Meaning is found in the social context not the word.

I.e. Kiwi-multiple meanings

Society becomes before language

Language reflects your social status

Language comes before society 

Language creates social identities

Your own style of speaking

-accents, words, grammar

Languages have different levels of power in society.

-English in the Northwest has high prestige, while English in the south has low prestige.

The process of codefication (standardizing) of language

-through dictionaries, literature.

Styles: Ways of speaking for particular purpose or in a particular social setting

Style-Shift: Alternating between style depending on setting, participant age, and task.

Ways of speaking for informal and formal settings. 

Ceromony-> Public Lecture-> Conversation-> Gossip/Small Talk

Jargon: Specialized vocabulary for occupations and social groups

Argot: Slang

Ways of speaking outside norm, often taboo.

Functions: 1. Informal 2. Constructs Social Identities 3. Bonds people 4. Distinguished group members from non-group members 5. Resistance to authority

When we speak we POINT to meanings in society

I.e. Thurlow speaks it points to him being English or Foriegn 

Interconnection of people in the world by trade, culture, and economics.

Transnational flow of money, technology, pop-culture, and language. 

Homogenization: Globally things become the same, McDonaldization.

Hybridity: Diversity, like on the Ave. there are different food shops for many different countries.

Cultural flow is a two-way street but not equally with the global center (America, England) have more influence that the global periphery (smaller countries)

More Capital, more power.

Languages that have high value in society

1. Economic Capital: People who have money make there way of speaking the right way.

2. Physical Capital: David Beckham uses looks/skills to get more money.

3. Social Capital: Your connections

4. Cultutal Capital: Earn more money because you have a college degree.

Language is now dispearsed and people intermix it and can play with it. 

I.e. Chineses guy making bubble gum, speaking Chinese, English, and German

Languages package up and sold for tourism

-Disembedded

1. Largest international trade in the world

2.All about language and communication

3. Powerful site of cultural representaion and cultural communication

Language can often tell where you are from

Accents, dialects, language

Differences across space and time

Social: Professor speak vs. uneducated

Regional Variation: words vary depending on where you are from

I.e. pop, soda, and soda pop

Indicators: More unconscious, with, wit, wif

Markers (Chivalev (Spelling Colour)): Mark you out as different

I.e. Boid for Bird, Aboot for About

Your perceptions and beliefs about how others speak

Look at a map and point out what regions speak a certain way

Prestige: Power

Solidarity: Likability 

Where languages and accents fall

Put Policies in Place for language (help perserve/regulate)

I.e. Walsh Language Act kept it from extinction

Unofficial/Official enforcement of language.

I.e. English in U.S. is required by citizens, but no official language

Two dialects used by language community one regarded as more prestigious than the other

I.e. Swiss German, and German

1. European Union: 27 countries with 23 official languages, high cost for all official documents in every language. No protection or promotion of migrant languages

2. The Balkans: "Serbo-Croat" language of Yugoslavia, Bosnia war and Serbia v. Croatia (Bosnia) made languages different.

3. South Africa: Two official languages required (English/Afrikans) Soweto riots because switched language in schools. 50/50 English/Afrikans

Factors affecting life of language

1. Symbolic: official language

2. Demographic: how many speakers

3. Institutional: services available

4. Education: In schools

5. Status and Prestige: used internationally

6. Utility: Access to media

Switching between languages (dramatic) 

"Home v. Work"- using different languages at home and at work

Not as aware of it. 

Little boy switched languages to accomodate parents.

Converge for solidarity v. Diverge for dissociation

Gender: Socially constructed identity

Sex: Biological notions of male and female

Dominance Approach

"Sexist Language"

Inequality and powerlessness for women

Mr, miss, mrs, ms

Difference Approach

"Genderlects"

Rapport v. Report

Men speak by statements 

Women talk asks questions, project emotions

Performativity Approach

"Doing Gender"

Lexical and grammatical choices

Performing a certain type of man or women

Sarah Palin speaks macho in order to perform a tough women

Women in parliment less likely to break rules

Dominence Approach: Women are ubable to intervine like men

Difference Approach: Don't want to talk like men (Choosing to differentiate themselves)

Specialized occupaional vocabulary

I.e. Bullshit Bingo

Communication practice taken into the workplace

logos, slogans, business cards, mission statements, sponsorships

1. Highly stylized (performed)

2. Distinctive structure (repetative)

3. Aesthetic skills

Sports Anouncers, Auctioneer, News Anchors, etc.

Scripting of work talk through: Trainers/manuals, Classes, Ads, Intervies, Counseling

Communication turned into an expertise

Rise of discourse technologies

Com skills needed everywhere

Talk from talk-down

Imposition of linguistic skills onto (workers in call centers)

Women Talk (ask questions, speak with smile, minimal response, and project emotions)

Taking other peoples ways of talking and borrowing it to construct identity

I.e. Asian American Teens taking African American slang to form identities, they wanted to seem tough