or plural ‘s’, or progressive ‘ing’. Eng as a second language learners
have trouble with these and therefore make these variations.
4) SYNTACTIC VARIATIONS: Syntactic variations refer to variations in the organization of
words in a sentence. Here is an example of syntactic variation-
Write the statements as consecutive sentences: “I went for a walk. I saw a dinosaur.”
Add the second statement to the first as a dependent clause: “I went for a walk and saw a
dinosaur.” (The second statement does not stand on its own.)
5) PRAGMATIC VARIATION: Study of linguistic meaning in context (definition of pragmatics)
The variation concerns processes of understanding how what is said differs form what is
meant e.g. irony, making jokes, avoiding sensitive topics- differs across communities and
across different varieties of English.

1) Phonological variation- Changes in how British people and people with accents pronounce
words vs American people, etc.
2) Lexical variation- When speakers have different names for very common objects or concepts
e.g. soda, cool drink, pop- if you don’t use the word i.e. it’s not in your vocab, it can be seen
as lexical variation
3) Morphological variation- use of prefixes and suffixes
4) Syntactic variation- sentence construction variations e.g. negated sentences issues i.e. we say
knowledge does not come from a vacuum, not knowledge is not come from a vacuum. Word
before the negative is a positive word (Negation is a grammatical operation whereby a
proposition is replaced by one that states the opposite of an affirmative form).
5) Pragmatic variation- e.g. how do you address a teacher/professor?, e.g. when is it okay to be
ironical speakers across different communities behave differently in conversations.

THE SOCIOLONGUISTIC VARIABLE-

*This is variation within speakers, variation across speakers was discussed above.
*Everyone who is speaking a language, speaks in fact several versions of it. We have different
registers, different ways of using our language- this varies depending on who we are with and
who we are talking to.
*A sociolinguistic variable is a linguistic category that can be realised in two or more different
ways. i.e. we have two ways of saying the same thing.
*Typically, the social context determines whether speaker uses one thing or the other i.e. language
variation is to a large extent driven by social factors like age, gender, sexual orientation or general
outlook on life-
*has the same levels of variations as the ones discussed above
 Sociolinguistic variables often represent a
BINARY CHOICE- Speakers can do one thing or another. It is rare for a speaker to choose the
same variant 100% of the time. i.e. there is speaker internal variation. A lot of the variation is
influenced by social factors, or the social contexts in which the speaker finds themselves.

Standard language aka Standard English- One of the varieties of language that is acquired
through education, schooling and training- it is the language variety that is more formal, polished,
prestigious and dignified- it forms the basis of broadcasting such as print media (books,
newspapers, magazines) and electronic media (television and radio). This is the language variety
we try to teach those who want to learn English as a second language. It is largely associated with
the written system of language such as vocabulary, spelling, and grammar. If standard language is
used in USA, we say Standard American English, if used in Canada, we say Standard Canadian
English, etc. It arose largely out of a series of countless historical developments such as certain
words, forms of language, usages of language and happened to be accepted by educated people in
the respected society. The most important factors were the political, economic, and cultural
influence of the educated class of people in London- that became the basis of standard language.
Non- Standard Language- It does NOT reform to a class of refinement in pronunciation,
grammar and vocabulary- there are no rules, you have more freedom. One of the varieties of
language that is less formal, less polished and refined. It is more localised and cannot be acquired
through education, school and training- it has not benefitted from institutional support, received
funding from the government and is not appealed to the educated class of people. This is why it is
not the language of print and electronic media.
 Sounds, sound patterns, and symbols
*Written representations of speech come in varying degrees of closeness to the actual speech
event. It is true that no type of static writing can exactly mirror the real-time unfolding and
articulation of spoken language; linguistics try to create representations that allow us to recapture
something of the original.
*The IPA or International Phonetic Alphabet is one of the systems used. It uses symbols
designed specifically to represent the sounds of language- you see it in dictionaries where the
pronunciation of a word is given in brackets before the definition (in a digital dictionary or voice
app, the phonetic or talking symbol is linked to pronunciation).
*In the sounds that follow, the underlined part of the example word given refers to how the sound
would be produced by someone with a Received Pronunciation (RP) accent (a British accent)
This accent was seen as the voice of educated people.
* Phonetic transcriptions are a method used to represent phonemes in language, as the spelling
system used for reading and writing is not a faithful representation of language sounds. There is
no one-to-one relationship between letters and sounds, and there are only 26 letters available to
represent the forty-four sounds in the English language.

A phoneme is the smallest

unit of sound in language
*While English does use combinations of multiple letters to represent some sounds, its linguistic
history has absorbed many words from other languages, resulting in varied and unusual spellings
of words.
*In the sentence: A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets
of Scarborough; he coughed and hiccoughed.
The pronunciations of the string of ‘ough’ letters are not the same; they don’t rhyme.
*While the same string of letters can all have a different pronunciation, conversely one sound can
be represented by different strings of letters as well.
‘meat’, ‘meet’ and ‘metre’ all contain the same vowel sound but is spelled in different ways for
each word.
THIS IS THE REASON WHY USING AN ‘ALPHABET’ FOR SOUND IS A USEFUL TOOL
FOR LINGUISTS.

Rough- f
Dough- dipthong for show
Thoughtful- dipthong for tourist
Ploughman- dipthong for mouth
Seems right according to google
* Speech productions and descriptions often require scientific, lab-based work. For example,
Speech and language therapists and forensics experts need to understand anatomy and physiology
to understand the connection between physical impairments and speech capacity, while accent
identification experts use scientific methods for court cases.

