Dr. Kamel A.

Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is the study of the sociological aspects of language. The discipline
examines how different social factors, such as ethnicity, gender, age, class, occupation,
education, and geographical location can influence language use and maintain social
roles within a community. In simple terms, sociolinguistics is interested in the social
dimensions of language.

Sociolinguists study linguistic features used by groups of people to examine how social
factors influence language choices.

William Labov (1927-present day), an American psychologist, is widely considered the

founder of sociolinguistics. Labov drew on linguistics, sociology, psychology, and
anthropology to apply a scientific approach to the study of language varieties.

What does Sociolinguistics study?

Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and

society.

Sociolinguistics is concerned with how language use interacts with, or is

affected by, social factors such as gender, ethnicity, age or social class,
for instance. As Coulmas defines, it is the study of choice and “the
principal task of Sociolinguistics is to uncover, describe and interpret the
socially motivated” choices an individual makes.[1]
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Sociolinguists are interested in how we speak differently in varying social

contexts, and how we may also use specific functions of language to
convey social meaning or aspects of our identity. Sociolinguistics teaches
us about real-life attitudes and social situations. Below is a video featuring
Paul Cooper, a PhD student at the University of Sheffield, in which he
outlines some of the reasons studying Sociolinguistics is important in
consolidating our understanding of society.

Example of sociolinguistics
Let's look at an interesting example.

African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

AAVE is a variety of English spoken predominantly by black Americans.
The variety has its own unique linguistic structures, including grammar,
syntax, and lexicon. In the case of AAVE, there are variations in the
language due to ethnicity, geographical location, and social class.
Because of the effect of these social factors on AAVE, it is considered
an ethnolect, a dialect, and a sociolect (don’t worry, we’ll cover these
terms shortly!).

Historically, AAVE has been deemed a ‘low-prestige dialect’ and

therefore accused of being ‘bad English’. However, many linguists
argue that this is not the case, and that AAVE should be considered a
fully-fledged English variety in its own right. Others have taken this idea
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

further and argue that AAVE should be considered its own language,
which they have called Ebonics.

In more recent years, common words from AAVE have been making
their way into the ‘mainstream’ thanks to social media, and you may
even be using AAVE without realising it. For example, the word ‘woke’
has grown in popularity since 2015. However, the term is not new and
was initially used by black Americans in the 1940s to mean ‘stay awake’
to racial injustices.

Sociolinguists may be interested in how the use of AAVE has recently

started creeping into the lexicon of teenagers from all different
geographical, racial, and class backgrounds. Have you heard the terms
‘she money’ ‘I’m finna…’ ‘slay’ or ‘on fleek’? They all originate from
AAVE!

Sociolinguistics analysis: factors

affecting sociolinguistics
As we have said, sociolinguistics studies the social factors that
influence how people use language, including their grammar, accents,
and lexical choices. The main social factors are:

• Geographical location
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

• Occupation
• Gender
• Our parents/carers
• Age
• Socioeconomic status - class and education level
• Ethnicity

Let’s take a look at some of these factors in more detail.

Geographical location

Where you grew up can significantly impact how you speak. Linguists
refer to these variations in language as dialects. In the UK, dialects
vary from region to region and often have different pronunciation,
grammar, and vocabulary compared to Standard British English. Some
common UK dialects include Geordie (found in
Newcastle), Scouse (found in Liverpool), and Cockney (found in
London).

Occupation

Your occupation can impact how you use language. For example, a
computer programmer would be far more likely to use tech jargon than
a chef. Jargon is a kind of slang specific to a workplace or small group
and is often difficult for people outside the group to understand. An
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

example of tech jargon is the term ‘Unicorn’, which refers to a start-up

company valued at over $1 billion.

What other occupations do you think have their own jargon?

Gender
This factor is a little more controversial than the others as there is a lot
of conflicting research around the differences between men and
women’s use of language. Some researchers suggest that differences
in speech are due to genetics, whereas others think that women’s lower
status in society has had an impacted on their use of language.

Some studies have found that women tend to be more polite and
expressive, and men tend to be more direct. Other studies have shown
that men swear more, and women are more likely to use ‘caretaker
speech’ (speech modified to talk to young children) as they are often
the primary caregivers.

