Sociolinguistics and the cultural components of

language teaching

Brenda M. MartinezProfessor: Evelyn Lugo

ENGG 604

Objectives: At the end of the presentation the

participants the will be able to:

Understand the concept of sociolinguistics and the effect of all aspects on society.• Appreciate the importance of the

influence between cultural components and language.

• Recognize all the sociolinguistic variations: phonological, morphology, concepts of signs and sign language.

• Be familiar with the importance of functional approach of teaching language with a social connotation.

Introduction: This presentation intend to inform about the

influence that different cultures has on language. The interaction with other culture enrich the language with different variations. We need to understand the culture we teach in order to transmit the appropriate meaning according to the cultural relevance. Targeting a functional approach with a social connotation. Been open to the changes the language endure during the years. Encouraging the students to learn also about the culture of the language, rather than only the grammatical and structure of the language.

By acknowledging this facts we will be able to facilitate the process of language acquisition and the students will be able to asset a broad knowledge.

Sociolinguistics•Sociolinguistics is the

study of theeffect of all aspects on

society, including cultural norms,

expectations, and context, on the way

language is used on society.

Sociolinguistics•It also takes in consideration the different ways Language change between groups, influence by social circumstances like: ethnicity, religion , status, gender, level of education and age.

Sociolinguistic

•As the usage of a language varies from place to place (dialect), language usage change among social classes.

Cultural components

• The customs, heritage traditions, folklore, are the elements of specific characteristics that distinguish a social behavior of one country from another.

Example: Anglicism

Sociolinguistic variation:

•Different ways of saying the same thing. Words that mean the same but are grammatically different.

Example: Couch, sofa, futon, daybed ect….

Sign variation•One of the most important types of variation is regional variation. Signers in one part of a country may use different signs from signers in another part. These different varieties of the same language are called regional dialects.

Sign language variation:

•Exist for different concepts. •Example: Birthday, (US and

Canada).

Phonological variation:

Individual segments:

I. Make up words= when you add a regular words to a popular suffixes to get a humorous word, or a word that best describe what you want to say – but is not validated, or doesn’t exist in the dictionary.

Phonological Variation

Make up word examples:

• computertecnologist• bicyclistic• chocolisious etc……

Phonology Variation:

•Phonology the sound system of a language.

•Phonology Example : I did a college course when I lef

Morphology variation•Morphology the branch of

linguistics and (other major components of grammar), that study word structures (order).

•Example: I left it because I was sleepy.

Functional approach

•Acknowledge that there is a fusion in a variety of language in use, and over time, these may become approve as local words in our standards.

•Even the Real Academia Española has recognized and validated regional words.

Researchers explanation of

linguistic variables:•Labov (1966) “a set of alternative ways of saying the same thing, although the alternatives will have social significance”

•(1990, 223-24) Milroy “bit of language”

Researchers explanation of

linguistic variables:•1987, 10). Wolfram defined a linguistic variable as a “convenient construct employed to unite a class of fluctuating variants within some specified language set”

Teaching of Language

•We have to begin by changing the way language is view, not only as a code.

•Approaching the teaching of language with a social connotation.

Teaching of Language

•By approaching the importance of learning the culture of the language we could end the problem of language misunderstanding. Since in one country the meaning of a word could vary, influence by their culture, folklore or traditions.

Conclusion •The teaching of English has had a significant sociolinguistic influence not only in Puerto Rico, but also around the world. It is an important element in the transformation of our native language and on the way our language is spoken today.

Conclusion•It is important to understand that by acquiring another language we will be enriching our self with knowledge, and the same way we are transform by this process, language is also transform by the constant interaction and the influence of other languages and cultures.

References • Sociolinguistic variation in American

sign language By: Ceil Lucas, Robert Bayley, and Clayton Valliin collaboration with Mary Rose, Alyssa Wulf, Paul Dudis, Susan Schatz, and Laura SanheimCeil Lucas, Robert Bayley, Clayton Valli, Mary Rose

• Dr. Alicia Pousada: The sociolinguistics implication of teaching English in Puerto Rico, English Department, UPR

References• Analyzing Sociolinguistic variation By: Salia A.

Tagliamonte, Cambrige

• Context of competence: Social and cultural considerationin in communicative By: Margie S. Berns.

• The Importance Of Teaching Culture In The Foreign Language ClassroomDimitrios Thanasoulas Member of TESOL Greece and the AILA Scientific Commission on Learner Autonomy

• New Oxford American DictionaryOxford American Writer's ThesaurusWikipedia – English