$4.43:89.

8

1 What |s the re|at|onsh|p between soc|ety and |anguage and the d|sc|p||nes that study
them?
socloloqy 1he sLudy of socleLy ls called
lloqolstlcs 1he sLudy of language ls called
So soclollngulsLlcs ls soclolloqolstlcs 1he sLudy of Lhe use of language ln socleLy ls called
Lhe daughLer of soclology and llngulsLlcs whlch are lLs parenL dlsclpllnes
Laln purposes or eLher for a cer g ls any group of people who are drawn Lo soclety A
ls whaL Lhe members of a parLlcular socleLy speak looqooqe purposes A
1he language we use ln everyday llvlng ls remarkably varled When we look closely aL
any language we wlll dlscover LhaL Lhere ls conslderable lnLernal varlaLlon and LhaL
speakers make consLanL use of many dlfferenL posslblllLles offered Lo Lhem no one speaks
Lhe same way all Lhe Llme and people consLanLly explolL Lhe nuances of Lhe languages Lhey
speak for a wlde varleLy of purposes 1here ls conslderable varlaLlon ln Lhe speech of any
one lndlvldual buL Lhere are also deflnlLe bounds Lo LhaL varlaLlon no lndlvldual ls free Lo
do [usL exacLly whaL he or she pleases so far as language ls concerned ?ou canL pronounce
words any way you please lnflecL or noL lnflecL words such as nouns and verbs arblLrarlly
or make drasLlc alLernaLlon ln word order ln senLences as Lhe mood sulLs you 1he varlaLlon
you are permlLLed has llmlLs Lhose llmlLs also apply Lo groups of speakers noL [usL Lo
lndlvlduals 1haL ls Lhere are a group of norms so far as varlaLlon ls concerned
2What are the poss|b|e re|at|onsh|ps between |anguage and soc|ety?
ls LhaL One 1here are varleLy of posslble relaLlonshlp beLween language and socleLy
soclal sLrucLure may elLher lnfluence or deLermlne llngulsLlc sLrucLure and/or behavlor A
ls dlrecLly opposed Lo Lhe flrsL llngulsLlc sLrucLure and/or second possib/e re/otionship
ls third possib/e re/otionship behavlor may elLher lnfluence or deLermlne soclal sLrucLure A
LhaL Lhe lnfluence ls bldlrecLlonal language and socleLy may lnfluence each oLher A
aL all beLween llngulsLlc ls Lo assume LhaL Lhere ls no relaLlonshlp fourth/y possibi/ity
sLrucLure and soclal sLrucLure and LhaL each ls lndependenL of Lhe oLher 1he lasL
posslblllLles excluded

What |s the d|fference between soc|o||ngu|st|cs and the soc|o|ogy of |anguage? 3
Some lnvesLlgaLors have lnLroduced a dlsLlncLlon beLween soclollngulsLlcs and Lhe
wlll be concerned wlLh lnvesLlgaLlng Lhe relaLlonshlps SoclollngulsLlcs soclology of language
beLLer undersLandlng of Lhe sLrucLure of ltb tbe qool of o beLween language and socleLy
Lhe ln tbe epolvoleot qool language and of how languages funcLlon ln communlcaLlon
be Lo dlscover how soclal sLrucLure can be beLLer undersLood wlll soclology of language
Lhrough Lhe sLudy of language eg how cerLaln llngulsLlc feaLures serve Lo characLerlze
parLlcular soclal arrangemenLs Pudson has descrlbed Lhe dlfferences as follows
Lhe soclology of whereas e sLudy of language ln relaLlon Lo socleLy Lh ls soclollngulsLlcs
soclollngulsLlcs ln oLher words ln Lhe sLudy of socleLy ln relaLlon Lo language ls language
of Lhe soclology we sLudy socleLy ln order Lo flnd ouL whaL klnd of Lhlng language ls and ln
we reverse Lhe dlrecLlon of our lnLeresL language
how the re|at|onsh|p between a var|ety and a |anguage and g|ve three def|n|t|ons of a
var|ety 4
All languages show a greaL deal of lnLernal varlaLlon Lach language exlsLs ln a number of
varleLles and ls ln one sense Lhe sum of Lhose varleLles
a Lype of a Lhlng for example a planL or language LhaL ls Pornby deflnes a varleLy as

