Academic literature on the topic 'Sociolinguistics English language English language'

This thesis investigates change in a number of phonological variables in New Zealand English (NZE) during a formative period of its development. The variables under analysis are the short front vowels /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/, the front centring diphthongs /ɪə/ and /ɛə/, and the so-called 'broad A' vowel. The sample includes 30 NZE speakers born between the 1890s and the 1930s (the 'Intermediate period'). Acoustic analysis reveals that the short front vowel system develops into one with two front vowels and one central vowel over the intermediate period via a push chain shift. There is evidence for complex allophonisation in the speech of early intermediate speakers. I argue that duration plays an important role in resolving overlap between vowel distributions during this time. With regard to the front centring diphthongs there is approximation of the nuclei of the two vowels in F1/F2 space over the intermediate period as well as incipient merger in the speech of late intermediate speakers. Although the merger is mainly one of gradual approximation, it is argued that patterns of expansion of the vowel space available to both vowels are also found. The analysis carried out on the 'broad A' vowel reveals that whereas flat A was still present in the speech of the earlier speakers from the sample, broad A had become categorical toward the end of the intermediate period. It is shown that, by and large, the process involves discrete transfer of words across etymological categories. The final chapters discuss a number of theoretical implications. Processes such as the NZE front vowel shift suggest that a number of previously recognised concepts, such as 'tracks' and 'subsystems', may either have to be relaxed or abandoned altogether. It is argued that chain shifts of this type come about by rather simple mechanisms that have a strong resemblance to functional principles found in the evolution of organisms. A case for 'fitness' of variants of a given vowel will be made. Phonological optimisation, on the other hand, is not a driving force in this type of sound change.

Provides an overview of work on the effects of Quebec French (QF) on Quebec English (QE) since 1977. Argues that the framework used by sociolinguists is too narrow methodologically, excluding conversations in English between people whose first languages are different and ignoring the deliberate use of language for political effect. Examines some cognate nouns to show how meanings in QE have shifted because of knowledge of QF.

This dissertation investigates the linguistic outcomes of Japanese-English language contact in Canada. Adopting a sociolinguistic variationist framework (Labov 1966; Sankoff & Labov 1985), the main objective is to determine whether or not Japanese spoken in Canada (hereafter, heritage Japanese) is showing structural change due to prolonged contact with English. The study is based on naturalistic speech data collected from 16 Japanese-English bilingual speakers in Canada. A key component of this dissertation is the use of a comparative sociolinguistic framework (Poplack and Tagliamonte 2001; Tagliamonte 2002) to assess structural affinities between heritage Japanese and the homeland Japanese benchmark variety. Speech patterns in heritage Japanese are systematically compared with patterns found in a commensurate monolingual benchmark variety of Japanese with regard to three linguistic variables, which are considered to be vulnerable to contact-induced language change (i.e. Bullock 2004, Sorace 2011). In terms of the first variable analyzed, variable realization of subject pronouns, it was found that the underlying grammar in heritage Japanese is shared by the homeland benchmark variety, showing that the variable is conditioned by the factor groups of subject continuity (i.e. switch reference) and grammatical person; the null variant is favoured by the same subject referent and the second person pronoun. Second, with regard to variable case marking on subject nouns and variable case marking on direct object nouns, it was found that the same underlying grammar is shared for case marking. For example, the constraint hierarchies in heritage Japanese were identical with those in the homeland variety for focus particles, with presence of a focus particle favouring null marking consistently for all types of nouns (i.e. English-origin nouns and Japanese nouns in heritage Japanese, and Japanese nouns and loanwords in homeland Japanese). The constraint hierarchies (and direction of the effect) for the other significant factor groups of verbal adjacency and sentence-final particle were identical between heritage Japanese and the homeland variety, with the exception of a reversed direction of effect for loanword subject nouns in heritage Japanese for the non-significant factor group of verbal adjacency, and a neutralized effect for Japanese nouns in heritage Japanese and loanwords in homeland Japanese when these nouns are located in direct object position. Considered in the aggregate, constraint hierarchies were found to exhibit a number of parallels across comparison varieties. This finding bolsters the general conclusion that there is little evidence indicating that extensive contact with English has had any discernible impact on structural patterns in these sectors of the heritage grammar. Furthermore, it was shown that no social factor group (i.e. length of stay in Canada) has an appreciable effect on heritage Japanese. Summarizing, the multiple lines of evidence emerging from the empirical quantitative analyses of the variables targeted in this dissertation converge in indicating that heritage Japanese, as spoken in Canada, broadly shares the same underlying grammar as homeland Japanese. Structural affinities in variable patterning shared by heritage and homeland varieties reveal little compelling evidence indicating that heritage Japanese exhibits structural change due to contact with English.

The umbrella term used in research to imply exposure to the English language outside the classroom is “extramural English”. The impact of the engagement in activities by second language learners of English through extramural activities is generally perceived as positive for language development. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions of teachers in Swedish lower secondary school on the influence of online extramural English on the written and spoken English proficiency of students, enrolled in years six till nine, learning English as a foreign language.A qualitative study in the form of an online questionnaire, consisting of open- and closed-ended questions, is used to answer three research questions: 1. What is the overall perspective of English teachers on their students’ proficiency in English and the influence of extramural English? 2. What is the perspective of English teachers on their students’ proficiency in written English and the influence of extramural English? 3. What is the perspective of English teachers on their students’ proficiency in oral English and the influence of extramural English? Teachers clearly believe that oral communication and listening skills benefit more than reading and writing skills from online extramural activities in English.