SOCIOLINGUISTICS

LESSON 7
INSTRUCTOR: LE NGUYEN NHU ANH
 LANGUAGE VARIATION:
FOCUS ON USES
SPEECH FUNCTION, POLITENESS AND
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
OUTLINE
• The function of speech
• Directives
• Politeness and address forms
• Linguistic politeness in different cultures
• Greetings
 social function: establish rapport
The functions of speech
Example 1
Boss: Good morning Sue. Lovely day.
Secretary: Yes it’s beautiful. Makes you wonder
what we’re doing here doesn’t it.
Boss: Mm, that’s right. Look I wonder if you
could possibly sort this lot out by ten. I
need them for a meeting.
Secretary: Yes sure. No problem.
Boss: Thanks that’s great.
referential function:Provide information
 The functions of speech
1. Expressive utterances express the
speaker’s feelings The speaker
• Mr Stark, I don’t feel so good…
 The functions of speech
2. Directive utterances attempt to get
someone to do something
• Clear the table! The addressee
 The functions of speech
3. Referential utterances provide
information, The message
• At the third stroke it will be three o’clock
precisely.
 The functions of speech
4. Metalinguistic utterances comment on
language itself
• ‘Hegemony’ is not a common word.
 The functions of speech
5. Poetic utterances focus on aesthetic
features of language
• a poem, an ear-catching motto, a rhyme,
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers.
 The functions of speech
6. Phatic utterances express solidarity and
empathy with others
• Hi, how are you, lovely day isn’t it!
 The functions of speech
There are also other functions:
▪Heuristic function: concerned with learning
(‘tell me why’)
• What happened?
 The functions of speech
▪Commissive function: promises, & threats
• I will grant you three wishes
 The functions of speech
▪Performative function:
declarations, marriage
vow, bets, .
• I do solemnly declare
that I know not of any
lawful impediment why I
____ may not be joined in
matrimony to ____.
 The functions of speech
Directives
Example 3
Teacher: What are you doing over by the
window Helen?
Helen: Looking at the birds Miss.
Teacher: And what should you be doing?
Helen: (No answer)
Teacher: Go and sit down now and get on with
your writing.
 The functions of speech
Directives
Directives are concerned with getting people to
do things.
Sit down. IMPERATIVE
You sit down. You IMPERATIVE
Could you sit down? INTERROGATIVE WITH MODAL VERB
Sit down will you? INTERROGATIVE WITH TAG
Won’t you sit down? INTERROGATIVE WITH NEGATIVE MODAL
I want you to sit down. DECLARATIVE
I’d like you to sit down. DECLARATIVE
You’d be more comfortable sitting down. DECLARATIVE
 The functions of speech
Directives
Beside form, intonation, tone of voice and
context also determine the politeness of
directives
E.g.
A gentle “Sit down” vs a thundered “Will you all
sit down”
 Which would you choose?
Move your foot please! OR
I’m sorry to bother you and I hope I’m not too much
trouble but could you move your foot a little either
way because somehow mine seems to have got
caught under yours.
 The functions of speech
Directives
How do people decide which form to use
in a particular context?
What are the social factors which affect
a speaker’s choice of the appropriate
form of directive?
There are several factors
Social distance between participants
Example 5
(a) Roll over.
(b) Shut up you fool.
(c) Set the table, Finn.
(d) Clap hands Nico.
(e) Wash your hands for dinner, children.
(f) Turn that blessed radio down.
(g) Bugger off idiot.
 Status
Example 6 Teacher to students
(a) Turn to page 394.
(b) Shut the door.
(c) Stop talking please.
Example 7 Minimally explicit forms
(a) Blackboard! (‘Clean the blackboard’)
(b) Bus people! (‘Those who get the school bus
should now leave’)
(c) I hear talking. (‘Stop talking’)
 Formality of the context
Example 9 Subordinate clause
I now call on the Vice-Chancellor to read the
citation for our distinguished guest.
Example 10
Medical professional of lower status to person
of higher status. Modal interrogative
(a) Could you ring his mother and find out?
(b) A: We’ve got a referral from Dr T. He’s your
neighbour Jody. hint
B: OK I’ll take him.
Routineness or reasonableness of the task
Example 11
(a) Get those brake pads in by 5
o’clock Sue. That car’s needed
first thing in the morning.
(b) Could you stay a bit later
tonight, do you think, and finish
this job? Modal interrogative
(c) That job’s taking longer than
we predicted. I don’t know what
we’ll do if it isn’t ready for
tomorrow. hint
 Hint for humorous effect