The Vocal Tract

*Speech sounds are produced in the vocal tract, using air pushed out form the lungs.
*Different speech sounds are made by changing the shape of the vocal tract.
*The shape is changed by moving the lips and tongue to touch different parts of the vocal
tract.
*The vocal tract is the place of articulation, the tongue and lips are the articulators
*Sounds can be further modified by placing the articulators different distances from one another
(manner of articulation)
*We can make an even wider sound variety by vibrating the vocal folds (voiced sounds) or not
vibrating them (voiceless sounds).

a) Plosives (p,b,t,d,k,g)
These are all explosions- created by obstructing the flow of air by bringing part of the mouth
together, then letting go suddenly.
(to explore this, place the palm of your hand in front of your mouth and make each sound in a
dramatic way, you should be able to feel the air hitting your palm)
English plosives (aka stops) are different from each other in 2 ways: they are made in different
places in the mouth i.e. the place of articulation and they use different amounts of voice either
voiced or voiceless.
P and b are produced using the 2 lips (bilabial), t and d involve contact between the teeth ridge
and tongue (alveolar), k and g are made by closing off air to the back of the mouth (velar)
Voiceless- p t k
Voiced- b d g
Vocal chords vibrate for voiced sounds

b) Fricatives
Produced when air is forced through in a steady stream, resulting in friction as opposed to an
explosion. Plosives cannot be kept going in the way that fricatives can. E.g. say ‘s’ until you run
out of breath, then ‘p’. S is a fricative
There are voiceless and voiced ones and are distinguished from each other in another way, where
they articulate from.

c) Affricatives
Only two of these in English- both are consonant sounds. They have double symbols to show that
they are a combo of a plosion and followed by a fricative.

d) Nasals (m,n)
Their distinctive feature is that they are produced in a particular manner; the airstream comes out
of the nose rather than the mouth, but they are all made in different places i.e. m is bilabial, n is
alveolar.
*When you have a cold and air cannot escape your nose, nasals become plosives

e) Laterals (l)
Sometimes referred to as a ‘liquid’ sound. It is made by placing the tongue on the tip of the teeth
ridge and sending air down the sides of the mouth.
This is the reverse for RP speakers who say the letter l

f) Approximants (r, w, j)
The final 3 consonants. Grouped together because they are known as semi-vowels i.e. midway
between consonants and vowels. They all involve less contact between the organs of speech than
many of the other consonants. R and j are produced in the palatial area i.e roof of the mouth, w is
bilabial (the lips).

g) Glottal (?)
Does not represent a sound. It is a closure of the vocal cords resulting in shutting off the air
stream and sometimes produced as an alternative way to say plosive sounds. E.g. say butter or
water and swallow the middle t sound. This glottal stop is a strong feature of some English
regional accents.
There are important insights that can be drawn from studying sound variations. The use or
absence of particular phonemes can be the subject of stigma and regarded ‘sloppy’, ‘lazy’ or ‘bad’
by some. These judgements are social and not linguistic and examples of how language can be
used as a shibboleth- a way in which more powerful groups mark out their own forms of
language as prestigious and ‘correct’ in order to defend their positions in society.
Phonetics can help understand cross-cultural stereotyping, e.g. Chinese speakers of English
cannot distinguish between l and r in English due to their first language's sound system
differences. The differences between how speakers of different languages divide up their sound
systems can produce distinctive speech habits which can then be exaggerated in stereotypes. E.g
velly for very and yerrow for yellow. OF COURSE STERERTYPES IN WRITTEN TEXTS
WILL USE THE WRITTEN ALPHABET TO CREATE THEIR VERSIONS LIKE IN THE E.G.
JUST SHOWN.- This is not accurate representation of a phonetic transcription.
Novelists use a small range of language features to depict their characters in dialogues, using
variant spellings or punctuation like apostrophes to suggest pronunciations. This is called eye
dialect- it relies less on sound transcription and more on visual impressions.
E.g’s of eye dialect- ‘cuz, whaddya mean?, you ‘n me both pal.
Sound can be just as symbolic as images- we say this because we often characterise someone’s
language as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. The relationship between the sounds made and what is being referred
to is seen as arbitrary, like using a rose to symbolise love. However, onomatopoeia is seen as a
connect between our physical senses and the words we use. But there is a debate around whether
there is an actual connection – is the word ‘crash’ really imitating the sound made when
something crashes? The difficulty answering is due to the fact that we are exposed to
onomatopoeic terms early on in life e.g. in comics.
BUT, ONE PIECE OF EVIDENCE THAT REINFORCES THE ARBITRARINESS IS THAT
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES HAVE DIFFERENT WORDS FOR NOISES, WHEN IN THEORY
THEY SHOULD ALL BE THE SAME.
There does seem to be a correlation between some particular sound patterns and certain ideas. E.g.
lots of ‘sl’ starting words like slug, slime, slick and slurp suggest unpleasant sensations of wetness
while ‘gl’ starting words like glitz, glitter, glimmer are associated with light or brittle qualities-
there are exceptions some sl words like sleep, sly etc, but it could be that through numbers, groups
of sounds create behavioural links that are expanded upon when new words, inventions, or
commercial brand names are added to the language.

VOWEL PATTERNS
Although consonants have received most of the attention thus far, vowels can also play a part in
sound symbolism and differ in the phoneme inventory of individuals from various
geographic and socioeconomic origins.
Vowels can convey specific thoughts, just like consonants can. For instance, terms like tiny,
weeny, and wee are frequently linked to the character /i:/. 'Baby speak' also uses it at the endings
of words.
Vowels have not only symbolic significance but also an overall effect when used in juxtaposition
or repetition. For instance, the term "teeny weeny" works well given its repetitions.
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