dlfferenL from Lhe oLhers ln Lhe same general group

llngulsLlc lLems wlLh slmllar a seL of Pudson deflnes a varleLy of a language as
2
dlsLrlbuLlon
sysLem of llngulsLlc expresslons whose use ls uavld CrysLal deflnes a varleLy as any
l
governed by slLuaLlonal varlables
Lxamples of varleLles 8rlLlsh Lngllsh Amerlcan Lngllsh sLandard Arablc colloqulal Arablc
What |s the essent|a| d|fferences between a |anguage and a d|a|ects ? S
Language dlalecL
can be used Lo refer Lo elLher Lo a slngle llngulsLlc Lype or Lo a group of relaLed Language
ls used boLh for local varleLles of ulalecL norms and dlalecL Lo refer Lo one of Lhe norms
Lngllsh eg ?orkshlre dlalecL and for varlous Lypes of lnformal lowerclass or rural
speech lL ls ofLen equlvalenL Lo nonsLandard or even subsLandard when such Lerms are
applled Lo language 1he llLerary and colloqulal forms of Arablc used ln lraq Morocco and
LgypL are grammaLlcally qulLe separaLe yeL only one language ls recognlzed ln LhaL case
Plndl and urdu are Lhe same language buL one ln whlch cerLaln dlfferences are
becomlng magnlfled for pollLlcal and rellglous reasons Plndl ls wrlLLen lefL Lo rlghL ln Lhe
uevanagarl scrlpL whereas urdu ls wrlLLen rlghL Lo lefL ln Lhe erslanArablc scrlpL 1hey
become hlghly symbollc of Lhe growlng dlfferences beLween lndla and aklsLan 1he
slLuaLlon ln lndla and aklsLan ls ln conLrasL Lo LhaL whlch exlsLs ln Chlna where muLually
unlnLelllglble Chlnese language ( called dlalecLs by Lhe Chlnese Lhemselves) are unlLed
Lhrough a common wrlLlng sysLem and LradlLlon) Lngllsh ls a language buL Lhe followlng are
dlalecLs or varleLles of Lngllsh lndlan Lngllsh AusLrallan Lngllsh new ?ork Lngllsh 8lack
Lngllsh nonsLandard Lngllsh publlc school Lngllsh and so on A language ls some unlLary
sysLem of llngulsLlc communlcaLlon whlch subsumes a number of muLually lnLelllglble
varleLles
6 tate the seven cr|ter|a that may be used to d|st|ngu|sh one |anguage from another
and exp|a|n four of them
1here are seven crlLerla LhaL may be useful ln dlscusslng dlfferenL klnds of languages 1hese
crlLerla (sLandardlzaLlon vlLallLy hlsLorlclLy auLonomy reducLlon mlxLure and facLo
norms) may be used Lo dlsLlngulsh one Lype of language from anoLher
refers Lo Lhe process by whlch a language has been codlfled 1haL stondorditotion
usually lnvolves Lhe developmenL of such Lhlngs as grammars and dlcLlonarles and posslble
a llLeraLure Cnce a language ls sLandardlzed lL becomes posslble Lo Leach lL ln dellberaLe
manner Accordlng Lo Lhese crlLerla boLh Lngllsh and lrench are qulLe obvlously
sLandardlzed and Lhe varleLy known as 8lack Lngllsh noL aL all 1he sLandardlzaLlon process
lLself performs a varleLy of funcLlons lL unlfles lndlvldual and groups wlLhln a large
communlLy whlle aL Lhe same Llme separaLlng Lhe communlLy LhaL resulLs from oLher
communlLles 1herefore lL can be employed Lo reflecL and symbollze some klnd of ldenLlLy
reglonal soclal eLhnlc or rellglous 1rudglll deflnes SLandard Lngllsh as follow
usually used ln prlnL and whlch ls sLandard Lngllsh ls LhaL varleLy of Lngllsh whlch ls
naLlve speakers learnlng Lhe language lL ls also Lhe normally LaughL ln schools and non
asLs and varleLy whlch ls normally spoken by educaLed people and used ln news broadc
oLher slmllar slLuaLlons
CovernmenLs someLlmes lnvolves Lhemselves ln Lhe sLandardlzaLlon process by
esLabllshlng offlclal bodles Lo regulaLe language maLLers or Lo encourage changes whlch are
felL Lo be deslrable Cne of Lhe mosL famous examples of an offlclal body esLabllshed Lo
