Why Languages have dialects?

Natalia Ramirez Salas

¿Why is there air?

Why are there dialects?

Sociohistorical explanation

What are the processes that make dialects so natural and inevitable?

Social and Linguistic factors

From the eastern part of central and southern England

From Scotch-Irish parts

NEW YERSEY AND DELAWARE AREA

NEW ENGLAND, UPPER NEW YORK ANDPARTS OF APPALACHIA

Settlement

The major dialects of America English to this day reflect the original sites of settlement with cultural hearths such as

Boston, Tidewater Virginia, Charleston,

south Carolina.

Settlement patterns generally take place in several distinct phases:

First Phase.

Second Phase

Third Phase

The first settlers into a given region typically establish a cultural and linguistic area that persists in time, although the original feature will change in a number of ways and other features may take place.

Migration routes

Eg. Pennsylvania

There is a line dividing NORTH DIALECTMIDLAND DIALECT

horse /hɔ:rs/  hoarse /hɔ:rs /witch /wɪtʃ/ which1 /hwɪtʃ / 

Physical Factors

O ne of the most prominent vernacular dialects of English is found in the southern Appalachian mountain range, including West Virginia, western North Carolina and Virginia, eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, and by migratory extension, northwest Arkansas and southern Missouri, where so-called Appalachian English can be found.

The most effective kind of communication is face-

to-face, and when a group of speakers does

not interact with another, the likelihood of

dialect divergence is heightened

Language Contact

In the XVII century there was primary influence from American

Indian groups .Moccasin['mɒkəsɪn]  Raccoon/ræ'ku:n /

In the XVIII century there was primary influence from French .

Bureau /'bjʊrəʊ / Prarie /'preri /

German also gave English words.

Kindergarten /'kɪndərˌgɑ:rtn: / Hambuger/'hæmbɜ:rgər /

From Spanish we can find:

Canyon  /'kænjən/ Patio /'pætiəʊ/ 

Suffixes taken from German:-estSongfestSlugfestGabfest

Suffixes taken from French-eeDrafteeEnlistee

Economic Ecology

Fishing Mining Farming

Metropolitan Areas v/s Rural Areas

Cultural lagRetention of older forms of English,

such a-prefix in:

He was a-hunting and a- fishing

/h/Hit´s a nice day out today.

Social Stratification

Some markers of social status differences

Double Negation:

She ain´t been nowhere( she hasn´t been anywhere)

/

Some markers of social status differences

Irregular verbs forms:

She done it (She did it)

Some markers of social status differences

Comparative forms:

More bigger (bigger)

/

Communication Networks

In other level the particular social network govern people´s day to day conversation.

Group Reference

Teenagers

Slang

Eg.

Just let grab a bite to eat =

Have a quick snack

Do not confuse it with Ethnic variety such Vernacular Black English

They have:A complex array of grammatical, phonological and lexical structures in its limitation.

Character attributes

Ronald Reagan

“ Ain´t gonna back down to

nobody”

Linguistic explanation

There are higher-order principles of language structure that guide the ways in which the dialects of language will differ from each other.

English from Elizabethian period .

The pressure for dialect variation may come from within the system itself

Changes can also may originate from contact with other language communities.

Changes from within (because they take place independent of outside language influences)

Changes from outside

Although we distinguish the two sources of

change, they often work hand in hand as the

internal structure of the system may dictate what items from outside will be adopted and how.

Generalization

Let´s consider the rule of Negation in English in its more restricted (standard) and its more expanded, generalize (vernacular)version.

Negative making pattern.

The negative is typically restricted to one element in the sentence(often within the verb phrase) The Students were not reading the assignments.

If we want add “nobody”, there must be an adjustment to the rule.The indefinite is placed before the verb

Nobody was reading the assignments.

If the indefinite comes after the verb , the negative may be placed in the verb phrase.

The Students weren´t reading anything.

The Students were reading nothing.

Analogy

This notion is extended to refer to existing patterns of language that are used as the basis for bringing other forms into conformity with these patterns.

Oxes instead of Oxen

Shifts which eliminate exceptions, or irregular forms, are referred to as

REGULARIZATION

1-She knowed the woman2-The oxes pulled the cart3- Mines is here.4- That is badder that this.

Redundancy reduction

A prime example of redundant marking in

English is the marker for Third person singular in

present tense.

She likes the story

To omit –s can make differences in form but not necessarily any differences in meaning.

She like_ the class.

The table is four inche_ long.

John_ hat is on the floor

The man _ ugly

Naturalness

For example:

The th /θ/think /θɪŋk/

bath1 /bæθ /

nothing/'nʌθɪŋ/

 

Tink or Sink

Innovation

Dialect diversity also comes from linguistic response to physical and social conditions surrounding language and the need to name new and things .

Processes available for word creation

PROCESS DEFINITION EXAMPLES

Compouding Two or more existing words are combined to form a new word.

Badmouth

Derivation Affixes are added to create new forms or change the part of the speech.

Badness

Borrowing Words from other languages are incorporated

Arroyo ( Spanish)

Blending Parts of two words are combined to form a new word

Sitcom ( Situatio-comedy)

Processes available for word creation

PROCESS DEFINITION EXAMPLES

Acronyms New words are formed by taking the initial sounds or letters from existing words

UN (United Nations)

Clipping Word are formed by shortening an existing word

Dorm (dormitory)

Conversion Words are shifted from one part of speech to another without any change in their form

Bottle (as a verb in “she bottled the water”

The information of this presentation was taken from Dialects and American English, Wolfram W (1991) and the pictures were taken from http://www.google.cl/imghp?hl=es&tab=wi