Language and Society
Everyone knows what is supposed to happen when two Englishmen who have never met before come face to face in a train compartment - they start talking about the weather. In some cases this may simply be because they happen to find the subject interesting. Most people though, are not particularly interested in climatic conditions, so there must be other reasons for conversations of this kind. One explanation is that is can often be quite embarrassing to be alone in the company of someone you are not acquainted with and not speak to him. If no conversation takes place, the atmosphere can become rather strained. However, by talking to the other person about some neutral topic like the weather, it is possible to strike up a relationship with him without actually having to say very much. Train compartment conversations of this kind are a good example of the important social functions of language. Language is not simply a means of communicating information - about the weather or any other subject. It is also a very important means of establishing and maintaining relationships with other people. Probably the most important thing about the conversation between our two Englishmen is not the words they are using, but the fact that they are talking at all.
In other kind of setting - a cocktail party, the scene in the train compartment may be repeated. Where no formal introductions are made between new acquaintances, language is more the message rather than the medium. When one gentleman approaches the other, an unlighted cigarette in one hand and cocktail glass in the other, bows and smiles graciously to ask, "Do you have a match?", of course, he means more than wanting to smoke and therefore needs to light his cigarette. He uses language as the message itself - to say -"Hi, can't we talk and be friends?" ... or something to that effect.
There is also a second explanation. It is quite possible that in the earlier situation cited, the first Englishman, probably subconsciously, would like to get to know certain things about the second - for instance, what sort job he does and what social status he has. Without this kind of information he will not be sure exactly how he should behave towards him. He can, of course, make intelligent guesses about his companion from the sort of clothes he is wearing, and other visual clues, but he can hardly ask him direct questions about his social background, at least not at this stage of the relationship. What he can do - and any reasoning along these lines on his part is again usually subconscious - is to engage him in conversation. He is then likely to find out certain things about the other person quite easily. He will learn these things not so much from what the other man says as from how he says it, for whatever we speak we cannot avoiding giving our listeners clues about our origin and the sort of person we are. Our accent and our speech generally show what part of the country we come from, and what sort of background we have. We may even give some indication of our certain ideas and attitudes, and all of this information can be used by the people we are speaking with to help them form an opinion about us.
Again, besides language itself being the message, revealing our social class background, i.e., the sort of person we are, it is also a bond reflecting that which is shared between the sender and the receiver of the message. If the other gentleman at the cocktail party is an outsider as far as the first gentleman is concerned, that he does not share his background experience in the cocktail circuit and in the other social encounters, there won't certainly be any gesture to accept the invitation for friendship. Worse still is the rejection expressed when he gives the correct answer and says, "Yes, here's my lighter and please use it quickly before I go." The answer is correct, but is it appropriate?
Two aspects of language behavior are very important from a social point of view: first, the function of language in establishing social relationships; and, second, the role played by the language in conveying information about the speaker. It is clear that both these aspects of linguistic behavior are reflections of the fact that there is a close interrelationship between language and society.
In seeking clues about his companion, the Englishman is making use of the way in which people from different social and geographical backgrounds use different kinds of language. If the second Englishman comes from Norfolk, for example, he will probably use the kind of language spoken by the people from that part of the country. If he is also a middle-class businessman, he will use the kind of language associated with men of this type. Kinds of language of this sort are often referred to as dialects, the first type of this case being a regional dialect and the second a social dialect.
As far as dialect is concerned, for example, it is possible to speak the Ilocano dialect or the Tagalog dialect - Tagalog Bulacan or Tagalog Batangas, for instance. If you travel from Bulacan to Batangas, investigating conservative rural dialects as you go, you will find at least at some points, that the linguistic characteristics of these dialects change gradually from place to place. There is no clear linguistic break between Tagalog Bulacan and Tagalog Batangas. It is not possible to state in linguistic terms where people stop speaking Tagalog Bulacan and start speaking Tagalog Batangas. The same sort of problem arises with the term language. For example, Dutch and German are known to be two distinct languages. However, at some places along the Dutch-German frontier the dialects spoken on either side of the border are extremely similar. If we choose to say that people on one side of the border speak German and those on the other, Dutch, our choice is again based on social and political rather than linguistic factors. Now, in attempting to decide which language someone is speaking, we could say that if two speakers cannot understand one another, then they are speaking different languages. Similarly, if they can understand each other, we could say that they are speaking dialects of the same language.