promoLe Lhe language of a counLry was Lhe lrench Academy
refers Lo Lhe exlsLence of a llvlng communlLy of speakers 1hls crlLerlon can be vito/ity 2
used Lo dlsLlngulsh languages LhaL are allve from Lhose LhaL are dead lor example LaLln
ls dead and Classlcal Pebrew was dylng buL has been successfully revlved ln modern lsrael
A language can remaln conslderable force even afLer lL ls dean LhaL ls even afLer lL ls no
longer spoken as anyones flrsL language and exlsL excluslvely ln one or more wrlLLen forms
Classlcal Creek and LaLln sLlll have conslderable presLlge ln Lhe WesLern world Classlcal
Arablc provldes a unlfylng force and seL of resources ln Lhe lslamlc world
Lhe facL a parLlcular group of people flnd a sense of ldenLlLy Lhrough refers Lo istoricity l
uslng a parLlcular language lL belongs Lo Lhem Soclal pollLlcal rellglous or eLhnlc Lles may
also be lmporLanL for Lhe group buL Lhe bond provlded by a common language may prove
Lo be Lhe sLrongesL Lle of all PlsLorlclLy can be longsLandlng speakers of Lhe dlfferenL
varleLles of colloqulal Arablc make much of a common llngulsLlc ancesLry
L language mus ls an lnLeresLlng concepL because lL ls really one of feellng A 4utonomy 4
be felL by lLs speaker Lo be dlfferenL from oLher languages Powever Lhls ls a very
sub[ecLlve crlLerlon Some speakers of 8lack Lngllsh malnLaln LhaL Lhelr language ls noL a
varleLy of Lngllsh buL ls a separaLe language ln lLs own rlghL ln conLrasL speakers of
CanLonese and Mandarln deny LhaL Lhey speak dlfferenL languages Lhey malnLaln LhaL
CanLonese and Mandarln are noL auLonomous languages buL are [usL Lwo varleLles of
Chlnese
7What |s the d|fference between vernacu|ar and ko|ne?
Lhe speech of a parLlcular counLry or reglon or more as vernacular eLyL deflnes
Lechnlcally a form of speech LransmlLLed from parenL Lo chlld as a prlmary medlum of
Lngllsh ls Lhe lf LhaL form of speech ls sLandard Lngllsh Lhen sLandard communlcaLlon
vernacular for LhaL parLlcular chlld lf lL ls a reglonal dlalecL Lhen LhaL dlalecL ls Lhe chllds
A kolne vernaculars a form of speech shared by people of dlfferenL ls A kolne vernacular
ls a common language buL noL necessarlly a sLandard one
Lxp|a|n the character|st|cs of reg|ona| d|a|ects
9 Def|ne soc|a| d|a|ects and show how they are d|fferent from reg|ona| d|a|ects w|th
examp|es
can be used Lo descrlbe dlfferences ln speech assoclaLed wlLh varlous dlalecLs 1he Lerm
are geographlcally based soclal dlalecLs reglonal dlalecLs soclal groups or classes Whereas
orlglnaLe from soclal groups and depend on a varleLy of facLors Lhe prlnclpal ones are soclal
class rellglon and eLhnlclLy ln lndla for example casLe one of Lhe clearesL of all soclal
class dlfferenLlaLors qulLe ofLen deLermlnes whlch varleLy of a language a speaker uses ln
8aghdad ChrlsLlan !ewlsh and Musllm lnhablLanLs speak dlfferenL varleLles of Arablc ln
Lhls case Lhe flrsL Lwo groups use Lhelr varleLy only wlLhln Lhe group buL Lhe Musllm varleLy
serves as a llngua franca among Lhe groups ConsequenLly ChrlsLlans and !ews who deal
wlLh Musllms musL use Lwo varleLles Lhelr own aL home and Lhe Musllm varleLy for Lrade
and ln all lnLergroup relaLlonshlps LLhnlc varlaLlon can be seen ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes where
one varleLy of Lngllsh has become so ldenLlfled wlLh an eLhnlc group LhaL lL ls ofLen referred
Lo as 8lack Lngllsh Soclal dlalecLology ls Lhe Lerm used Lo refer Lo Lhe branch of llngulsLlc
sLudy LhaL sLudles soclal dlalecLs

