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Wardaugh, R. & Fuller, J. 2015. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. UK: Willey Blackwell.
Watts, Richard J. Politeness: Key topics in Sociolinguistics. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Internet Sources
Pusatbahasaalazhar.wordpress.com
www.britannica.com
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CHAPTER3
LANGUAGES, DIALECTS, AND
VARIETIES
Source: http://www.hawaii.edu/
Accent can often tell us where someone comes from, their age, gender, level of
education, social class, wealth, and how well-travelled they are
(Stockwell, 2002)
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INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses languages, dialects, and varieties as they are discussed in
sociolinguistics. There are varieties of languages that are used in every aspect of human
endeavors. All languages have internal variation, which means that each language comes in
a variety and is the sum of those variations in one sense (Wardhaugh, 2006). Hudson
(1996) proposes a variety of language is defined as a set of linguistic items with a similar
distribution, such as Canadian English, London English, football commentary English, and
so on. In addition, Ferguson (1972) defines a variety of human speech patterns that can be
analyzed by available syncronic description techniques, and which have a large repertory
and arrangements of elements or processes of a wide enough semantical range to function
in all formal contexts of communication. Whether we consider a language in its entirety, a
dialect, the group's speech within the dialect or ultimately each person in the group, there
are always some variations. Variation can thus be defined as a particular group of 'linguist'
or 'human speaking patterns' which can be uniquely linked to an external factor,
presumably, to sounds, words etc (a geographical area or a social group). Consequently, if a
unique sets of items or patterns for each group in question is identified, it might be possible
to say there are such varieties as Standard English, Lower-class New York City speech,
Cookney, Oxford English , cocktail party talk, and so on.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After you have read this chapter you should be able to:
1. Students are able to state the concept of language, dialects, and varieties properly.
2. Students are able to define dialects by regional and social variation.
3. Students are able to define a standard language.
4. Students are able to present varieties defined according to their forms and functions:
styles, registers, and genres.
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3.1 Language, Dialect, and Varieties
‘Dialect’ covers the word choices, syntactic ordering and all the other grammatical choices a
speaker could make (Stockwell, 2000; Herk, 2012, 2017). Edward (2009) in Wardhaugh
(2006) further defines dialect as a variety of language that varies in three dimensions from
other languages: vocabulary, grammar and speech (accent) because it is a similar language
in form. Because everyone has an accent, any dialect of English (or any language) is a
dialect. Where ‘accent' refers to the sounds made by a speaker. It can often tell us where
someone comes from, their age, gender, level of education, social class, wealth, how well-
travelled they are, and whether they are emotionally attached to their home town, job or
political party (Stockwell, 2000).
Meanwhile, language can refer to either a single linguistic norm or a group of related norms
and dialect to refer to one of the norms. Dialect is a form of language, which is spoken in a
particular part of a country with various words and grammar, etc. (Cambridge Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary). In addition, Stockwell (2002:5) argued that dialect covers the word
choices, syntactic ordering and all the other grammatical choices a speaker could make. A
“language” consists of one or many dialects, all of which are more or less mutually
intelligible to other speakers of the language. The most prestigious dialect in Britain is UK
Standard English (UKSE), originally a southern dialect of English which has become the
form used in most print media, law and education. Let’s examine!
Figure 1 UK Standard English (UKSE)
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Haugen (1966) in Wardhaugh (2006) has pointed that language can refer to a single
language norm or a group of associated norms. In the meantime, one of the standards is the
dialect. Further, dialect is frequently thought to exist outside of the language. Dialect is a
language that is excluded from polite society. Dialect is used for local English varieties as
well as for the various types of informal, lower class and rural language, for example
Yorkshire dialect.
Another example is described as follow:
Greek (Ionic, Doric, Attic) was derived from differences in a common spoken source
where each variety has its own literary traditions and uses, for instance Ionic for historical
reasons, Doric for choral, lyrical works and Attic for tragic events, for example. Later on, as
the various spoken varieties converged on the dialect of the main center of culture and
administration, Greek Athens became the norm for the spoken language.
Cina (Cantonese & Mandarin)
Mandarin and Cantonese speakers speak the same language. However, if one speaker only
knows Cantonese and the other only Mandarin, he cannot communicate with the other, in
fact, he speaks various languages. However, when the speakers are knowledgeable, they can
communicate with one another via a common writing system. You almost surely insist on
speaking different Chinese dialects, not different languages.
Any dialect can appear in any accent; in practice some accents tend to accompany certain
dialects. RP (Received pronounciation) almost never appears in anything but UK Standard
English, though UKSE is usually pronounced in most accents. Scouse dialect always appears
in a Liverpool accents, though, Tyneside dialect in a Geordie accent, West Midlands dialect
in a Birmingham or a Black Country accent, and so on. Accent and dialect are so closely
associated in common perception that the words for the accent (Cockney) and the dialect
(Cockney) are frequently interchangeable.
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Of course, dialects do not suddenly change from area to area. Accents and dialects that are
geographically close to one another tend to be similar in form; gradually varying the further
you travel away from them.
In terms of language and dialect, a final comment seems to be required. A dialect is the
subordinate language variety, so that we can say that Texas is dialects of German and
English, respectively. The name of the language is the superordinate term, i.e. English or
German. Some languages are also said to contain more than one dialect; in various dialects,
e.g. English, French and Italian are spoken. If so few or so uniformly speak a language that
only contains one variety, in this case we can be tented to say that language and dialect
become synonymous. However, it is also inappropriate in such a situation to use dialect
because the subordination requirement is not fulfilled.
3.2 Power and Solidarity
In order to discuss the concepts of 'power' and 'solidarity,' the various links between the
languages and dialects discussed above can be implemented. Power requires some sort of
asymmetrical relationships between entities; It has more important things than others;
such as status, money, influence, etc. A language possesses more power than any dialect. It
is the powerful dialect, but because of non-linguistic factors it has become so. Standard
English is good example. Meanwhile, solidarity is a feeling of equality that people have with
one another (Wardhaugh, 2006). A sense of solidarity can lead people to retain or insist on
independence in a local dialect or a language in danger of being endangered.
3.3 Language - Criteria
Based on Bell (1976) in Wardhaugh (2006), there are seven criteria in discussing various
types of languages namely standardization, vitality, historicity, autonomy, reduction, mixture,
and de facto norms. Bell (1976) further stated that these criteria can be used to differentiate
between languages. They also enable speakers to speak some languages more fully than
others, thereby tackling a fundamental issue in the distinction between the language and
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dialect, because speakers usually feel that languages tend in a certain sense to be "better"
than dialect.
The detail explanation is as follow:
1. Standardization
It refers to the way a language has been codified in one way or another. Grammars, spelling
books, dictionaries, and possibly literature are typically developed during this process.
2. Vitality
It refers to the existence of a living speakers' community. This criterion can be used to
differentiate between "live" and "dead" languages Two United Kingdom Celtic languages are
dead now: Manx Isle of Man, the old language, and the Cornish language.
3. Historicity
It refers to the fact that by using a particular language, a particular group of people finds a
sense of identity: it is one of them. The bond provided by a common language, however,
may prove the strongest ties between all social, political, religious or ethnic ties. A German
nation was united in the 19th century around the German language as Russians had unified
around a regenerated Russian language in the previous century.
4. Autonomy
It's an intriguing concept because it's all about feeling. To be distinct from other languages,
a language must be felt by its speakers. However, this is a highly subjective criterion.
Ukrainians assert that their language is distinct from Russian and lament the Russification
of their language during their time in the Soviet Union.
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5.Reduction
Reduction refers to the fact that a specific variety can be considered a sub-variety rather
than an independent entity. Cockney speakers will almost certainly claim to speak a variety
of English, admit that they are not representative speakers of English, and acknowledge the
existence of other varieties with equivalent subordinate status. Sometimes the reduction is
in the kinds of opportunities afforded to users of the variety.
