Overview

Language: The Social Mirror focuses on the ways language is used and how this use affects the individual as well as society. Thoroughly revised, the fourth edition presents a modern study of sociolinguistics through updated case studies and current research findings. Elaine Chaika gives a detailed explanation of the complexity of language and its uses. She also explores some of the most controversial issues surrounding social language including dialects, bilingualism, and gender.

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9781424004324

Table of Contents

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1. What is Language? The Complexity of Language. The Levels of Language. The Arbitrary Nature of Language. Language and Thought. First-Language Acquisition. Notes. Exercises. 2. Field Methods Recipes for Discovery. Sociolinguistics and Field Methods. Ethics. Notes. Exercises. 3. Style of Speech Style as Communication. Greetings. Address Forms. Style and Interaction. The Elements of Style. Marked and Unmarked Values in Style. Phonetic, Lexical and Syntactic Alternants. Power and Solidarity. Universal Politeness. Negative and Positive Face. Notes. Exercises. 4. Kinesics: The Silent Language Body Language. Proxemics. Eye Contact. Touching. Amount of Talking. Body Motion in Concert. Problems in Research in Paralinguistics. Notes. Exercises. 5. Pragmatics and Conversation Doing things with words. Speech Acts and Discourse Routines. Frames. Speech Events and Genres. Intention. Conversation. The Ethnography of Communication. Silence. Ritual Nature of Conversation. Jargons. Notes. Exercises. 6. Orality and Literacy Verbal Skill. Literacy. The Uses of Spelling. Communicating by Computer. Verbal Play. Speech Activities and Social Pressures. Ego-Boosting in Speech Activities. Notes. Exercises. 7. Everybody Speaks a Dialect Language versus Dialect. Traditional regional Dialect Studies. The Myth of the General American. Dialect Differences. Black Ethnic Speech. Development of an American Standard. Notes. Exercises. 8. Bilingualism: Individual and Social Monolingualism and bilingualism. Different Language, Different Mind? Language and Thought. Bilingualism Across Generations. Official Languages. Notes. Exercises. 9. Speech Communities What Constitutes a Speech Community. Different Dialects, Same Region. Network Theory. The Value of a Sociolinguistic Survey. Diglossia. Language Choice and Social Bonding. The Origins of American Dialects. Notes. Exercises. 10. Vocabulary and Gender Vocabulary as a Mirror of Social Realities. Gender and Language. Language as Mirror. Notes. Exercises. 11. Sociolinguistics and the Professions Applications of Sociolinguistics. Language and Medicine. Psychotherapy. Language and the Law. Discourse Practices and Education. Dialects and Reading. Applications to Bilingual Education. Language and Religion. Notes. Exercises.

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