Example 12
(a) To someone blocking the
light out.
You make a better door
than a window.
(b) Mother to teenage son.
I’m not sure that a couple
of smelly socks in the
middle of the lounge floor
can be beaten as a centre
piece for our dinner party.
What do you think, Tim?
girls and women tend to favour more polite and less direct
forms of directives than males
Example 13
(a) Tom: Give me that. I need it
now.
(b) Seymour: Get off that car.
(c) Grant: Get out of my house.
(d) Maria: You finished with that
rolling pin now?
(e) Lisa: My turn now eh?
(f) Meg: It’s time for tea so you’ll
have to go home now.
Social relationships between people
Example 14
Overseer assigns a
farmworker the wrong
row to hoe.
Farmworker: Go to hell.
Two times you have told
me what to do – each
time it’s been wrong. I’m
staying in this row. You
put somebody else there.
 Politeness and address
forms
Example 16
Israeli passenger and driver on an inter-city bus.
Passenger: Turn the light on, please.
Driver: What?
Passenger: Turn the light on, please.
Driver: It disturbs me.
Passenger: I wanted to read.
 Politeness and address
forms
Politeness involves contributing to social harmony
and avoiding social conflict.
Linguistic politeness involves discourse strategies
or linguistic devices which are perceived or
evaluated by others as having been used to
maintain harmonious relations and avoid causing
trouble.
In many cases, being polite involves adapting
sensitively to evolving social relationships
 Politeness and address
forms
Example 18
Nurse: Good morning Mr Grant.
Mr G: Morning dear.
Nurse: I’m going to change that dressing. Is that
OK?
Mr G: Gonna torture me again are you sweetie?
Nurse: Third degree, no mercy mate.
 Politeness and address
forms
Being linguistically polite involves speaking to
people appropriately in the light of their
relationship to you.
Making decisions about what is or is not
considered polite in any community of practice
therefore assessing social relationships along the
dimensions of social distance or solidarity, and
relative power or status
We need to understand the social values of a
community in order to speak politely.
 Politeness and address
forms
Positive politeness is solidarity oriented. It
emphasises shared attitudes and values.
E.g.
◦ When the boss suggests that a subordinate
should use first name (FN) to her
◦ A shift to a more informal style using slang,
endearments or swear words
 Politeness and address
forms
Negative politeness pays people respect and
avoids intruding them. It involves expressing
oneself appropriately in terms of social distance
and respecting status differences.
E.g.
◦ Indirect directiveness
◦ Using title + last name to your superiors
 Politeness and address
forms
Being polite may also involve the dimension of
formality.
Being polite means getting the linguistic
expression of social distance right as far as your
addressee is concerned.
 Politeness and address
forms
Norms of Western address usage have changed
over time to place more emphasis on solidarity
and less on status.
In many Eastern societies, such as Japan, Korea
and Indonesia, the emphasis remains on status
differences. Being polite involves using language
which recognises relative status very explicitly.
 Politeness and address
forms
Interaction is NOT static.
What is considered polite or impolite may emerge,
change and develop throughout an interaction.
Example 21
June: Hi. June speaking.
Frances: Hi June. Happy New Year. Just ringing to
check if you and Ricky are coming to our
barbecue tomorrow.
June: Oh, sorry erm didn’t Ricky tell you, we’re
busy tomorrow.
Frances: No he didn’t. Would have been useful to know
a little earlier. We were expecting to be able
to use your barbecue as well as ours.
June: Well too bad I guess since we won’t be there.
Frances: Ok. Thanks for letting us know (sarcastically).
June : Bye (puts phone down).
Linguistic Politeness in
different cultures
 Linguistic politeness in
different cultures
Example 22
Känner du alla?
(Do you know everyone?)
 Linguistic politeness in
different cultures
Example 22
 Linguistic politeness in
different cultures
On which day of the week
[???] on…everyday would you like to have your bath?

Thai student in Britain British woman

 Linguistic politeness in
different cultures
A plausible and reasonably specific excuse is
mandatory in refusing an invitation in Western culture
Will you come to Sorry
I’m butthat
busy I have to
night
our party? prepare lessons
I’m afraid
If Solidarity:
dominant
social
dimension
=> privacy
reduced
=> vagueness
= evasive
 Linguistic politeness in
different cultures
[???] Er, OK! Cool, bring a plate, will you?
Yeah, I’d like to! Want to come to our party?
 Linguistic politeness in
different cultures
Greetings
Example 25
(a) How are you?
(b) Where are you going?
(c) Have you eaten?
(d) Where do you come from?
(e) Are you married?
(f) How much do you earn?
(g) What do you weigh?
 Linguistic politeness in
different cultures
Greetings
Greeting formulas universally serve an
affective function of establishing non-
threatening contact and rapport, but
their precise content is clearly culture
specific.
Linguistic politeness in
different cultures
Greetings
 A Maori ceremony to welcome
United Nations Development Program
Administrator Helen Clark.
All in all
Speech functions
Social context, formality and the relationship
between participants are important factors =>
influence speech acts => politeness
Speech functions are expressed differently in
different communities.
Being polite involves understanding the social
values which govern the way social dimensions
such as status, solidarity and formality are
expressed.
A sociolinguistic description aims to identify the
different weight put on these factors in different
cultures.
Let’s do a sociolinguistic
analysis
You should work in groups of 3 (or 2), you
can work alone if you like.
Look at the diagram in page 286, modify it
to account for the current norms of
address usage in your speech community
(the Vietnamese language).
Draw the new version in a piece of paper.
Take a nice & clear picture of it.
Submit your work via this link:
bit.ly/sociof20_tue_diagram
THAT’S ALL!
At home, please do exercises 1 to 13 for
your own sake.