6. Mixture
It refers to speakers' feelings about the "purity" of the variety they speak. This criterion
appears to be more important to speakers of some languages than others, for example,
French and German speakers appear to be more important than English speakers. This
partly explains, however, why pidgin and creol speakers find it hard to categorize what you
speak as a complete language: these varieties are obviously "mixed" in certain respects, and
people who speak these varieties often feel they are not either one thing or another but
rather a degraded, deficient, degenerate or marginal variety of some other standard
language.
7. De facto norms
It refers to the belief that there are many good and bad speakers, and that good speakers
are the standards of proper use.
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3.4 Social dialects Vs Regional dialects
How do languages differ from one another? There are three main types of variety of dialects
(Holmes, 2013). They are regional dialect, social dialect, and phonological or accent.
Figure 2 Types of Dialect
Lects are the varieties of language use. Lects exist because of isolation or long term
separation of groups. Isolation can be across time, geography or social barriers. However,
idiolects exist as variations of individual performance or usage. Dialects exist because
clusters or groups of people share common linguistic behaviour. Before a group linguistic
use is called a dialect, there must be observable consistent linguistic acts. Two types of
“dialects” have been recognised by sociolinguistics. They are:
(1) Sociolects or “social dialects”: linguistic differentiation based upon on membership
in a longstanding socially-isolated or separate group.
(2) Regional dialects: linguistic differentiation based upon on membership in a long
standing geographically-isolated or separate group.
3.4.1 Regional Dialects
Regional variation in the language's manner is probably one of the easiest ways to monitor
language variety. You can almost certainly see differences in pronunciation, choices, forms
of words and syntax while traveling through a broad geographical zone in which a language
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is spoken and especially in which it has been spoken for hundreds of years. Local colors can
even be distinguished in the language as you move from place to place. These distinctive
varieties are commonly referred to as regional language dialects.
Figure 3 Words for splinter in English dialects (Trudgill, 2004)
The map above depicts where different dialect words for the standard English word
splinter are used across England. The boundary lines are called isoglosses. This is just one
word out of thousands of linguistic features which vary in different dialects, and which
were documented by Harold Orton‟s comprehensive Survey of English Dialects in the
1950s. When all the information on linguistic regional variation is gathered together
on a map, with isoglosses drawn between areas where different vocabulary, or
grammatical usages or pronunciations occur, the result looks something like a spider‟s
web.
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3.4.2 Social Dialects
A sociolect or social dialect is a type of language or a register associated with a social group,
such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group (more precisely, ethnolect), an age group,
and so on (Wardhaugh, 2006). Sociolects entail both passive acquisition of specific
communicative practices through affiliation with a local community and active learning and
selection of speech or writing forms to demonstrate identification with specific groups.
According to Peter Trudgill, a leading sociolinguist and philosopher, sociolect is "a variety
that is thought to be related to its speakers' social background rather than geographical
background." This concept of sociolect arose with the establishment of Dialectology, the
study of various dialects in relation to social society, which has been established in
countries such as England for many years but has only recently received more attention. In
contrast to dialect, the basic concept of a sociolect is that a person speaks in accordance
with their social group, whether it is ethnicity, age, gender, or anything else. “The
sociolinguistic view...is that we are programmed to learn to speak in ways that fit the
general pattern of our communities,” William Labov once stated. Therefore, what we are
surrounded with in unison with our environment determines how we speak; hence, our
actions and associations. For example: There are three distinct Javanese social groups, each
with its own dialect (see table below).
1. The dialect of the lowest status group, the peasants and uneducated towns people,
consists of three stylistic levels: 1, 1a and 2.
2. The dialect of urbanised people with some education consists of five stylistic levels:
1, 1a, 2, 3 and 3a.
Table 1 Two Javanese word at different stylistic
level (Geertz, 1960)
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3. The dialect of the highly educated highest status group also consists of five levels, but
they are different from those of the second social group: 1, 1a, 1b, 3 and 3a.
In Javanese, therefore, one particular social dialect may be defined as a specific combination
of styles, or levels each with its particular patterns of vocabulary, grammar, and
pronunciation.
3.5 Standardization
To differenciate between ‘dialect’ and ‘language’ has to do with standardization.
Standardization is the process whereby a language has to some extent been codified. In this
process, grammars, spelling book, dictionaries, and possible literature are often
developed.Besides, standardization also necessitates some level of agreement on what is
and is not included in the language.
Once a language has been standardized, it is possible to teach it in a deliberative manner.
Beyond the purely linguistic, it takes on ideological dimensions—social, cultural, and
sometimes political—that go beyond the purely linguistic.
A standardized variety can also be used to elevate speakers by differentiating those who
use it from those who do not, i.e. those who continue to speak a nonstandard variety.
Trudgill (2000) defines standard English as follows (note his use of ‘usually’ and ‘normally’
in this definition).
Standard English is the type of English that is commonly used in print and is taught in
schools as well as to non-native speakers who are learning the language. It's also the variety
that educated people use in broadcast and other similar situations. The difference between
standard And non-standard, it should be noted, has nothing in principle to do with
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differences between formal and colloquial language, or with concepts such as ‘bad
language.’ Standard English has colloquial as well as formal variants, and Standard English
speakers swear as much as others.Standardization is sometimes deliberately undertaken
quite rapidly for political reasons.
Similar attempts at rapid standardization can be seen today in countries such as India
(Hindi), Israel (Hebrew), Papua Nugini (Tok Pisin), Indonesia (Bahasa Indonesia), and
Tanzania (Swahili).
3.6 Registers, Styles, and Genres
Dialect is a variety of language defined largely by its users‟ regional or socio-economic
origins. However, much language variation is a result of differences in the social situation of
use. This affects the word choices and syntactic ordering of utterances (lexicogrammar) and
has been called register. Furthermore, register differences operate within and across
different dialects. For example, the lexicogrammatical composition of registers such as
„playing a computer game‟, „buying a coffe‟ or „writing a letter to a friend‟ remain constant
even in different dialect. Choices of register and stylistic choices are the concern of
sociolinguistics.
The study of dialects is further compicated by the fact that speakers can adopt different
styles and registers of speaking , and both spoken and written langauge can be seen as
belonging to different genres of language (Wardhaugh & Fuller, 2015).
3.6.1 Register
Registers deal with sets of language items that are linked to specific occupational or social
groups. Different registers are used by bank managers surgeons, airline pilots , sales clerks,
jazz enthusiasts, and pimps (Wardhaugh (2006). Stockwell (2002) added for example,
teacher, computer programmers, mechanics or sociolinguists tend to have characteristic
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ways of speaking which involve certain particular choices and grammatical constructions.
Furthermore, register is defined as a linguistic repertoire that is culturally associated with
specific social practices and the people who engage in such practices (Wardhaugh & Fuller,
2015).
It is important that register is defined primarily by the circumstance and purpose of the
communicative situation, rather than by the individual user or ethnic or social group using
the variety. One way of pinpointing a register is to identify a communicative event along
three dimensions:
Field
Tenor
Mode
The field is the social setting and purpose of the interaction. The tenor refers to the
relationship between the event's participants. Meanwhile, the mode of communication
refers to the medium of communication (e.g, spoken, written, or e-mailed).
Example 1: Academic article in a professional journal
Field: subject matter of the article and the purpose in publishing it would be to
spreadthe argument and ideas among academic colleagues.
Tenor: the writer of the article and readers including academic colleague and students
Mode: Written mode.
Example 2: A recipe in a cook book
Field: cooking (ingredients and process of preparing food).
Tenor: expert writer to a learner, learner is beneficiary of the advice.
Mode: written, prepared. Text often read as part of process of cooking.