10Def|ne sty|es and state the factors upon wh|ch they depend
Speakers can adopL dlfferenL sLyles of speaklng ?ou can speak very formally or very
lnformally your cholce belng governed by clrcumsLances Ceremonlal occaslons almosL
lnvarlably requlre very formal speech publlc lecLures requlre somewhaL less formal casual
conversaLlon qulLe lnformal and conversaLlon beLween lnLlmaLes on maLLers of llLLle
lmporLance may be exLremely lnformal and casual We relaLe Lhe level of formallLy chosen
oLher dlfferences age and
l
Lhe varlous soclal
2
Lhe klnd of occaslon

Lo a varleLy of facLors
k LhaL ls lnvolved eg wrlLlng or Lhe parLlcular Las
4
LhaL exlsL beLween Lhe parLlclpanLs
speaklng Lhe emoLlonal lnvolvemenL of one or more of Lhe parLlclpanLs
We have four sLyles 1very formal 2less formal 3qulLe lnformal 4exLremely
lnformal
11Def|ne reg|sters 8eglsLers are seLs of vocabulary lLems assoclaLed wlLh dlsLlngulshed
occupaLlonal or soclal groups Surgeons alrllnes plloLs bank managers and sales clerks use
dlfferenL vocabularles
Def|ne code 12
We may refer Lo a language or a varleLy of a language as a code because lL ls only
undersLood by Lhe people who speak lL 1he neuLral Lerm code can be used Lo refer Lo
any klnd of communlcaLlon sysLem LhaL Lwo or more people use for communlcaLlon
Lxp|a|n d|g|oss|a and show the d|fferences between the h|gh and |ow var|et|es |n a
d|g|oss|c s|tuat|on 13
A dlglosslc slLuaLlon exlsLs ln a socleLy when lL has Lwo dlsLlncL codes whlch show clear
funcLlonal separaLlon one ls used ln one seL of clrcumsLances and Lhe oLher ln an enLlrely
dlfferenL seL lerguson has deflned dlglossla as follows
lqlosslo ls o telotlvely stoble looqooqe sltootloo lo blcb lo oJJltloo to tbe ptlmoty spokeo
Jlolects of tbe looqooqe tbete ls o blqbly coJlfleJ sopetposeJ votlety tbe veblcle of o lotqe
blcb ls leotoeJ by fotmol eJocotloo ooJ ls oseJ ooJ tespecteJ boJy of tltteo lltetotote
fot most tltteo ooJ fotmol spokeo potposes bot ls oot oseJ by ooy sectot of tbe commoolty
fot otJlooty coovetsotloo
Pe ldenLlfles four slLuaLlons whlch show Lhe ma[or characLerlsLlcs of Lhls dlglosslc
phenomenon Arablc Swlss Cerman PalLlan and Creek ln each slLuaLlon Lhere ls a hlgh
varleLy(P) of language and a low varleLy (L) Lach varleLy has lLs own speclallzed funcLlons
and each ls vlewed dlfferenLly by Lhose who aware of boLh ln Arablc slLuaLlon Lhe Lwo
varleLles are Classlcal Arablc(P) and Lhe varlous reglonal colloqulal varleLles (L)
A key deflnlng characLerlsLlc of dlglossla ls LhaL Lhe Lwo varleLles are kepL qulLe aparL
funcLlonally Cne ls used ln one seL of clrcumsLances and Lhe oLher ln an enLlrely dlfferenL
are used for dellverlng sermons and formal lecLures P varleLles seL lor example Lhe
especlally a parllamenL or leglslaLlve body for glvlng pollLlcal speeches for broadcasLlng Lhe
news or radlo and Lelevlslon and for wrlLlng poeLry flne llLeraLure and edlLorlals ln
ln low are used ln glvlng lnsLrucLlons Lo workers L varleLles newspapers ln conLrasL Lhe
presLlge occupaLlons or Lo household servanLs ln conversaLlon wlLh famlllars program ln
lacks presLlge L varleLy ls Lhe presLlge varleLy Lhe P varleLy 1he radlo and ln folk llLeraLure
lor example speakers of Arablc ln parLlcular galn presLlge from belng able Lo allude Lo
classlcal sources 1he folk llLeraLure assoclaLed wlLh Lhe L varleLy wlll have none of Lhe same
presLlge
ootbet lmpottoot Jlffeteoce beteeo tbe n ooJ l votletles ls LhaL all chlldren learn Lhe
ormal seLLlng eg ln ls llkely Lo be learned ln some klnd of f P varleLy aL home 1he L varleLy
classrooms aL schools 1o LhaL exLenL Lhe P varleLy ls LaughL whereas Lhe L varleLy ls
learned 1eachlng requlres Lhe avallablllLy of grammars dlcLlonarles and sLandardlzed
LexLs 1here are usually no comparable grammars dlcLlonarles and sLandardlzed LexLs for L
varleLy So far as Lhe pronunclaLlon of Lhe Lwo varleLles ls concerned Lhere ls qulLe
dlfference beLween Classlcal Arablc and Lhe colloqulal varleLles eg /qamar/ /gamar/
/?mar/ whlch mean moon ln Lngllsh
14What |s the future of d|g|oss|c s|tuat|on |n the Arab|c wor|d ?
ln Lhe Arablc language slLuaLlon Lhere are a number of flourlshlng reglonal varleLles of
Lhe L and many Arabs feel a need Lo unlfy Lhe Arabspeaklng world around one varleLy
1hey acknowledge Lhe hlghly resLrlcLed uses of Lhe P varleLy buL also revere lL for cerLaln
characLerlsLlcs lLs beauLy loglc and rlchness Classlcal Arablc ls also Lhe language of Coran
Whlle acknowledglng LhaL dlglosslc slLuaLlons are essenLlally sLable lerguson dld
predlcL whaL he LhoughL Lhe fuLure held for Lhe slLuaLlons he examlned 1he Arablc
slLuaLlon seemed Lo polnL Lo Lhe developmenL of several reglonal sLandard varleLles of
Arablc each uslng a conslderable amounL of vocabulary drawn from Classlcal Arablc
1S Def|ne Mono||ngua||sm 8|||ngua||sm and Mu|t|||ngua||sm
ls Lhe ablllLy Lo only a slngle language code Mono/inquo/ism
ls Lhe ablllLy Lo use Lwo language codes 8i/inquo/ism
ls Lhe ablllLy Lo use many language codes Mu/ti/inquo/ism


