ELT 101 Chapter 1: Language Variation and Sociolinguistics

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Questions and Answers

What is the difference between 'yous' and 'you' in terms of their social distribution?

Yous is used in northern England, while you is used in southern England.

Yous is used in certain non-standard varieties of English, while you is used in all standard varieties and some non-standard varieties. (correct)

Yous is used in all standard varieties of English, while you is used in certain non-standard varieties.

Yous is used in standard varieties of English, while you is used in non-standard varieties.

What is the difference in pronunciation between the words 'sun' in southern England and in northern England?

In southern England, 'sun' is pronounced with the sound /U/, while in northern England, it is pronounced with the sound /√/.

In southern England, 'sun' is pronounced with the sound /√/, while in northern England, it is pronounced with the sound /U/. (correct)

In southern England, 'sun' is pronounced with the sound /p/, while in northern England, it is pronounced with the sound /t/.

In southern England, 'sun' is pronounced with the sound /d/, while in northern England, it is pronounced with the sound /b/.

What is the typical pronunciation of the suffix –ing in written English in standard varieties?

/In/

/inG/

/IN/ (correct)

/ING/

What is the term used to describe the different social distributions of 'child' and 'bairn'?

Linguistic items Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between the English phonemes /√/ and /U/?

/√/ is a typical southern sound, while /U/ is a typical northern sound. Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference in pronunciation between the suffixes –ing in standard and non-standard varieties of English?

In standard varieties, the suffix –ing is pronounced /IN/, while in non-standard varieties, it is pronounced /In/. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of sociolinguists when studying language variation?

The social distribution of particular linguistic items Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used to describe a geographical subdivision of a language?

Dialect Signup and view all the answers

Why is it necessary to define technical terms in sociolinguistics?

To distance ourselves from commonsense knowledge Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used to describe the study of language variation in relation to social factors?

Sociolinguistics Signup and view all the answers

What is the main challenge in defining linguistic terms such as language and dialect?

They are difficult to define in a satisfactory way Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of using technical terms in sociolinguistics, according to Richard Hudson?

To distance ourselves from the concepts represented by lay culture Signup and view all the answers

What is the typical word order in the construction 'Give it to me!' in traditional dialects of England?

Verb - pronoun - pronoun - preposition Signup and view all the answers

What is the most widespread past tense of 'catch' in English dialects of England?

catched Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of a variety in linguistics?

A set of linguistic items with similar social distribution Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following constructions is not common in traditional dialects of England?

Give it to me! Signup and view all the answers

What is the grammatical construction of the sentence 'Give it to me!'?

Imperative sentence with a verb and a prepositional phrase Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between 'catched' and 'caught' in English dialects?

They are different linguistic items Signup and view all the answers

What is a variety of language, according to the definition provided?

A small set of linguistic items with a restricted social distribution Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements is true about the provided examples of language varieties?

They represent different social distributions and geographical locations Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of Jamaican Creole, as seen in the example provided?

It uses a mix of new and old words and meanings Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between the New Guinea Pidgin (Tok Pisin) sentence and the Older Standard English of the 'King James version' Bible sentence?

The sentence structure and vocabulary Signup and view all the answers

What is the meaning of the sentence 'Nobody don’t like a boss hardly' in the Southern US white Non-Standard dialect from Atlanta?

Hardly anybody likes a boss Signup and view all the answers

What is the meaning of the sentence 'Papa, min bin mekim sin long God na long yu' in New Guinea Pidgin (Tok Pisin)?

Father, I have sinned against God and against you Signup and view all the answers

What is the common characteristic of the varieties in (1a) – (1g)?

They are all forms of English Signup and view all the answers

What is the title of the book written by Ibn Khaldu ?

No specific book is mentioned Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between Classical Arabic and Modern Literary Arabic?

Classical Arabic is the language of the Quran, while Modern Literary Arabic is the language of modern authors Signup and view all the answers

What is the meaning of the phrase 'ball-ache' in English slang?

A very inconvenient task Signup and view all the answers

What is the common characteristic of the varieties in (1h) – (1k)?

They are all forms of Arabic Signup and view all the answers

What is the language of the sentence 'Amm Muusa daxalat zeribt al-bagar'?

Chadian Spoken Arabic of Ulâd Eli Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

English Dialects in England

The most widespread past tense of "catch" is "catched" in some dialects, while in standard dialects and some others, it's "caught".
These two forms, "catched" and "caught", are different linguistic items.

Grammatical Constructions

"Give it to me!" is a standard English grammatical construction with a verb, pronoun, and prepositional phrase.
"Give me it!" and "Give it me!" are different grammatical constructions, each a linguistic item.

Varieties of Language

A variety is a set of linguistic items with similar social distribution.
Varieties can be small sets of new words and meanings, mixed with linguistic items of larger social distribution (e.g., slang).
Examples of varieties: Standard English, Jamaican Creole, Southern US white Non-Standard dialect, New Guinea Pidgin, and others.

Linguistic Items

English pronouns "yous" and "you" are different linguistic items with different social distributions.
"Child" and "bairn" are different linguistic items used in different regions of England.
The English phonemes /√/ and /U/ are different linguistic items used in different regions of England.
The suffixes /IN/ and /In/ are different linguistic items with different social distributions.

Language and Variation

Sociolinguistics studies language variation, requiring reference to social factors.
Language, dialect, and variety are terms that need clear definitions.
Sociolinguists study the social distribution of particular linguistic items (e.g., words, sounds, grammatical constructions).

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Description

This quiz covers the introductory chapter of ELT 101, focusing on language variation and its relationship with sociolinguistics. Topics include linguistic items, dialects, varieties, sociolects, accents, jargons, and registers.