Sociolinguistics (Style)

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A.  Background of Study

Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used. Sociolinguistics differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the latter’s focus is on the language’s effect on the society (linguistics marketplace). Sociolinguistics overlaps to a considerable degree with pragmatics. It is historically closely related to Linguistic Anthropologyand the distinction between the two fields has even been questioned recently.

As with other types of language variation, there tends to be a spectrum of registers rather than a discrete set of obviously distinct varieties — there is a countless number of registers we could identify, with no clear boundaries. Discourse categorisation is a complex problem, and even in the general definition of "register" given above (language variation defined by use not user), there are cases where other kinds of language variation, such as regional or age dialect, overlap. As a result of this complexity, there is far from consensus about the meanings of terms like "register", "field" or "tenor"; different writers' definitions of these terms are often in direct contradiction of each other. Additional terms such as diatype, genre, text types, style, acrolect, mesolect and basilect among many others may be used to cover the same or similar ground. Some prefer to restrict the domain of the term "register" to a specific vocabulary (Wardhaugh, 1986) (which one might commonly call jargon), while others argue against the use of the term altogether. These various approaches with their own "register" or set of terms and meanings fall under disciplines such as sociolinguistics, stylistics, pragmatics or systemic functional grammar.

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A.  Style

1.      The Definition of  Style

According to Janet Holmes, 2001 the definitions of style are:

a.       Style is language variation which reflects changes in situational factors, such as addressee, setting, task or topic.

b.      Style is often analyzed along scale of formality.

c.       The level of formality is influenced by some factors like the various differences among the participants, topic, emotional, involvement, etc.

Wolfram & Schilling-Estes (1998:214) define language style quite similarly, as  "variation in the speech of individual speakers".

Bell (1997:240) is somewhat clearer in emphasizing the linguistic lements:

style is "the range of variation within the speech of an individual speaker".

By these statement above, so we can conclude that style is the varians in the speech which is used in certain situation or form of the language used for the same purpose under certain circumstances

2.      The function of style

This sociolinguistic tradition of investigating style as an aspect of symbolic speech variation differs from that of anthropological linguistics or ethnography of communication, which primarily focuses on ‘ways of speaking’ – including styles and registers – as expressing particular social functions, events, or relationships (though it also includes careful linguistic description).

An important movement in sociolinguistics in recent years has been the merging of variationist analysis with such an ethnographic conception. In the case of style, a group led by Penny Eckert (the California Style Collective) at Stanford led the way with a paper in 1993. They discard a purely-linguistic definition or identification procedure for  style, and instead crucially emphasize the role of social function and practices. This is also linked with a focus on style as collective and dialectic, rather than stressing its individual, intra-speaker and static nature.

I think it’s useful to take both social functions and linguistic structure quite seriously, as Eckert and the CSC do. In work on style and register in Jamaican Creole (Patrick 1997), I initially tried to give a structural definition of a code or way of speaking, and ended by including and even stressing the social functions. It might have been smarter, I suspect, if I first began by locating codes through their social functions, and then proceeded to examine their linguistic structure!

We can see a movement towards functional definition in Wolfram’s and Schilling-Estes’s (1998) discussion, right away. They include not only the formal-informal axis of variation, but also treat shifting from one dialect into another as style-shifting – whether or not the second dialect is native to the speaker (if not, this use of an out-group dialect has been called "crossing", Rampton 1995) – as well as shifting registers, in the sense we described above. Looked at in this light, it’s hard to see why shifting from one language into another quite distinct one (code-switching) wouldn’t also be style-shifting for them, and they argue (217) that it’s hard to make distinctions among these.

3.      Addressee as an influence on style

a.       Age of addressee

People generally talk to very young and to the very old.

b.      Social background of addressee

People talk differently to the higher class and to the lower class.

B.   Context

Context is a concept, schematic structure that is in the mind, respectively each humans mind. Context can also be derived from previous events and individual formed phsychological.

The language context in English is same with language context in Indonesia.

Example:

Yesterday in the wellington district court….the all black captain, Jock Hobbs, appeared as duty solicitor. Presiding was his father, Judge M.F Hobbs.

Etiquette required Mr. Hobbs to address his father young honour, or sir, and the beach had to address counsel as Mr. Hobbs.

(Mr. Hobbs) could not remember the last time he had to call his father sir, said the father to son, when the son announced his appearance on all matters as duty solicitor: “I appropriate the difficulties you are labouring under, Mr. Hobbs.

People who were very close to her used a short form of her first name (Meg), or an endearment. People who were less close and socially subordinate used her title and last name (Mrs. Walker). In the example, the choice of appropriate form is influenced not by personal relationship between the participants, but by the formality of the context and their relative roles and situates within that setting.

A law court is a formal setting where the social rules of participants over ride their personal relationship in determining the appropriate linguistics form. In classroom where a child’s mother or father is the teacher, the same pattern is usually found. Children call their parents Mrs. Grady and Mr. Davis rather than Mom and Dad. A catholic priest will be addressed as Father even by his own father during a religious ceremony. People’s rules in these formal contexts determine the appropriate speech form.

Example:

Judge               : I see the cops say you were pickled last night and were driving an old jalopy down the middle of the road. True?

Defendant        : Your honour, if I might be permitted to address this allegation, I should like to report that I was neither inebriated nor under the influence of an alcoholic beverage of any kind.