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Register is another factor that complicates any study of language varieties. Registers are
collections of language items associated with specific occupational or social groups.
Surgeons, airline pilots, bank managers, sales clerks, jazz fans, and pimps all use a different
register. As Ferguson (1994, p. 20) says, “people participating in recurrentcommunication
situations tend to develop similar vocabularies, similar features ofintonation, and
characteristic bits of syntax and phonology that they use in thesesituations”. Registers are
simply language variations based on their use, whereas language variation based on the
user's registers on this concept does not only involve the choice of words (such as the
notion of registering in the traditional theory).
Types of Registers
1. Formal Register
Formal register is a type of register that includes Standard American English and is used in
professional or non-personal cases.
2. Informal Register
Informal register is a register that is used in casual conversation with more familiar people.
Contractions are more frequently used in informal registers, rules of denial and acceptance
may be altered and colloquialism and slang may be used.Informal register also permits
certain abbreviations and deletions, butthey are rule governed. For example, deleting the
“you” subject and the auxiliaryoften shorten questions. Instead of asking, “Are you running
in the marathon?,” a person might ask, “Running the marathon?”
3. Over-formal Register
It is a register that is distinguished by the use of a false high-pitched nasal voice. For
example, a woman may approach another woman she does not particularly like and ask her,
cordially and in a high-pitched voice, "How are you?"
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4. Motherese
It is a register that is distinguished by high-pitched, elongated sounds and “sing-song”
intonation. It is used when speaking to infants, small children, or pets.
5. Reporting Register
It is characterized by easily discernible verbal and nonverbal cues such as flat intonation,
rapid rate of speech, relatively low pitch, and a lack of prominent facial expressions and
gestures.
3.6.2 Style
Based on Stockwell (2002), style refers to variations within registers that can
representindividual choices along social dimensions‟. One stylistic dimension within a
registerwould be the scale of formality – casualness. Furthermore, style refers to how one
or more people do a specific thing. Style becomes a different way of expressing the same
content in language behavior. Style is the way speakers speak, the speaker can make
informal and formal weather choices, it depends on the circumstances and the participant's
age and social group (Wardhaugh, 2006). And style is also the variants of speech used for
the same purpose under certain circumstances in certain situations or the form of the
language.
3.6.3 Genre
A Genre is usually associated with particular linguistic features and text type (Wardhaugh
and Fuller, 2015). Like a register, a genre can also function as a routined vehicle for
encoding and expressing a particular order of knowledge and experience (Bauman, 2000),
for example, a recipe, a personals ad, a news article, or an infomercial.
3.5 Summary
Everyone has an accent at all. It is impossible to speak without an accent as it is to speak
without making any sound. Accent can often tell us where someone comes from, their age,
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gender, level of education, social class, wealth, how well-travelled they are, and whether
they are emotionally attached to their hometown, job or political party. All of these factors
can also be carried in someone’s dialect. As jus everyone has an accent, so every form of
English (or any language) is a dialect. If ‘accent’ refers to the sounds a speaker makes,
‘dialect’ covers the word choices, syntactic ordering and all the other grammatical choices a
speaker could make. It can be concluded that a language can have one or many dialects.
What's the difference between a language and a dialect? This chapter seeks to
acknowledge many non-linguists' perceptions of this issue while presenting the
sociolinguists' stance that specific ways of speaking are considered distinct languages or
subordinated dialects due to socio-political ideologies and identities, rather than linguistic
differences between varieties. While a 'language' is regarded as an overarching category
containing dialects, it is also frequently regarded as synonymous with the standard dialect;
however, closer examination of the standard reveals that it is a value-laden abstraction
rather than an objectively defined linguistic variety. In addition, each language has a variety
of regional dialects, social dialects, styles, registers, and genres. These interconnected
concepts are discussed and defined with a focus on how they contribute to the speakers'
identities and social interactions.
3.6 Exercise
1. How do you differenciate between language and dialect?
2. What do you know about social and regional dialect?
3. What are the differences between styles, registers, and genres?
4. What are some problems with drawing dialect boundaries?
5. Why are standard varieties considered standard, and nonstandard ones considered
nonstandard? Is this due to social factors or linguistic features?
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References
Bauman, Richard. 2000. Genre. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 9 (1-2), 84-87.
Bell, R.T. 1976. Sociolinguistics-approaches and problems. London: Batsford.
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
Ferguson, C.A. 1972. Language structure and language use: Essays by Charles Ferguson.
Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Geertz, Clifford. 1960. The Religion of Java. London: The University of Chicago Press.
Herk, Gerrard Van. 2012. What is Sociolinguistics? New York: Willey Blackwell.
Holmes, Janet & Wilson, Nick. 2017. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (5th edition). New
York: Routledge.
Holmes, Janet. 2013. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (4th Edition). New York: Longman.
Hudson, Richard. 1996. Sociolinguistics. Cambridge University Press.
Stockwell, Peter. 2002. Sociolinguistics: A resource book for students. London: Routledge.
Trudgill, Peter. 2000. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society.
London: Penguin Group.
Wardaugh, Ronald. 2006. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Wardaugh, Ronald & Fuller, Janet. 2015. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. UK: Willey
Blackwell.
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CHAPTER 4
LANGUAGE CONTACT: PIDGIN
AND CREOLE LANGUAGES
Source: https://www.uni-due.de/
New languages are continually being born to language families
(Stockwell, 2002)
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INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, the various lingua francas, pidgins, creoles, and mixed-languages are
presented. The chapter further explains and discusses the status of such languages, a topic
that deals with creole. This topic looks at how different contact languages really come from
other languages. It can be seen, for example, English which have loanwords from Romance.
Historically, during the different stages of their development these languages have been
borrowed and changed by language contact. In contexts of language contact, most
languages have developed. This chapter discusses the lingua francas first, then the pidgin
and creole languages and ends this chapter with a short discussion of so-called mixed
languages.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After you have read this chapter you should be able to:
1. Students are able to define and discuss lingua francas.
2. Students are able to compare between Pidgin and Creole languages.
3. Students are able to identify pidgin and creole formation.
4. Students are able to analyze features of creole languages.
5. Students are able to elaborate how creole langauge differ from mixed languages.
4.1 Lingua Franca
Lingua franca is a language that serves as a means of regular communication in multilingual
speaking communities between the various linguistic groups. E.g., English (Coulmas, 1998).
A language of lingua franca is used to communicate with people whose first languages differ
(Holmes, 2013; Meyerhoff, 2018). A lingua franca further is defined as people who speak
different languages and communicate with one another (Wardaugh and Fuller, 2015).
Meanwhile, based on UNESCO, a lingua franca is a language that is commonly used by
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people whose mother tongues are not the same in order to facilitate communication
between them (Barotchi, 1994). Sabir For example, was a lingua franca of the
mediterranean. Arabic, Mandarin, Hindi, and Swahili are other examples. They are also used
as lingua francas. Furthermore, Arabic is a lingua franca associated with Islam's spread.
English is now used as a lingua franca in many places and for many purposes, such as travel,
business, technology, and international relations.
There are numerous ways to speak a lingua franca. Not only are they spoken differently in
different places, but the ability of individual speakers to use the languages varies greatly
(Smakman, 2018). English, for example, is a first language for some, a second language for
others, and a foreign language for still others. This is certainly true in India, where, despite
the fact that Hindi is the official language, English is widely used as a lingua franca in a
variety of contexts (Wardaugh and Fuller, 2015). Kiswahili is another example. It is the East
African lingua franca. It is also spoken as a native language in Kenya and Tanzania (Polome,
1967). It has, however, spread as an inland lingua franca and is used in education in
Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi; it is also widely used in politics and other
public venues throughout the Grean Lakes region (Kishe, 200). During the nineteenth
century in North America, Chinook Jargon was widely used as a lingua franca among native
peoples of the coastal northwest, from northern California to the coast of British Columbia
and into Alaska.
