SOCIOLINGUISTICS:
Sociolinguistics studies language in relation to society. It deals with the relationship between language and society, language and man, and various troops of society. Sociolinguistics gives us a solid ground on which we can analyze and generalize our association with the society in which we live. It focuses its attention mainly on the concept of how language works in a society; and the role & scope of language in a society. So we can say that the subject matter of Sociolinguistics is associated with the society as a whore. In its broadest conception, sociolinguistics analyzes the ways in which language and society interlink. It examines the relations between language and society, with language as the starting point. Sociolinguists also examine how language and society have interacted in the past.
Origin & Development of Sociolinguistics:
Sociolinguistics is that branch of linguistics, which studies the relation between language and society. Though the social aspect of language attracted early attention, notably from the great Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was perhaps only in the 1950s that serious investigation began. Pioneers like Uriel Weinreich, Charles Ferguson, and Joshua.
Fishman drew attention to a range of fascinating phenomena, such as diglossia and the effects of language contact. William Labov, an American Linguist, began a series of investigations of variation in language in the 1960s. These investigations have not only Lang revolutionized our understanding of how speakers use their languages but also have resolved the Saussurean Paradox.
Definitions:
1. R. L. Trask, in his book “Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics” says: “Sociolinguistics may be usefully defined as the study of variation in language, or more precisely of variation within speech communities”.
2. George Yule, in his book “The Study of Language” says: “The study of the linguistic features that have social relevance for participants in those speech (RO- communities is called sociolinguistics.”
3. Concise Oxford Dictionary defines Sociolinguistics as “the study of language in relation to social factors”
4. Advanced English Dictionary: “Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to its socio-cultural context”
5. Charles F. Meyer, in his book “Introducing English Linguistics” says: “Sociolinguistics is an area of linguistics concerned with the study of social variation in language”.
6. According to Markus Krabbe: “Sociolinguistics is the study of variation in speaker groups and variation in language use”.
SCOPE OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS:
Sociolinguistics is the study of language and how it is affected by the social als setting in which language is used. It has a broad scope in its examination of the intersection between language and society. It includes not only the study of language and social settings but also psychology and anthropology.
(i) Interplay of Society and Language:
Sociolinguistics examines the interplay of social society and language. Clearly, language is affected by the cultural setting in which it is used. For example, in areas of the United States where immigrants from one particular country settled, new words were introduced there. These words soon page became a part of the English vocabulary.
(ii) Study of Dialects:
Another aspect of sociolinguistics is the study of dialects or the regional or ethnic variety of language. Pronunciations and vocabulary vary in some regions. Grammatical constructions sometimes vary among different socio-economic classes.
(iii) Contact of Languages:
Another significant aspect of sociolinguistics is the contact of languages with one another. In the US, English became the prominent language because it belonged to those who held the most power in the country.
French was prominent in Louisiana and was studied in schools throughout the state for a long time, but in the last few decades this custom has changed.
Language Varieties: Language with its different varieties is the subject matter of linguistics. People of different ages, sexes, social classes, occupations, or cultural groups in the same community show variations in their speech. Language cultural geographical and social space, and Sociolinguistics answer all such problems that come in the way of communication between individuals of different regions problems that come from groups, etc.
Sociolinguistics is, indeed, an interesting examination of how language and various aspects of society interrelate
MICRO-SOCIOLINGUISTICS & MACRO-SOCIOLINGUISTICS
Since sociolinguistics is concerned with both linguistic and social aspects of language, researchers identify two main distinctions in sociolinguistic inquiry. Micro- Sociolinguistics focuses on the social aspects of language, while Macro- Sociolinguistics examines how linguistic features can provide explanations for certain social phenomena. In other words, micro-sociolinguistics investigates how society influences the way people communicate, while macro-sociolinguistics studies society in relation to language.
SOCIOLINGUISTICS & OTHER DISCIPLINES
i. Sociolinguistics & Sociology: Sociology is the scientific study of society the web of human relations, while sociolinguistics studies language in relation to society. It deals with the relationship between language and society. So, both are closely Interlinked. Sociolinguistics views language as a basis of assessment and looks at the social structure as a determinant variable. Therefore, the relationship between sociolinguistics and sociology actually is reciprocal.
ii. Sociolinguistics & Sociology of Language: Sociolinguistics and sociology of language are two different areas of the study of language. Sociolinguistics is the effect of society on language, while the sociology of language focuses on language’s effect on society.
iii. Sociolinguistics & Psycholinguistics: Sociolinguistics also deals with the mental behavior of man in respect of language. That is why; some linguists opine that there is no dist of man in respect of linguistics and psycholinguistics, Both are closely of linked. Psycholinguistics deals with language and the individual that is the basic unit of society, while Sociolinguistics deals with language and society that is web of human relationship.
iv. Sociolinguistics & Pragmatics: Pragmatics is the language of science that studies the purpose and effect of language associated with the context, or the use
of language that are tailored to the subject, purpose, participants, venues, and facilities. Like sociolinguistics, pragmatics also assumes that the language is not monotype. A pragmatic view of language is determined by topic, place, means, and time. These facts are utilized by sociolinguistics to explain the varieties of the language.
In short, sociolinguistics, as the study of language in relation to society, is closely connected with other areas of human research, such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, education, and media studies.
Language and Context: Social Class and Region
LANGUAGE VARIATION:
In a speech community of any size, there is considerable variation among individuals: stockbrokers do not speak like plumbers, women do not speak like men. and young people do not speak like old people, and so on. Moreover, even a single individual is not confined to a single variety of the language. Earlier linguists had, of course, noticed this variation, but they paid little attention on it.