Age

New words are added to the dictionary every year, and many words that
were once common fall out of use. This is because language is
constantly changing. Think about your grandparents or someone
significantly older than you. Do you think they would understand if you
told them that the email they received
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

looked suss(suspicious/suspect)? What do you think they would say if

you said their outfit was cheugy?

Did you know the word cheugy was created by Gabby Rasson, an
American software developer, to describe things that were no longer
deemed cool or fashionable? Cheugy was Collins dictionary’s 2021
second word of the year.

Age is a social factor that will have an impact on language use.

Socioeconomic status
This typically refers to a person’s class. According to a recent survey,
there are now seven social classes in the UK: precariat (precarious
proletariat), emergent service workers, traditional working-class, new
affluent workers, technical middle class, established middle class, and
elite. The language someone uses will likely differ significantly
depending on their socioeconomic status. This can all be linked to the
education they received, the people they choose to spend time with (or
can afford to spend time with), the job that they do, or how much money
they have.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Ethnicity

Sociolinguists have long argued that there is a relationship between

ethnicity and language uses. The previous example of AAVE shows
how ethnicity can affect language.

Elements of sociolinguistics
In this section, we are not discussing the social factors that
sociolinguists study, but the technical terms that feed into
sociolinguistics.

Here are some key definitions of terms in sociolinguistics.

• Language variation - An umbrella term for all variations in a

language. Language varieties are often referred to as ‘lects’,
which are laid out below.
Lects

• Dialect - a language variety based on geographical location.

• Sociolect - a language variety based on social factors, such as
age, gender, or class.
• Idiolect - a language variety that is specific and unique to an
individual.
• Ethnolect - a language variety specific to a particular ethnic
group.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Further key terms include:

• Accent - how our voices sound, usually due to where we live.

• Register - how we change the language we use depending on our
circumstances eg. formal vs. casual speech.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these terms.

Language variation

Varieties of language can develop for various reasons, such as social

background, geographical location, age, class, etc. The English
language is an exciting example as there are so many different
variations all around the world. Have you heard of the terms Singlish
(Singaporean English) or Chinglish (Chinese English)? These are all
different varieties of English that have arisen due to the global spread
of English. In fact, there are so many different varieties of English that
the term ‘standard English’ has become quite a controversial term
among linguists.

People from different geographical regions may have different words for the same thing.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Language variation can also be broken down into ‘lects’. These include
dialect, sociolect, idiolect, and ethnolect.

Dialect in sociolinguistics

Dialect refers to language varieties that are specific to particular

geographical locations. Think about how someone from the North of
England sounds different to someone from the South, or how
someone from the West coast of the USA sounds different to
someone from the East coast. Although these people all speak the
same language (English), the accent, lexicon, and grammar they use
can vary greatly. The variations help contribute to the formation of
dialects.

Activity

Take a look at the following phrases. What do you think they mean,
and which dialect do you think they belong to, Geordie, Scouse,
or Cockney?

• New webs
• Giz a deek
• Rosie (Rosy) Lee

Answers:
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

New webs = New trainers in Scouse

Giz a deek = Let’s have a look in Geordie

Rosie (Rosy) Lee = Cup of tea in Cockney rhyming slang

Sociolect in sociolinguistics

A sociolect is a language variety spoken by a particular social group or

social class. The term sociolect is a combination of the words social and
dialect.

Sociolects typically develop among groups of people who share the

same social environments or backgrounds. Social factors that influence
sociolects include socioeconomic status, age, occupation, race, and
gender.

Bob Marley’s hit song 'No woman, no cry ' is a good example of
sociolect in action. Although Marley was an English speaker, he often
sang in Jamaican patois, a sociolect that borrows from English and
West African languages and is often associated with the rural working
class.

In patois, Marley’s song title roughly translates to ‘Woman, don’t cry’.

However, it has long been misunderstood by those unaware of the
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

sociolect, to mean something like ‘if there’s no woman, there’s no

reason to cry’.

Individuals don’t just have one sociolect, and most people will use
several different sociolects throughout their lives. Our speech will likely
change depending on who we talk to and where we are.

Idiolect in sociolinguistics

Idiolect refers to an individual’s personal use of language. The term is

a combination of the Greek idio (personal) and lect (as in dialect) and
was coined by the linguist Bernard Bloch.

Idiolects are unique to the individual, and constantly change as

individuals move through life. Idiolects are dependent on social factors
(just like sociolects), current environments, education, friendship
groups, hobbies and interests, and so much more. In fact, your idiolect
is directly influenced by almost every aspect of your life.

