第八章 语言与社会.ppt

 Ⅰ.The scope of sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics ---- a sub-field of linguistics that studies the relation between language and society, between the uses of language and the social structures in which the users of language live. 1.1.The relatedness between language and society 1.Language is principally used to communicate meaning, it is also used to establish and maintain social relationship. This social function of language is embodied in the use of such utterances as Good morning!, Hi!. 2.Language, especially the structure of its lexicon, reflects both the physical and the social environments of a society. Example Eskimos have more words for types of snow than English speakers do: aput, snow on the ground gana, falling snow piqsirpoq, drifting snow qimuqsuq, a snow drift 3.Users of the same language in a sense all speak diffrerently. The kind of language each of them chooses to use is in part determined by his social background. And language, in its turn, reveals information about its speaker when we speak, we cannot avoid giving clues to our listeners about ourselves.The use of language is in part determined by the user’s social background. (social class, age, sex, education level, etc.) Example ? Name Speaker When Robert grandparents home, letters teachers school doctor hospital mother when annoyed Robbie parents most of time Robbie-Bob mother affectionate Rob friends brothers most of time Bob friends outside home to annoy Roberts Harris parents when very annoyed Mr. Harris strangers letters , shops 4.The way people talk is influenced by the social context in which they are talking. It matters who can hear us and where we are talking as well as how we are feeling. We use different styles in different social contexts. Example Ray: Good morning, sir. Principle: What are you d