Sociolinguistics Overview

A variety of English used in formal writing, education, and media, based on dialects used in and around London.

The study of how language is used in society, exploring the relationship between language and social factors.

This hypothesis suggests that the language we speak influences how we perceive and categorize the world.

The study of how sounds are organized and used in language.

The study of how words are formed and structured.

The study of how words are combined to form sentences.

The study of meaning in language.

Words or phrases considered offensive or shocking by many people.

Words related to religious topics that are considered offensive by some.

Words related to sex or the body that are considered offensive by some.

Words related to the act of using the toilet that are considered offensive by some.

Variations in language based on social groups, such as social class, age, or race.

The difference in language use between people from different social classes.

A way of identifying a person's social class based on their language use.

The idea that the greater the social distance between two groups, the more their language will differ.

A hierarchical system that organizes groups within a society based on factors like power, wealth, and status.

A language variety spoken primarily by African Americans, often seen as a dialect of American English, but with distinct features.

A simplified language that develops for communication between groups speaking different languages, often used for trade or other practical purposes.

A language that evolves from a pidgin, becoming the native language of a community and developing a full range of grammatical features and functions.

The process by which a creole language becomes more similar to the standard language from which it originated, losing some of its unique features.

This refers to the changing of a language's vocabulary to reflect a new national identity or political agenda.

The speech of one individual at a specific time and in a specific context.

A collection of dialects, which are not entirely distinct, and gradually merge into one another, forming a chain of similarity.

Non-mobile older rural males were often used as representatives of a dialect because they were believed to retain traditional speech patterns.

A characteristic that varies among speakers within a community, with differences commonly linked to social class.

Features such as pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary used by a specific group, often tied to their regional background.

The division of society into different social groups based on factors like wealth, occupation, and education.

The system of rules that govern how words are arranged in sentences; it's how we know what words go where.

A rigid system of social hierarchy in India based on birth, often associated with specific occupations and rituals.

The study of dialects in urban areas, facing challenges due to the diverse and complex nature of city populations.

The way a particular language is structured and the specific sounds, words, and grammatical rules that are part of it.

The variation in language use that is not random but influenced by social factors like class, age, and gender.

In linguistics, a standard often refers to the 'correct' or prestige form of a language used in formal situations, media, and education.

A study of the social stratification of English in New York City, conducted by William Labov in 1966, which involved taped interviews with 340 New Yorkers.

The assumption that certain linguistic features are used randomly, without any predictable patterns.

The use of language features to signal social identity and group membership.

A pattern of pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary associated with a particular social group or region.