Imagine the following scenarios and consider how each situation

might affect your idiolect.
• You spend a year abroad working in Germany.
• You binge-watch an entire American Netflix series.
• You begin an internship at a law firm.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

• You become best friends with someone whose native language is

Mandarin.
In these scenarios you may find yourself saying Danke instead
of thanks, using more up-speak (rising inflection), using some
legal jargon, and cursing in Mandarin.

Much like sociolects, each individual uses different idiolects depending

on their environment, choosing which version of their language they
deem most appropriate.

Ethnolect in sociolinguistics

An ethnolect is a variety of a language used by a specific ethnic group.

The term ethnolect comes from a combination of ethnic
groupand dialect. It is commonly used to describe the variation of
English that non-native English speaking immigrants use in the USA.

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a good example of an

ethnolect.

Accent

Accent refers to an individual’s pronunciation, which is usually

associated with their geographical location, ethnicity, or social class.
Accents typically differ in pronunciation, vowel and consonant sounds,
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

word stress, and prosody (the stress and intonation patterns in a

language).

Our accents can tell people a lot about who we are and often play a
significant role in our identity formation. Many sociolinguists are
interested in studying accent discrimination and have found that non-
native English speakers are often discriminated against for their ‘non-
standard’ accents (Beinhoff, 2013)¹. Similar discrimination can also be
found in the UK, with Northern accents receiving less airtime on British
TV than Southern accents.

Register

Remember we said that most people use multiple sociolects and

idiolects depending on where they are and who they are talking to?
Well, that is an individual's register.

Register is the way people adapt their language in accordance with

what they deem most appropriate for the situation they are in. Think
about the way you speak when you are with your friends compared to
when you are at work. Register doesn’t just apply to the spoken word
but often changes when we write. The most common differences in
written register are formal versus informal writing. Think about how you
would write an instant message compared to an academic essay.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

The work of sociolinguists

Sociolinguists study the relationship between language and society.
They are interested in finding patterns in speech, understanding why
our speech differs, and identifying the social functions of language.

Sociolinguists focus on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of

language variations, making it a scientific discipline.

Discourse Analysis

An important research method in sociolinguistics is discourse

analysis. Discourse analysis is the analysis of both written and spoken
language (discourse) in its social context. Sociolinguists use discourse
analysis as a tool to understand language patterns.

Types of sociolinguistics
There are two main types of sociolinguistics: interactional and
variationist sociolinguistics.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Interactional sociolinguistics

Interactional sociolinguistics studies how people use language in face-

to-face interactions. It has a specific focus on how people manage
social identities and social activities as they interact.

Variationist sociolinguistics

Variationist sociolinguistics is interested in how and why variations

arise.

Language and identity in sociolinguistics

Studying sociolinguistics can reveal how our identity is bound to our use
of language because of gender, race, class, occupation, age, and
where we live.

Sociolinguistics can help us understand ourselves as individuals or as

members of larger social groups. It can also highlight how language can
be used as an identity marker and help us feel a part of a larger
community. Many theorists view our language, including our word
choice, accents, syntax, and even intonation, as inexorably linked to our
sense of identity.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Sociolinguistics - Key takeaways

• Sociolinguistics is the study of the sociological aspects of

language and is interested in society’s effect on language.

• William Labov (1927-present day), an American psychologist, is

widely considered the founder of sociolinguistics.

• Social factors that can influence our language include:

geographical location, gender, our parents/carers, race, age, and
socioeconomic status.

• Sociolinguistics is interested in understanding language

variation. Varieties within language include dialects, sociolects,
idiolects, ethnolects, accents, and registers.

• Sociolinguistics is widely considered a scientific discipline and

sociolinguists utilise quantitative and qualitative research
methods to study language use.

References
1. B. Beinhoff, Perceiving Identity through Accent: Attitudes
towards Non-Native Speakers and their Accents in English. 2013

• Multiple Choice Questions

Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

• Single Paragraph Essay

• Sociolinguistics

• Creative Story

Gender

This factor is a little more controversial than the others as there is a lot
of conflicting research around the differences between men and
women’s use of language. Some researchers suggest that differences
in speech are due to genetics, whereas others think that women’s lower
status in society has had an impacted on their use of language.

