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1、Chapter 6Linguistic and Social Inequality6.1 IntroductionnQuestion: Are some languages or dialects inherently better than others?nLay people: Some varieties of language are considered to be better than others. nLinguists opinion ?6.1 Linguistic Inequalityn6.1.1 IntroductionpEquality among languagesn
2、All languages are equal: no language is inherently “better” than others.nEach variety displays characteristics common to all human language: complex and rule-governed.pEquality among speakersnAll normal people are equal with regard to their grammars.nEven if there are differences between the grammar
3、s of two people, there is no way of knowing which has higher prestige in society simply by studying the grammars.6.1 Linguistic InequalitypTherefore, linguistics should be descriptive, not prescriptive.pProblem onenIt is harder than many linguists realize to avoid prescriptivism, since the historica
4、l development of linguistic theory has been so closely linked to the description of prestigious varieties such as standard languages.nLinguists have studied standard varieties far more than non-standard varieties.6.1 Linguistic InequalitypProblem twonThe doctrine of linguistic equality deflects atte
5、ntion from language as a possible source of social inequality.nThere are identifiable differences between people of the same age in aspects of language such as vocabulary, certain areas of syntax, skill at using speech for certain tasks and the arts of reading and writing, which can only be describe
6、d as examples of inequality.6.1 Linguistic InequalitypLinguists and lay people differ.nWhen linguists make claims about linguistic equality, they are referring to the basic core of language structure, which is the area linguistic theory has been most concerned.nLay people take the basic core complet
7、ely for granted, and are more concerned with more peripheral aspects such as vocabulary and register-specific constructions.6.1 Linguistic Inequalityn6.1.2 Three types of linguistic inequalitypSubjective inequalitynIt concerns what people think about each others speech: some people are credited with
8、 more intelligence, friendliness and other such virtues according to the way they speak.nLanguage, in the form of variety differences, contributes to social inequality by being used as a yard-stick for evaluating people, and by being a highly unreliable yard-stick.6.1 Linguistic InequalitypStrictly
9、linguistic inequalitynIt relates to the linguistic items that a person knows.nPeople of different experiences know different ranges of items.nSome people are more confident in using an item than other people, and those who do know it fare better in those social situations where it is needed.nSocial
10、inequality arises on each such occasion.nSome occasions are more important than others in their effects on overall life-chances. (education vs. fishing)6.1 Linguistic InequalitypCommunicative inequalitynIt is concerned with knowledge of how to use linguistic items to communicate successfully, rather
11、 than simply with knowledge of the linguistic items themselves.nIt refers to the kind of knowledge or skill that is needed when using speech to interact with other people.nIt also includes inequalities in the ways in which speakers select variants of linguistic variables in order to present a favora
12、ble image, which means that communicative inequality subsumes subjective inequality.6.2 Subjective inequalityn6.2.1 Language-based prejudicepIt involves prejudices about particular ways of speaking.pThis is socially problematic in that the conclusions may be wrong.pWe do it because we need the infor
13、mation, and we have no better source.pA language prejudice is a characteristic which we expect people to have because of the way they speak.6.2 Subjective inequalityn6.2.2 Evaluation of languagepWhen we evaluate speech as rough, posh, effeminate, affected and so on, this evaluation is based on the e
14、valuation of the speakers, and not on the speech forms themselves.pThe most important questions is how people evaluate the dialect or language that they speak themselves, because this is closely related to their self-evaluation.6.2 Subjective inequalitypLinguistic insecurity: a feeling of insecurity
15、 experienced by speakers or writers about some aspect of their language use or about the variety of language they speak. This may result, for instance, in MODIFIED SPEECH, when speakers attempt to alter their way of speaking.nModified speech: a term used by linguists to describe speech which is deli
16、berately changed in an attempt to make it sound more educated or refined. The change is usually temporary and the speaker lapses back to his or her normal speech pattern.6.2 Subjective inequalitypOvert prestige: the prestige of the high-status group representing, symbolically, the whole community.pCovert prestige: that of the local, non-prestige group. 6.2 Subjective inequalityn6.2.3 Stereotypes and how to study thempPeople use the speech of others as a clue to non-linguistic information about t
