MultilingualismandLanguage ChoiceSociolinguisticsSonya Ayu Kumala, M.Hum

Vitality Diglossia High Variety and Low Variety Code switching and Code mixing Passive and Active knowledge

Vitality The likehood that a language will

continue being used for a range of social functions by a community of speakers.

Demographic, social and institutional strength of a language and its speakers.

Language in South Africa No nation is multilingual. Greece consider themselves as monolingual

country

Multilingual nations : South Africa and Republic of Vanuatu

South africa : apartheid regime The language of business and education are

Afrikaans (Dutch) and South African English

The collapsed of the regime in the 1990s, the republic of south africa becomes a multilingual nations with 11 languages.

Linguistics plualism

How vitality important in perceiving language rights, the national identity and history of opression.

Language in Vanuatu Vanuatu is a Joint Condominium of both British

and French

In 1980, Vanuatu got its independenceNational language is Bislama (english creole)Official language are Bislama, English, and FrenchLanguage of education are English and FrenchDifferent local language/indegenous language = National language.

Ethnolinguistics Vitality Social, political, attitudinal factors = national,

official, education

High vitality if it is widely spoken and used Low vitality if it is shifted/is not used anymore.

The relative strength or vitality of language that are related to :

a. The demographic of the ethnic group speaking a language.b. The status afforded to a language.c. Institutional support provided for a language

Factors that influence the language vitality:a. Social factorsEg. Latin in europeb. Institutional factorsEg. South african and Vanuatus’ languageMauritius nation: Mauritian creole, english and french, Indian and arabic languagec. Demographic factorsEg. Maori language in New Zealand

Diglossia Diglossia = two language

Diglossia is situation of societal bilingualism and institutionalised code-switching

High variety : language with higher overt prestige and which is used in more formal context and writing

Low variety : vernacular variety.

Two varieties of language in use in the community that had some historical link to each other and one can be argued to have its root in the each other.

Eg. Middle east: classical arabic and

vernacular arabic Tanzania: Swahili and local vernaculars

(overlaping diglossia)

Code switching and Code Mixing Moving code between different

languages or varieties.

A situation in which two distinct varieties of a language are spoken within the same speech community.

People who are speak more than one language are generally very sensitive to the differences in the vitality og languages they use and they are equally aware that in some contexts one variety will serve better their needs better than another.

Code switching:1. Domain or situational based code

switching

2. Addresse based code switching

* Individual creativity and flexibility

Example: Tanzania : Vernacular language (rangi)

and official language (swahili) In the market and in the bank

Code Mixing  Code-mixing refers to the situation

where people switch between different languages within the same sentences. 

Generally alternations between varieties or codes within clause or phrase.

Passive and Active Knowledge Passive knowledge: the ability to

understand but not to speak a language.

Active knowldege: knowledge of a linguistics variety that includes the ability to produce and use that variety and not only to understand it.

Good luck for your mid-term

test!