Some studies have found that women tend to be more polite and
expressive, and men tend to be more direct. Other studies have shown
that men swear more, and women are more likely to use ‘caretaker
speech’ (speech modified to talk to young children) as they are often
the primary caregivers.

Age

New words are added to the dictionary every year, and many words that
were once common fall out of use. This is because language is
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

constantly changing. Think about your grandparents or someone

significantly older than you. Do you think they would understand if you
told them that the email they received
looked suss(suspicious/suspect)? What do you think they would say if
you said their outfit was cheugy?

Did you know the word cheugy was created by Gabby Rasson, an
American software developer, to describe things that were no longer
deemed cool or fashionable? Cheugy was Collins dictionary’s 2021
second word of the year.

Age is a social factor that will have an impact on language use.

Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Socioeconomic status

This typically refers to a person’s class. According to a recent survey,

there are now seven social classes in the UK: precariat (precarious
proletariat), emergent service workers, traditional working-class, new
affluent workers, technical middle class, established middle class, and
elite. The language someone uses will likely differ significantly
depending on their socioeconomic status. This can all be linked to the
education they received, the people they choose to spend time with (or
can afford to spend time with), the job that they do, or how much money
they have.

Ethnicity

Sociolinguists have long argued that there is a relationship between

ethnicity and language uses. The previous example of AAVE shows
how ethnicity can affect language.

Frequently Asked Questions about Sociolinguistics

What is sociolinguistics and an example?

Sociolinguistics is the study of how social factors impact the way we use language.
Sociolinguists are interested in the variations within language that arise due to the
influence of social factors, such as age, gender, race, geographical location, and
occupation.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a good example of a variety of

English that has been affected by social factors, such as race, geographical
location and socioeconomic status.

What is a dialect in sociolinguistics?

Dialect is a variation of a language spoken in a particular part of a country. Dialects

can vary from the standardised version of the language in terms of accent, syntax,
grammar, and lexical choices.

What is the role of sociolinguistics?

Sociolinguistics tells us about the social factors that influence our use of language.
Sociolinguistics is recognised as a scientific discipline and sociolinguists adopt
quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyse variations in language.

What are the types of sociolinguistics?

There are two main types of sociolinguistics, interactional and variationist

sociolinguistics.
Sociolinguistics definition

Sociolinguistics refers to the study of language with regards to the social factors
that influence language use across different communities and demographics.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Sociolinguistics Quiz

Question

How could your occupation influence your use of language?

Answer

Your occupation can impact how you use language. For example, a lawyer would
be far more likely to use legal jargon than a teacher. Jargon is a kind of slang
specific to a workplace or small group, it is hard for people outside said group to
understand.
Question

Why are assumptions based on sociolinguistic evidence sometimes problematic?

Answer

Observations based on sociolinguistic evidence are often generalizations that

people may find offensive. Simply because someone has had a 'lower quality' of
education it does not mean they are not capable of using complex vocabulary
and understanding grammar.
Question

True or False: Our parents / carers opinion impacts our sociolect.

Answer

True. The opinions of those around us impacts our sociolect.

Question

What are the three types of sociolinguistics?

Answer
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

There are three key concepts of sociolinguistics: community speech, social

network, and high and low prestige.
Question

What does the community speech concept entail?

Answer

Community speech refers to a group that uses language in a unique way accepted by
the members of the group, forming a community. These communities take shape in the
form of office groups using jargon together, or friendship groups in school.
Question

What are two terms that describe the different levels of prestige
associated with sociolects/dialects?
Answer

The different levels of prestige associated with sociolects / dialects have terms to
describe them. These terms are acrolectal and basilectal.

• Acrolectal - means standard dialect with neutral assumptions associated

with it
• Basiclectal- refers to dialects associated with less prestige, potentially
negative connotations.
Question

Who came up with the two sociolinguistic language codes and

what are they called?
Answer

Basil Bernstein came up with two social language codes that can help us understand
sociolinguistics.
Question
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

How does the restricted code emphasize extraverbal

communication?
Answer

Depending on where we are, our actions can become predictable because we will be
expected to use particular forms of extraverbal communication (body language and
actions that help us communicate in a non-verbal way) in different areas.
Question

How is dialect related to sociolinguistics?

