Language Variation
Language variation is systematic and usually based on a speaker's age, gender, class, race, ethnicity, and/or geographic location (Curzan and Adams, 2012).
Some varieties of English are more socially acceptable than others. Speakers of standard varieties tend to be associated with social prestige and speakers of non-standard varieties may be perceived as less educated. There are many social implications of dialects and accents.
Many Americans believe that there is a single "correct" English language, but linguistics shows us that what is considered as "standard" varies from region to region. (Denham and Lobeck, 2005)
The non-verbal and gestures are a big part of languages.
There are up to 24 known dialects of the English language used in the United States today.
Language is a marker of identity, with standard varieties being associated with higher social class and non-standard varieties being associated with more marginalized groups. When speakers of a particular English dialect are aware of a social stigma surrounding a feature of the language, they may choose to vary that feature in order to comply with more socially acceptable standards.
Examining language attitudes of students in the classroom can help open up the discussion to larger social implications that affect the way people view different dialects and accents.
Some varieties of English are more socially acceptable than others. Speakers of standard varieties tend to be associated with social prestige and speakers of non-standard varieties may be perceived as less educated. There are many social implications of dialects and accents.
Many Americans believe that there is a single "correct" English language, but linguistics shows us that what is considered as "standard" varies from region to region. (Denham and Lobeck, 2005)
The non-verbal and gestures are a big part of languages.
There are up to 24 known dialects of the English language used in the United States today.
Language is a marker of identity, with standard varieties being associated with higher social class and non-standard varieties being associated with more marginalized groups. When speakers of a particular English dialect are aware of a social stigma surrounding a feature of the language, they may choose to vary that feature in order to comply with more socially acceptable standards.
Examining language attitudes of students in the classroom can help open up the discussion to larger social implications that affect the way people view different dialects and accents.
Terms to know
Dialect: a variety of language spoken by a group of people that is systematically different from other varieties of the language in terms of structural or lexical features.
Veraculars: those "varieties of a language which are not classified as standard dialects" (Denham and Lobeck, 2005, p. 174). They contain socially stigmatized features of language.
Accent: refers to differences in pronunciation
Code-switching: refers to speakers' alternating between two codes (usually between distinct dialects or languages) within one stretch of discourse or conversation, within one turn, or within one sentence (example: Spanglish)
Contrastive analysis: a strategy in which children contrast the grammatical patterns of their home language to the grammatical features of school speech.
Veraculars: those "varieties of a language which are not classified as standard dialects" (Denham and Lobeck, 2005, p. 174). They contain socially stigmatized features of language.
Accent: refers to differences in pronunciation
Code-switching: refers to speakers' alternating between two codes (usually between distinct dialects or languages) within one stretch of discourse or conversation, within one turn, or within one sentence (example: Spanglish)
Contrastive analysis: a strategy in which children contrast the grammatical patterns of their home language to the grammatical features of school speech.
Implications for Teachers of ELLs
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