Linguistic Varieties and Multilingual Nations

More than half the world's population is bilingual and many are multilingual. They get a number of languages ​​because they need it for a different purpose in their daily interactions. One language is the language of ethnic or tribal, the other is the language of education, the other served as a useful language of wider communication in certain contexts, such as the market or with outsiders or tourists. In this chapter will examine the label and sociolinguistic criteria used to distinguish between different varieties or code in a multilingual society.

In view of the first example. From other languages​​. With this type of language diversity is easy to understand the problems facing the country at the national level. Should the state use the same language for internal administration and for official communication with other countries? Which language or languages ​​to be used by the government and the courts? In order to assess the relative claims of different languages ​​need to see their status and the functions they serve.

Sociolinguists have developed a way of categorizing language, according to the status and social functioning. The difference between the standard language and regional languages ​​is a useful place to start.

Vernacular

local language is a term used in a variety of ways. This usually refers to a language that has not been standardized and which do not have official status. There are hundreds of local languages​​, such as Throw in Papua New Guinea, for example, a lot of which have never been written down or explained. In a multilingual speech community, many languages ​​of different ethnic or tribal which is used by various groups called regional languages​​. Language area is usually the first language learned by people in multilingual societies, and they are often used for a relatively narrow range of informal functions.

There are three components of the local language meaning. The most basic refers to the fact that the local language is different uncodifed or unstandardised. The second refers to the way it was obtained, at home, as the first variety. The third is the fact that it is used for a relatively limited functions. The first component that has been most widely used as the defining criteria, but the emphasis on one or other of the components has led to the use of local language term with slightly different meanings.

Some have expanded the term to refer to any language that is not the official language of a country. An influential 1951 UNESCO report, for example, defines vernacular as the language of fist of social or political group dominated by groups with different languages​​. So in countries like the United States where English is the language of the dominant group, a language such as Spanish vernacular is called as the Chicano child. But Spain would not be regarded as a regional language in Spain, Uruguay or Chile, where it is the official language. In this sense Greece is the local language in Australia and New Zealand, but not in Greece or Cyprus. The term local language means a language which is not an official language in certain contexts. When people talk about education in the local language, for example, they are usually referring to the education in the languages ​​of ethnic minorities in a particular country.

Regional language varieties of the term generally refers to most day-to-day in a person's linguistic repertoire. In a multilingual community of this variety will often be the language of ethnic or experiments that are not standard. is the local language varieties used for communication in the home and with close friends. It is the language of solidarity between people of the same ethnic group. By extension the term has been used to refer to a monolingual society informal and most varieties of everyday language that also may have different standards. 'vernacular' term is used with this meaning by sociolinguists studying social dialect.

Sociolinguistic

Finally the local language is sometimes used to indicate that the language used for day-to-day interactions, without implying that the only suitable language in informal domains. Hebrew, for example, is the ritual and religious language without native speakers. 'parents' tongue' no-one, and certainly not regarded as a regional language. Sociolinguists have described the development process to be used as the national language of Israel as 'vernacularisation' or kebahasa-daerahan. Its function is extended from the exclusive function H to include the function L. Of ritual language, Hebrew is the language of everyday communication - language area. In this sense, the local language or languages ​​in contrast to the classical ritual. The Catholic Church at one time used in Latin for church services, not regional languages ​​such as English, French and Italian. By using this definition, and is generally not useful as a more specific definition that contrasts with everyday language standard used for a more formal function.

Standard Language

It is the sixteenth century view of George Puttenham about where young writers will find most acceptable variety of English. Good English speech is to be heard, in the opinion of the Puttenham. He was mostly right in identifying the origin of social and regional varieties which we now regard as standard English.

One definition that can serve as a starting point. Various standards are usually written one, and who have experienced some level of regularization or codification (eg, in grammar and dictionary), but is recognized as a prestigious variety or code by a community, and is used for the H function with diverse varieties of L. This is a very general definition and immediately exclude some of the four or five thousand world languages​​. Only a minority language in the written world, and even a small minority that are standard in the sense that codified and accepted by the community as suitable for formal occasions. It would be useful to look at an example to illustrate what the definition means in a particular context.