4.2 Pidgins
Linguists use the term "pidgin" to describe speech varieties that emerge when speakers of
two or more different languages come into contact with each other and do not understand
each other's language (O’grady, Dobrovolsky, & Katamba, 1996). In other words, a pidgin is
a language that has no native speakers. So a pidgin is not anyone's native language, but
rather a contact language. Pidgins are real languages, not baby talk. They are used for
serious purposes, and each has a distinct linguistic structure. Pidgins appear to be more
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common when two groups speaking different languages communicate in the presence of a
third dominant language.
A pidgin is thus sometimes viewed as a'reduced' variation of the 'normal' language, namely
the dominant language mentioned above, with simplified grammar and vocabulary,
significant phonological variation, and a mixture of local vocabulary to meet the special
needs of the contact group (Wardaugh, 2006; Wardhaugh, & Fuller, 2021).
Pidgin languages are mainly but not exclusively distributed around the globe in the
equatorial belt, generally in places with direct or easy access to the oceans. It can be found
mostly in South America's Caribbean coast, and around the north and east, the African
coast, especially the west and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Its distribution seems related
to traditional business patterns, including the slave trade.
There are two reasons why do pidgins develop (Holmes & Wilson, 2017). They are:
1. Pidgins develop as a means of communication among people who do not speak the same
language.
West Africans were deliberately separated from others who spoke the same language on
Caribbean slave plantations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to reduce the risk
of them plotting to escape or rebel. To communicate with one another and with their
overseers, they developed pidgins based on the plantation bosses' language as well as their
own.
2. Pidgins develop as languages of trade between the traders.
Pidgins developed as trade languages on seacoasts in multilingual contexts between traders
– who used a colonial language such as Portuguese, Spanish, or English – and the Indians,
Chinese, Africans, or American Indians with whom they traded. Indeed, many of the
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definitions of pidgin have been proposed to reflect its use as a means of communication
between traders. It could be derived from the word 'business' as pronounced in Chinese
pidgin English, or from the Hebrew pidjom meaning 'trade or exchange,' or from the
combination of two Chinese characters péi and tsin meaning 'paying money.'
Hancock (1977) lists 127 pidgins and creoles. 35 of them are based on the English language.
Hawaiian Creole, Gullah or Sea Islands Creole (spoken on islands off the coasts of northern
Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina), Jamaican Creole, Guyana Creole, Krio (spoken in
Sierra Leone), Sranan and Djuka (spoken in Suriname), Cameroon Pidgin English, TokPisin,
and Chinese Pidgin English are among them (now virtually extinct). Another fifteen are
based on French, such as Louisiana Creole, Haitian Creole, Seychelles Creole, and Mauritian
Creole.
French-based creoles (both Caribbean and Pacific varieties) are mutually intelligible, unlike
English-based creoles. Fourteen others are Portuguese-based, such as Papiamentu (spoken
in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao), Guiné Creole, Senegal Creole, and Saramaccan (spoken in
Suriname); seven are Spanish-based, such as Cocoliche (spoken by Italian immigrants in
Buenos Aires); and five are Dutch-based, such as US Virgin Islands Dutch Creole (or
Negerhollands), which is now nearly extinct, and Afrika; six are German-based, e.g., Yiddish
and whatever still remains of Gastarbeiter Deutsch; and the rest are based on a variety of
other languages, e.g., Russenorsk (a Russian–Norwegian contact language, now extinct),
Chinook Jargon (a virtually extinct contact language of the Pacific Northwest of the United
States and Canada), Sango (extensively used in the Central African Republic), various
pidginized forms of Swahili (a Bantu language) used widely in East Africa, and varieties of
Hindi, Bazaar Malay (a variety of Malay in widespread use throughout Malaysia, Singapore,
and Indonesia), and Arabic.
Example 1
Bislama (The Language of Vanuatu)
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Bislama is a dialect of Melanesian Pidgin that is spoken by nearly everyone in Vanuatu, an
archipelago of about 80 islands in the southwest Pacific with a population of around
200,000 people. It, like the Caribbean pidgins, arose from the need for a lingua franca
among plantation workers. The Melanesians who worked on the sugar-cane plantations of
Queensland (Australia) and later Fiji in the nineteenth century, on the other hand, were not
slaves. They were 'indentured servants,' or contract workers. The pidgin spread because it
was useful to traders in sandalwood and seaslugs (or beche de mer, from which the
language gets its name). The utility of a lingua franca in Vanuatu, a country with over 100
vernacular languages, ensured its survival. Bislama is now a fully functional creole that has
been designated as Vanuatu's national language.
MAP
Figure 1 Map of Bislima
Bislama is also a Creole language, one of the official languages of Vanuatu, known by its
earliest name.Many "Urban ni-Vanuatu" (those who live in Port Vila and Luganville) speak it
as their first language, and it is the second language of the majority of the rest of the
country's residents. "Yumi, Yumi, Yumi", the Vanuatu national anthem, is in Bislama. More
than 95% of Bislama words are of English origin; the remainder combines a few dozen
words from French, as well as some vocabulary inherited from various languages of
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Vanuatu, essentially limited to flora and fauna terminology. While these vernacular
languages have little influence on vocabulary, they have a significant impact on
morphosyntax.Bislama is essentially a language with an English vocabulary and Oceanic
grammar and phonology.
Grammar
Mi bin stap long plesiabifo : I have been to this place before.
Mistap long stoa : I am at the store.
Bukblong mi : The book that belongs to me
Initially, pidgins develop with a limited set of functions. Those who use them speak other
languages, so the pidgin is a supplement to their linguistic repertoire used for a specific
purpose, such as trade or administration. Pidgins are almost entirely used for referential
rather than affective purposes. Rather than signaling social distinctions or expressing
politeness, they are typically used for very specific functions such as buying and selling
grain or animal hides. As a result, the structure of a pidgin is usually no more complicated
than is required to express these functions. Nobody uses pidgins to express social distance
or group identification, so there is no pressure to keep referentially redundant features of a
language or complicated pronunciations whose main purpose is to signal how well
educated you are.
Example 2
Juba Arabic: the southern Sudan
Juba Arabic is a southern Sudanese pidgin language. It has a small vocabulary of words for
trade and basic communication, and it borrows from Sudanese native languages or
colloquial Arabic when necessary. It has a very simple sound system and has almost
completely eliminated Arabic's complicated morphology (which has inflections for gender,
number and person on the noun, and tense and negation on the verb). Juba Arabic is a
stable variety with its own distinct structure. Though it is easier for an Arabic speaker to
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learn than it is for an English speaker, it does require learning and cannot be improvised for
a specific occasion.
Figure 2 Map of Southern Sudan
Example 3
Pidgin & Creole in Hawai’i
Often Pidgin is considered a mixture of languages such as European languages (for example
English and French), certain local languages (for example, Hawaiian), and other language
varieties brought in by settlers from different locations. Pidgin was used not only for
business but also as a medium of communication for other purposes between several ethnic
groups, for instance. Hawaiian is a place where knowing how pidgin and creole have
evolved is very interesting.
Figure 3 Pidgin in Hawaii
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Let’s have a look at a video about pidgin (and creole) in Hawai’i.
Visit: http://termcoord.eu/2015/09/video-fix-pidgin-and-creole-the-discovery-and-
language-contacts/
(Source: Hashikawa, 2015)
The characteristics of pidgin in Hawai’i, it is considered as a mixture of languages. One of
the most common characteristics of pidgin is that it has simple terms in order to make
understanding between people not sharing a common language easier. In general, the
linguistic structure of pidgin and creole are simpler compared to European languages in
terms of sentences, verbs, nouns, and other linguistic functions. This sentence needs to be
clarified thus, sometimes pidgin sounds like a “broken” language.