Answer

As dialect is a term describing how where we are from influences our grammar and
lexical choices, it feeds into sociolinguistics by studying how our surroundings (social
factors) influence how we speak.
Question

True or False: Idiolect is not related to sociolinguistics because it

is about the individual rather than society.
Answer

False. Idiolect is a term describing the speech habits of an individual. We develop these
speech habits, much like accent and dialect, as a result of where we grow up. Once
again, social factors influence our use of language, even on an individual basis.
Question

How does Bernstein's theory impact children?

Answer

A child who is only exposed to the restricted code is more likely to struggle in an
academic setting, as they are used to communicating using extraverbal methods. They
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

would have a limited vocabulary compared to someone exposed to both restricted and
elaborated codes because they have relied on extraverbal communication.
Question

Explain Bernstein's elaborated code.

Answer

Bernstein describes the freedom that some scenarios provide us to choose from a
range of social roles. For example, if someone finds themselves in a situation when they
have more liberty to choose what they do, the social setting they are in does not dictate
their actions as much.
Question

According to Gary Ives, what are the four key features of

adolescent speech?
Answer

• slang
• taboo words
• non-standard forms
• dialect words

Question

What does AAVE stand for?

Answer

African American Vernacular English

Question

What is AAVE an example of?

Answer
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

A dialect
Question

List three social factors that are relevant in the study of

sociolinguistics.
Answer

Any from this list:

• age
• gender
• ethnicity
• occupation
• socioeconomic class
• geographical location
• parental/ career input

Question

Define 'language variation'.

Answer

Language variation refers to all the possible different varieties of a language.

Question

What is a dialect?
Answer

A language variety based on geographical

location
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Question

What is a sociolect?
Answer

A language variety based on social factors, such as age, gender, or class.

Question

What is an idiolect?
Answer

A language variety that is specific and unique to an individual.

Question

What is an ethnolect?
Answer

A language variety specific to a particular ethnic group.

Question

Define 'accent'.
Answer

An accent is how our voices sound, usually due to where we live.

Question

Define 'register' in sociolinguistics.

Answer

Register refers to how we change the language we use depending on our

circumstances eg. formal vs. casual speech.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Question

What is 'discourse analysis'?

Answer

Discourse analysis is the analysis of both written and spoken language in its social
context.
Question

What is 'interactional sociolinguistics' concerned with?

Answer

How people use language in face-to-face interactions.

Question

What is 'variationist sociolinguistics' concerned with?

Answer

How and why variations in language arise.

The work of sociolinguists

Sociolinguists study the relationship between language and society.
They are interested in finding patterns in speech, understanding why
our speech differs, and identifying the social functions of language.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Sociolinguists focus on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of

language variations, making it a scientific discipline.

Discourse Analysis

An important research method in sociolinguistics is discourse

analysis. Discourse analysis is the analysis of both written and spoken
language (discourse) in its social context. Sociolinguists use discourse
analysis as a tool to understand language patterns.

Types of sociolinguistics
There are two main types of sociolinguistics: interactional and
variationist sociolinguistics.

Interactional sociolinguistics

Interactional sociolinguistics studies how people use language in face-

to-face interactions. It has a specific focus on how people manage
social identities and social activities as they interact.

Variationist sociolinguistics

Variationist sociolinguistics is interested in how and why variations

arise.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Language and identity in sociolinguistics

Studying sociolinguistics can reveal how our identity is bound to our use
of language because of gender, race, class, occupation, age, and
where we live.

Sociolinguistics can help us understand ourselves as individuals or as

members of larger social groups. It can also highlight how language can
be used as an identity marker and help us feel a part of a larger
community. Many theorists view our language, including our word
choice, accents, syntax, and even intonation, as inexorably linked to our
sense of identity.
Suggested further reading on language and identity: Omoniyi &
White, The Sociolinguistics of Identity, 2009.

Sociolinguistics - Key takeaways

• Sociolinguistics is the study of the sociological aspects of

language and is interested in society’s effect on language.

• William Labov (1927-present day), an American psychologist, is

widely considered the founder of sociolinguistics.

• Social factors that can influence our language include:

geographical location, gender, our parents/carers, race, age, and
socioeconomic status.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

• Sociolinguistics is interested in understanding language

variation. Varieties within language include dialects, sociolects,
idiolects, ethnolects, accents, and registers.

• Sociolinguistics is widely considered a scientific discipline and

sociolinguists utilize quantitative and qualitative research
methods to study language use.