|ve an examp|e of Mu|t|||ngua||sm 16
An lnLeresLlng example of mulLlllnguallsm exlsLs among Lhe @okooo of Lhe norLhwesL
Amazon on Lhe border beLween Colombla and 8razll 1he @okooo are a mulLlllngual people
because men musL marry ouLslde Lhelr language group no man may have a wlfe who
speaks hls language Men choose Lhe women Lhey marry from varlous nelghborlng Lrlbes
who speak oLher languages ConsequenLly ln any vlllage several languages are used Lhe
language of Lhe men Lhe varlous languages spoken by women who orlglnaLe from dlfferenL
nelghborlng Lrlbes and a wldespread reglonal Lrade language Chlldren are born lnLo Lhls
mulLlllngual envlronmenL Lhe chllds faLher speaks one language Lhe chllds moLher
anoLher and oLher women wlLh whom Lhe chlld has dally conLacL perhaps sLlll oLhers
Powever everyone ln Lhe communlLy ls lnLeresLed ln language learnlng so mosL people can
speak mosL of Lhe languages
|ve an examp|e of b|||ngua||sm and exp|a|n |t 17
A klnd of blllngual slLuaLlon exlsLs ln araguay 8ecause of lLs long lsolaLlon from Spaln
and Lhe small number of lLs Spalnspeaklng populaLlon an Amerlcan lndlan language
Cuaranl has flourlshed ln araguay Lo Lhe exLenL LhaL Loday lL ls Lhe moLher Longue of
nearly 90 percenL of populaLlon Cuaranl ls recognlzed as a bona flde naLlonal language Cn
Lhe oLher hand Spanlsh ls Lhe offlclal language of governmenL and Lhe medlum of
educaLlon Powever Spanlsh ls Lhe vernacular of less Lhan 10 percenL of Lhe populaLlon
Spanlsh ls Lhe language used on formal occaslons lL ls always used ln governmenL
buslness ln conversaLlon wlLh sLrangers who are well dressed wlLh forelgners and ln mosL
buslness LransacLlons eople use Cuaranl however wlLh frlends servanLs and sLrangers
who are poorly dressed and on mosL casual occaslons Spanlsh ls Lhe preferred language of
Lhe clLles buL Cuaranl ls preferred ln Lhe counLryslde
Wr|te br|ef notes on Code cho|ce Codesw|tch|ng and CodeM|x|ng 1
We have observed LhaL Lhe parLlcular dlalecL or language one chooses Lo use on any
occaslon ls a code a sysLem used for communlcaLlon beLween Lwo or more parLles We
have also lndlcaLed LhaL lL ls unusual for Lhe speaker Lo have command of or use only one
such code or sysLem MosL speakers command several varleLles of any language Lhey speak
and blllnguallsm even mulLlllnguallsm ls Lhe norm for many people LhroughouL Lhe world
eople Lhen are usually forced Lo selecL a parLlcular code whenever Lhey choose Lo speak
and Lhey may also declde Lo swlLch from one code Lo anoLher or Lo mlx codes
means Lhe selecLlon of one code ln a parLlcular slLuaLlon ode hoice
means changlng from one code Lo anLher ln a parLlcular slLuaLlon itchinq ode
means uslng more Lhan one code ln one conversaLlon Mixinq e od
WhaL brlngs speaker Lo choose varleLy x of a language A raLher Lhan varleLy ? or even
language A raLher Lhan language 8 WhaL mlghL cause a speaker Lo swlLch from varleLy x Lo
varleLy ? or from language A Lo language 8? A number of answers have been suggesLed
lncludlng solldarlLy wlLh llsLeners cholce of Loplcs and percelved soclal and culLural
dlsLance
Lxp|a|n the two k|nds of codesw|tch|ng and show how |t d|ffers from d|g|oss|a 19
meLaphorlcal
2
slLuaLlonal and