Hawaiian pidgin is a type of communication used between the English-speaking and the
non-English-speaking indigenous Hawaiians and foreign immigrants, originating at
sugarcane plantations. It replaced the already existing pidgin used by the Hawaiians in
plantations and elsewhere in Hawaii, and has been influenced by it. Given that the
sugarcane plantations often hired workers from numerous countries, it was necessary that
the plantation workers and their supervisors communicate effectively. The languages
Hawaiian Pidgin, including the Portuguese, Hawaiian, American and Cantonese have been
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different. Since people of other languages such as Japanese, Filipino and Korean worked in
the plantations, Hawaiian Pidgin got words from them. In Hawaiian Times, Japanese
loanwords listed some of these Japanese words. The Spanish spoken by Puerto Rican
colonists in Hawaii Ali also had a lesser influence. Hawaiian Pidgin was mainly created to
facilitate communication or cooperation between immigrants and Americans. Even today,
Hawaiian Pidgin retains some influences from these languages. For example, the word
"stay" in Hawaiian Pidgin has a form and use similar to the Hawaiian verb "noho",
Portuguese verb "ficar" or Spanish "estar", which mean "to be" but are used only when
referring to a temporary state or location.
Example 4
TokPisin: Papua New Guinea
TokPisin is now used as a unifying language in Papua New Guinea by speakers of various
languages. TokPisin is a creole language that is widely spoken in Papua New Guinea. It is
Papua New Guinea's official language and the most widely spoken language in the
country.However, in parts of Western, Gulf, Central, Oro Province and Milne Bay Provinces,
the use of TokPisin has a shorter history, and is less universal, especially among older
people. While it likely developed as a trade pidgin, TokPisin has become a distinct language
in its own right. It is often referred to by Anglophones as "New Guinea Pidgin" or "Pidgin
English".
Figure 4 Map of Papua New Guinea
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4.2.1 What kind of linguistic structure does a pidgin language have?
Pidgin languages are the result of the collaborative efforts of people who speak different
languages (Herk, 2012; 2017). To varying degrees, all of the languages involved may
contribute to the sounds, vocabulary, and grammatical features, and some new features
may emerge that are unique to the new variety. Nonetheless, when one group speaks a
prestigious world language and the other groups use local vernaculars, the prestige
language tends to supply more vocabulary, while vernacular languages have a greater
influence on the grammar of the developing pidgin.
4.2.1.1 Lexifier vs substrate
The language that provides the majority of the vocabulary is known as the lexifier (or
sometimes superstrate), while the languages that influence grammatical structures are
known as the substrate. So, in Papua New Guinea, English serves as the lexifier language for
TokPisin, while Tolai serves as the substrate language.
Pidgins have a simplified structure and a small vocabulary when compared to fully
developed languages because they develop to serve a very narrow range of functions in a
very limited set of domains. Pacific pidgin languages, for example, have only five vowels: [a,
e, I o, u], compared to around twenty in most varieties of English. Consonant clusters are
either simplified (e.g., pes for ‘paste') or vowels are inserted to break them up into two
syllables (e.g., silip for ‘sleep'). Affixes are no longer required. As a result, unlike in English,
words do not have inflections to indicate the plural or the tense of the verb. Affixes are not
used to indicate gender, as they are in Spanish and Italian. The information affixes convey is
frequently signaled more specifically elsewhere in the sentence, can be deduced from
context, or is referentially redundant. Every learner of French or Spanish, for example,
understands that grammatical gender of objects is completely unnecessary if you want to
communicate rather than impress others.
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4.2.1.2 Attitudes
Pidgin languages have low status and prestige, and to those who do not speak them, they
can appear ridiculous. Many Europeans regard pidgins as a debased form of their own
language because of the large number of pidgin words that derive from a European
language in a pidgin such as TokPisin. They believe they can figure out what the words
mean.
To summarize, a pidgin language has three distinguishing features:
1. It is used in restricted domains and functions.
2. It has a simpler structure than the source languages.
3. It has low prestigiousness in general and attracts negative attitudes – particularly from
outside countries.
Many times, Pidgins have a shorter life. When a function is created for a specific purpose, it
becomes obsolete. In Vietnam, an American-Vietnamese Pidgin English was developed for
use, but it died after that. When trade between the groups ceases, the trading pidgin usually
vanishes. Alternatively, as trade grows, more contact leads to at least one side learning the
other's language, and thus the need for the pidgin fades. In some cases, however, pidgins
develop into full-fledged languages or creoles.
4.3 Creole
Creole is a pidgin with native speakers. Many of the pidgins are now creole languages.
Children learn them as their first language and use them in a variety of contexts. Wardaugh
(2006) stated that a creole is often described as a pidgin, the first language of a new
generation of speaking speakers. Holmes (1992, p. 95) added that ‘a creole is a pidgin which
has expanded in structure and vocabulary to express the range of meanings and serve the
range of functions required of a first language. TokPisin (which was used to demonstrate
some of the characteristics of pidgins in the preceding section) is one obvious example of a
pidgin that has evolved into a creole language. This demonstrates that a language's label is
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not an accurate indicator of whether it is pidgin or creole. Despite its name, TokPisin is a
Creole because numerous speakers have learned it as their first language and have
developed to suit their linguistic needs. Creoles differ from pidgins in their range of
functions, structure, and, in some cases, attitudes expressed toward them as a result of their
status as a group's first language. A creole is a pidgin that has been expanded to express a
variety of meanings and perform the functions of the first language.
4.3.1 Structural features
Outsiders frequently underestimate the linguistic complexity of creole languages. As
previously stated, pidgin languages do not use affixes to indicate meanings such as verb
tense or noun number. Creole languages, on the other hand, develop systematic means of
signaling meanings, such as verb tenses, which may evolve into inflections or affixes over
time. You should be able to figure out how the past tense and continuous aspect are
expressed in Roper River Creole (also known as Australian Kriol) by comparing the
different sentences. The particle bin indicates the past tense, while the suffix - bad, which is
attached to the verb, indicates the progressive aspect. An example from TokPisin can show
how a creole develops systematic ways of expressing additional meanings in a concise
manner as the speakers' demands on the language increase.
Pidgins become more structurally regular as they undergo creolisation, the process by
which a pidgin becomes a creole. The lists in Table 4.2 illustrate a linguistic strategy that
regularizes the structure of words with related meanings, making the forms easier to learn
and understand.
Table 1 Tok Pisin Forms
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The meaning relationship between the words in the first and third columns is identical, and
this is reflected in the creole form but not in English. Once you recognize the pattern, you
can create new words in the creole language and guess the English translation. If you knew
the TokPisin word for ‘hot' was hat, you could guess that the word for ‘to make hot' or ‘to
heat' was hatim. Similarly, you can deduce that the English verb missing from the list above
is ‘to dirty' or ‘make dirty.' Notice that English is nowhere near so regular in form. While we
can sometimes find patterns like black/blacken, soft/soften, wide/widen, it is not long before
an irregular form trips up the unwary learner of English. While there is a word shorten in
English, there is no wordlongen, for instance.
As the creole develops, paraphrases like these become more compact and concise, often at
the cost of semantic ‘transparency’. This is clearly a normal process in language. So
washman is a combination of elements meaning ‘man employed to do the washing’ (a bit
like English ‘washerwoman’ – an interesting example of a cultural difference in gender roles
too). But though its meaning is clear when you know it, and therefore easy to remember,
there is no reason why it could not mean ‘man who washes the streets’, for instance, and
have derived from a longer phrase spelling out that meaning more explicitly. Once it has
compacted into washman its precise meaning has to be learned. Similarly daiman could
mean ‘executioner’ or ‘hangman’, but in fact means ‘corpse’. When concise compounds like
these develop from longer phrases they become less transparent, and this is a common
process in the development of languages.
