Language and Society

What is language variation?

• Different dialects of a language

• Different writing systems of a language

• Different ways to learn a language

• Different ways in which a language can vary

How does social class influence language?

• Social class influences language through clothing choices.

• Social class only influences vocabulary.

• Social class influences language through vocabulary, accents, speech patterns, education, and social interactions.

• Social class has no influence on language.

What is language shift?

• The process in which a community starts using their native language and stops using another language as their primary means of communication.

• The sudden process in which a community stops using their native language and starts using another language as their primary means of communication.

• The gradual process in which a community stops using their native language and starts using another language as their primary means of communication.

• The process in which a community uses multiple languages simultaneously as their primary means of communication.

What happens when languages come into contact?

• Language contact leads to the creation of new languages.

• Language contact has no effect on languages.

• Language contact leads to borrowing of words, grammar structures, and pronunciation.

• Language contact leads to the disappearance of languages.

What is language planning?

• Deliberate efforts to influence or control the development, structure, or use of a language.

• The natural evolution of a language

• The study of different languages

• The process of creating a new language

What are some factors that contribute to language variation?

• gender, race, religion

• weather conditions, time of day, moon phase

• favorite color, favorite food, favorite movie

• geographical location, social class, age, education level, and cultural influences

How does social stratification affect language use?

• Social stratification has no impact on language use.

• Social stratification leads to a decrease in language use.

• Social stratification results in a universal language use for all social classes.

• Social stratification affects language use by creating different levels of formality and vocabulary usage based on social class.

What are the consequences of language shift?

• Increased cultural identity, preservation of traditional knowledge, enhanced linguistic diversity, social and economic advantages

• No impact on cultural identity, preservation of traditional knowledge, increased linguistic diversity, social and economic advantages

• Enhanced cultural identity, preservation of traditional knowledge, increased linguistic diversity, social and economic advantages

• Loss of cultural identity, erosion of traditional knowledge, reduced linguistic diversity, social and economic disadvantages

What are the outcomes of language contact?

• Language assimilation, language divergence, language revival

• Language isolation, language preservation, language expansion

• Language borrowing, language convergence, language shift, and language death

• Language invention, language divergence, language preservation

What are the goals of language planning?

• Preserve traditional language forms, limit language variation, hinder communication, and discourage language education.

• Promote a single standardized language, discourage linguistic diversity, hinder communication, and limit language education.

• Ignore language use, discourage linguistic diversity, hinder communication, and limit language education.

• Standardize and regulate language use, promote linguistic diversity, facilitate communication, and enhance language education.