From diaLECT we now talk about sociolect and other lects Written and S poken Language Written texts Hybrid varieties Spoken texts Factual reports technical ID: 527612
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Slide1
8. SOCIOLINGUISTIC VARIETIESFrom diaLECT we now talk about sociolect and other “-lects”.Slide2
Written and Spoken LanguageWritten textsHybrid varietiesSpoken textsFactual reports, technical papers, newspapers, all genres of literature etc.Complete, uninterrupted sentences, often with “hypotaxis” (main and subordinate clauses), low frequency lexis, complex noun phrases with strings of
premodifiers
, and no errors. Writers have time to compose, correct and revise their texts.
Punctuation informs the reader as to how some things are to
be interpreted
.
Written-to-be-spoken
texts (drama scripts, formal speeches, lectures, sermons).
Online chat (often with
smilies
and emoticons)
From formal debates to lessons to free natural
conversations.
Simpler, shorter, often single-clause sentences. Interrupted sentences, false starts and minor errors that are normally left uncorrected. More high frequency lexis and idiomatic expressions.
Speakers have little time to prepare. Some meaning is conveyed by tone, volume, gestures, facial expressions and body language.Slide3
Sociolinguistic differences between national groups.American English: elevator program tomato /təˈm
e
ɪ
t
əʊ
/
British English: lift
programme
tomato
/t
ə
ˈ
m
ɑ
:
t
əʊ
/
Swear
words
have
different
weight
in
different
language
communities
. In Australia
calling
someone
a
bastard
could
be a
sign
of
friendliness
. In Britain
bastard
is
still
an
insult
but
it
has
lost
a
lot
of the
power
to
offend
that
it
used
to
have
. In the English of the
Indian
subcontinent
it
is
a
dangerous
word to use.
In a cricket match
between
England
and Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1987, the
England
captain
called
the Pakistani
umpire
(
referee
),
Shakoor
Rana, a
bastard
. The
umpire
suspended
the match and
told
journalists
, “
Calling
me a
bastard
may
be
excusable
in
England
,
but
here
people
murder
someone
who
calls
another
man a
bastard
.” The
next
day
Mike
Gatting
, the
England
captain
,
had
to
issue
a
written
apology
so
that
the match
could
restart
.Slide4
Sociolinguistic differences within nations: regional dialects and accentsCan you
understand
the
Neapolitan
dialect
of Massimo
Troisi
?
What
Italian
dialects
do
you
find
particularly
difficult
?
How
many
dialects
of the
Sardinian
language
are
there
?
Do
you
have
dialects
in Poland and
Austria
?
Irvine
Welsh’s
novel
Trainspotting
is
written
in the
dialect
of
young
drug
users
in
Edinburgh
.
When
it
was
made
into
a film,
subtitles
were
used
because
most
of the
British
population
couldn’t
understand
the
dialogue
.
Many
novelists
write
in
dialect
.
What
is
the
translator
meant
to do? On the
next
slide
there
is
some
dialogue
between
two
brothers
from Barry
Hines’s
novel
Kes
(1968).
It
is
in the
dialect
of Yorkshire, in the
north
of
England
.Slide5
“Alarm’s gone off tha knows.”“Think I don’t know?”He
pulled
the
blankets
tighter
and
drilled
his
head
into
the
pillow
.
They
both
lay
still
.
“
Jud
?”
“
What
?”
“
Tha’ll
be late.”
“O,
shut
it
.”
“Clocks
not
fast
tha
knows
.”
“I
said
SHUT IT.”
He
swung
his
fast under the
blankets
and
thumped
Billy in the
kidneys
.
“
Gi’o’er
!
That
hurts
!”
“
Well
shut
it
then
.”
“
I’ll
tell
my
mam
on
thi
.”Slide6
If the conversation between Jud and Billy is translated into standard Italian, information about
their
social
class
and
regional
background
is
lost
.
What
options
are
available
to the
translator
?
Sometimes
a
translation
can
add
something
that
the source text
does
not
have
. The
Asterix
comic
strips
by
Goscinny
e
Uderzo
were
written
in French. In the
Italian
translation
of
at
least
one
of the
adventures
, an extra
layer
of humour
is
added
because
the Roman
centurions
speak
the
dialect
of
modern-day
Rome.
Why
are the
Italian
dubbed
versions
of the
old
Laurel
and Hardy
films
funnier
than
the
original
versions
?Slide7
Changes in Regional Dialects over TimeThe word Cockney refers to both the people and the dialect
of
London
.
But
in
London
traditional
Cockney
is
being
replaced
by a new
dialect
:
Multicultural
London
English (MLE)
In
many
state
schools
in
London
white
“Anglo”
children
are the
minority
.