4.3.2 Functions
A pidgin can become so useful as a lingua franca that it may be expanded and used even by
people who share a tribal language. In multilingual speech communities, parents may use a
pidgin so extensively during the day, in the market, at church, in offices and on public
transport that it becomes normal for them to use it at home too. In this case, too, children
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will often acquire it as their first language and it will develop into a creole. TokPisin is the
first language of many children in Papua New Guinea.
Once a creole has developed it can be used for all the functions of any language – politics,
education, administration (including tax forms), original literature (and translations of
Shakespeare too), and so on. TokPisin is frequently used as the language of debate in the
Papua New Guinea Parliament, and it is used for the first three years of education in many
schools. Creoles have become accepted standard and even national and official languages.
4.3.3 Attitudes
Outsiders' attitudes toward creoles are frequently as negative as their attitudes toward
pidgins, but this is not always the case for those who speak the language. TokPisin has
status and prestige among people in Papua New Guinea who recognize its utility as a means
of communication with a diverse range of influential people and in obtaining a decent job.
4.4 Mixed Languages
Some languages around the world, on the other hand, are mix of elements from various
sources (O'Grady, Dobrovolsky, & Katamba, 1996). There are also examples of language
evolution that appear to be the result of a combination of two distinct varieties (Wardaugh
& Fuller, 2015). According to Thomason (2001), these languages differ from creoles in that
there are only two languages involved and the components of the mixed language can be
easily traced back to one of them. A mixed language is one with lexical and grammatical
structures that cannot be traced back to a single source (parent) language.
4.5 Summary
Language families are constantly giving birth to new languages. All natural languages
emerge from and coexist with other languages to which they are related. There are two
processes called as pidgin and creole in new languages. Pidgins grow with time and
transform into other language forms. Theprocess of the development of a pidgin into a
creole is calledcreolisation, there is also a process of decreolisation, which stimulatesfurther
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change of a language. When people using a creole have somecontact with the standard
language they tend to shift from one form tothe other thus often changing the structures of
creole to make it resemblethe standard version, perceived as having higher social prestige.
Pidgins have helped in making communication possible in a complex linguistic set up like
multilingual settings.
When a pidgin begins to be used by a large number of people, itsvocabulary and grammar
expand, and it starts to be used in a widercontext. As it is developed as a contact language,
pidgin does not haveany native speakers, yet if it is used on a wider scale, children of
peopleusing it might acquire it as their mother tongue. When such a languagestarts to be
used by a second generation of speakers, it is called a creole.It is the next stage of
development of pidgin and it is characterised bydifferent grammatical features such as
avoidance of passive voice, lackof case distinction in pronouns, different word order. Pidgin
is alanguage of necessity because it evolves out of the need to enhancecommunication
among a vast populace with different sociolinguisticbackgrounds.
4.6 Exercise
1. Using the social dimensions such as solidarity, status, formality, and function– consider
the social characteristics of the following linguistic varieties described in this chapter.
(a) lingua franca
(b) pidgin
(c) creole
2. The usefulness of lingua francas which have emerged naturally in a multilingual context
has often resulted in them being selected as national or official languages. What factors
do you think will be relevant when selecting a language to promote as an official or
national language? Are they likely to be mainly linguistic or non-linguistic factors?
3. Explain 3 (three) identifying characteristics of a pidgin language?
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4. Most research on creoles has focused on the relationship between the creole and the
(usually European) lexifier language. But in the East Maroon community of Pamaka, the
lexifier language (English) is never heard in daily interaction and nor is it an official
language of Suriname. Rather people switch regularly between two creole languages, one
the local rural community language Pamaka, and the other an urban creole, Sranan
Tongo. What are the implications for decreolisation in such a context?
5. How do you differenciate between Pidgin and Creole languages?
References
Coulmas, Florian. 1998. The Handbook of Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers
O’Grady, W., Dobrovolsky, M., & Katamba, F. 1996. Contemporary Linguistics An
Introduction. Longman.
Herk, Gerrard Van. 2012. What is Sociolinguistics? New York: Willey Blackwell.
Herk, Gerard Van. 2017. What is Sociolinguistics? (second edition). New York: Willey
Blackwell.
Holmes, Janet. 2013. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (4th Edition). New York: Longman.
Holmes, Janet & Wilson, Nick. 2017. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (5th edition). New
York: Routledge.
Meyerhoff, Miriam. 2018. Introducing Sociolinguistics (third edition). New York: Routledge.
Polome, E.C. (1967). Swahili Language Handbook. Washington DC: Center for Applied
Lingistics.
Smakman. Dick. 2018. Discovering Sociolinguistics: From Theory to Practice. Red Globe
Press.
Stockwell, Peter, 2002. Sociolinguistics: A resource book for students. London: Routledge.
Wardaugh, Ronald. 2006. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Wardaugh, Ronald & Fuller, Janet. 2015. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. UK: Willey
Blackwell.
Wardhaugh, R., & Fuller, J.M. 2021. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. UK: Willey
Blackwell.
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CHAPTER 5
CHOOSING A CODE
Source: Study.com
The limits of my language are the limits of my world
Ludwig Wittgenstein
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INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses what happens when speakers of multiple languages, or more
precisely, come in contact. In societies around the world, multilingualism is common,
despite the view of many linguists that only one language is the norm. There are two kinds
of multilingualism presented namely multilingualism as a societal phenomenon and
multilingual discourse. This chapter then talks about diglossia, code- switching and code-
mixing. Many people speak and exchange or mix their general language usage with their
mother tongues, particularly in communication with people who understand the various
codes in a particular social situation.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After you have read this chapter you should be able to:
1. Students are able to explain and discuss the perpasiveness of multilingualism.
2. Students are able to differenciate between multilingual societies and multilingual
discourse.
3. Students are able to present the concept of diglossia.
4. Students are able to define Code- swicthing and code mixing.
5. Students are able to explain some countries with code switching and code mixing.
5.1 Multilingualism
Bilingual or multilingual is someone’s ability to speak more than one language or multiple
languages (Holmes, 2013; Holmes & Wilson, 2017). The ability to speak more than one
language is perhaps more common than monolingualism in the world (Stockwell, 2002).
However, monolingual countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and
Australia may regard the ability to speak more than one language as an unusual skill. It is
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because the powerful influence of English worldwide makes it seems less necessary to do
so. Multilingual speakers frequently switch between languages based on the situation and
the interlocutor's language competency, as well as to mark identities or group affiliations,
negotiate social roles and status, and establish interpersonal solidarity or distance
(Mesthrie, 2011).
5.1.1 Multilingualism societies
It is common for people to speak multiple languages (Herk, 2012, 2017). One or more
people can use one at home, one in the town and one for trade or commercial use. It also
occurs in the case of another contact with the outside world of a larger social or political
organization. Mohanty, an Indian sociolinguist, for example, speaks Oriya at home. In his
workplace, he speaks English. He watches television in Hindi and communicates with his
domestic helper in Bengali. Then, in market places in Delhi, he used a variety of Hindi-
Punjabi-Urdu, while Sanskrit is utilized for his prayer and religious activities, and some
traditional Kui with the Konds for his research in his community.
5.1.2 Multilingual discourse
There are no strict or specific guidelines for which language to speak in most multilingual
settings. Every time you want to speak, people must choose a code and even in very short
statements can switch from it to another code. For example, English-German multilingual
discourse between two pre-teen girls:
I: Iii, you knabber on your finger.
‘Ick, you chew on your finger [nail].’
K: No, I don’t, this one is broke off.
I: Ekelig.
‘Gross’.