swlLchlng We can descrlbe Lwo klnds of code

occurs when Lhe language used change accordlng Lo Lhe sitchinq ituotiono/ code
slLuaLlon ln whlch Lhe conversanLs flnd Lhemselves Lhey speak one language ln one
slLuaLlon and anoLher ln a dlfferenL one When a change of a Loplc requlres a change ln Lhe
sitchinq metophorico/ code language used we have
communlLles also Lhe slLuaLlon diq/ossic swlLchlng dlffers from dlglossla ln Code
conLrols Lhe cholce of varleLy buL Lhe cholce ls much more rlgldly deflned by Lhe parLlcular
uiq/ossio acLlvlLy LhaL ls lnvolved and by Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe parLlclpanLs
o o L diq/ossio ls used Lo reduce Lhem ln sitchinq code relnforces dlfferences whereas
ls sitchinq ode aware LhaL Lhey have swlLched from P Lo L or L Lo P qulLe people are
ofLen qulLe subconsclous people may noL be aware LhaL Lhey have swlLched or be able Lo
reporL followlng a conversaLlon whlch code Lhey used for a parLlcular Loplc Lhey change
code wlLhouL reallzlng lL
D|scuss conversat|ona| codem|x|ng 20
Codemlxlng occurs when conversanLs use boLh languages LogeLher Lo Lhe exLenL LhaL
Lhey change from one language Lo Lhe oLher ln Lhe course of a slngle uLLerance
ConversaLlonal codemlxlng lnvolves Lhe dellberaLe mlxlng of Lwo languages wlLhouL an
assoclaLed Loplc change An example of conversaLlonal codmlxlng among SpanlshLngllsh
blllnguals
no van a brlng lL up ln Lhe meeLlng 1hey are noL golng Lo brlng lL up ln Lhe
meeLlng
ConversaLlonal codemlxlng ls noL [usL a haphazard mlxlng of Lwo languages broughL abouL
by lazlness or lgnorance or some comblnaLlon of Lhese 8aLher lL requlres conversanLs Lo
have a sophlsLlcaLed knowledge of boLh languages and Lo be acuLely aware of communlLy
norms 1hese norms requlre LhaL boLh languages be used ln Lhls way so LhaL conversanLs
can show Lhelr famlllarlLy or solldarlLy 1he ablllLy Lo mlx codes ln Lhls way ls now ofLen a
source of prlde

