Analysis 3: Sociolinguistic Observation & Reporting

In this assignment, you will practice your sociolinguistic data collection and organization skills. Take opportunities to reflect on and discuss your own sociolinguistic situation – the profusion of languages and voices which are part of your life—and to consider the universality of sociolinguistic principles and the extent to which they apply cross-linguistically, if you are able to make observations about multiple languages and communities. It’s also an opportunity to integrate information from different sources (readings, lecture, your own experiences) as you take the first steps in designing and conducting sociolinguistic research in macro- and/or micro-sociolinguistic areas, following the social science paradigm.

Maybe some of these observations will help you develop a topic for your final paper.

Throughout the first half of the course, keep a journal recording your observations of language use and sociolinguistic variation. Make at least one observation a week. A number of suggested topics are listed below, but observations relevant to any topic covered in the course are acceptable.

Whenever you work with empirical data, it's important to be well-organized and use consistent formats. For this assignment, it's important to organize your observations according to the following format.

Each entry should have the following three sections:

a)   Identifying information:

      Begin each entry with an entry number, the date of observation and the relevant topic or topics. Number all entries consecutively.

b)   Data:

      Record the data (exactly what you observed) as objectively as possible. Do not include judgments, opinions or comments here. Record the source of each datum: for live observations (face-to-face or online), record the date, time, place, participants, situations, etc.. For written media, include the standard publication information (printed articles can be cut and pasted but must be cited properly). For electronic media (TV, radio, internet), record the name of the station (or web site or newsgroup), the title, the date and time of transmission, etc.

   N.B.     Include here anything about the setting or participants that may be relevant to understanding why the event you observed happened the way it did. Write these facts down!

c)   Comments:

      Record your own comments, thoughts, interpretations, etc. about the data you have recorded. Why did you notice this particular event? Relate the data to things you have learned in this course. Your comments may include questions that the data raise in your mind, such as, "How do other people say or do this?" or, "Do I say things like that?" You may wish to suggest why you think the event occurred in this way, and how it might have occurred differently with other participants or with same participants in a different setting. Such observations and questions may lead to hypotheses you want to test or to subsequent observations which may ultimately answer your questions.

Be ready to record observations at all times, wherever you go, immediately, as soon as they happen. Don't wait a day, or even an hour, because the observations will begin fading from your memory, your accuracy will decline and important elements of the event will be lost.

You should have at least six observations to submit. Each should be about half a page long. Try to focus on just one or two of the suggested topics that are described below.

Suggested Topics

Code-switching

Bilingual (and, more generally, multilingual) people often mix languages in the course of a single conversation ("code-switching"). Code-switching can take place within the sentence or between sentences. Record any examples that you notice of people using more than one language in a single conversation. Be sure to make note of what languages are involved, and, insofar as you are able to understand those languages, try to record exactly what was said. Also, if you yourself know more than one language, note whether you or your family members or friends code-switch, and make note of any examples you or they produce. In discussing such cases, consider the following points: Why did the switches occur where they did? What aspects of the social context permitted or encouraged such mixed use of languages? What was the reaction of the other participants in the conversation to the code-switching?

Regional and national accents

Native speakers of English use many different national and regional varieties ("dialects"). Listen for any form of English spoken by a native speaker that is different from your own. Some examples: Canadian (Newfoundland, Western Canadian, French Canadian), Australian, New Zealand, Irish, West Indian, American (New York, Southern, Californian), British (RP, Cockney, Scottish, Yorkshire). Record and comment on any distinctive features of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary that you notice. Note your reaction to this dialect: Do you react positively or negatively? What aspects of the dialect affect your reaction the most?

If you are a native speaker of another language, you might report on regional or national accent variation you observe in that language instead.

Foreign accents

In Toronto there are many immigrants, residents and visitors who are not native speakers of English. How is English spoken by someone who has learned it as a second language? Listen for any foreign accents and comment on any differences you note in pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary. Find out what that person's native language is. Try to determine what rule or feature of English that person is not reproducing exactly. Note: If you speak or are learning a second language yourself, you could compare these observations to your own speech in that language. If you are a learner, are your mistakes similar to those made by other people learning English as a second language?

Slang and in-group words

As a linguistic term, slang refers to words and expressions that are not generally considered part of the standard language, but are used regularly by members of particular cultural subgroups (e.g., teenagers, computer hackers, surfers). One reason why such groups use slang terms is to mark their membership in the subgroup and simultaneously exclude non-members: appropriate use and understanding of slang forms identifies someone as a fellow member, while failure to use or respond appropriately will betray them as an outsider. The same type of in-group use of particular words is found among people of the same occupation, religion, etc., where the terms are generally referred to as jargon (which is generally not stigmatized and may be more technical in nature). Collect instances of slang or jargon that you hear around you, whether or not you are a member of the appropriate subgroup. Record relevant information about the situation, setting, topic and participants. Translate the form into a standard English equivalent and try to characterize the cultural or occupational subgroup that uses this expression.