Code-switching and code mixing are the common term used in sociolinguistics to refer to
this phenomenon.
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5.2 Code- swicthing and Code-mixing
5.2.1 Code-switching
Most people have access to a repertoire of codes. Even if you speak only English, you can
almost certainly switch to a casual, formal style or different accents or even dialects
(Agustin, Magria, Setiyana, 2020). Here it is important to note that these different uses of
different codes are linked to different situations or fields. According to one code-switching
theory, the choice of code is determined by the domain in which speakers perceive
themselves to be (Stockwell, 2002). This means that the choice of code, as well as the actual
content of what is said, is communicatedly meaningful.
There are two kinds of code-switching, namely situational code-switching and metaphorical
code-switching (Stockwell, 2002). Situational code-switching happened when a speaker
moves from one domain into another, and changes their code as a result. Meanwhile,
metaphorical code-switching happened when a speaker can deliberately change codes in
the middle of a situation, in order to indicate the hearer that they consider a new domain to
be ‘in operation’.
According to Romaine (2000), code-switching is divided into three, namely tag-switching,
intersential switch, and intrasentential switch.
1. Tag-switching
Speaker uses this types of taq-switching because the speaker lacked the necessary
vocabulary in English for the previous word.
For example:
‘I am pleased to see you’re getting a bewegungsmelder, ja’
(security light, yes’).
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2. Intersentential switching
Speaker uses this types of intersentential switching to change the topic. It can be
seen from the following example.
For example:
‘we are going to Nicki’s house at nine and maybe to the Bomb (a nightclub)
afterwards’. (short pause). ‘Kristina bleibt allerdings zu Hause sie muss noch
arbeiten’ (unfortunately Kristina is staying at home because she still has to do
some work).
The example above shows that the telephone conversation swithes at a sentence
boundary, marked with a short pause, at the point where the topic changes to refer
to the speakers’s German housemate (see also Rusydah, 2020).
3. Intrasentential switching
Intrasentential switching occurs at a clause boundary rather than mid clause. It
requires the greatest degree of mutual billingual proficiency which might not have
existed in the temporary speech community.
5.2.2 Code-mixing
Beside code- switching, it is also well known as code-mixing. Where a domain is not well
defined or two domains could be seen to be operating, speakers can often be heared code-
mixing, in which the switch between languages can occur within utterances. According to
Meyerhoff (2006; 2018), code-mixing refers to ‘alternations between varieties, or codes,
within a clause or phrase’. Alterations or code-switching across clauses frequently elicit
more strongly negative evaluations.
Further, the change from one language to another within the same utterance or oral or
written text is referred to as code-mixing (Wardaugh, 2006; Wardaugh & Fuller, 2015). It is
a common occurrence in societies where two or more languages are spoken. Code-mixing
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research advances our understanding of the nature, processes, and constraints of language,
as well as the relationship between language use and individual values, communicative
strategies, language attitudes, and functions within specific socio-cultural contexts
(O’Grady, Dobrovolsky, & Katamba, 1996). Any admixture of linguistic elements from two
or more language systems in the same utterance at various levels: phonological, lexical,
grammatical, and orthographical is referred to as code-mixing. In essence, code mixing may
be better understood as a type of intrasentential switching, whereas code-switching more
readily describes the phenomenon that occurs at the inter-sentential level of linguistic
usage. As a result, code-switching is a linguistic term referring to the use of more than one
language or variety in conversation. When conversing with another bilingual, bilinguals
who can communicate in at least two languages can use elements of both languages. Code-
switching refers to the use of multiple varieties in a syntactically and phonologically
appropriate manner (Coulmas, 1998).
5.3 Diglossia
Diglossia is a term used to describe a situation in which there are two distinct codes with
clear functional separation; that is, one code is used in one set of circumstances while the
other is used in a completely different set of circumstances (Wardhaugh & Fuller, 2015). In
communities where everyone speaks two languages and there is a distinct and
institutionalized functional divergence in usage. This is called diglossia (Stockwell, 2002).
For example, Classical Arabic is the language of the Koran and is reserved for religious
purposes, and a range of vernacular arabic varieties are used for most other purposes
across north Africa and the Middle East.
Further, Ferguson (1972) defines a diglossia is defined as a relatively stable language
situation in which, in addition to the primary dialects of the language, there is a highly
divergent, highly codified superposed variety, the vehicle of a large and respected body of
written literature, either from an earlier period or from another speech community, which
is learned primarily through formal education and is used for most writing.
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Ferguson (1972) classifies four language situations which show the major characteristics of
the diglossic phenomenon;
1) Arabic speaking countries; there are two varieties (classical arabic (H) and
regional collowuial varieties (L)
2) Swithzerland; Standard German (H) and Swiss German (L)
3) Haiti; Standard french (H) and Haitian Creole (L)
4) Greece; Katharevousa (H) and Dhimotiki or Demotic (L) varieties of Greek.
There is a ‘high' variety (H) and a ‘low' variety (L) of language in each situation (L). Each
type has its own set of specialized functions. And those who are aware of both see them
differently.
5.4 Some Countries with Code- Switching and Code Mixing Situation
Communities in countries with a large number of people from different ethnic backgrounds
will frequently switch between the language of their indigenous roots and the language of
the country in which they are living (Oha et al, 2014).
For examples:
1. Basque Country
Code switching occurs frequently in the Basque Country of Spain and France, between
Basque and Spanish, and between Basque and French.
2. Canada
Code-switching may occur in Canadian communities with both Francophone and
Anglophone populations. It is so common that a slang term, Franglais, has evolved.
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3. China
In China, code-switching is common in areas where the spoken variety differs greatly from
Standard Mandarin, the lingua franca. Along with Mandarin, many regions speak three
dialects. Hong Kong, as a former British colony, uses code switching to switch between
Cantonese and English.
4. Finland
Younger speaker of Finland Swedish (a dialect of Swedish), in particular, frequently switch
between the two languages, they are Swedish and Finnish.
5. Germany
In Germany, code-switching is particularly common among third-generation descendants of
post-war immigrants from Turkey, Italy, and other Southern European countries, as well as
among the many so-called Russian Germans, who are Russian or former Soviet Union
nationals with German ancestry who have been permitted to migrate to Germany since the
early 1990s.
6. Gibraltar
In Gibraltar, the phenomena of code-switching also happens. People speak a unique mix of
English and Spanish. It is known as Llanito.
7. South Asia
In countries where English is a lingua franca, such as India and Pakistan, educated people
who do not speak English as their first language but are fluent in English, Hindi, and Urdu
frequently use code-switching by inserting English words, phrases, or sentences into their
conversations. As a result, dialects such as ‘Hinglish,' ‘Tanglish,' ‘Engdu” (from English and
Urdu), and ‘Banglish' have emerged (from Hindi, Tamil and Bangla). Close examination
reveals that, in normal conversation, an average sentence spoken by a person(s) from South
Asia (even if claimed to be in a native language) invariably contains words from both
English and the relevant native language. Code switching can occur between native
languages as well as between English and multiple native languages, allowing multiple
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languages to be used in the same conversation. This occurs naturally, and people may find it
more difficult to converse in one language continuously in an informal social setting. Many
Bollywood films contain examples of this type of code-switching.
8. Ireland
In Ireland, code switching is common: people in Irish-speaking communities may insert
English into their sentences. This is evident in the Irish soap opera Ros na Rn, in which
characters can insert English words into everyday Gaelic. In contrast, Gaelic phrases such as
'Slán' (Bye) and 'Dnan doras' (Close the door) can be used in English conversations. This is
usually done with a humorous intent, using school phrases that the majority of the
population remembers.