how how |anguages d|ffer |n s|ng||ng sex d|fferences |ex|ca||y and grammat|ca||y 21
1he dlvlslon of Lhe human race lnLo male and female ls reflecLed and lndlcaLed ln all
human languages lL ls a semanLlc unlversal whlch ls lexlcallzed ln all Lhe languages of Lhe
world ln Lerms of palrs such as manwoman boyglrl sondaughLer and so on
Powever languages dlffer ln Lhe exLenL Lo whlch sex dlfferences are lexlcallzed ln
Arablc for example you have Lo speclfy wheLher a frlend ls male $soJlp/ or female
$soJlpob$ ln Lngllsh you donL klnshlp Lerms also vary for example cousln ln noL marked
for sex ln Lngllsh buL ls marked ln many oLher languages llke Arablc lL can also be Lrue for
occupaLlonal descrlpLlons where for example languages may or may noL dlsLlngulsh
beLween acLor acLress manager manageress eLc




1hls dlfference ls ofLen slgnaled grammaLlcally ln Lhe languages of Lhe world 1he way
ln whlch Lhls occurs varles conslderably Cne obvlous way ls Lhrough pronouns Some
languages have no sexmarklng on pronouns aL all CLhers llke Lngllsh have sexmarklng
buL only ln Lhe Lhlrdperson slngular he versus she whlle oLhers such as Arablc have lL
/bom$ Lhey mascullne as opposed Lo /boooo/ Lhey femlnlne ?eL oLher languages also
have lL ln some forms of Lhe second person Arablc has $"otom$ you plural mascullne
versus $"otoooo$ you plural femlnlne And some languages have sexmarklng ln Lhe flrsL
person plural Spanlsh has $oosottos$ versus $oosottos/ for we
Puman sex can also be lndlcaLed Lhrough Lhe use of arLlcles and ad[ecLlves as ln lrench
/ooe etoJlooe ttes lotelllqeote /(femlnlne) versus /oo etoJloot ttes lotelllqeot/ (mascullne)
a very clever sLudenL And lL can also be marked on verb forms as for example ln pasL
Lense Arablc /o5olo$ means be ottolveJ whlle /o5olot$ means sbe ottolveJ
how how |anguages d|ffer |n the grammat|ca| express|on of ones own sex 22
ln Lhe languages of Lhe world Lhere seem Lo be a number for how grammaLlcal expresslon
of ones own sex may occur
41WWWW1W11
1- PRONOUNS
2 -ARTICLES AND ADJECTIVES

1 lL may noL occur aL all as ln Lngllsh and Arablc
2 lL may occur Lhrough Lhe use of ad[ecLlval gender marklng as ln Arablc $"oo solJob$
whlch ls whaL a woman has Lo say versus $"oo solJ/ whlch ls Lhe male form for l am
happy
3 lL may occur Lhrough Lhe use of dlsLlncL gendermarked verbs forms ln Lhe flrsLperson
slngular as ln ollsh pasL Lense verb forms a ollsh man says ptzyjecbotem whlle
ollsh woman says ptzyjecbotom l arrlved
4 lL may occur Lhrough Lhe use of dlsLlncL flrsLperson slngular pronouns lor example
ln 1hal a man wlll say pbom for Lhe flrsLperson l whereas a woman wlll refer Lo
herself as Jlcboo