1. INTERACTIONAL SOCIOLINGUISTICS APPROACH

This approach to DA, used by Schiffrin (1994: 96), is called "interactional

sociolinguistics" because it has the "most diverse disciplinary origins" and is based
in "anthropology, sociology, and linguistics, and shares the concerns of all three
fields with culture, society, and language." John Gumperz, a linguistic
anthropologist, and Erving Goffman, a sociologist, were the pioneers who
developed this approach. Their ideas have been used and applied extensively in
the field of linguistics.

1.1 THE MAIN IDEAS OF INTERACTIONAL SOCIOLINGUISTICS

In this section, I am going to discuss the main ideas of interactional
sociolinguistics. In particular, the ideas developed by Gumperz and Goffman will
be illustrated in some detail.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

1.2 GUMPERZ AND INTERACTIONAL SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Gumperz's (1982) collection contains his basic ideas of interactional
sociolinguistics to DA. In his introduction to this collection, Gumperz (1982: vii)
illustrates that his aim is to "develop interpretive sociolinguistic approaches to the
analysis of real time processes in face-to-face encounters". In this collection of
essays, Gumperz tries to show how culture, society, individual, and code are
connected and interacted. He shows interaction between the linguistic structures
and social and cultural contexts. In the first article of his collection, Gumperz
(1982:12) points out that

structural analysis furnish[es] empirical evidence for the contention

that human cognition is significantly affected by historical
forces...what we perceive and retain in our mind is a function of our
culturally determined presupposition to perceive and assimilate.

For Gumperz, the socio-cultural contexts affect both language and its cognition.
Thus, Gumperz (1982: 4) argues for “a general theory of verbal communication
which integrates what we know about grammar, culture and interactive
conventions into a single overall framework of concepts and analytical
procedures”. Thus, Gumperz's approach to DA includes a theory that incorporates
the interaction between culture, language, society and the individual. Gumperz
also introduced some new constructs or concepts that are essential for this
interpretive approach to DA. These concepts are:

a) Contextualization cues:
These are aspects, as Schiffrin (1994: 99) puts it, of "language and behavior
(verbal and nonverbal) that relate what is said to the contextual knowledge...
that contributes to the presuppositions necessary to the accurate
inferencing of what is meant (including, but not limited to, the illocutionary
force)”. An example that illustrates these contextualization cues is
conversational codeswitching that provides cues that enable the hearer to
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

decode and thus infer the speaker’s communicative intention. This is very
common among the social ethnic groups.
b) Contextual presuppositions:
These are included in the definition of contextualization cues. Schiffrin
(19994: 100) explains them by referring to them as "a type of assumed
background knowledge that allows the inferencing (during the course of an
interaction) of two levels of meanings that are themselves related. One level
is the communicative activity type... whether one is leasing, lecturing,
chatting, and so on. The second level is the particular illocutionary act that
the speaker intends." Gumperz (1982: 5-6) explains that the
contextualization clues are very essential in the sense that if the hearers
share the speakers' contextualization cues, then interaction between them
goes on very smoothly. On the other hand, if the hearers do not share the
speakers' contextualization cues, then, misunderstandings or
misinterpretations between them occur.
c) Situated inferences:
In interpersonal communication, Gumperz argues that people have a
cognitive capacity to make inferences. Again, contextualization cues are
very essential to this inferencing process because, as Gumperz (1982: 2)
puts it, they allow conversationalists to "rely on indirect inferences which
build on background assumptions about context, interactive goals and
interpersonal relations to drive frames in terms of which they can interpret
what is going on" (emphasis added). This process of situated inference also
includes this sort of involvement that is necessary to attract and maintain
others' attention.

Thus, Gumperz (1982: 4) concludes that a general theory of discourse strategies

must begin by specifying:

the linguistic and socio-cultural knowledge that needs to be shared if

conversational involvement is to be maintained, and then go on to
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

deal with what it is about the nature of conversational inference that

makes for cultural, subcultrual and situational specificity of
interpretation.

Example (3) is an taken from Gumperz (1982a: 30), which illustrates the
interactional sociolinguistic approaches:

Example (3)

Following an informal graduate seminar at a major university, a black

student approached the instructor, who was to leave the room
accompanied by several other black and white students, and said:
a Could I talk to you for a minute? I'm gonna apply for a fellowship
and I was wondering if I could get a recommendation?
The instructor replied:
b OK. Come along to the office and tell me what you want to do.
As the instructor and the rest of the group left the room, the black
student said, turning his head ever so slightly to the other students:
c Ahma git me a gig! (roughly gloss: "I'm going to get myself some
support.")

