Varieties of Language


Language is culture preserving and culture transmitting, that was why Descarte said, " thank to language, man became man".

There are other forms of culture preservation such as; art forms, architecture, painting, music etc. But, language is the most dynamic form in which culture is preserved and transmitted to future generations. Language is dynamic not static. it keeps on changing at all levels; at the level of sounds, words and word meanings and sentences. Each generation modifies and changes its language in its process to adapt to the changing needs and demands of the people who use it.

Language is a pattern system of arbitrary sound signals, characterised by structure-dependence, creativity, displacement, duality and cultural transmission. One other similarity links human language with animal communication, it is predestined to evolve. Just as frogs inevitably croak and cows moo, birds chirp... so humans are rearranged for talking.

Human language is innately guided; the human brain has an innate capability for learning language creatively, the human brain is different from that of animals.



Dialect

Dialect is a form of language which is peculiar to a specific region or a social group. When, a group of individuals share peculiar ways of speaking, the group uses a dialect. The study of dialects is known as dialectology. Dialect distinctions can be plotted on a map, lines demarcating areas exhibiting a particular feature, and so from areas exhibiting other features are called isoglosses.

Isoglosses crisscross, overlap and diverge in yielding bundles of isoglosses. Dialects are usually social or geographical or some timed on the basis of religion and caste which is more common in India.

Eg: distinction between Norfolk dialect and Yorkshire dialect is geographical. And, cockney dialect is social.

Sociolect: Sociolect is the dialect of a particular social class based on social stratifications.

Synchronic variations of language are of two types; (i) variations of register and (ii) variations of dialect. Halliday refers to register as the changes according to the use of the language. Register refers to the different kinds of the same language at the same time, depending on the situation.

For example, the kind of languages used by a teacher at work and at home. He is in command of one dialect but different registers. The dialect is determined by the speaker's background. Register is a variety of language, determined by degree of formality and choice of vocabulary, pronunciation and syntax.

Register can be classified into three, according to: (i) the field of discourse, (ii) the mode of discourse and (iii) the style of discourse

Field of discourse refers to variations determined by the subject matter. 

Eg: Register of Science, law, philosophy, religion, Journalism etc.

The mode of discourse is determined by the medium used

Eg: the difference between the spoken language and written language. Or, telephonic conversation and telegraphic messages.

The style of discourse refers to the relationship between the addresser and the addressee, i.e. the speaker and the hearer or the writer and the reader.

The field, mode and style of discourse are not mutually exclusive. When a person uses a certain language, the three register intermingle.

Eg: When a biology teacher teaches, the field of discourse will be scientific, mode academic and the style is the teacher-student relationship.

Idiolect

Idiolect is the speech habits peculiar to a particular person. it is a man's idiosyncratic peculiarities of language used.

Eg: Bacon's style, Shakespeare's style etc.

Dialectal variations can be morphological, phonological, syntactical, grammatical and lexical. American and British English are two dialects of the same universal English language.

Pidgin and Creole

A pidgin language is a "marginal language" which is derived from 'full-size' source language by drastically simplifying their structure and vocabulary; it is not used b a speech community as a native language.

Eg: "Gras-Bilong-Hed" means hair in Chinese pidgin meaning hair.

Adopting a lingua franca is not the only solution to the problem of communication between groups of people speaking different languages. A pidgin is a restricted language system which arises in order to fulfill essential communication needs among people, with no common language. It is no one's first language and is used at first in a limited set of circumstances. Such a system, typically develops on trade routes and in coastal areas. A pidgin is usually based on one language, though it soon acquires an admixture of other languages as well as an independent construction of its own.

For example, Tok Pisin (also known as Melenesian pidgin English and neo Melenesian) which is spoken in Papua Newguinei is based on English and many of the words sound somewhat like English ones.

Eg: Mi go long taun; I go/went to the town.

I/U wok abaut long rot - You walk along the road.

There are plenty of other words which can not be predicted from English.

For example: lotu (church), susu (milk), diwai (tree).

Sometimes pidgins die out on their own accord and at other times they increase in importance and become used in more and more areas of life. If someone then acquires a pidgin as a first language - perhaps because of intermarriage between people whose only common language is pidgin, the language has then become a creole. Once it has become a creole, the system tends to develop rapidly. Speech is speeded up, the syntax becomes more complex and extra vocabulary items are created. Fairly soon, it becomes indistinguishable from a "full" language. A creole is a pidgin language which is used by a speech community as a nature language. Pidgin and creole are rule governed creature systems. 


Prepared by:

Dr. Susan Mathew

CMS College Kottayam

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