Linguistic Variation and Language in Society
Item 4: Linguistic Varieties and Norms
1. Types of Varieties:
- Historical Variety: Changes that occur over time.
- Geographical Variety: Changes produced according to geographical area.
- Social Variety: Determined by culture, gender, age, etc.
- Register Variety: Variety of an individual speaker.
2. The Rule:
In a linguistic community, the uses of certain groups have more prestige and are modeled on the correct usage of language. All of these uses constitute the norm and are the basis of the standard language.
Read MoreUnderstanding Classical Greek Tragic Playwrights
The Argument of Tragedy
The argument of tragedy is the downfall of an important person. The motive of Greek tragedy is the same as that of the epic, namely the myth, but from the standpoint of communication, tragedy develops an entirely new meaning: the mythos (μῦθος) merges with the action, i.e., with direct representation (δρᾶμα, drama). The public sees with their own eyes characters appearing as separate entities operating independently, the scene (σκηνή), provided each from their
Read MoreMuriel Spark: Biography and “You Should Have Seen the Mess”
Muriel Spark (1918-2006)
Muriel Sarah Camberg (known as Muriel Spark) was born in Edinburgh on February 1, 1918, and died in Florence on April 13, 2006. Educated in Edinburgh, she became editor of Poetry Review and later published a series of biographies of figures like Mary Shelley and Emily Brontë. She is best known for her novels, notably Memento Mori and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
She attended James Gillespie’s High School for Girls, where she met Christina Kay, who became the inspiration
Read MoreLiterary Genres, Devices, and Poetic Forms Explained
Literary Genres, Devices, and Poetic Forms
Demonstrations, “Essay: variable extension work in which we develop a topical issue giving judgments and opinions personales.
Epistle: poetry or prose, with a letter approach, which develops themes related to society or politics, so instruct, moralize, or satirize.
Fable: a short story or little anecdote with didactic purposes. It usually takes the form of a moral teaching or maximum sentence called moraleja. Its characters are almost always animals and can
Read MoreUnderstanding Language Variations: Dialects, Jargon, and Slang
Understanding Language Variations
Generational Language Differences
Can three generational languages be found? Main features of each language:
- Youth: Young people are often more receptive to recent creations, Anglicisms, and lexicon from older generations’ languages.
- Marginal: More conservative, using words or phrases unknown to other age groups.
- Child Language: Features related to the speaker still being immersed in the language learning process.
Jargon Explained
What is jargon? Jargons are linguistic
Read MoreUnderstanding Language Forms, Communication, and Text
Language Forms
Representative forms seek to mimic reality or to transmit information about it:
- The story concerns actions that develop over time: news, stories…
- The description reproduces the reality around the space: landscape, environment…
- The dialogue is based on direct information exchange: conversation…
- The lyric verse expresses the inner feelings of the person.
Reflexive forms dominate the analysis of reality and the communication of ideas:
- The exhibition reflects on a topic in orderly and