What is Sociolinguistics? Pertemuan 1

2. What is Sociolinguistics?Pertemuan 1 Matakuliah : G0362/Sociolingustics Tahun : 2007

3. Learning Outcomes Pada akhir pertemuan ini, diharapkan mahasiswa akan mampu : • Menjelaskan apa yang dipelajari dalam Sosiolinguistik • Menjelaskan faktor sosial yang mempengaruhi penggunaan bahasa 3

4. Outline Materi • Definisi Sosiolinguistik • Faktor Sosial dalam penggunaan bahasa • Dimensi Sosial • Penjelasan atas beberapa fenomena bahasa 4

5. What is covered in this course? • What is sociolinguistics? • What do sociolinguists study? • Why does someone use one language instead of another? • What are varieties? • Can a language become extinct? • What can we do to keep a language alive? • Do men and women talk differently?

6. Sociolinguistics is a field of study that observes the use of language in the society. In Sociolinguistics, the object of study is the speakers, how they use the language, and what factors influence them to do so. In pure linguistics, the object of the study is the language alone, independent of the speakers and other social factors. Pure linguistics is about learning the grammar and how the language works. What is sociolinguistics?

7. Short Definition • In short, we can say that Sociolinguists study Who speaks to whom, where, what about, and for what purpose • Who, whom  the participants • Where the setting • What about the topic • What purpose the function

8. Social Factors What language people choose to speak in an exchange is determined by social factors: • The Participants: e.g. age, ranks, relationships; • The Setting: e.g. at home, in a formal meeting, etc. • The Topic: e.g. my tennis skills, cooking, exams; • The Function: e.g. getting a loan, hiring a maid, asking permission to leave the room, etc.

9. The Participants • The person you speak to and the kind of relationship you have with the person determines your choice of • Terms of Address: Mr., Madam, Sir, Your Honor/ Majesty, Pak, Mbak, Mas, or just Memet • Language: formal/informal • Tone of voice or intonation

10. The Participants Discussion Task: How would you ask for some money to • A bank teller? • Your mother or father? • Your brother (younger/older)? • A good friend? • A total stranger?

11. The Setting • What we mean by settings are the contexts in which the language exchanges occur: • At school, university • At home • At a law court • In an inauguration ceremony, etc. • The settings would dictate the use of language: formal or informal.

12. Topics • The topic of a language exchange can be • A subject matter at a school (Maths, English) • A new computer game • Fashion • Mother’s cooking • Father’s new car, etc.

13. Function • The function of a conversation is the reason why two people are speaking to each other at a given moment. e.g. to ask permission, to scold a naughty child, to carry out a wedding ceremony, etc.

14. Social Dimensions Within the social factors above, there are social dimensions: • Social Distance (solidarity) scale • Status scale • Formality scale • Functional scales: referential and affective

15. Solidarity scale: intimate ______________________ distant High solidarity Low solidarity (language is (language is less formal) formal)

16. Status Scale Superior High status Subordinate Low status

17. Functional Scale Referential Low ________________________________high Low ________________________________ high Affective • The news on TV would be high in referential content but low in affective scale. • A gossip will be highly affective but lowly referential.

18. Conclusions • Sociolinguistics is a field of study that research on how language is used in the community. • The way a person speak to another depends on some social factors (the participants, setting, topic, and function) and social dimensions (solidarity scale, status scale, formality scale, and functional scales).