Gender differences

Collect observations of ways in which men and women differ in their use of language. This could include differences of vocabulary, use of polite and euphemistic expressions, use of taboo words, use of "standard" as opposed to "nonstandard" words or grammatical constructions, differences in voice quality and pronunciation (e.g. pitch, breathiness, aspiration, etc.). Do these differences in usage depend on whether the speaker is addressing someone of the same sex or someone of the opposite sex? Are these differences the same for all age groups? Note also any differences in the terms men and women use to refer to other men and women (e.g. guy, girl/gal, chick, etc.). How are these terms used to show respect or disrespect? Are they used in comparable or reciprocal ways across the sexes? Does the use of these terms depend on age and social position? What words are used to refer to mixed groups of males and females?

Ethnic differences

Some features of English are often associated with speakers of particular racial or ethnic groups, stemming either from originally foreign accents (e.g. recent immigrant groups) or from historical segregation (e.g. African American English). Often these features have become positive connotations as markers of identity in the ethnic/racial group. In collecting observations of such features, be careful to distinguish between conventional stereotypes of the way these groups talk and what you actually observe people saying. (These are usually not the same thing!) Carefully explore your own preconceptions about how ethnic/racial groups' speech differs from your own speech.

Social class differences

Collect observations of differences in the use of language by people of different social classes (which may be treated as a cover term for differences in education, occupation, status, income, etc.). Be on the lookout for usages that strike you as nonstandard, stigmatized, 'common' or uneducated vs. those that seem pretentious, upper-class, sophisticated, etc. Again, this could involve vocabulary, pronunciation or grammar.

Taboo words

Most languages have a number of words that are socially taboo, and in certain circumstances even legally prohibited, referred to as "swear words" or "dirty words". Many have central meanings related to bodily functions (e.g. piss), body parts (e.g. prick) or religious concepts (e.g. goddamn), but are often used in ways that have nothing to do with the central meaning. Such words also show considerable gradation in the degree of tabooness. These facts mean that there are powerful social conventions about the situations in which they may be used, the people to whom they may be uttered and even the people who are allowed to say them. Thus, you don't use them in formal situations (e.g. lectures) and in the presence of certain people (e.g. mothers, priests), and certain people are expected to use them less or not at all (e.g. women, young children). Record your observations of the use of such terms, paying special attention to the speaker and other people present (sex, age, class, etc.), the situation and the meaning or intent (to express emotion, to insult). Comment in particular about what it was about the situation which allowed these words to be used, given the strong social taboo about the use of such words in certain situations. Note also the reaction of those present, including yourself.

Media attention to language

The mass media (newspapers, radio, TV, magazines, the worldwide web) often run articles, stories or programs about language, including news items, interviews with "experts", opinion columns, talk shows, letters to the editor, etc. These usually concern the nature or quality of present-day English (what's wrong with it, what it sounds like), the decline of standards (how corrupted the language is becoming), new words in the language (slang, borrowings, neologisms) and new meanings for old words. If you hear or see something like this on TV or the radio, take notes on what is said; if you see an article in print or on the web, photocopy it, print it or cut it out and paste it in your journal. Comment on the following points: Do you agree or disagree with the opinions expressed? Did the author overlook any relevant facts? Do you think the person was fair or biased? In what way? Are the opinions expressed similar to or different from the point of view taken in the course? In what way?

Style-shifting

All speakers adapt their way of speaking to different audiences, topics and settings. They can speak formally in public, professional or official contexts (e.g. classrooms, business meetings, public speeches), or they can be informal in private and personal contexts. They can show politeness and deference to social superiors (e.g. teachers, employers) or assert authority over social inferiors (e.g. employees, children). They can demonstrate familiarity or intimacy (e.g. friends, family) or distance (e.g. strangers). This dimension of variation in language use is often described as "speech style" and when a speaker changes from one style to another, it is referred to as "style-shifting". Make note of any examples of style-shifting that you encounter. This may be especially noticeable in contexts where speakers are relating to different audiences in rapid succession. For example, in a classroom setting, students may use one (formal) style to speak to the professor or to contribute to a classroom discussion, and a different (informal) style to carry on a private conversation with a friend in the class. At home, you may speak more formally to your parents than to your siblings. For observations of style-shifting, be sure to make note of the social relationship between the speaker and the addressee(s). Also, try to characterize the nature of the speech style used in each setting or with each audience in terms of (in)formality, familiarity/distance and politeness.

 Return to syllabus || Updated Aug. 31, 2020