9. Israel
Due to the large number of new immigrants in Israel, code-switching is very common. The
majority of new immigrants in Israel are from the former Soviet Union, and they speak
Russian as well as Hebrew. The use of Arabic and English words and expressions in Hebrew
is also common among native-born Israelis (Sabra). Code switching between Hebrew and
Arabic is common among Palestinians living in an Israeli Hebrew-speaking environment
(e.g. working in an Israeli workplace, prisoners in Israeli prisons who interact with Hebrew-
speaking guards, members of the Druze community who are conscripted to the Israeli
army).
10. Japan
The mixing of Japanese and English by Western-educated Japanese and half-Japanese
children is another example of this phenomenon, particularly those raised in bilingual
households (e.g., attending international schools in Japan). Code-switching among Japanese-
Americans are also common.
11. Kenya
With English as the official language and Kiswahili as the national language, code-switching
is common in almost all conversations, even professional ones. English and tribal languages
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coexist in the country's 42 languages. Because the majority of people only speak one tribal
language, code-switching between them is uncommon. Asian (Indian) communities use
code switching to switch between Kiswahili, English, and various South Asian languages
(e.g. Gujarati, Hindi, Kutchi).
12. Lebanon
Not only does the Arabic dialect spoken in Lebanon contain the most English and French
terms of any Arabic dialect, but it is also very common to incorporate entire English and
French sentences into ordinary speech, giving rise to expressions such as "Bonjour." Kifak?
'How are things going with you?' It is not uncommon for educated people, particularly
Christians, to switch codes frequently between Arabic, French, and, to a lesser extent,
English — with no discernible pattern or logic.
13. Malaysia
Malaysians speak Manglish, a combination of English and Hokkien or Cantonese and
Malaysian, or "Bahasa Rojak," which is almost identical to Manglish with the exception of
Malaysia as the basic language.
14. Malta
Code-switching is common in Malta, a bilingual country. Maltenglish is a combination of
Maltese and English.
15. New Zealand
The Pacific Island community frequently switches between native Pasifika languages and
English. The same cannot be said about the Maori language, which is indigenous to New
Zealand.
16. Nigeria
There are about 400 languages and 1000 dialects spoken in Nigeria. The official language is
English, although Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba are considered acceptable in official contexts.
Even in professional contexts, code-switching occurs often in practically all talks. Because of
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the country's many languages, English and tribal languages are frequently mixed. Code-
switching between tribal languages is uncommon because most people can only speak one
tribal language. So we have Igbo (Engligbo), Yoruba (Yorunglish), and Hausa mixing and
switching (Hausinglish). We have Ijaw (Ijawinglish), Efik/Ibibio (Efikinglish/Ibibionglish),
and other ethnic minorities. Code-switching and code-mixing are popular in most major
cities, as they have become a welcome trend in the flow of conversations.
17. Philippines
In the Philippines, code - switching is common. Taglish is the well-known form of code
switching, involving switching to English and Tagalog. In popular media and many
government officials Taglish is often used. Code switching also takes place in the
Philippines regional languages and in Chinese Min Nan. Code switching between three or
even four languages is not unusual.
18. Romania
Code-switching also happens to Romania. Code-switching between Hungarian and
Romanian occurs to some extent among bilingual members of Romania's Hungarian
minority. As a result, their way of talking may sound strange to a native of Hungary or
difficult to understand. The Saxons are another minority in Romania. It is a German speaker
who lived in Transylvania for hundreds of years. When communicating, you also use code
switching, mostly in Romanian or using Romanian words.
19. Singapore
Singapore's multi-racial community speaks "Singlish," a hybrid of English, Hokkien,
Mandarin Chinese, and Malay (almost interchangeable with Manglish).
20. South Africa
Code switching is very common in South Africa due to the country's many languages. Many
South Africans are bilingual, and depending on who speaks and where they live in the
country, code-switching occurs in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, and Xhosa. For example, in the
Eastern Cape region, there are roughly equal numbers of Afrikaans and English speakers,
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resulting in a mix of the two languages. The population of Graaff-Reinet, for example, is
almost evenly split between Afrikaans and English speakers. As a result, there is an English
and an Afrikaans school in the town. The town's mixed language is known as Graaffrikaans.
21. Taiwan
Code-switching is most common between Standard Mandarin and Taiwanese, but it has also
been observed with Hokkien, other local languages (for example, Formosoan), and, on rare
occasions, Japanese. The use levels may range from complete phrases (e.g. a conversation
with a Mandarin that is occasionally replied to with Taiwanese) to one or two words used
like a loanword.
22. Tatars
Among bilingual urban Tatars, code-switching from Tatar to Russian is very common. This
is comparable to the situation of other non-Russian urban populations in the former Soviet
Union.
23. Ukraine
In modern Ukraine, both Ukrainian-Russian code-switching and language mixing (known as
surzhyk) are used. If speakers discover they are speaking in different languages at the start
of a conversation, one of them may switch to another. It is uncommon to switch multiple
times during a single conversation. It's also unusual to hold a conversation in which one
person speaks Ukrainian and the other speaks Russian. Surzhyk is a term that describes the
practice of combining Ukrainian and Russian words.
24. United Kingdom
Code-switching occurs in the United Kingdom's South Asian heritage communities. This is
the most numerous minority ethnic group both inside and outside of London. Members of
this community usually speak one of five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Mirpuri, Punjabi, or Urdu.
Despite being classified as dialects, these languages are distinct. Between these languages
and English, intrasentential code switching is extremely common. Wales also employs code
switching. Wenglish is a slang term for an English dialect that has been influenced by Welsh.
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Despite the fact that Welsh is a Celtic language unrelated to English, Wales is a part of the
United Kingdom.
25. USA
In the United States, a country with a large number of Spanish-speaking communities, there
may be a mix of Spanish and English words. It's so common that there's a slang term for it:
spanglish. Code-switching occurs in many other immigrant communities across the United
States.
5.5 Summary
This chapter investigates what happens when languages – or, more accurately, speakers of
languages come into contact. There are numerous paths to multilingualism and numerous
ways to use multiple languages. One pattern of language use we investigate is diglossia, in
which the two languages differ in terms of their social status; one is considered more
prestigious and is used in more formal contexts, while the other is reserved for more casual
events and interactions. However, in many multilingual societies, code choice is not as clear,
and there is multilingual discourse. People's attitudes toward multilingualism or specific
languages frequently influence how the languages are used. We examine three major
theoretical approahces to the study of multilingual discourse: communication
accomodation theory, the markedness model, and the study of language choice as part of
social identity construction. In this final section, we will see how the study of
multilingualism and the study of different dialects of the same language are based on the
same principles.
It can be more convenient to code switch a word or phrase from language-B to language-A
than to wait for one's mind to come up with an appropriate language-B word. Code-
switching can help an ethnic minority community retain a sense of cultural identity in the
same way that slang is used to give a group of people a sense of identity and belonging and
to differentiate themselves from society at large. Competing sociolinguistic theories
investigate code-switching as language behavior, frequently employing discourse analysis,
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ethnography, or a combination of the two. Scholars have written about the effects of using
multiple language varieties on class, ethnicity, gender, and other identity positions.
5.6 Exercises
1. Code-switching and borrowing are said to be different phenomena. Try to distinguish
between the two, using examples from two languages you know.
2. If someone were to tell you that diglossia is but a simple reflection of the social, cultural,
or political oppression of a people, how might you answer?
3. When you visit a foreign country whose language you know either well or poorly, when
do you use that language and when do you not? What factors govern your choice?
4. What varieties of language do you hear in your everyday life? Do all of these varieties
have names? What values are assigned to these different ways of speaking, by yourself
and others? How do these ideologies and attitudes influence your language use?
5. How do you differenciate between code-switching and code-mixing?
6. Discuss the possible situations that could result in code switching and code mixing in
Indonesia.
7. Explain the major differences between Code Switching and Code Mixing. Use practical
examples.
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