They
mix with
kids
who
are first- or
second
-generation
immigrants
from the Caribbean, Africa, the
Indian
subcontinent
, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and
many
other
countries
.
All
those
varieties
of English
have
got
mixed
together
to produce MLE.
Some non-
linguists
dismiss
MLE
as
“
Jafaican
”, i.e.
Fake
Jamaican
,
whites
kids
who
try
to sound
black
like
their
favourite
“
grime
”
artists
(
grime
is
a
British
style of rap music).
Jamaican
has
had
a big
influence
on the
development
of MLE,
but
Hinglish
(Hindi English) and
Banglish
(
Bangladeshi
English)
have
been
just
as
important
.Slide8
Sociolects related to ageHow do young Italians use the word figo? Does anyone over the
age
of 40
say
it
?
What
other
Italian
slang
words
are
only
used
by
young
people
?
Recent
youth
slang in the USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myWs3PPkjgc
Multicultural
London
English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z8JqutRWrs
For
translators
YouTube
can be a
very
useful
tool
.Slide9
Genderlect. Do men and women speak differently?Linguists interested in Gender Studies have identified
certain
differences
in the way men and
women
use
language
. Here
is
a summary of the findings:
MEN
WOMEN
Use language to preserve their independence and negotiate status.
More likely to be dogmatic and insistent.
Depart
more from the standard.
Swear more.
Gossip just as much as women do.
Use language to make connections and reinforce intimacy.
Use “epistemic modality”: might, I think, perhaps etc.
Use a variety closer to the standard.
Swear but less frequently than men do.
Are less likely to interrupt
people.Slide10
The American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are
created
equal
,
that
they
are
endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
,
that
among
these
are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit
of
Happiness
.–
That
to
secure
these
rights
,
Governments
are
instituted
among
Men,
deriving
their
just
powers
from the
consent
of the
governed
, –
That
whenever
any
Form of
Government
becomes
destructive
of
these
ends
,
it
is
the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish
it
, and to
institute
new
Government
,
laying
its
foundation
on
such
principles
and
organizing
its
powers
in
such
form
,
as
to
them
shall
seem
most
likely
to
effect
their
Safety
and
Happiness
.Slide11
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they
are
endowed
by
their
Creator with
certain
unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit
of
Happiness
.–
That
to
secure
these
rights
,
Governments
are
instituted
among
Men,
deriving
their
just
powers
from the
consent
of the
governed
, –
That
whenever
any
Form of
Government
becomes
destructive
of
these
ends
,
it
is
the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish
it
, and to
institute
new
Government
,
laying
its
foundation
on
such
principles
and
organizing
its
powers
in
such
form
,
as
to
them
shall
seem
most
likely
to
effect
their
Safety
and
Happiness
.
Noi riteniamo che sono per se stesse evidenti queste verità: che tutti gli uomini sono creati eguali; che essi sono dal Creatore dotati di certi inalienabili diritti, che tra questi diritti sono la Vita, la Libertà, e il perseguimento della Felicità; che per garantire questi diritti sono istituiti tra gli uomini governi che derivano i loro giusti poteri dal consenso dei governati; che ogni qualvolta una qualsiasi forma di governo tende a negare questi fini, il popolo ha diritto di mutarla o abolirla e di istituire un nuovo governo fondato su tali principi e di organizzarne i poteri nella forma che sembri al popolo meglio atta a procurare la sua Sicurezza e la sua Felicità. Slide12
FALSE FRIENDS 8Can a Muslim have catholic tastes in art and literature?Which, if any, of these women would you describe as a bimbo
?
Barbara
Guerri
B. Valeria Marini C. Maria Elena
Boschi
Cave:
caverna
,
grotta
Cava: quarry (
di
pietra
/
marmo
), pit (
di
ghiaia
/gesso
)
Celebrate:
di
solito
nel
senso
di
festeggiare
:
she organized a party
to
celebrate getting her
degree
.
Viene
usata
come
celebrare
in un
evento
di
solennità
: celebrate mass,
celebrate
the 70
th
anniversary of the end of World War II.Slide13
THE DIARY OF A BRAVE TRANSLATOR VERILY IN LEG – PART 8It rained heavily yesterday and when I went out to buy my
newspaper
I
really
wet
myself
.
We
usually get a lot of rain
in
November
,
not
in
October
, and by
now
I
have
the boxes full. The American
novelist
Mark Twain
had
reason
; he
said
, “
Everyone
laments
about
the
weather
but
no
one
does
anything
about
it
.”