This example includes the context of the interchange (e.g. the physical setting,
social roles, relationship of speech to other activity) and other information about
what participants are doing (e.g. the physical stance of the interactants).
Gumperz's analysis of the utterance Ahma git me a gig! focuses upon how
interpretations of the speaker's intent are related to different linguistic qualities of
utterance (e.g. phonological and lexical variants) as well as the way the utterance
is contextually embedded. These interpretations are gathered by asking listeners
what they thought the speaker meant to convey, and relating those situated
inferences to the means by which the speaker actually presented the utterance.
As Example (3) thus illustrated, the interactional approach relies upon actual
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

utterances in social context: the focus of analysis is how interpretation and

interaction are based upon the interrelationship of social and linguistic meaning.

1.3 THE MAIN IDEAS OF GOFFMAN

The works of Gumperz (1982) and Goffman (1967; 1971; 1974; 1981)
complement each other. Goffman's (1974) study on frame analysis strengthens
the notion of frame and its organizational process as a socially situated process.
This in its turn enhances Gumperz's (1982) notion of contextual presuppositions
that the individuals adopt in their inferencing process as illustrated in the previous
section.
Goffman’s contributions to interactional sociolinguistics are numerous. His
work on social interaction goes hand in hand and complements Gumperz’s work
on situated inference that that is illustrated in the previous section. For Goffman,
the social and interpersonal factors play an important role in interpreting discourse
meaning. What Goffman contributed to interactional sociolinguistics, as Schiffrin
(1994: 102) points out, is “an understanding of the forms and meanings of those
texts that allow as to more fully identify and appreciate the contextual
presuppositions that figure in hearer’s inferences of speaker’s meaning”.
Goffman introduces the notion of “frame”. In her comments to Goffman's
(1974; 1981) notion of frames, Schiffrin (1994: 104) points out that Goffman's
frames are "the organizational and interactional principles by which situations are
defined and sustained as experiences". The frame is then a device through which
people structure experience. For example, a frame is used to indicate if the
utterance is serious, joking, business, chat…etc. It also helps elaborate the
contextual presuppositions that people use and construct during the inferencing
process.
Goffman (1963) differentiates between the information that is given
intentionally via language and information that is given off unintentionally through
expression. He (1963: 16) maintains that every linguistic message not only “carries
some expressive information, namely that the sender is sending messages”, but
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

they also “combine linguistics and expressive components, the proportion of each
differing widely from message to message”.
Finally, Schiffrin (1994: 105) succinctly comments on the works and
contributions of both Gumperz and Goffman by pointing out that

Gumperz’s work focuses on how interpretations of context are critical

to the communication of information and to another’s understanding
of speaker’s intention and/or discourse strategy; Goffman’s work
focuses on how the organization of social life…provides contexts in
which both the conduct of self and communication with another can
be “made sense of” (both by those co-present in an interaction and
by outside analysts).

Thus, the works of both Gumperz and Goffman provide a unity to interactional
sociolinguistics to DA. Discourse in this approach can be looked at as a
contextualized and contextualizing vehicle for the construction of different levels of
meaning.

2. SPEECH ACT THEORY

John Austin (1962) and John Searle (1969; 1975) originally develop this
approach to DA. They developed this approach from the basic insight that
language is not only used to describe the world, but also to perform a range of
other actions that can be indicated in the performance of the utterance itself. For
instance, the utterances "I encourage you to do that" and "I warn you not to do
this" perform acts of "encouragement" and "warning" respectively. The utterances
"The sun sets in the west" and "The earth is round" perform the act of "asserting".
Utterance may also perform more than one act, as illustrated in example (2).
Example (2)

John: Can you set the table?

Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

George: / sets the table /

John's utterance Can you set the table? can be understood as both a question
(about George's ability) and a request (for George to set the table). Although these
two understandings are largely separable by context (the former associated, for
instance, with tests of physical ability, the latter with dinner table talk in a home or
in a restaurant), this utterance has also been labeled an indirect speech act whose
illocutionary force is an outcome of the relationship between two different speech
acts.
According to Searle's (1969) notion of the speech act theory, language
performs different communicative acts. In his own words, Searle (1969: 21) says:

The hypothesis that the speech act is the basic unit of

communication, taken together with the principle of expressibility,
suggests that there are a series of analytic connections between the
notion of speech acts, what speaker means, what the sentence (or
other linguistic element) uttered means, what the speaker intends,
what the hearer understands, and what the rules governing the
linguistic elements are.