Answer the following questions.
1. Which statement most clearly expresses the main idea or message of the selection?
a. Language is a means of communicating information about any subject.
b. Language and society are closely interrelated.
c. Language plays a significant role in establishing social relationships.
2. Which statement is not true?
a. Whenever we speak we give our listeners clues about ourselves.
b. Englishmen talk about the weather to start a conversation.
c. We use language simply to communicate.
3. According to the author, do people generally like to talk about the weather?
a. Yes b. No c. Maybe
4. Train-compartment conversations usually take place in
a. commuter trains
b. cargo trains
c. train stations
5. Explain the following statement:
Where no formal introductions are made between new acquaintances, language is more the message rather than the medium.
6. What may be the purpose or function of language in each situation below?
a. An Englishman, approaches another Englishman, smiles and says, “Nice weather, isn't it?”
b. A guest at the same party you are attending smiles and asks, Do you have a match?”
Again, besides language itself being the message, revealing our social class background, i.e., the sort of person we are, it is also a bond reflecting that which is shared between the sender and the receiver of the message. If the other gentleman at the cocktail party is an outsider as far as the first gentleman is concerned, that he does not share his background experience in the cocktail circuit and in the other social encounters, there won't certainly be any gesture to accept the invitation for friendship. Worse still is the rejection expressed when he gives the correct answer and says, "Yes, here's my lighter and please use it quickly before I go." The answer is correct, but is it appropriate?
Two aspects of language behavior are very important from a social point of view: first, the function of language in establishing social relationships; and, second, the role played by the language in conveying information about the speaker. It is clear that both these aspects of linguistic behavior are reflections of the fact that there is a close interrelationship between language and society.
In seeking clues about his companion, the Englishman is making use of the way in which people from different social and geographical backgrounds use different kinds of language. If the second Englishman comes from Norfolk, for example, he will probably use the kind of language spoken by the people from that part of the country. If he is also a middle-class businessman, he will use the kind of language associated with men of this type. Kinds of language of this sort are often referred to as dialects, the first type of this case being a regional dialect and the second a social dialect.
As far as dialect is concerned, for example, it is possible to speak the Ilocano dialect or the Tagalog dialect - Tagalog Bulacan or Tagalog Batangas, for instance. If you travel from Bulacan to Batangas, investigating conservative rural dialects as you go, you will find at least at some points, that the linguistic characteristics of these dialects change gradually from place to place. There is no clear linguistic break between Tagalog Bulacan and Tagalog Batangas. It is not possible to state in linguistic terms where people stop speaking Tagalog Bulacan and start speaking Tagalog Batangas. The same sort of problem arises with the term language. For example, Dutch and German are known to be two distinct languages. However, at some places along the Dutch-German frontier the dialects spoken on either side of the border are extremely similar. If we choose to say that people on one side of the border speak German and those on the other, Dutch, our choice is again based on social and political rather than linguistic factors. Now, in attempting to decide which language someone is speaking, we could say that if two speakers cannot understand one another, then they are speaking different languages. Similarly, if they can understand each other, we could say that they are speaking dialects of the same language.
Answer the following questions.
1. Which statement most clearly expresses the main idea or message of the selection?
a. Language is a means of communicating information about any subject.
b. Language and society are closely interrelated.
c. Language plays a significant role in establishing social relationships.
2. Which statement is not true?
a. Whenever we speak we give our listeners clues about ourselves.
b. Englishmen talk about the weather to start a conversation.
c. We use language simply to communicate.
3. According to the author, do people generally like to talk about the weather?
a. Yes b. No c. Maybe
4. Train-compartment conversations usually take place in
a. commuter trains
b. cargo trains
c. train stations
5. Explain the following statement:
Where no formal introductions are made between new acquaintances, language is more the message rather than the medium.
6. What may be the purpose or function of language in each situation below?
a. An Englishman, approaches another Englishman, smiles and says, “Nice weather, isn't it?”
b. A guest at the same party you are attending smiles and asks, Do you have a match?”