Standard English emerged 'naturally' in the fifteenth century from English dialect areas, largely because it is the variety used by the Court and the influential London merchants, as noted Puttenham. The area where the largest proportion of the Indonesian population living at that time was in a neat triangle containing London, where the Court is based, and two universities, Oxford and Cambridge. In addition, the area is an agricultural area and important business, and London is the center of international trade and exports to Calais. It is also the center of political life, social and intellectual in the UK.

So it is the dialect that is used in this area which is the basis for what we now think of as standard English. It was prestigious because of its use in court. Was influential because it is used by the powerful merchant class economy. People who come to London from the provinces recognized and frequently studied, and this of course makes it useless. The more people who use it, the people should make a little effort to understand the regional varieties. It is easy to see how the code will quickly develop a formal function H in the context of administration and governance.

English language development standards describe three important criteria that characterize standard: various influential or prestigious, codified and stable, and serves the function H in that it is used for communication on the court, for literature and for administration. It also illustrates that what we refer to as the standard language is always a certain dialect that has gained a special position as a result of the influence of social, economic and political. A standard dialect does not have a certain linguistic benefits, both in vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation. This is just a dialect of those who are politically powerful and socially prestigious. Once it begins to function as a norm or standard to a wider group, however, it is possible to develop a broader vocabulary needed to express new functions required to serve.

After the standard dialect evolved or developed, generally provide a very useful means of communication throughout the dialect diversity. Status as a prestige range of guarantees it will spread. Standard English served as useful for communication between the various regional dialect diversity, not only in English but also in countries where the UK has had a colonial influence.

In multilingual countries the language of coloniall or world powers may be useful for similar purposes. In addition, a certain vernacular or local language can develop the role of language in the broader communication multilingual area. The language can be labeled francas lingua, which is the topic of the next section.

Lingua Francas

In a special meeting, Latin serves as a lingua franca - a language of communication between two people. In Sister Dominic attended the meeting between the nuns of South America, Africa, Ireland and the French, the language of communication is English more breadth. When academics and experts met at an international conference, or when politicians arrange summit meetings, world languages ​​such as English, French or Spanish, is often used as a lingua franca. In this example, certain language serves as a lingua franca in certain situations. More commonly, however, the term describes the lingua franca language serves as a means of regular communication between the different language groups in a multilingual speech community.

A lingua franca is a language used for communication between people of different first languages​​. In some countries the most useful and the lingua franca is a language widely used official or national language. In a multilingual society 'lingua franca very useful they can eventually replace regional languages​​. When people from different ethnic groups were married in Zaire or Tanzania or Papua New Guinea, they often use their lingua franca of the region as a language at home.

Pidgins and Creoles

Pidgin is a language that has no native speakers. Pidgins evolved as a means of communication between people who do not have the same language. Pidgin seems very likely arise when two groups with different languages ​​that communicate in situations where there is also a third dominant language. Pidgins developed with a narrow range of functions. Those who use it have other languages ​​as well, so pidgin which is in addition to their linguistic repertoire used for certain purposes, such as trade or possibly administration. Pidgin is used almost exclusively for respect rather than affective functions. They are typically used for functions that are quite specific as to buy and sell grain, or animal skin, not to signal social differences or express politeness.

Because pidgins evolved to serve a very narrow range of functionality in a very limited set of domains, they tend to have a simplified structure and vocabulary is small compared with fully developed language. The word generally has no inflection, as in English, to mark the plural, or signal tense of the verb. Also used to mark affixes no sex, as in Spain and Italy. Affixes are removed. Often the information they convey more specifically characterized elsewhere if a sentence, or can be inferred from the context, or do not need.

Pidgin language does not have a high status or prestige and, for those who do not speak them, they often seem silly language.

A pidgin language has three identifying characteristics:

1. It is used in limited domains and functions

2. It has a simpler structure than the source language

3. It generally has a low prestige and attract negative attitude - especially from outside

A creole is a pidgin which has acquired native speakers. Many languages ​​are actually now called Pidgin Creole. They learned by children as their first language and are used in various domains. After creoles have developed can be used for all functions of any language - politics, education, administration, etc. Although external attitude 'to creole is often negative as their attitudes toward