The formal and Latinate vocabulary appropriate to very formal setting inebriated, alcoholic, beverage, and allegation - contrast with the inappropriately informal vocabulary used here for humorous effect. Words such as pickled and jalopy are heard much more casual contexts.

C.  Register 

Register is the language used at any given moment; and depend on: what do you do, by whom and by what means. Register indicates the type of social process is going on.

Registers can simply be described as variations of the language according to its use, while the dialect as a language variation based on users registers on this concept is not limited to the choice of words (such as the notion registers in the traditional theory) but also includes the choice of the use of text structure, and texture: cohesion and teksikogramatical , as well as phonology or graphology choice. Because the register covers all aspects of language or linguistic choices, many linguists refer to registers as a style or a style of language.

Variations in language choice of the register depend on the context of the situation, which includes three variables: field (domain), tenor (context) and mode (infrastructure) which works simultaneously to form a configuration or configures contextual meaning.

1.      How to study Register 

In their book Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Register, Douglas Biber and Edward Finegan provide an analytic framework to follow when studying register.  Biber begins with his definition of register as being “a general cover term for all language varieties associated with different situations and purposes” .  The framework should include and distinguish between characteristics of linguistic and non-linguistic factors and should use these differences for a classification of register.

In The communicative characteristics of participants involved in the situation taking place must be taken into consideration, beginning with the addressor(s), which can be the writer or speaker.  This will be a singular person; several people, as in a co-authored work; or institutional, as in departmental or government document.  The addressee(s) will be singular, as in a dyadic conversation or a letter; plural, as in a classroom; or unremunerated, such as in a novel or a magazine.  Next, we must examine the relations between the addressor and addressee, taking into account the social role each participant maintains. Age, occupation, and shared knowledge, whether on the topic and/or personal background, all play important parts in determining this relationship.  In regards to relative status and power, it is necessary to determine which one has the most power or if they share an equal status.

When and where the communication takes place is referred to as setting.  Biber identifies settings with a particular context of use or domain.  He distinguishes six primary domains: “Business and workplace, education and academic, government and legal, religious, art and entertainment and domestic/personal” (43).  Within each of these areas, there exists a public and a private setting.  Technology such as TV, radio, or any type of mass media can be used to represent or present these domains. It must be taken into account that a difference among registers may arise when the time of communication and place are shared, as in direct conversation in the presence of each other.  Participants can share time and be familiar with, but not actually share place, as in a telephone conversation.

And also, how the addressor presents the information and how the addressee receives it should also be considered. Another factor important in differentiating among registers is the different purposes, intents, and goals of the addressor.  At one extreme are registers that attempt to explain or describe facts.  At the other end of the spectrum are registers that are completely fictional or overtly imaginative.  Between these two extremes are a variety of registers such as position papers, historical fiction, editorials, philosophical arguments, and theoretical position papers.  As for purpose, Biber characterizes it along four parameters: “‘persuade’ (or sell), ‘transfer information’, ‘entertain’ (or edify), and reveal self".

Lastly, the topic or subject being discussed--whether popular, generalized, or specialized--needs to be considered.  If the subject is specialized, it must be noted accordingly, examples being science, finances, politics, sports, and law. 

2.      Some Types of Registers 

• Formal Register: A type of register that incorporates Standard American English and is used by professionals or in situations where people are not familiar with one another.
• Informal Register: A type of register used with more familiar people in casual conversation.  In the informal style of register, contractions are used more often, rules of negation and agreement may be altered, and slang or colloquialisms may be used.  Informal register also permits certain abbreviations and deletions, but they are rule governed.  For example, deleting the "you" subject and the auxiliary often shorten questions.  Instead of asking, "Are you running in the marathon," a person might ask, "Running the marathon?"
• Over-formal Register: A type of register that can be characterized by the use of a false high-pitched nasal voice.  For example, a woman might approach another woman whom she does not really like and ask her cordially in a high-pitched voice, "How are you doing?"
• Motherese: A type of register characterized by high-pitched, elongated sounds and "sing-song" intonation.  It is used when people speak to infants, young children, or pets.
• Reporting Register: A type of register characterized by easily observable verbal and non-verbal cues:  flat intonation, rapid rate of speech, relatively low pitch, absence of marked facial expressions, and gestures.

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

           People’s speech reflects not only aspects of their identity such as their ethnicity, age, gender, and social background; it also reflects the contexts in which they are using the language. The way people talk in court, in school, at business meetings and at graduation ceremonies reflect the formality of those context and the social roles people take in them.

Style, Context and Register is continuity. So, if we only discuss one of them, such as Context or Style, the understanding will not occur. In this chapter is concerned with language users and to whom that language users use language. Automatically, it can be seen the context and style registers in the talks. Actually, the understanding about the context and style has already in our activity, so we have just improved it well by learning from the environment and education. Variations in language, which is a variation of the diversity of backgrounds and languages. So, people will absorb the language of others who are considered attractive, but still within the scope of understanding.

           

REFERENCES

Holmes, Janet. 1992. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman.

Hunt, Ellen. Register. Available at: http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/language/register/register.htm. Accessed on 11 November 2011.

Kirana, Nanda. LCS – Addressee. Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/45680599/LCS-Addressee. Accessed on 11 November 2011.

Kushartanti, Untung Yuwono. 2007. Pesona Bahasa: Langkah Awal Memahami Linguistic. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Umum.

Maharani, Made Ayu Winda. 2011. Style, Context and Register. Available at:

http://madeaiu-winda.blogspot.com/2011/04/style-context-and-register.html. Accessed on 20 November 2011.