According to Searle (1969: 21), the speech act is "the basic unit of
communication". He tries to incorporate speech acts into linguistic theory by what
he calls the principle of expressibility (pp. 18-21) which means "what can be meant
can be said". This principle, thus, incorporates the study of speech acts, meaning,
language, and communication. In Searle's (1969: 20-1) own words, the principle
of expressibility enables us to

equate rules or performing speech acts with rules for uttering certain
linguistic elements, since for any possible speech act there is a
possible linguistic element the meaning of which (given the context
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

of the utterance) is sufficient to determine that its literal utterance is

a performance of precisely that speech act.

When one talks about the speech act theory, one has to get acquainted with
the taxonomy of acts as Austin and Searle propose them. Austin (1962) and Searle
(1969; 1979) segment utterances into the following speech acts:
1. Utterance acts: the uttering of words (morphemes and sentences),
2. Propositional acts: e.g. referring and predicating,
3. Performative acts: declaratives that "do" an action,
4. Constative acts: declarative statements, whose truth or falsity can be judged,
5. Locutionary acts: the production of sounds and words with meaning,
6. Illocutionary acts: the issuing of an utterance with conventional communication
force achieved "in saying", e.g. acts like stating, questioning, commanding,
encouraging, warning... etc. These acts are rule-governed and intentional. They
are what the speaker is doing with words in relation to the hearer, and
7. Perlocutionary acts: these are the consequences of the actual effect achieved
"by saying" illocutionary acts, i.e. the effects on action, thoughts, beliefs of hearers.
In other words, it is the outcome of the communication event. Searle (1979:1),
argues that the " basic unit of human linguistic communication is the illocutionary
act".
Coulthard (1985) points out that the primary aim for Searle is to describe
the constitutive rules for the illocutionary act of promising. Searle, quoted in
Coulthard (1985: 22), suggests that five rules govern the making of a promise:

propositional content rule- in a promise, a future act must be

predicated of the speaker himself; he cannot promise to have done
something nor promise that someone else will do something.

preparatory rules (a)- a promise is defective if the promiser doesn't

believe that the promisee wants the act performed or even if the thing
promised is, unbeknown to the promiser, something the promisee
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

does not want done- otherwise whatever his intention the speaker
will be uttering a warning or a threat.
(b)- a speaker cannot promise to do something he
would (be expected to) do anyway- as Searle observes, any husband
who promises his wife not to be unfaithful during the next week is
likely to provide more anxiety than comfort.

sincerity rule- the speaker must intend to perform the action. It is of

course possible for someone to make a promise with no intention at
all of honoring it, but then, Searle contends, he is abusing the
procedure.

essential rule- the uttering of the words counts as the undertaking of

an obligation to perform the action.

Austin and Searle differ in their assignment of the illocutionary force of an

utterance. Whereas it is the successful realization of the speaker's intention for
Austin, it is for Searle the product of the listener's interpretation.
The speech act approach to discourse focuses upon knowledge of
underlying conditions for production and interpretation of acts through words. The
literal meanings of words and the contexts in which they occur may interact in our
knowledge of the conditions underlying the realization of acts and the interpretation
of acts. In this approach, discourse coherence emerges on local, action-by-action
basis. The sequential relationships between actions are derived from the
knowledge that people use to relate an utterance to an action. The speech act
approach to coherence is rule-centered: not only does it require constitutive rules
for the very definition of speech acts, but it requires mapping rules to link an
utterance or utterances to an act, and sequencing rules to link utterance-action
correlations to one another. Thus, coherence is created by the application of rules.
The speech act theory as an approach to DA will not be adopted in this
present study since my primary concern in the present study is written discourse.
Dr. Kamel A. Elsaadany Sociolinguistics-1 Introduction and Types

Although it includes a functional interpretation, yet, it is not suitable for my present

study since it interprets language or functions as actions isolated from their social,
cultural and personal meanings. This approach may be ideal for the analysis of
spoken discourse.