1

Speech Community

A speech community is defined as a group of people who form a

community and share the same language or a particular variety of
language.

Characteristics of speech community:

A. They speak the same language or dialect.

B. the members of the group must interact linguistically with other
members of the community
G they may share similar attitudes toward linguistic norms

2
Women &men

women talk more than men, talk too much, are more polite , are
indecisive/hesitant complain and nag, ask more questions, support
each other, are more co-operative

men - swear more, don't talk about emotions, talk about sport more,
talk about women and machines in the same way, insult each other
frequently, are competitive in conversation, dominate conversation,
speak with more authority, give more commands, interrupt more.

Male Gender differences in Female

Language Use

A void eye contact 1)Physical Orientation Use eye contact

Talk for status 2) Status & Talk for solidarity

Connection

From decision to 3) Directness & From discussion to

discussion Indirectness decision

Talkative in public , 4) Public & Private Quiet in public ,

quiet in private Talk talkative in private

Fight for fun 5) Ritual Opposition May fight , but not for
fun
 Trouble talk 6) Conversational Trouble talk used to
avoided ;would put Style create rapport .
status at risk
3

Registers

A register is a style level in a language. When we speak we

automatically locate ourselves on a specific stylistic level. This can
vary depending on the situation in which we find ourselves. For
example when talking to a close friend one would most likely use a
different register than when one is holding a public address.

A register can also mean specialized variety of language: The

register of law , for example is different from the register of
medicine, which in turn is different from the register of engineering,
and so on.

Registers are usually characterized almost entirely by vocabulary

differences, either by using particular words or by using words in a
particular sense.

One of the aims of education is to introduce students to the

registers (or terminologies) of particular subjects.

1 Lingua Franca

Lingua Franca is a language used between two interlocutors but is

not the first language (or native tongue) of either of the
interlocutors.

Many Languages throughout the history served as lingua franca:

Chinese
French
Arabic
Turkish
English

We can conclude that mainly political and economical power defines

the Lingua Franca.
5

Diglossia

Definition:

Refers change switching style diglossia.

Or

Diglossia is a particular kind of language standardization where two

distinct varieties of a language exist side by side throughout the
speech community.

* Each of the two varieties is assigned a definite social function.

* Examples of languages which are diglossic and where there exist a

high variety and a low variety are Swiss German, Arabic and Tamil.

Definition:

The high variety is used in sermons, formal letters, political

speeches, university lectures, news broadcasts, newspaper
editorials and high poetry

The low variety, on the other hand, is used in conversation with

family and friends, radio serials, political and academic discussions,
political cartoons and 'folk' literature

The 'high' variety has no native speakers and in all cases have to be
learned in school

Generally speaking, the high variety has greater prestige than the
low and is often regarded as more beautiful, even if it is less
intelligible.

At the lexical level, many pairs of words may occur, referring to

Common objects or concepts, where the meaning is roughly the
same, but where the usage of one item rather than another
immediately indicates high or low variety.

For example, in Arabic the use of the form [ra? a ]"to see ' indicates
the high (classical) variety, and the use of the form [ sa :f ]
indicates the low (colloquial) variety.

Pidgin

Obtained language is called pidgin. Characteristics of pidgin

language:

* Limited vocabulary
* Simple grammatical rules
* Small inventory of sounds
* Spoken by a small fraction of the community
* Used for specific purposes such as trade, religion

3 Code-switching

Code switching is a well-known event in bilingual communities. It

refers to usage of two languages in a mixed manner, generally in
oral interaction.

Some of the reasons for code switching:

* Desire to reveal mixed identity or to show off.

* Inability to express an idea in one language.
* inability to recall a word.
* Existence of lexical gap.
* More effective communication.
* Wish to obtain a special effect.

Lexical gap (lacuna) is the absence of a word in a particaular

language.

By: Hind ALrashed