Sociolinguistics

language a person was raised speaking from birth

Sociolinguistics is the descriptive and scientific study of how language is shaped by and used differently within any given society. The field largely looks at how a language varies between distinct social groups and under the influence of assorted cultural norms, expectations, and contexts, including how that variation plays a role in language change. Sociolinguistics combines the older field of dialectology with the social sciences in order to identify regional dialects, sociolects, ethnolects, and other sub-varieties and styles within a language.

thumb|The English language|English word [[tofu is a loanword from the Japanese word , which is itself a loanword from the Chinese word dòufu.]]

language variety used by a population in their public discourse (for public purposes); standardized language that has at least one standard variety besides its other varieties; variety that has undergone standardization

Slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usage) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of particular in-groups in order to establish group identity, exclude outsiders, or both. The word itself came about in the 18th century and has been defined in multiple ways since its conception, with no single technical usage in linguistics.

Dialectology () is the scientific study of dialects and other forms of language variation, especially variation associated with geographic region. Dialectologists investigate differences in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, and how such differences pattern across communities and change over time.

avoidance of language and action seen as excluding, marginalizing, or insulting

thumb|upright=1.3|The station board of Hapur Junction railway station in [[North India demonstrating digraphia of two formal registers, Hindi and Urdu, of a common vernacular, Hindustani, an example of triglossia.]]

Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. Following work by Michel Foucault, these fields view discourse as a system of thought, knowledge, or communication that constructs our world experience. Since control of discourse amounts to control of how the world is perceived, social theory often studies discourse as a window into power. Within theoretical linguistics, discourse is understood more nar

a way of pronouncing a language that is distinctive to a country, area, social class, or individual

In semiotics, linguistics, sociology and anthropology, context refers to those objects or entities which surround a focal event, in these disciplines typically a communicative event, of some kind. Context is "a frame that surrounds the event and provides resources for its appropriate interpretation". It is thus a relative concept, only definable with respect to some focal event within a frame, not independently of that frame.

In sociolinguistics, a sociolect is a form of language (non-standard dialect, restricted register) or a set of lexical items used by a socioeconomic class, profession, age group, or other social group.

Idiolect is an individual's unique use of language, including speech. This unique usage encompasses vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. This differs from a dialect, a common set of linguistic characteristics shared among a group of people.

specific form of a language or language cluster

thumb|Sarah Geronimo and an interviewer code-switch between English and Filipino. Such code-switching is widespread in the Philippines. start=43|end=52|thumb|Maya Diab code-switches between English and [[Lebanese Arabic mid-sentence.]]

thumb|True Politeness. "Your eel, I think, Sir?" ----Cartoon in Punch (magazine)|Punch magazine: 28 July 1920

set of varieties of the English language native to Australia

Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language or group of languages and the cultural practices of the people who speak those languages.

process when a language loses its last native speaker

generic term for the analysis of social, language policy or historiographical discourse phenomena

deliberate effort to influence the function, structure, or acquisition of languages or language variety within a speech community

Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken form of a language or dialect, particularly when perceived as having lower social status or less prestige than standard language, which is more codified, institutionally promoted, literary, or formal. More narrowly, any particular variety of a natural language that does not hold a widespread high-status perception, and sometimes even carries social stigma, is also called a vernacular, vernacular dialect, nonstandard dialect, etc. and is typically its speakers' native variety. Regardless of any such stigma, all nonstandard dialects are full-fledged v

language with several interacting codified standard versions

modification or development of a language

thumb|Utterance being spoken

Mansplaining (a blend word of man and the informal form splaining of the gerund explaining) is a pejorative term meaning (for a man) to explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner without regard to her own expertise.

visible dominant group that holds power or authority in a nation or organization

In sociolinguistics, hypercorrection is the nonstandard use of language that results from the overapplication of a perceived rule of language-usage prescription. A speaker or writer who produces a hypercorrection generally believes through a misunderstanding of such rules that the form or phrase they use is more "correct", standard, or otherwise preferable, often combined with a desire to appear formal or educated.

linguistic deviation

discrimination on the basis of language of an individual

discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication

contact language from mutually intelligible dialects of the same language

reading and writing skills that are inadequate "to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level."

substitution of a community's language by another one over time

Orthoepy is the study of pronunciation of a particular language, within a specific oral tradition. The term is from the Greek , from () and (). The antonym is cacoepy "bad or wrong pronunciation". The pronunciation of the word orthoepy itself varies widely; the OED recognizes the variants , , , and for British English, as well as for American English.

language that avoids bias towards a particular sex or social gender

concerning the human / civil right to choose the language(s) for communication in a private or public space

Patois (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, patois can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant.

transfer of a dominant language to other people, as a demonstration of military of economic power, along with other aspects of the dominant culture

tool in dialectology

language that is given a unique legal status in a supranational society

thumb|An example of "manspreading" on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line

use of a plural pronoun or corresponding plural-inflected verb forms to refer to a single person who is a monarch, pope, head of state, or other high-ranking person

A dysphemism is an expression with connotations that are derogatory either about the subject matter or to the audience. Dysphemisms contrast with neutral or euphemistic expressions. For example, expressing disapproval by calling a person a snake is a dysphemism. Dysphemism may be motivated by fear, distaste, hatred, contempt, humour and abuse.

formality distinction feature of some languages

difficulty in communication experienced by speakers of different languages or dialects

facetious characterization of dialect

attempt to lay down norms defining preferred or "correct" use of language

wording that is devised to be understood in two ways

thumb|250px|right|An anti-establishment sign at Lincoln's Inn Fields, [[London, in 2012]]

update fundamentals of the language system

concept in critical theory

model of language change in which a new language feature (innovation) or a new combination of language features spreads from its region of origin, affecting a gradually expanding cluster of dialects

1996 document to support linguistic rights

A solecism is a phrase that transgresses the rules of grammar. The term is often used in the context of linguistic prescription; it also occurs descriptively in the context of a lack of idiomaticness.

set of linguistic variants with specific social meanings

collectively accepted linguistic practice, basis of the standard language

An interlanguage is an idiolect developed by a learner of a second language (L2) which preserves some features of their first language (L1) and can overgeneralize some L2 writing and speaking rules. These two characteristics give an interlanguage its unique linguistic organization. It is idiosyncratically based on the learner's experiences with L2. An interlanguage can fossilize, or cease developing, in any of its developmental stages. Several factors can shape interlanguage rules, including L1 transfer, previous learning strategies, strategies of L2 acquisition, L2 communication strategies, a

essay by Victor Klemperer

term for the level of regard normally given to a language or dialect within a speech community relative to others